Georgia Magazine - August 2023 - 19

Curious GEORGIA
By Carolyn Crist
'The Georgia Wonder'
Lula Hurst delighted audiences with feats of strength
I
n the early 1880s, Georgia native Lula " Lulu " Hurst packed
theaters across the nation, thrilling viewers with her
seemingly miraculous physical powers. She appeared to
move ostensibly unmovable objects at will, pull strong men
across the stage and lift chairs with volunteers sitting in them.
Born near Cedartown in 1869, Hurst had a normal childhood.
But as legend has it, she gained magical strength at age
14 during a severe lightning storm in 1883 that sent electricity
through her family's home.
Soon after, she began performing on the vaudeville circuit
under stage names such as " The Electric Girl " and " The Georgia
Wonder. " Her wildly popular act sparked several imitators,
collectively known as the " Victorian Georgia Wonders. "
While performing in Madison, Hurst met a local boy named
Paul Atkinson, who introduced her to the audience. Atkinson's
introduction impressed Hurst's father, who chaperoned her
on the road, so he hired Atkinson to become her business
manager. After just two years as a " stage magician, " she
stopped performing at age 16. Her earnings totaled more
than $100,000-the equivalent of $3 million today.
Upon retiring from the stage, Hurst returned to Rome to
attend Shorter College and then married Atkinson in 1887.
Atkinson, who bought " The Battle of Atlanta " cyclorama
painting for $2,500 in 1890, exhibited it for several years and
sold it in 1893. The couple lived in a house on South Main
Street in Madison, where they had two children, Paul Drew
and Grady, and rented out rooms.
" I remember how kind she was and what she did for other
people. She often took in young women who needed a home, "
says June Harrell, 95, a Madison resident and descendant of the
Atkinson family.
Around Madison, Hurst Atkinson was known as " Aunt Lula "
or " Miss Lula " -never " Lulu " -Harrell says. Over the years,
Hurst Atkinson helped to raise six
girls, including nieces and other
kin. After completing school in
Madison, the girls often went on
to college, got married and lived fascinating lives
of their own.
" Aunt Lula had a wonderful, loud laugh, and she laughed a
lot, " Harrell says. " She was a very interesting person. "
Hurst Atkinson wrote an autobiography in 1897 in which
she revealed that her performances weren't linked to mystical
powers or supernatural strength. She said they actually were
stage tricks based on lever-and-fulcrum and force-deflection
theories in physics. However, during her teenage years, she
believed the " power, " as she called it, to be genuinely mysterious
in how it worked.
When she died in 1950 at age 81, Hurst Atkinson was buried
beside her husband in what is now called the Madison Historic
Cemeteries. Their children are buried next to them. Their
Madison home, now called the Jessup-Atkinson House, is a
popular stop on the city's self-guided walking tour.
" It has been so interesting to get to know more about [Hurst
Atkinson], " says Martha Harrell, June Harrell's daughter, who
also serves on Madison's Cemetery Stewardship Commission.
She and her mother live across the street from the JessupAtkinson
House.
For the Morgan County Landmarks Society, Martha
Harrell has researched the Atkinson family and learned more
that hadn't been documented previously, such as information
about their pastimes and personalities.
" I had heard about Aunt Lula for a long time, but it wasn't
about her on stage, " she says. " She was a great cook, especially
angel food cake. She always had a house full of people. "
Carolyn Crist is an Athens-based freelance writer.
Top: Lula " Lulu " Hurst
revealed her stage secrets in
an 1897 autobiography.
Far left: The Jessup-Atkinson
House, which belonged to
Lula and Paul Atkinson, is part
of Madison's walking tour.
Left: Paul Atkinson and Lula
Hurst married after Hurst
retired from the stage.
Atkinson had served as
her business manager.
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Georgia Magazine - August 2023

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