USA > Georgia > Georgia's landmarks, memorials and legends, Volume II > Part 60
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HANCOCK
sent. The inscription on Governor Candler's monument read as follows :
"Placed to the memory of ALLEN DANIEL CANDLER by his appointees to office and places of honor while Governor of Georgia.
"Nov. 4, 1834 -- Oct. 26, 1910."
A Graduate of Mercer University in the Class of 1859. A Soldier and Colonel in the Army of the Con- federate States, 1861-1865. A Member of the House of Representatives of Georgia, 1873-1878. Senator, 1878- 1880. Member of the Congress of the United States, 1883-1891. Secretary of State, 1894-1898. Governor of Georgia, 1898-1902. 'Compiler of State Records, 1902- 1910.
He was an upright man, a patriotic citizen, a true soldier, and a faithful public servant, who, in peace and in war, exemplified the virtues of incorruptible integrity, fearless courage, and unselfish devotion to the welfare of his country.
HANCOCK
Sparta. Sparta, the county-seat of Hancock County, was named for the ancient capital of the Pelopones- sus. Nor was the name an inappropriate one for this little frontier town on the exposed border, where the ever-present dread of an Indian outbreak called for Spartan virtues of the most pronounced type. As soon as Hancock County was organized out of lands formerly included in Washington and Greene counties, Sparta was made the new seat of government. The town was chartered on December 3, 1805, by an Act providing for its better regulation, at which time the following com- missioners were appointed: Thomas Lancaster, Archi- bald Martin, James H. Jones, Samuel Hall, and Willie Abercrombie.1 The Sparta Academy was chartered on December 17, 1818, with trustees as follows: Wm. G.
1 Clayton's Compendium, p. 232.
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GEORGIA'S LANDMARKS, MEMORIALS AND LEGENDS
Springer, John Lucas, Nicholas Childers, Charles E. Haynes, and Thomas Haynes.1 Two of the most noted academies in the State were located in Hancock, not far from the town of Sparta, viz., Powelton and Mount Zion. The Powelton Academy was chartered on November 13, 1815; the Mount Zion Academy on December 20, 1823. It was at Powelton that the Baptist State Convention of Georgia was organized, and here at one time lived Gov. Wm. Rabun and Rev. Jesse Mercer. The Baptist Church of Powell's Creek was chartered November 20, 1801, with Matthew Rabun, Henry Graybill, John Veazy, Wm. Lord and Jesse Battle as trustees.2 Mount Zion was a school which the Bemans-Nathan and Carlisle-made famous throughout the land; and here Wm. J. Northen, afterwards Governor, taught school. At Rockeby, near Sparta, the famous Richard Malcolm Johnson, author of the "Dukesboro Tales," opened a school for boys, which he afterwards transferred to Baltimore, Md. Shoulder Bone Creek, in the western part of Hancock, was the scene on November 3, 1786, of an Indian treaty which promised to end the Oconee war; but under the powerful leadership of the none too scrupulous McGilli- vray, it was repudiated by the Creeks. Some of the most distinguished men of Georgia have been residents of Sparta, but since these have been given in Volume I, they will not be repeated here. We will only add, in this connection, two names: Hon. George F. Pierce, Jr., a. brilliant legislator; and Hon. Wm. H. Burwell, Speaker of the Georgia House of Representatives, for the session just closed.
Sunshine: The Home Four miles from Sparta stands the of Bishop Pierce. cosy and picturesque little cottage in which Bishop Pierce spent the greater part of his life and to which he gave a name
1 Lamar's Digest, p. 22.
2 Clayton's Compendium, p. 12.
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HANCOCK
eloquent of the happiness which he there found: Sun- shine. The Bishop bought this property from Hardy Culver, an old friend. It was an old plantation, on which originally stood a building with three rooms, somewhat inconveniently situated. The spot which he chose for the site of his dwelling was in an old field, near the road. Whether from the fact that no ray of light was inter- cepted by a shrub or tree, or from the fact that he loved bright and cheery names, he called the place Sunshine, a name by which it was ever afterwards known; and here he made his abode for over forty years.
Across the way was Rockaby, the home of Richard Malcolm Johnston, the distinguished author of the "Dukesboro Tales;" also an editor and educator of eminent attainments. In a letter to Bishop Atticus G. Haygood, dated February 12, 1885, Col. Johnston, who was then living in Baltimore wrote :
"I was a neighbor to Bishop Pierce for twelve years, my home in Hancock, Rockaby, adjoining Sunshine, which all know to have been the name of his. I had grown already to feel great admiration for one so pre- eminently gifted, and, for many years, had heard his pulpit eloquence with continual delight. But I did not know until I had become his neighbor that, great as he was in public, he was equally so in private; and a cordial friendship grew between us, notwithstanding our divergence in religious faith. For of all the great men I have ever known he seemed to me the most tolerant toward opinions differing from his own, npon whatever plane of inquiry. I have been in his house and he in mine. We have met at the little creek, the dividing line between our plantations, and fished for minnows together; together we have ridden, in his or my buggy, to and from Sparta. He was ever a sweet consoler to me when suffering from do- mestie affliction. The sense of humor in him was exquisite and abundant. The twinkling of his beautiful eyes was as catching as fire ; He was one eminently sensitive to the sweets of individual friend- ships. Among those outside of Hancock, my impression is that he was most fond of General Toombs. They had been friends from boyhood. The very last time I saw him, except one, he spoke to me with regret, amounting almost to indignation, of the rashness with which the General was misjudged by persons who did not understand his character, his opinions, his language, and his habits. . He was the most beautiful of mankind without, and men of all parties believed that his external beauty was the best expression which physical form and feature could give of the more exquisite beauty within .. Of the orator-
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GEORGIA'S LANDMARKS, MEMORIALS AND LEGENDS
ical excellence of George F. Pierce, of course, the thousands who heard him known. Yet I do believe that his greatest endeavors were ex- pended in the little Sparta Methodist Church. Scores of times I have heard him there, during a period of more than twenty years; there and at the Methodist camp-meeting, a few miles south of the village, in the which time I have listened to outbursts of words which I do not believe were surpassed on the Bema of Athens or in the Forum of Rome."*
Dixon H. Lewis. This extraordinary man was born in Hancock County, Ga., August 10, 1802. He afterwards removed with his parents to Alabama, · became prominent in public life, represented the State in Congress, and, in 1844, was appointed by Gov. Fitzpat- rick to fill a seat in the United States Senate, made va- cant by the appointment of Hon. Wmn. R. King to the Court of France. On the return of Mr. King, in 1846, he desired his old seat back, and entered the field as a can- didate. It was a battle of giants. Both men were de- servedly popular; but after an exciting contest, one of the most stubborn in the history of Alabama politics, Mr. King, for the first time in his long career, suffered defeat. However, Mr. Lewis did not long enjoy the fruits of his victory. Ill-health overtook him; and while on a visit to New York, soon after the election, he died on October 25, 1846. On receiving the news of his death, the mayor of New York called the municipal boards to- gether and it was resolved to give his remains a public burial. The body lay in state for several hours in the City Hall, whence it was borne to Greenwood Cemetery for final interment. Mr. Lewis was a man of gigantic stature.
Gov. Rabun's Family. Gov. William Rabun, who lived in this county near Powelton, left a family of seven children, including one son, Gen. J. W. Rabun, of Savannah, and six daughters, the eldest of
*George G. Smith, in Life and Times of George F. Pierce, D. D., LL. D.
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HARALSON
whom married Rev. J. W. Battle, one of the eight dis- tinguished Battles of Hancock. The other daughters were : Mrs. William Shivers, Mrs. Dr. Bass, Mrs. Lowe, Mrs. Cato, and Mrs. Wooten. Some few years ago the grave of Gov. Rabun was located on a plantation, four miles west of Mayfield. It will probably be marked with an appropriate monument in the near future by his sur- viving relatives.
HARALSON
General Remarks. On February 5, 1856, an Act was approved creating out of lands formerly embraced in Polk and Carroll Counties a new county, to be called Haralson, in honor of a distinguished soldier and statesman, General Hugh A. Haralson, then lately deceased. The same Act creating the new county provided for its annexation to the Blue Ridge Judicial Circuit, to the Fifth Congressional District, and to the First Brigade of the Eleventh Division of the Georgia militia .* Haralson 's representatives in the General Assembly of Georgia, since the organization of the county, have been as follows: K. Merchison, 1857-8; W. W. Sock- well, 1859-60; R. F. Speight, 1861-2; Walter Brock, 1863-4, 1865-6; W. N. Williams, 1868-9-70; William J. Head, 1871-2; R. R. Hutchinson, 1873-4; R. A. Reid, 1875; J. K. Hamber, 1876; A. R. Walton, 1877; Charles Taliaferro, 1878-9; J. M. McBride, 1880-1, 1882-3, 1892-3; S. M. Davenport, 1884-5; R. B. Hutcheson, 1886-7; T. W. M. Tatum, 1888-9; 1890-1; J. J. Pope, 1894-5; Price Edwards, 1896-7; E. S. Griffith, 1898-9; E. B. Hutchinson, 1900-1, 1902-3-4, 1905-6; W. T. Eaves, 1907-8; W. J. Waddell, 1909-10; W. W. Summerlin, 1911-12; and C. L. Suggs, 1913-14. This county has also furnished the following State Senators: Walter Brock, 1868-1872; William J. Head, 1878-9; J. M. McBride, 1884-5; W. F. Golden, 1890-1, 1896-7, 1902-3-4, and E. S. Griffith, 1909-10.
Buchanan. Buchanan, the county-seat of Haralson, was named for President James Buchanan, of Pennsylvania, the last Democratic President of the Uni- ted States before the Civil War. When the new county was organized, in 1856, the Justices of the Inferior Court were authorized to locate a site for public buildings and,
*Acts, 1855-1856, p. 110.
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GEORGIA'S LANDMARKS, MEMORIALS AND LEGENDS
under the instructions prescribed in this Act, the town of Buchanan was founded. Its charter of incorporation was granted on December 22, 1857, at which time the following commissioners were designated to hold office, pending an election, to wit: T. C. Moore, W. N. Williams, Thomas Farmer, John Duke, and Mr. Coston.1 In 1881, the old charter was superseded by a new one, in which T. H. Riddlepurger, T. J. Lovelace and D. B. Head, as Councilmen.2 This charter was repealed in 1889 for a still later one, with modifications adapted to growing con- ditions.
Tallapoosa. Tallapoosa, the chief town and most impor- tant commercial center of Haralson, dates its existence as a village, almost to the county's organi- zation; but its charter of incorporation was not granted until December 20, 1860, when the following commission- ers were named, to wit: V. A. Brewster, A. M. Robinson, T. S. Garner, M. G. Harper, and Wm. L. Fell.3 In 1880 a new charter was granted, in which Charles Taliaferro was named as Mayor, with J. T. Barnwell, W. T. Sum- merlin, H. M. Martin, and H. A. Kiker, as Councilmen. New charters were subsequently granted in 1888 and 1896. The present public school system was established in 1888. The Tallapoosa Street Railway Company was chartered in 1891, with Messrs. C. B. Hitchcock, R. I. Spencer, D. C. Scoville, and James W. Hyatt as incor- porators.5 Tallapoosa suffered from the collapse of a famous real estate boom in 1893, but for several years past the town has enjoyed a healthy growth.
1 Acts, 1857, p. 178.
2 Acts, 1880-1881, p. 484.
3 Acts, 1860, p. 103.
4 Acts, 1880, p. 411.
5 Acts, 1890-1891, p. 344.
795
HART
HARRIS
Hamilton. Hamilton was made the county-seat of Harris County by an Act approved December 20, 1828, at which time it was formally incorporated as a town with the following commissioners: Clark Blanford, Ja- cob M. Guerry, P. T. Beddell, George H. Bryan, and Nor- ris Lyon.1 Hamilton Academy was chartered December 22, 1828, with the following trustees : Allen Lawhorn, Wm. C. Osborn, John J. Slatter, George W. Rogers, Daniel Hightower, Thomas Mahone, John J. Harper, H. J. Har- well, and Samuel A. Billings.2 The town was named for George W. Hamilton, a high tariff Democrat of South Carolina. The county, organized from lands for- merly included in Troup and Muscogee, was named for Hon. Charles Harris, an eminent lawyer of Savannah. Some of the distinguished former residents of Hamil- ton are mentioned in the former volume of this work.
HART
Hartwell. In 1853, Hart County was organized out of lands formerly included in three adjacent counties : Elbert, Franklin, and Madison. Hartwell. the county-seat, was incorporated by an Act approved Feb ruary 26, 1856, with the following commissioners : James T. Jones, John G. Justice, F. B. Hodges, J. N. Reeder, John B. Benson.3 Subsequently a new charter was granted in 1885. Hartwell is today a thriving town with strong banks, prosperous mercantile establishments, and a body of citizens unsurpassed.
1 Acts, 1828, p. 149.
2 Acts, 1828, p. 15.
3 Acts, 1855-1856, p. 382.
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GEORGIA'S LANDMARKS, MEMORIALS AND LEGENDS.
Nancy Hart.
Volume I, Pages 671-673.
The Hart Family.
Volume I, Pages 673-674.
Who Struck Billy Patterson?
Volume I, Pages 674-675.
HEARD
Franklin. Franklin was made the county-seat of Heard when the county was first organized, in 1830. It was incorporated as a town on December 26, 1831, with the following named commissioners : Chas. R. Pear- son, Wm. Adkins, Robert M. Richards, Thomas Erwin, and John C. Webb.1 The Franklin Academy was char- tered at the same time, with Messrs. Nathaniel Lipscomb, Wm. B. W. Dent, George W. Tarrentine, Thos. C. Pink- ard, and Thos. Anberg, as trustees.
HENRY
McDonough. In 1822, Henry County was organized out of Creek Indian lands. The county-seat of the new county was called McDonough, after the gal- lant hero of Lake Champlain, in the War of 1812, Capt. James McDonough ; and was incorporated by an Act ap- proved December 17, 1823, with Messrs. Tandy W. Key, Wm. L. Crayton, James Kimbrough, Andrew M. Brown, and Wm. Hardin, as commissioners.2 Ten years later an academy was chartered. On December 12, 1854, the McDonough Collegiate Institute was founded, with the
1 Acts, 1831, p. 83.
" Acts, 1823, p. 189.
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HOUSTON
following board of trustees : Humphrey Tomlinson, Leon- · ard, and Thomas Anberg, as trustees.
Hampton. Originally there was a settlement at this place known as .
Bear Creek; but on August 23, 1872, an Act was approved granting the residents of this community a town charter and changing the name of the place to Hampton, presumably in honor of the great Con- federate cavalry officer, General Wade Hampton, of South Carolina. The corporate limits were fixed at one mile in every direction from the depot of the Macon and Western Railroad. Messrs. W. H. Peebles, S. H. Griffin, R. A. Henderson, Levi Turnipseed and J. M. Williams were designated to act as commissioners pending an election of town officials.1
HOUSTON
Perry. Perry, the county-seat of Houston, was named for the hero of Lake Erie, in the War of 1812: Captain Oliver H. Perry, and was made the seat of gov- ernment when Houston County was organized in 1822, out of a part of the Creek lands ceded under the first treaty at Indian Springs. It was incorporated as a town on December 20, 1828, with Messrs. Giles B. Taylor, James M. Kelly, F. W. Jobson, James E. Duncan, and Allen Chastain, as commissioners.2 The Houston County Academy was incorporated in 1833. But Perry was not satisfied with one school and proceeded to organize a Baptist College for young ladies, which afterwards grew into the Houston Female College, under which name it was re-incorporated on February 18, 1854, with the fol- lowing board of trustees: Samuel Felder, president; John Killen, vice-president; Hugh L. Denard, vice-presi- dent; Wmn. T. Swift, treasurer; Samuel D. Killen, secre- tary; Benj. F. Tharp, George F. Cooper, Nicholas Marsh- burn, Laban Segrist, James E. Barrett, Wm. Summer- ford, George W. Singleton, and John T. Cooper.3 Perry
1 Acts, 1872, p. 209.
2 Acts, 1828, p. 159.
3 Acts, 1853-1854, p. 125.
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GEORGIA'S LANDMARKS, MEMORIALS AND LEGENDS
was the home of Hon. James M. Kelly, the first Supreme Court Reporter of Georgia. His grave is in the front yard of the old home place where Hon. Thos. S. Felder, afterwards Attorney General of Georgia, spent his boyhood days. The list of former distinguished resi- dents of the town includes also: Judge Wm. L. Grice, Judge A. L. Miller, Judge Warren D. Nottingham, Col. Buford M. Davis, and others. Houston County was named for an honored chief-executive and patriot of the Revolution : Governor John Houstoun.
Fort Valley. Fort Valley, one of the famed centers of the peach-growing industry in Georgia, oc- cupies a site of historic memories, associated with In- dian warfare in pioneer days. The town was chartered by an Act approved March 3, 1856, with Messrs. C. D. Anderson, Wm. H. Hollingshead, Wm. J. Greene, A. D. Kendrick, and D. N. Austin, as commissioners.1 But the old Fort Valley Academy was chartered twenty years earlier, on December 24, 1836, at which time the follow- ing trustees were named : James Everett, John P. Allen, Hardy Hunter, Henry Kaigler, and John Humphries. In 1852, the Fort Valley Female Seminary was granted a charter, with the following board of trustees: George W. Persons, John J. Hampton, Wm. A. Matthews, Adol- phus D. Kendrick, Miles L. Green, Wm. J. Anderson, D. N. Austin, Judson Kendrick, Wm. H. Hollingshead, Mat- thew Dawsey, Benj. Barnes, Robt. M. Patterson, and James M. Miller.2 At the beginning of the war, plans for a college were on foot; but the outbreak of hostilities prevented a consummation of this project. Since Fort Valley began to ship her wonderful peaches to Northern and Eastern markets, she has found fame and fortune; and with fine railway facilities the future of the town is bright with promise. Fort Valley's public school sys-
1 Acts, 1855-1856, p. 377.
2 Acts, 1852-1853, p. 326.
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IRWIN
tem was established in 1886, is one of the best in the State, and is under the supervision of a most accom- plished educator, Prof. Ralph Newton.
Some additional facts in regard to Fort Valley have been supplied by a well-informed resident of the town, as follows :
Very little is now known of the early history of Fort Valley. Matthew Dorsey and James A. Everett donated land to be used only for church and school purposes, and on this site has been recently erected the hand- some high school building, at a cost of $40,000.00. In 1849 there were three stores, one academy, one church and 250 inhabitants. There was a gradual increase in the size and business of the place until 1851, when the South- western Railroad was completed to this point. This was followed by a very rapid growth; homes, stores, churches and hotels were built. Fort Valley suffered, in common with other towns, from the Civil War. The best business men were called to the field of battle, and commercial and industrial pursuits were checked, but after the war is prosperity exceeded the most sanguine expectations of its citizens. On the night of October 31, 1867, nearly all of the principal business houses were consumed by a most disastrous fire, but these were soon replaced by handsome brick buildings.
On Church Street we find the old home of the Hon. Joe Hill Hall but little changed. Fort Valley stands today in the midst of the best farming section of Middle Georgia, and is the peach center of the world, famous as the home of the Elberta and Hiley Belle peach. The land around is level and especially adapted to peach culture. The enormous increase in yields each year makes it impossible to estimate what the land is really worth. Fort Valley is located at the divergence of five railroads. The place is elevated 170 feet above College Hill, in Macon, Ga., and is the highest point across the country from the Atlantic to the Gulf. The system of water-works is furnished by artesian wells, and school advantages are unsurpassed, and it is an ideal town in an ideal location, with an ideal citizenship .*
IRWIN
Gov. Irwin's Governor Jared Irwin, for whom this county was
Family Record. named, will always be revered for his uncompromising opposition to the Yazoo Fraud. It was while he occu- pied the executive chair at Louisville that the records of this colossal iniquity
*Authority: Mrs. S. T. Neil, Fort Valley, Ga.
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GEORGIA'S LANDMARKS, MEMORIALS AND LEGENDS
were by his order committed to the flames. Governor Irwin came of a long line of distinguished Scotch ancestors. His father, Hugh Lawson Irwin, of Mecklinburg, N. C., married Martha Alexander, and five children were the fruit of this union, to wit: Jared, John Lawson, William, Alexander and Margaret. With his three brothers, all of whom were soldiers in the war for independence, Jared Irwin built a fort near Union Hill, his home, to protect this section of Georgia from the Indians. It was called Fort Irwin. The Governor's grandfather, Thomas Irwin, married Margaret Lawson, daughter of Hugh Lawson, Gent., of North Carolina. This aristocratie old pioneer always affixed to his name the mark of his gentle birth. He married Mary Moore, daughter of Charles Moore, Sr., of South Carolina, and sister of Gen. Thomas Moore, of Revolutionary fame. Thomas, the Gov- ernor 's grandfather, came originally from Scotland, settling first in Penn- sylvania. Governor Jared Irwin married his cousin, Isabella Erwin, whose father changed the spelling of his name on account of family differences in matters of religion. Governor Irwin's daughter, Elizabeth, married Simon Whitaker, from which union sprang a son, Hon. Jared I. Whitaker, one of Atlanta's early mayors and quite a noted editor. His younger daughter, Jane, remained unmarried. It was she who succeeded in obtaining from Congress a large sum of , money to cover certain expenditures made by her father in equipping troops during the Revolution. She established the fact, in her papers to Congress, that Jared Irwin , entered the war as Captain, was promoted first to Major and afterwards to Colonel, and was present with his command in, the sieges of Augusta and Savannah, and at the battles of Camden, Briar Creek and Black Swamp, in each of which he distin- guished himself for gallant behavior. John Irwin, his son, was a captain in the War of 1812, but died a bachelor. Another son, Thomas, and a nephew, Jared, Jr., were members of the first class to graduate from Frank- lin College, in 1804, on which occasion both were speakers. Governor Irwin was always prominent in both military and civil affairs, and he was three times elected Governor of the State. His brother, John Lawson Irwin, was a general in the War of 1812, and was buried with military honors, at his home in Washington County, in 1822. The first monument ever erected by the State of Georgia was erected to , the memory of Governor Jared Irwin, in the town of Sandersville .*
Irwinville. Irwinville, the county-seat of Irwin County, like the county itself, was named for Gov- ernor Jared Irwin, whose signature was affixed to the famous Act of 1796, rescinding the Yazoo Fraud. It was made the county-seat in 1831, prior to which time the
*Authority: Mrs. James S. Wood, of Savannah.
4
BURNING THE YAZOO ACT
GOV. JARED IRWIN SIGNED THE RESCINDING YAZOO ACT FEB 13TH 1796 AND THE YAZOO FRAUD PAPERS WERE BURNED BEFORE THE CAPITOL FEB 15TH 1796 GOV IRWIN STANDS JUST BEHIND TILE MESSENGER WHO HOLDS THE PAPERS
Reproduced from an original drawing presented to the Savannah Historical Society by Mr. Lawton B. Evans
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JACKSON
seat of government was for a brief period at Ironville. Irwin was organized in 1818, out of treaty lands acquired from the Creeks. On the outskirts of the town of Irwin- ville, President Davis was arrested at the close of the Civil War, while en route to his home in Mississippi .*
Ocilla. Ocilla, one of the most progressive towns in the Southern belt, is also one of the youngest. It was granted a charter of incorporation on November 24, 1897, with the following named officials to manage its local affairs : John C. Luke, as mayor, M. J. Paulk, as recorder, and D. H. Paulk, W. M. Harris, and G. L. Stone, as aldermen.1 In the following year the corporate limits were extended. At the same time Ocilla was cre- ated, an independent school district with the following trustees, to wit: J. L. Paulk, L. R. Tucker, A. L. Hayes, J. B. Davis, and J. R. Goethe.2 The town officials from 1898 to 1901 were: J. A. J. Henderson, mayor; M. J. Paulk, town attorney; C. H. Martin, recorder; and J. C. Luke, D. H. Paulk, G. L. Stone, L. R. Tucker, and C. H. Martin, aldermen. Few towns in Georgia have enjoyed such a phenomenal growth during the past decade as Ocilla. It is located in the center of a rich agricultural belt; is possessed of a wideawake body of citizens whose ambition is to make Ocilla a metropolis; is enabled by its strong banks to finance a constantly increasing volume of business ; and is a town fully abreast of the times in its up-to-date public utilities.
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