Shady Dale

Shady Dale first incorporated in 1882. Built at the approximate middle of a rail line that passed from Augusta to Milledgeville to Covington and Atlanta, Shady Dale enjoyed prosperity as an important shipping point for cotton, peaches and farm machinery. Merchant's buildings lined the streets of the town, and a large hotel owned by Matthew Whitfield, a wealthy Georgia state legislator, stood regally as its crowning jewel. Although the Great Depression hampered Shady Dale's growth and the transition in freight transportation from trains to trucks also depressed the local economy, Shady Dale is now a quaint, peaceful community, not, in fact, much larger than it was back when residents founded it.