The Fullerville community has a proud and rich history made up of hard-working, salt-of-the-earth residents who have contributed greatly to Villa Rica over the years.

Before it was annexed into Villa Rica in 1956, Fullerville existed as its own town for 45 years with a bustling industry that included a cotton mill, a hosiery mill, a company store, local eateries, a lumber yard and a casket company. It could be argued that Fullerville had more industry than Villa Rica at the time.

Bill “Perry” Bailey, a Fullerville native and grandson of one of Fullerville’s mayors, George Shelton Bailey, has been researching the history of Fullerville for about two years with plans to turn the information and stories into a book.

“Fullerville, to me, has a lot of important history,” said Bailey, a radio broadcaster living in Alabama. “This book is to incorporate Fullerville into history. They have books about the history of Villa Rica and there’s a book being written about the (1957 Berry’s Pharmacy) explosion, so why not incorporate Fullerville into the history. You had some fine citizens that came out of that community, good hard-working people who helped shape Villa Rica into what it is today.”

A resolution adopted by the Villa Rica City Council in 2006 giving Fullerville historic designation touts the emergence of the Fuller family and the important role it played in the growth of Villa Rica, starting with Judson Fuller, who owned the Villa Rica Cotton Mill, and continuing with the establishment of the Villa Rica Hosiery Mills in 1911 with his sons, Hardy, Tom and Dewitt.

Fullerville was established when the Fuller brothers built eight homes for their original employees in the area. Those homes are still standing today, as is the one-room Fullerville jail that was built in 1830, the mills themselves and other structures.

“From the 1930s and beyond the mills’ heyday in the 1950s, these men and women (of Fullerville) were the backbone of the city and lived, worked and raised families, many of who still call Villa Rica home,” the resolution reads.

It’s these people and their stories Bailey hopes to use to tell the history of Fullerville, and he is seeking the help of those who remember the town and its people to do so. In addition to stories and documents, Bailey is also seeking photographs to be used in the book.

“The focus will be on the people. The people are what made the town,” he said. “You have to remember that these were hard-working people. This was not government housing. This was housing that these people paid rent for and the stores out there allowed them to have credit. They paid their bills, enjoyed their weekends and then it was back to work on Monday.”

Though Bailey is interested in any information that can be provided, he’s especially interested in collecting old photographs and the stories behind the mills, Bitsy Hamrick’s Grocery Store, Leathers’ Grocery Store, Waldrop’s Cafe, Dan Spinks’ Cafe, the saw mill and lumberyard, Cannon Caskets, and a building that was known as The Mission that was located by the switch tracks across from the Fullerville Jail. He is also seeking information on the town’s mayors and city fathers, as well as the Fuller brothers.

“I want the Fullervillians to tell their stories,” he said. “I know some have passed away but their children or grandchildren may know their stories, and hopefully they will share it for this book. Photographs and stories from the real Fullervillians will make this book of history come alive.”

Bailey is optimistic he can get the book completed by spring 2010 and plans a second book about two years later that will be fictional, but based on actual events that took place in Fullerville.

“I live in Alabama, but my heart is in Villa Rica,” he said.

Anyone with information can contact Bailey at billi20west@aol.com, or call him at 256-389-8933.