Glennville

Glennville. . , One of the earliest white settlements in the Old Creek Indian Nation. James Elizabeth Glenn, who named the town, and his brother Thompson Glenn, arrived here in 1835 only to have to evacuate during the Indian uprisings of 1836, at which time all buildings were destroyed and the remaining settlers killed. Thompson Glenn is credited with effecting the removal, to Columbus, Georgia, of the entrapped white citizens of nearby Roanoke, Georgia, during the same uprising. Glennville was resettled upon the removal of the Indians. It rapidly attracted settlers and their social and cultural standards caused Glennville to be known as "The Athens of the South." , At its apex this town had collegiate institutes, finishing schools, a military academy, classic churches and stately homes. In 1854 John Bowles Glenn left here to establish a school at Auburn and became its first president of the board of trustees. This school in successive changes became Auburn University. Glennville was the home of the only known lynch mob that bought a newspaper advertisement, acknowledged the deed and published their names. The victim, a convicted murderer, was a member of a prominent Barbour County white family. The incident brought national attention to the town. The failure to accept a railroad, seen as "an intrusion on their way of living," proved to be the herald of the town's demise.