“In 1921, Professor Emeritus of anthropology at TCOL, Hinky Dunham, Sr., remarked, ‘The greatest feat of my beloved Lymansville is that it remains the most marvelous paradox. Nowhere else have I witnessed such a whimsical devotion to tradition intertwined with an equivalent openness to evolution. I believe the genius lies in curiosity, and I shall leave it there for now.”
Lymansville is an incorporated town in the United States, originally established as the village of Wickett’s Peak in 1748; Lymansville was re-named as such (officially) in 1776.
CURRENT POPULATION: Lymansville Proper (excluding college students): 1,728; College students (undergraduate and graduate): 320; Surrounding (within county lines): 102; Total Population: 2,150
AREA: Lymansville Proper: 1.28 sq mi (3.31 km2); Surrounding (within county lines): 3.42 sq mi (8.85 km2); Wickett County: 5.38 sq mi (13.93 km2)
GOVERNMENT: Open town forum with Current Person in Charge (CPIC)—chosen at random every year—acts as: Coordinator of town business, Overseer of Town Forums, Tiebreaker for votes if necessary. Current CPIC, Deb Dunham—preceded by Zinnia Perkins
EDUCATIONAL INSTITUTIONS: Miss Betty’s Nursery-to-Kindergarten (Mascot: Neville the Newt), The College of Lymansville Preparatory School (TCOLPS) (Mascot: Stanley the Piglet), The College of Lymansville (TCOL) (Mascot: Stan the Pig)
LYMANSVILLE INDUSTRY:Agriculture: Geoffrey Farms, Widdles Farmstead, Brighton Dairy Farm, Horshack’s Nursery; Production/Exporting: Sorple (a Sorghum and Maple syrup hybrid); College of Tillage and Husbandry at TCOL: Maintains consulting contracts with the Department of Agriculture for the development of innovative farm practices
PARTICULARS: Town Motto: “Permissum Is Exsisto.” Town Crest: A newt perched on a book, seeds in one hand and an ear of corn in the other, protected by a hound. Lymansville Anthem: “Lymansville, oh Lymansville!” Written by Samulson Brighton, circa 1802
DID YOU KNOW?
In 1758, a Dr. Lyman Hall stayed briefly in Wickett’s Peak while traveling with his family from Connecticut to South Carolina. Dr. Hall went on to become one of the first Colonial Governors of Georgia and signed of the Declaration of Independence. In 1776, and in honor of this illustrious achievement, the name “Wickett’s Peak” was changed to “Lymansville.”
Lymansville was a stop on the Underground Railroad during the War Between the States.
Lymansville was settled and built with the cooperation of (and in harmony with) the indigenous people that lived in the area—members of the Tutelo-Saponi tribe, specifically of the turtle clan. The Waneek family—who still reside in Lymansville today—are direct descendants of those that helped settle the town.
Until recently, the only dog breed found in Lymansville was the Redbone hound. Every current hound is a descendant of “Athena,” Lymansville founder Gareth Geoffrey’s beloved Bloodhound. (Bloodhounds were eventually bred with Foxhounds to make Redbones.)
The three questions asked during the town vetting process are exactly as they have been since 1752: Do you have a skill to offer? Do you believe that one should live and let live, provided no one gets hurt? Do you like the winter holidays?
{This information was graciously provided to the Gleaner by the Lymansville Historical Society (LHS). It was originally compiled by Jubal Brighton (former Curator of the Museum of Lymansville and board member of LHS), and most recently updated by Quentin Brighton (current Curator of the Museum of Lymansville and board member of LHS).}