Lamartine Griffin Hardman
Encyclopedia
Lamartine Griffin Hardman (April 14, 1856 – February 18, 1937) served two terms as the 65th Governor of the state of Georgia from 1927 to 1931. He believed that state government should be run like a business and was best known for his effort to make governmental processes more efficient.
around 1848 as a 26-year-old graduate of Georgia Medical College in Augusta, Georgia
, and Jefferson Medical College in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. On January 2, 1851, W.B.J. Hardman married Miss E.S. Colquitt, who counted four governors of Georgia and Texas among her relatives. W.B.J. Hardman farmed a large tract of land, kept up a medical practice, and ministered in the newly formed Harmony Grove Baptist
Church (now Commerce
First Baptist Church) as its first preacher and pastor. He was active in city government, instrumental both in crafting the liquor prohibition clause in the city charter and in having the Northeastern Railroad located through Harmony Grove. It is not surprising, then, that Lamartine Griffin Hardman, one of their eleven children, became a doctor and politician.
, the New York Polyclinic
, and Guy's Hospital
in London, from which he received a second degree. In 1890 he returned to Harmony Grove to join his father's medical practice.
Hardman quickly began buying up farming property in nearby counties. He founded the Harmony Grove Mills in 1893 for the purpose of stimulating economic growth in Harmony Grove and, by extension, rural north Georgia.
In 1899, L.G. Hardman, in partnership with his physician brother, William B. Hardman, opened the Hardman Sanitorium in Harmony Grove, the most advanced hospital facility in northeast Georgia at that time. It was soon claimed that Hardman had become a nationally renowned physician.
During his time as physician in Harmony, Hardman experimented in the field of anesthesiology, being influenced by the work of Crawford Long
, a pioneer in the field of anesthetics from nearby Jefferson, Georgia
.
By the turn of the century, Lamartine Hardman was widely regarded as one of the wealthiest men in north Georgia. He owned 10,000 acres (40 km²) of peach and apple orchard in over seven Georgia counties and Florida. He was active in agricultural experimentation, developing many new methods that he generously shared with the farming community.
His commitment to agricultural innovation was reflected by his active service as a trustee of the Georgia State College of Agriculture in nearby Athens
(now the College of Agriculture of the University of Georgia
). He also sat on the board of trustees for Shorter College
in Rome
; Mercer University
in Atlanta; and the Southern Baptist Seminary
in Louisville, Kentucky
.
in 1902 as a Representative of Jackson County. In 1907 he was elected Senator, and in 1909 was re-elected as Representative. Hardman was an active legislator; he introduced legislation which:
In 1901, Hardman had been introduced to the 19-year-old daughter of a socially prominent family from Valdosta
, Emma Wiley Griffin. They began courting in 1907, and after six months, at the age of 51, Hardman married the woman who would become the mother of their four children: Lamartine Jr., Josephine, Sue, and Emma.
Hardman served as the Federal Fuel Administrator for the state of Georgia in 1914–1917, during the "Great War" (now known as World War I). His was the responsibility of enforcing the nationwide rationing of coal, especially to evaluate and dole out fuel to those industries that were essential to the war effort.
. His third try came in 1926, against three other candidates. He campaigned on the promise to bring more business-like administration to state government. The election ended up in a run-off with fellow Jackson County politician and chair of the Georgia Highway Department, John Holder of Jefferson. Hardman won the run-off with 228 county unit votes to Holder’s 132: a rather narrow victory.
He was the oldest elected governor in the state's history, being 71 at the time of his first election.
The 1926 race for governor between John Holder and Dr. L.G. Hardman created a bitter political split between the neighboring cities of Commerce
and Jefferson
, the two largest in Jackson County. (It is said that the rivalry lives on in the athletic rivalries of the town’s two high schools.) Hardman made efforts to remove John Holder from the chairship of the Highway Department, but Holder, much better connected to the legislature than Governor Hardman, was able to keep his post. Highway work progressed slowly during this time while the two rivals continued their political feud.
Two years later he was elected for a second term, again opposite his rival, John Holder.
As governor, Hardman oversaw the renovation of the Georgia State Capitol
building in Atlanta, the procurement of the Rhodes home as a depository for the state archives, and a plant to produce license tags.
One of his most significant contributions to the state while in the office of governor was the establishment of a study in governmental efficiency, called the Allen Commission on Simplification and Coordination, headed by prominent Atlanta businessman, Ivan Allen Sr. However, the findings of this commission were not implemented until after Hardman had left office; the Great Depression
dampened any support for the sweeping changes he might have garnered with the General Assembly
. The findings paved the way for the sweeping governmental reorganizations of Hardman's gubernatorial successor, Richard Russell, Jr.
.
An interesting anecdote has been told about Governor Hardman: Two men had been convicted of murder and sentenced to death. A third person then confessed that she and the male confederate had actually committed the fatal crime. Lawyers for the two condemned men begged Hardman for a stay of execution until the new evidence could be evaluated. The governor settled the matter by studying photographs of the two men, concluding that they were definitely criminal types, and permitting their executions.
Due to his age, Hardman's terms as governor were plagued by ill-health and fatigue. After completing his two terms, he spent his final years in his home in Commerce (he was none-too-pleased that Harmony Grove had changed its name some three decades before), he died of heart failure at Emory University Hospital
in Atlanta on February 18, 1937.
He is buried in Gray Hill Cemetery in Commerce, Georgia.
was completed in 1918 and named for L. G. Hardman.
The Governor L. G. Hardman House
is now a historic site in Commerce, Georgia
. (Link to historic site marker)
Family
William B. J. Hardman, Lamartine's father, was Harmony Grove's first 'legitimate' doctor, and had come to Jackson CountyJackson County, Georgia
Jackson County is a county located in the U.S. state of Georgia. The population in 2000 was 41,589. Explosive growth is evident with a population of 63,544 in the 2009 Census estimates. The county seat is Jefferson.-History:...
around 1848 as a 26-year-old graduate of Georgia Medical College in Augusta, Georgia
Augusta, Georgia
Augusta is a consolidated city in the U.S. state of Georgia, located along the Savannah River. As of the 2010 census, the Augusta–Richmond County population was 195,844 not counting the unconsolidated cities of Hephzibah and Blythe.Augusta is the principal city of the Augusta-Richmond County...
, and Jefferson Medical College in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. On January 2, 1851, W.B.J. Hardman married Miss E.S. Colquitt, who counted four governors of Georgia and Texas among her relatives. W.B.J. Hardman farmed a large tract of land, kept up a medical practice, and ministered in the newly formed Harmony Grove Baptist
Baptist
Baptists comprise a group of Christian denominations and churches that subscribe to a doctrine that baptism should be performed only for professing believers , and that it must be done by immersion...
Church (now Commerce
Commerce, Georgia
Commerce is a city in Jackson County, Georgia, United States. As of the 2010 census, the city had a population of 6,544.-Geography:Commerce is located at ....
First Baptist Church) as its first preacher and pastor. He was active in city government, instrumental both in crafting the liquor prohibition clause in the city charter and in having the Northeastern Railroad located through Harmony Grove. It is not surprising, then, that Lamartine Griffin Hardman, one of their eleven children, became a doctor and politician.
Physician, farmer, entrepreneur
Lamartine Griffin Hardman was born on April 14, 1856, in Harmony Grove, Georgia. Hardman followed in his father's footsteps by attending medical college, graduating from Georgia Medical College around 1877. He then studied at Bellevue Hospital in New York, the University of PennsylvaniaUniversity of Pennsylvania
The University of Pennsylvania is a private, Ivy League university located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. Penn is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States,Penn is the fourth-oldest using the founding dates claimed by each institution...
, the New York Polyclinic
Polyclinic
Polyclinics in England are intended to offer a far greater range of services than can be offered by current general practitioner practices and local health centres. In addition to traditional GP services they would offer extended urgent care, healthy living services, community mental health...
, and Guy's Hospital
Guy's Hospital
Guy's Hospital is a large NHS hospital in the borough of Southwark in south east London, England. It is administratively a part of Guy's and St Thomas' NHS Foundation Trust. It is a large teaching hospital and is home to the King's College London School of Medicine...
in London, from which he received a second degree. In 1890 he returned to Harmony Grove to join his father's medical practice.
Hardman quickly began buying up farming property in nearby counties. He founded the Harmony Grove Mills in 1893 for the purpose of stimulating economic growth in Harmony Grove and, by extension, rural north Georgia.
- The Harmony Grove Mill only recently closed down (2004). It was in nearly continuous operation under a number of owners for over a century and employing as many as 600 people.
In 1899, L.G. Hardman, in partnership with his physician brother, William B. Hardman, opened the Hardman Sanitorium in Harmony Grove, the most advanced hospital facility in northeast Georgia at that time. It was soon claimed that Hardman had become a nationally renowned physician.
- Hardman Sanitorium was located on what is today the site of the nBank headquarters. It was in operation until 1945 when it was sold, renamed Commerce Hospital, and relocated outside of the city. Today it is known as the Banks-Jackson-Commerce "BJC" Hospital in Commerce.
During his time as physician in Harmony, Hardman experimented in the field of anesthesiology, being influenced by the work of Crawford Long
Crawford Long
Crawford Williamson Long was an American surgeon and pharmacist best known for his first use of inhaled diethyl ether as an anesthetic...
, a pioneer in the field of anesthetics from nearby Jefferson, Georgia
Jefferson, Georgia
Jefferson is a city in Jackson County, Georgia, United States. The population was 3,825 at the 2000 census. The city is the county seat of Jackson County. Jefferson is known for its superior recreation department...
.
By the turn of the century, Lamartine Hardman was widely regarded as one of the wealthiest men in north Georgia. He owned 10,000 acres (40 km²) of peach and apple orchard in over seven Georgia counties and Florida. He was active in agricultural experimentation, developing many new methods that he generously shared with the farming community.
His commitment to agricultural innovation was reflected by his active service as a trustee of the Georgia State College of Agriculture in nearby Athens
Athens, Georgia
Athens-Clarke County is a consolidated city–county in U.S. state of Georgia, in the northeastern part of the state, comprising the former City of Athens proper and Clarke County. The University of Georgia is located in this college town and is responsible for the initial growth of the city...
(now the College of Agriculture of the University of Georgia
University of Georgia
The University of Georgia is a public research university located in Athens, Georgia, United States. Founded in 1785, it is the oldest and largest of the state's institutions of higher learning and is one of multiple schools to claim the title of the oldest public university in the United States...
). He also sat on the board of trustees for Shorter College
Shorter College
Shorter University is a private, coeducational, liberal arts university located in Rome, Georgia, United States. Founded in 1873, it is a Christian university historically affiliated with the Georgia Baptist Convention....
in Rome
Rome, Georgia
Located in the foothills of the Appalachian Mountains, Rome is the largest city and the county seat of Floyd County, Georgia, United States. It is the principal city of the Rome, Georgia Metropolitan Statistical Area which encompasses all of Floyd County...
; Mercer University
Mercer University
Mercer University is an independent, private, coeducational university with a Baptist heritage located in the U.S. state of Georgia. Mercer is the only university of its size in the United States that offers programs in eleven diversified fields of study: liberal arts, business, education, music,...
in Atlanta; and the Southern Baptist Seminary
Southern Baptist Theological Seminary
The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary , located in Louisville, Kentucky, is the oldest of the six seminaries affiliated with the Southern Baptist Convention . The seminary was founded in 1859, at Greenville, South Carolina. After being closed during the Civil War, it moved in 1877 to Louisville...
in Louisville, Kentucky
Louisville, Kentucky
Louisville is the largest city in the U.S. state of Kentucky, and the county seat of Jefferson County. Since 2003, the city's borders have been coterminous with those of the county because of a city-county merger. The city's population at the 2010 census was 741,096...
.
Georgia legislator, 1902–1910
Hardman ran for and was elected to a seat in the Georgia General AssemblyGeorgia General Assembly
The Georgia General Assembly is the state legislature of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is bicameral, being composed of the Georgia House of Representatives and the Georgia Senate....
in 1902 as a Representative of Jackson County. In 1907 he was elected Senator, and in 1909 was re-elected as Representative. Hardman was an active legislator; he introduced legislation which:
- required public schools to offer basic agricultural courses
- petitioned the United States CongressUnited States CongressThe United States Congress is the bicameral legislature of the federal government of the United States, consisting of the Senate and the House of Representatives. The Congress meets in the United States Capitol in Washington, D.C....
to commission a drainage survey for the state - provided free treatment for individuals with hydrophobiaHydrophobiaHydrophobia or hydrophobe may refer to:* Rabies, especially a set of symptoms of the later stages of an infection, in which the victim has difficulty swallowing, shows panic when presented with liquids to drink, and cannot quench his or her thirst....
, utilizing the 'Pasteur method' - established the State Board of Health
- prohibited the production, sale, and consumption of alcohol, considered to be an early victory in the national ProhibitionProhibitionProhibition of alcohol, often referred to simply as prohibition, is the practice of prohibiting the manufacture, transportation, import, export, sale, and consumption of alcohol and alcoholic beverages. The term can also apply to the periods in the histories of the countries during which the...
movement
In 1901, Hardman had been introduced to the 19-year-old daughter of a socially prominent family from Valdosta
Valdosta, Georgia
Valdosta is the county seat of Lowndes County, Georgia, United States. It is the principal city of the Valdosta Metropolitan Statistical Area. As of the 2010 Census, the city had a total population of 54,518. The Valdosta metropolitan area, according to the 2010 estimate, has a population of 139,588...
, Emma Wiley Griffin. They began courting in 1907, and after six months, at the age of 51, Hardman married the woman who would become the mother of their four children: Lamartine Jr., Josephine, Sue, and Emma.
Hardman served as the Federal Fuel Administrator for the state of Georgia in 1914–1917, during the "Great War" (now known as World War I). His was the responsibility of enforcing the nationwide rationing of coal, especially to evaluate and dole out fuel to those industries that were essential to the war effort.
Georgia Governor, 1927–1931
Hardman campaigned unsuccessfully for the office of governor twice, the first time in 1914, losing to Nathaniel E. Harris, and again in 1916, losing to Hugh M. DorseyHugh M. Dorsey
Hugh Manson Dorsey was an American lawyer who was notable as the prosecuting attorney in the Leo Frank trial of 1913. He was also a politician, a member of the Democratic Party who was twice elected as the Governor of Georgia , and jurist, who served for years as a superior court judge .-Early...
. His third try came in 1926, against three other candidates. He campaigned on the promise to bring more business-like administration to state government. The election ended up in a run-off with fellow Jackson County politician and chair of the Georgia Highway Department, John Holder of Jefferson. Hardman won the run-off with 228 county unit votes to Holder’s 132: a rather narrow victory.
He was the oldest elected governor in the state's history, being 71 at the time of his first election.
The 1926 race for governor between John Holder and Dr. L.G. Hardman created a bitter political split between the neighboring cities of Commerce
Commerce, Georgia
Commerce is a city in Jackson County, Georgia, United States. As of the 2010 census, the city had a population of 6,544.-Geography:Commerce is located at ....
and Jefferson
Jefferson, Georgia
Jefferson is a city in Jackson County, Georgia, United States. The population was 3,825 at the 2000 census. The city is the county seat of Jackson County. Jefferson is known for its superior recreation department...
, the two largest in Jackson County. (It is said that the rivalry lives on in the athletic rivalries of the town’s two high schools.) Hardman made efforts to remove John Holder from the chairship of the Highway Department, but Holder, much better connected to the legislature than Governor Hardman, was able to keep his post. Highway work progressed slowly during this time while the two rivals continued their political feud.
Two years later he was elected for a second term, again opposite his rival, John Holder.
As governor, Hardman oversaw the renovation of the Georgia State Capitol
Georgia State Capitol
The Georgia State Capitol, in Atlanta, Georgia, in the United States, is an architecturally and historically significant building. It has been named a National Historic Landmark and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. It is the main office building of Georgia's government...
building in Atlanta, the procurement of the Rhodes home as a depository for the state archives, and a plant to produce license tags.
One of his most significant contributions to the state while in the office of governor was the establishment of a study in governmental efficiency, called the Allen Commission on Simplification and Coordination, headed by prominent Atlanta businessman, Ivan Allen Sr. However, the findings of this commission were not implemented until after Hardman had left office; the Great Depression
Great Depression
The Great Depression was a severe worldwide economic depression in the decade preceding World War II. The timing of the Great Depression varied across nations, but in most countries it started in about 1929 and lasted until the late 1930s or early 1940s...
dampened any support for the sweeping changes he might have garnered with the General Assembly
Georgia General Assembly
The Georgia General Assembly is the state legislature of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is bicameral, being composed of the Georgia House of Representatives and the Georgia Senate....
. The findings paved the way for the sweeping governmental reorganizations of Hardman's gubernatorial successor, Richard Russell, Jr.
Richard Russell, Jr.
Richard Brevard Russell, Jr. was a Democratic Party politician from the southeastern state of Georgia. He served as state governor from 1931 to 1933 and United States senator from 1933 to 1971....
.
An interesting anecdote has been told about Governor Hardman: Two men had been convicted of murder and sentenced to death. A third person then confessed that she and the male confederate had actually committed the fatal crime. Lawyers for the two condemned men begged Hardman for a stay of execution until the new evidence could be evaluated. The governor settled the matter by studying photographs of the two men, concluding that they were definitely criminal types, and permitting their executions.
Due to his age, Hardman's terms as governor were plagued by ill-health and fatigue. After completing his two terms, he spent his final years in his home in Commerce (he was none-too-pleased that Harmony Grove had changed its name some three decades before), he died of heart failure at Emory University Hospital
Emory University
Emory University is a private research university in metropolitan Atlanta, located in the Druid Hills section of unincorporated DeKalb County, Georgia, United States. The university was founded as Emory College in 1836 in Oxford, Georgia by a small group of Methodists and was named in honor of...
in Atlanta on February 18, 1937.
He is buried in Gray Hill Cemetery in Commerce, Georgia.
Legacy
Hardman Hall at the University of GeorgiaUniversity of Georgia
The University of Georgia is a public research university located in Athens, Georgia, United States. Founded in 1785, it is the oldest and largest of the state's institutions of higher learning and is one of multiple schools to claim the title of the oldest public university in the United States...
was completed in 1918 and named for L. G. Hardman.
The Governor L. G. Hardman House
Governor L. G. Hardman House
The Governor L. G. Hardman House in Commerce, Georgia was built in 1921. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1988.v...
is now a historic site in Commerce, Georgia
Commerce, Georgia
Commerce is a city in Jackson County, Georgia, United States. As of the 2010 census, the city had a population of 6,544.-Geography:Commerce is located at ....
. (Link to historic site marker)