1886: That time Lawrenceville accidentally became 'a prohibition town'
Nowadays, you can get a cold beer just about anywhere you want in Lawrenceville.
There's Local Republic and McCray's, La Cazuela and Universal Joint and roughly one bazillion other places. The city recently held its first Oktoberfest, and plans are in the works for it to welcome Gwinnett's very first brewery.
They're having the Budweiser Clydesdales swing by for their Christmas parade, for goodness sake.
But, as the venerable Atlanta Constitution reported way back in 1886, Lawrenceville wasn't always so...booze tolerant.
Even if it was inadvertent.
Under the headline "How Lawrenceville Became a Prohibition Town — The License $1,500," the paper detailed a city council kerfuffle that wound up making Lawrenceville dry...practically at least.
Oddly enough, it involved a councilmember who had "for years been a retail dealer in spirituous liquors."
"It is said that the chances of Lawrenceville remaining dry are good," the final, mournful passage read, "and for the first time in her history the citizens of the place can't buy a drink when they want one."
Cheers to false prophecies.
About the Author
Tyler Estep hosts the AJC Win Column, Atlanta's new weekly destination for all things sports. He also shepherds the Sports Daily and Braves Report newsletters to your inbox.
