Mazie Whitfield Nelson

Born on New Year’s Day in 1890 in a home across the railroad track on Gilbert Street, Mazie Whitfield Nelson watched downtown Smyrna grow from a village of less than 400 people into a community of more than 20,000 by the time of her death. In her youth, downtown prospered as the commercial center of an agricultural economy, and from 1905 to 1945 it was served by the Atlanta Northern Railway electric streetcar. Her self-published recollections, "Past Present and Future," chronicled important events in the town’s life, including tragedies and experiences such as the arrival of the first car. She also served the community as a school teacher, insurance saleswoman, and town librarian, and she collected contributions that funded the archway over the cemetery entrance.

Smyrna, Georgia · United States