‘Brought history alive.’ Columbus historian John Lupold dies. Memorial service set
Columbus historian, professor, author and preservationist John Lupold has died.
Lupold died Feb. 26 in Charlotte, North Carolina, according to his obituary on the McMullen Funeral Home and Crematory website. He was 83.
No cause of death was reported in the obituary, but fellow Columbus historian Ken Thomas Jr. told the Ledger-Enquirer that Lupold had moved to Charlotte a few years ago to live near one of his children due to health issues and “died of a heart attack.”
A memorial service to honor Lupold is scheduled for 11 a.m. April 10 in St. Thomas Episcopal Church, 2100 Hilton Ave., in Columbus.
John Lupold’s career in Columbus
According to this obituary, Columbus College hired Lupold as an associate professor of history in 1970. He continued to teach for 33 years at the institution that became Columbus State University, where he chaired the history department.
In 1975, Lupold and Richard Hanks founded the Columbus State University Archives.
Lupold’s history book “Columbus, Georgia” was published in 1978 to celebrate the city’s 150th anniversary. He then researched the 18-county region of the Lower Chattahoochee River Valley to produce “Chattahoochee Valley Sources and Resources: An Annotated Bibliography” with the volume about Alabama counties published in 1988 and the volume about Georgia counties published in 1994.
Along with Tom French, Lupold wrote “Bridging Deep South Rivers, the Life and Legend of Horace King” (2004), and along with his second wife, Lynn Willoughby, he wrote “Upson County: A Pictorial History” (2009).
During his teaching career, Lupold coordinated six annual editions of the Festival of Southeastern Indian Cultures.
After retiring, Lupold was host and site director for CSU’s program at the Spencer House in Oxford, England.
He served as a board member and patron of the Pasaquan Preservation Society in Marion County. He researched and wrote the treatise that resulted in Pasaquan being listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
Lupold served on the Georgia National Register Review Board and facilitated National Register historic district nominations for Columbus neighborhoods Weracoba/St. Elmo, Wynnton Village, Peacock Woods/Dimon Circle, Wildwood Circle/Hillcrest and Bibb City.
Along with his brother, Mac, he ensured their family farm, Broad Oaks, was placed on the National Register.
Lupold wrote the text for historical markers on the Chattahoochee Riverwalk and Promenade. He also helped preserve industrial buildings in the city by securing National Historic Landmark designations for them, such as the Columbus Iron Works, Eagle & Phenix Mills, Muscogee Mills, City Mills and Bibb Mills and their water power facilities.
Among the honors Lupold received are the Georgia Governor’s Award in the Humanities (1986), the Historic Columbus Foundation Sarah Turner Butler Heritage Award (1997) and a lifetime achievement award from the Georgia Archives (2021).
Lupold frequently collaborated with HCF on projects, including a 2012 exhibit and historic marker trail about Dr. John Pemberton, the originator of the Coca-Cola formula, and authored “Heritage Park: A Celebration of the Industrial History of Columbus, Georgia” for HCF in 1999.
Tributes to John Lupold
Thomas described the impact Lupold made on the Chattahoochee Valley.
“In his over 50 years in Columbus he added so much to so many areas of history it’s hard to pinpoint what is the most important,” Thomas said in an email to the L-E. “But to come to town as a total outsider, his work, research, publications and inspiration to his many students and others to preserve the history of the area was very broad.”
Thomas also praised Lupold’s personality.
“John’s good nature and personal touch warmed anyone to him, and he always spoke with authority,” Thomas said. “If he had not come along, who knows what would have been lost or not uncovered about our history.”
In her newsletter, HCF executive director Elizabeth Walden called Lupold “a great friend” of Columbus and a teacher who “brought history alive, both for his students and for the community.”
“He held a deep passion for sharing his knowledge of local history and historic preservation,” she said.
Walden noted Lupold’s book about the history of Columbus “has been the guiding light for developing the soon-to-be unveiled Clifford and Bobsie Swift History Trail that will be placed along the Chattahoochee Promenade.”
She assessed Lupold’s two volumes about the Chattahoochee Valley as “treasured by genealogists, local historians and anyone who has an interest in the history of the region.”
Lupold was “crucial to all five executive directors of Historic Columbus in sharing his knowledge, research and writing skills,” Walden said. “He documented the organization’s history and impact over the course of three publications in 1978, 1986 and 2006.”
In 2012, when HCF “made the tough decision” to sell Pemberton’s home, “we were thrilled” Lupold bought it, Walden said.
“It seemed more than appropriate that one of Columbus’ most beloved historians would become the steward of the home of the originator of Coca-Cola,” she said.
Walden concluded, “John Lupold will be deeply missed by his students, his colleagues and by everyone who loves the stories of this place we call home. His scholarship, humor and generosity will continue to shape how Columbus remembers, preserves and celebrates its history.”
