Our Vision

Working together with our residents, the City of Locust Grove strives to provide an open, accessible, responsive, and fiscally responsible government to ensure our city remains a premier place to live, work and spend leisure time.  

Residents will recognize the city's continued dedication to all areas affecting quality of life.   We strive to ensure balanced and responsible urban design, planning and development, and responsible protection of the city's historical, cultural, and natural resources.  

Our efforts are targeted to ensure a vibrant economic climate which will attract and support a wide diversity of business opportunities and community services.   The city will continue to be committed to excellence in maintaining our "TREASURES":  

- Small, friendly and safe town;
- Good environment to raise a family;
- Preservation of traditions and natural resources;
- Recreation and cultural opportunities;
- Employment opportunities.  

Most of all, we remain dedicated to serving each and every resident to make Locust Grove the kind of place you will be proud to call home. 

History:

In 1893, the town was incorporated and the papers were officially signed on December 20, 1893. The original city limits extended 1/4 mile in every direction from the train depot in the heart of town. The city government consisted of one mayor and five council members. The first to fill these positions were appointed until elections could take place. The first mayor was M. P. Sowell. Those appointed to the first city council were: G. P. Combs, C. M. Mahone, J. L. Gardner, R. C. Brown and W. H. Peek. The first city clerk was C. W. Williams.

The first ordinance passed by the city council restricted the speed of the trains to 15 miles per hour. There were questions on how to enforce this because the city did not have a police department at that time, but the railroad was notified. The town was reincorporated in 1922 and a new charter was established.

One of Henry County's most important landmark buildings is the Locust Grove Institute (LGI), founded by The Locust Grove Baptist Church and Mercer University. In 1894, the first building of the Institute was erected and the school opened it doors on November 1, 1894 with thirteen students and two instructors. By the end of the school year eighty-five students had been enrolled. LGI grew rapidly and several houses in the community, such as the Combs-McKnight-Morfoot House shown below, were used as boarding housing to help accommodate the growing student population.