LAGRANGE

LaGrange Tennessee was incorporated as a town on December 1, 1829 and enjoyed the reputation of being the wealthiest and most cultured town in the South at that time. Now LaGrange is a quiet, quant village dedicated to preserving and paying honor to its glorious past.

LaGrange is the oldest town in Fayette County. It lies 17 miles south of the county seat of Somerville and three miles north of the Mississippi state line. From a population of well over 2,000 during its heyday, LaGrange now claims approximately 160 citizens. What remains today in LaGrange is a gem of antebellum style, grace, and a bright glimpse into the past.

Cultural Resource Field Day at Ames Plantation happens in October of each year and offers an enjoyable day of fun and education for the entire family. visitors will learn ancient arts from talented craftsmen as they operate a period blacksmith shop, construct a log cabin, spin, eave, make baskets, and more. The restored log buildings of the 19th Century Farmstead are open for tours throughout the day, with guides dressed in period costume and practicing the lost arts at each location. The Plantation is located between Grand Junction and LaGrange. It is accessible by two major roadways.

The Nation Field Trial Championship is held each year in February on the Ames Plantation, bringing bird dogs and horseback riding enthusiasts from all over the United States to settle the issue of which entrant will be crowned the best bird dog of the year. For those top dogs, the Championship represents one of the most grueling tests of endurance in the sports world, and Ames devotes much of its resources to the study and improvement of habitat for its all-important quail population – quail being the preferred bird for testing the skills of the champion dogs and their trainers.

The Ghost River Monument was dedicated in the town of LaGrange in 1998 and resides in the town park located on LaGrange Road off Highway 57 near the town’s post office and fire department. The 2.5-ton bronze and limestone monument, rendered in the shape of a wolf’s head, was created by Memphis sculptor Roy Tamboli. On June 13, 1998 the Wolf Rive Conservancy and the city of LaGrange unveiled the monument dedicated to the people who donated to the conservancy’s Headwaters Campaign of 1995 that saved this celebrated section of the Wolf River.

Cogbill’s Store and Museum is located on the northwest corner of the intersection of Highway 57 and LaGrange Road. Originally built between 1870’s-1880’s by William Peter Lipscomb, it is now operated by one of his great-granddaughters, Lucy Cogbill. The store’s current location is its second. First built across the road, that building was destroyed by a tornado in 1900. A fire destroyed the building at its second location a month before Christmas in 1998, but is has been rebuilt once again, as closely in style to the original in style to the original as possible.