Somewhere along the line, one-time Georgia Gov. George M. Troup grew an “e.”
Not everywhere; nor all at once. Still, depending on what street sign you see or how some folks spell their address, the street in Troup’s honor is both right and wrong half of the time.
The Valdosta Daily Times’ offices are on Troup Street. Troup is the right way to spell it. The street honors Gov. George M. Troup, whose plantation, Val d’Aosta, inspired the name of Valdosta.
Yet, on several street signs, especially in the past, Troup was spelled “Troupe.” I believed this was the correct spelling for my first few years in Valdosta, because most of the street signs on the way to work spelled the name with that concluding “e.”
One recent map, even has the street divided as half being Troup and the other half Troupe.
Troupe Street would be more likely to honor a group of dancers, such as a ballet troupe, rather than a Georgia governor who spelled his name Troup.
Maybe half of the street was intended as an honor to the governor and the other to a performing troupe.
Or maybe Gov. George M. Troup was a ballet dancer. Then the spelling Troupe serves double-duty as an honor to him. But I don’t think tights and a tutu were in a governor’s repertoire back in the 1800s. At least, not publicly for a 19th century governor.
Still, you don’t see that misspelling as much any more. The “e” has been dropped from most street signs, making Troupe the correct Troup Street. At least the side of the street sign facing my office window is spelled correctly. However, also visible from my window is the sign on the Salvation Army building proclaiming its address as Troupe Street.
In fairness to the Salvation Army, The Valdosta Daily Times has spelled it both ways through the years, too. Some new reporters have even spelled it as Troop or Troope.
What I have noticed more recently is the misspelling of Forrest Street.
Like the more common use of “troupe” rather than “troup,” the more common spelling of the other is “forest” rather than “forrest.” A one-“r” forest denotes a wooded area. A two-“r” forrest denotes a name.
In the case of Forrest Street, it is named for a name rather than being named for a forest. Forrest Street is more likely named for an African-American who donated items to the Valdosta Institute, according to the Lowndes County Historical Society, rather than the Confederate Gen. Nathan Bedford Forrest, as some suppose, or Forrest Gump. But it’s spelled like both of these names.
This is another common misspelling of a Valdosta street name; however, it has better maintained its two-“r” characteristic than Troup has been in not gaining an “e.”
Yet, that may be changing. I’ve noticed far more reports dropping the second “r” in Forrest from address labels to the big yellow sign on Bemiss Road marking Forest rather than Forrest Street.
Still, even with these misspellings, people can find Troup Street and Forrest Street with a few quick directions or even a misspelled map.
Even with various spellings, these roads still make more sense than Valdosta’s stretch of road with five names. This road starts as Northside Drive. Travel west to North Oak Street, Northside Drive becomes Eager Road. Continue west, Eager Road becomes Jerry Jones Drive. At Baytree Road, Jerry Jones Drive becomes Melody Lane before turning into Lankford and emptying into St. Augustine Road.
They’re all spelled correctly, but that’s far more confusing that trying to determine if Troup and Troupe are the same road.
Dean Poling is The Valdosta Daily Times assistant managing editor.
Dean Poling
Street of the tutu-wearing governor?
- Dean Poling
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Roosevelt Marshall
Roosevelt Marshall of Valdosta passed this life Dec. 14, 2010. Funeral services will be held at 3 p.m. at Union Cathedral with Bishop Wade S. McCrae, Pastor officiating. Burial will follow in Sunset Hill Cemetery. Final rites are entrusted to Harrington Funeral Home.
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Alice W. Johnson
Alice W. Johnson, 55, of Valdosta died on Monday, Oct. 11, 2010 at the Langdale Hospice House following a lengthy illness. Services for Alice W. Johnson will be held at 4 p.m. today, Thursday, Oct. 14, 2010 in the chapel of the Carson McLane Funeral Home with the Rev. Jay Watkins officiating. The burial will follow in the Riverview Memorial Gardens. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to Langdale Hospice 2263 Pineview Drive, Valdosta Ga. 31602 or to the American Cancer Society Hope Lodge, 2121 SW 16th Street Gainesville, Florida 32608. Condolences to the family may be conveyed online at www.mclanefuneralservices.com. — Carson McLane Funeral Home
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Roosevelt Marshall
