The Georgia State Legislature established Troup County and four other counties in West Georgia in 1826, and after local leaders chose a site near the county’s geographic center, they named the county seat LaGrange after Chateau de Lagrange, the French country home of the Marquis de Lafayette. The area around the Square became the county’s civic and social center, hosting political rallies, parades, social gatherings, shopping, crop sales, and everyday social life, while the Truitt Opera House on Main Street stood from the 1850s until 1989 and hosted special performances and cultural events. In 1888, Fuller E. Callaway, Sr., opened Callaway’s Mammoth Department Store, which operated until 1932 and became known for innovative marketing and advertising. Troup County had four courthouse buildings: the first, a red brick courthouse built in 1829, stood in the center of Court Square; the second, a three-story courthouse designed by A.J. Bryan and Company of New Orleans, opened in 1904 and served until it burned on November 5, 1936, during a court session, killing two women, a public health nurse, and her patient; the third, designed by architect William J. J. Chase, opened in 1939 a block off the Square and served as the main courthouse until construction of the government service center began in 2002, after which it was renovated for special purposes and juvenile court. Throughout the county’s history, the courthouse and Court Square remained the heart of Troup County. Between 1924 and 1945, residents often saw Franklin D. Roosevelt drive by in his convertible during visits to the Little White House in Warm Springs. Other important parts of downtown life included Newell’s Hat Shop, a popular attraction from 1931 to 1977; LaGrange City Hall, which opened in 1927 on Ridley Avenue and remains in use; Black-owned business and professional offices including Blue Goose Café on Vernon and Hines Streets; and many long-time businesses around or near the Square, including hotels, jewelry, banking, hardware, pharmacy, realty, department, and clothing establishments.