Editing Eastman, Georgia (section)

==History==
The first permanent settlement of the area took place in 1840.<ref>{{cite book | url=http://www.kenkrakow.com/gpn/d.pdf | title=Georgia Place-Names: Their History and Origins | publisher=Winship Press | author=Krakow, Kenneth K. | year=1975 | location=Macon, GA | pages=68 | isbn=0-915430-00-2}}</ref> The population continued to grow when, in 1869, a station was built for the newly constructed [[Macon and Brunswick Railroad]] which passed through the area, stimulating an economic boom. The settlement was originally named '''Levison''' and was renamed Eastman by December 1869.
Eastman was designated as the seat of newly formed Dodge County in 1871. It was incorporated as a town in 1873 and as a city in 1905.<ref>{{cite book | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=REtEXQNWq6MC&pg=PA228 | title=Historical Gazetteer of the United States | publisher=Routledge | date=May 13, 2013 | access-date=30 November 2013 | author=Hellmann, Paul T. | pages=228| isbn=978-1135948597 }}</ref> Eastman is named for W. P. Eastman, who, with W. E. Dodge, presented the county with a courthouse.<ref>{{cite book | url=https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_9V1IAAAAMAAJ | title=The Origin of Certain Place Names in the United States | publisher=Govt. Print. Off. | author=Gannett, Henry | year=1905 | pages=[https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_9V1IAAAAMAAJ/page/n111 112]}}</ref>

During that same time period, [[Ira Roe Foster]], former [[Quartermaster General]] of Georgia, operated a [[sawmill]] in Dodge County. In 1869, Foster built a residence in what would become Eastman. Foster was one of many who came to the area to participate in the timber and sawmill boom.

During the boom, it was estimated that, on average, there was one mill every two miles along the industrial corridor created by the Macon and Brunswick Railroad.<ref name="Wetherington2001">{{cite book| author=Mark V. Wetherington| title=The New South Comes to Wiregrass Georgia, 1860-1910 - Timber Is King| url=https://books.google.com/books?id=8Bx5HIcsh2EC&pg=PA113| date=1 September 2001| publisher=Univ. of Tennessee Press| isbn=978-1-57233-168-6| pages=113–114}}</ref> Unlike earlier eras, when timber was transported downstream in large river rafts, sawmills along the industrial corridor shipped their timber by rail. In his book ''The New South Comes to Wiregrass Georgia 1860-1910'', author Mark V. Wetherington states: "Ira R. Foster shipped lumber to [[Brunswick, Georgia|Brunswick]], where it was loaded onto timber schooners and transported to international markets like [[Liverpool]], [[Rio de Janeiro]], and [[Havana]]."<ref name="Wetherington2001" /> When Eastman was incorporated in 1872, Foster served as its first mayor.<ref name="Cobb">{{cite web| last = Philip Cobb| first = Mrs. Wilton| title= History of Dodge County| url=http://files.usgwarchives.net/ga/dodge/history/other/gms545historyo.txt| date = 1932| access-date= 27 October 2013 }}</ref>

In the early years of the 20th century, racial tensions increased between the white and black communities in and about Eastman, resulting in a number of documented lynchings. In one instance, a man misidentified as the rapist Ed Claus was murdered before the real Claus was identified, apprehended, and lynched.<ref name="lynch">{{cite book|author= Ralph Ginzburg|title= 100 Years of Lynchings|publisher= Black Press Classic|isbn= 978-0-933121-18-8|pages= [https://archive.org/details/100yearsoflynchi00ralp/page/60 60–61]|year= 1965|url= https://archive.org/details/100yearsoflynchi00ralp/page/60}}</ref> In 1919, rumors that local blacks were intending to rise up and exterminate white residents, led to the murder of Eli Cooper and the burning of several black churches, which were believed to be the focal point of the uprising.<ref name="lynch2">{{cite book| author=Ralph Ginzburg| title=100 Years of Lynchings| publisher=Black Classic Press| isbn=978-0-933121-18-8| page=[https://archive.org/details/100yearsoflynchi00ralp/page/123 123]| year=1965| url=https://archive.org/details/100yearsoflynchi00ralp/page/123}}</ref>