Some families leave a mark on a town. Others become part of its foundation. In Senoia, the Crook family is the latter — a name woven quietly but deeply into the character of the community. Their story isn’t just about businesses that have lasted nearly a century; it’s about the values behind them. Hard work. Integrity. Faith. Service. The kind of values that build families — and towns. For Ellis Crook, those values weren’t abstract ideas. They were a way of life. Born just a stone’s throw from where he lives now, Ellis grew up in a home where work wasn’t optional and caring for people wasn’t a task — it was what you did. His father, Arry Lee, believed that the best legacy a man could leave wasn’t money or success but character. Ellis absorbed that fully. And Senoia benefited from it for decades to come. The Store That Built Community When the Crook family opened their grocery in the 1913, it quickly became more than a store. It was the place where people gathered, talked, shared news, and checked on one another. Kids got snacks, families picked up dinner, and neighbors found community. If something happened in town, the Crooks knew about it — not out of curiosity, but because people trusted them. That trust followed Ellis everywhere he went. Whether serving on boards, helping families in need, or simply offering encouragement to someone having a hard day, he carried himself with a quiet steadiness. He didn’t have to say much (though most often he still did); people simply knew he was someone you could count on. His daughter Cheryl remembers it perfectly: “Dad didn’t just talk about values — he lived them. Every single day.” A Legacy Carried Forward Those same values didn’t stop with Ellis. They became the heartbeat of his children. Cheryl embodies the Crook creed of hard work, humility, and caring for people. She grew up watching her father live these principles consistently, whether at the store, in the community, or at home. Today, she carries that same spirit — loving people deeply, serving quietly, and doing the right thing even when no one is watching. Ellis’ son, Greg, reflects that same legacy in the businesses he operates today. After graduating from Auburn University, he returned home with one purpose in mind — to help his father run and grow the Crook family enterprises. What began with handwritten loan notes, attached to a pressboard laying on top of a buggy inside of Crooks Market Place eventually evolved into McIntosh Finance, which Greg now leads with the same principles his father instilled: fairness, dignity, and truly listening to people. In addition to McIntosh Financial Greg oversees all of the Crook businesses’ day-to-day. Greg didn’t simply step into his father’s business — he made it his life’s mission to carry his father’s legacy forward. He puts it simply: “Serving this community is just what we do. It’s who we are.” Values That Still Shape Senoia What makes the Crook family’s influence so special is that it’s still visible today — not just in buildings, businesses, or old photographs, but in the very spirit of Senoia. You see it in the way people greet each other downtown. You hear it in the conversations inside local shops. You feel it in the connectedness that defines this town. Much of that culture — that closeness, that warmth, that sense of community — exists because families like the Crooks built it over generations. Their legacy is not measured in profit or property. It’s measured in people. In the neighbors they helped. In the friendships they formed. In the values they passed down — values that still shape Senoia today. A Family Whose Story Is Senoia’s Story Ask anyone who knows Ellis, Cheryl, or Greg, and you’ll hear the same thing: The Crooks take care of people.
The Crook family’s roots stretch back to this land long before Senoia was even called Senoia. Their lineage traces to the early settlers who arrived after the Georgia Land Lottery expanded the western frontier, establishing homesteads, farms, and the quiet beginnings of what would one day become our town. Through every generation since, the Crooks have played a part — shaping community life, building businesses, and modeling the values that helped give Senoia its character. Their presence is woven into the fabric of this place, so much so that imagining Senoia without the Crooks feels impossible — and truthfully, we’re not sure we’d want to know what that version of Senoia would look like. And in a town built on connection, kindness, and community — that makes the Crook family not just part of Senoia’s history, but part of its heart. To read more of the Crook story, you may contact the Senoia Area Historical Society (SAHS) for a copy Ellis’ book Senoia Boy, all proceeds go to support the SAHS.