Plat of the City of Tallapoosa, Haralson Co., Georgia Wing City Lots and Property Owned by Georgia – Alabama Investment and Development Company

An uncommon late 19th-century promotional piece for a growing Georgia manufacturing center.

This detailed map, surveyed by F. Reiman, R. M. Williams, and L. F. Bellinger for the Georgia-Alabama Investment and Development Company, is drawn at a scale of 500 feet to one inch. Printed in early 1892, it promotes real estate investment and industrial development in Tallapoosa, Georgia, near the Alabama border. Scores of numbered tracts cover the city, with properties offered for sale concentrated around proposed and established industrial sites northeast of downtown, near the railroad lines. Shaded parcels distinguish land already owned, while concentric circles at quarter-mile intervals illustrate distances from the city center. The central area is depicted with an array of industrial works, railroad depots, parks, hotels, and other amenities.

Of particular interest is the Lithia Springs Hotel, which opened in 1892 and became a prominent destination for visitors seeking the area’s mineral waters. Built by developer Ralph L. Spencer, the large hotel formed part of a broader effort to attract residents, tourists, and investment to Tallapoosa. Spencer also helped establish a Hungarian settlement east of the city, known as Budapest, whose residents developed a substantial grape-growing and winemaking industry. The map situates these developments within a wider vision of Tallapoosa as a growing industrial and commercial center.

The verso includes a price list and terms of sale for available business and residential properties, accompanied by promotional text asserting that “Every lot offered in this list is suitable for the erection of a residence without regard to its price.” The uncommon sheet was published by Budden & Son of Atlanta and printed locally by Journal Steam Print. WorldCat records four institutional examples, at the New York Public Library, Boston Public Library, the University of Georgia, and the University of West Georgia; another example is held by the Newberry Library.

Sources: OCLC# 980347753, City of Tallapoosa; Georgia History