BYRON, Ga. — When traveling southbound along I-75, drivers may pass the city of Byron.
Located off Exit 149, it sits 10 miles away from the Peach County town of Fort Valley. Byron was incorporated in 1874 and the city was renamed twice.
"The first name was Station 1.5. It was just a location. Second name was Jackson Station and that's because the guy who was the station master at Station 1.5 was a fellow by the name of Nimrod Jackson," Byron Mayor Michael Chidester said.
He said that the name "Byron" was eventually born, inspired by the city's first mayor C.H. Richardson's favorite poet, Lord Byron. He said that originally, Byron was known as a railroad hub.
"It was a place where trains would stop to reload on wood and refill their steam tank with water," Chidester said.
From there, he said the city evolved, infrastructure and residential areas developed and when cruising the downtown area, Chidester says drivers will see a railroad that runs down the middle of the road with 1800s' style homes, sitting on both sides of the track.
"We have a number of historic houses mostly located there on West and East Heritage as you saw some around the corner on Howard Street and a couple on Academy Street. I live in a house that was actually built in 1895," he said.
Chidester said he was born in the same city as Byron's first mayor. From sharing birth homes to mayoral roles, he adds it's a full circle moment.
"It just happens that Mayor Richardson, our first mayor, was born in Sumter South Carolina," he said. "Now I'm serving as mayor during the 150th year of Byron's existence and I too was born in Sumter, South Carolina. So it's a very fascinating coincidence to me, kind of a God thing."
Chidester said as Byron grows older, he hopes its memories stay alive 50 years from now when folks are celebrating the city's 200th anniversary.
"My hope is they'll always desire to keep some small part of the past alive here," he said.