USA > Georgia > Georgia's landmarks, memorials and legends, Volume II > Part 67
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*Lamar's Digest, p. 1040.
867
MARION
MARION1
Tazewell: A Eight miles northeast of Buena Former County-Seat. Vista, is the charming little town of Tazewell, once the county-seat of Marion. It is situated on both sides of a small stream called Buck Creek. For several years after the county was organized, in 1827, the public buildings were at Horry; but, on December 27, 1838, an Act was approved making Tazewell the seat of government, with the fol- lowing town commissioners: Arthur W. Battle, David . N. Burkhalter, Randell W. Mesten, Zachariah Wallace and Seaborn L. Collins.2 Just one year preceding, on Christmas day, 1837, the old Tazewell Academy was chartered, with the following board of trustees : Burton W. Dowd, James Powers, Joseph J. Battle, Robert S. Burch and C. B. Strange.3 The handsome school-house at Tazewell occupies the original plot of ground donated for this purpose by the State. Visitors are always in- terested in the old parade ground, where the militia drills took place before the war, and where many an incident occurred, such as Judge Longstreet describes in "Geor- gia Scenes." The first clerk of the court at Tazewell was Burton W. Dowd. Tony Carroll, an early bailiff, was one of the famous Carroll triplets, all of whom lived to be very old men. John Burkhalter, Benjamin Halley, Jordan Wilcher and Solomon Wall were also prominent among the early pioneers.
Captain John E. Sheppard, a former resident of Tazewell, but now of Buena Vista, achieved a record for gallantry during the Civil War which few, if any, sur- passed. Like his Highland ancestors, he was a grim fighter, though withal a most genial gentleman. On ac-
1 Much of the information contalned in this chapter has heen furnished by the following residents of Marion: Mr. Benjamin Powell, Mrs. Sallle Mitcheli Green, Mrs. W. B. Short, and Mrs. Annie M. Munro.
2 Acts, 1838, p. 127.
3 Acts, 1837, p. 12.
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GEORGIA'S LANDMARKS, MEMORIALS AND LEGENDS
count of a bullet wound in the head, his life hung in the balance for months, but as soon as he could shoulder his musket he was back again at the front. Not long there- after, in a fierce battle, his ranking officers were all either killed or wounded, making it necessary for him to assume command of his regiment. On this occasion, it is amus- ingly told of him that he was not exactly on a war footing, since in lieu of shoes his feet were wrapped in pieces of an old croker sack. Hon. J. E. Sheppard, of Americus, a distinguished lawyer and legislator, is Captain Shep- pard's son. One of the oldest residents of Tazewell is William Stewart. His gifted son-in-law, Hon. E. H. McMichael, has frequently represented Marion in the . General Assembly of Georgia and was Speaker pro tem. of the last House. There are many attractive homes in Tazewell-a conservative and cultured old town, famed for the hospitality of its citizens.
Horry: A The original county-seat of Marion was Horry, a town Dead Town. located some three miles to the northeast of Tazewell, in what is now the County of Schley. The exact size of the town is today unidentified by any existing landmarks. But it was the seat of government from the time when the county was organized, in 1827, until Tazewell was made the county-seat, in 1838.
Pea Ridge. Before 1830, the site occupied by the present town of Buena Vista was a primaeval forest. When a settlement at last bloomed amid the solitudes it was called Pea Ridge. The nucleus for this settlement is said to have been a cake stand, at which an occasional traveler now and then stopped to appease his hunger; and near this stand, Mr. H. K. Lamb, the pioneer merchant of Pea Ridge, afterwards built a store. This was followed by three grog-shops, each of which flourished like a green bay-tree, after the manner of the wicked, until a great revival broke out at a camp-meeting conducted by Blakely Smith. As a result the taverns were closed.
Proofs of a former occupancy of this region by the Indians still abound in numerous flints, arrow heads and fragments of pottery; and likewise in the names' bestowed upon running waters. Many citizens of the county recall a number of Indians who remained in Marion until death
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MARION
removed them; and, among these was a famous conjurer and medicine man called "Old Chofe," who held despotie sway over the negroes, due to his supposed extraordinary powers.
Over on Kinchafoonce Creek, the Butts family was established when the county was first organized. Later on, other staunch pioneer settlers began to drift into this region, bringing with them the following fine old Marion County names : Powell, Wallace, Mitchell, Green, Wells, Blanton, James, Burkhalter, McMichael, Miller, Munro, Stevens, Webb, McCall, McCorkle, Drane, Matthews, Brown, Melton, Lowe, Herndon, Mathis, Gill, Rogers, Sheppard, Dunham, Crawford, Harvey and Merrell. Prof. James Monegan, an Irishman, was the first teacher at Pea Ridge. He is still vividly recalled by a former pupil, Mr. Benjamin Powell, who resides within a stone's throw of where he lived when a boy. Prof. Tom Peter Ashmore, of Greer's Almanac fame, was also an early educator. Hardy Mitchell came from North Carolina in 1840; and, during the first year, lived in what is now the court-yard of Buena Vista.
David N.
But the most dominant figure among the early settlers of Pea Ridge was David N. Burkhalter, who removed to Pea Ridge from Tazewell in 1845. Mr. Burkhalter was a Methodist preacher, a large property owner, and a man of wide influence in public Burkhalter. affairs. He was one of the first citizens of the county to represent Marion in the State Legislature. It was long before any railroad penetrated this section, and he usually made the trip to Milledgeville behind two mules. While a resident of Tazewell, he built a church for the Methodists; but, on changing his residence to Pea Ridge, he moved the church, too.
John Burkhalter, the latter's father, was a Revolutionary soldier, whose grave on a plantation, some few miles out from Buena Vista is soon to be marked by Lanahassee Chapter of the D. A. R. Mr. John Burkhalter. Burkhalter was one of the earliest pioneer settlers of the county of Marion, and a man from whose loins have sprung a host of descendants, including the present distinguished chief magistrate of Texas: Governor O. B. Colquitt.
Buena Vista. But Pea Ridge was not a name with which to woo the fickle goddess; and, in 1847, it was changed to Buena Vista, following the famous vic- tory achieved by General Zachary Taylor over the Mex-
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GEORGIA'S LANDMARKS, MEMORIALS AND LEGENDS
icans. Two years later the county-seat was wrested from Tazewell; and, on January 26, 1850, an Act was approved making permanent the site of public buildings at Buena Vista .* Mr. David N. Burkhalter, to whose vigorous initiative the removal of the county-seat was due, donated the land on which the court-house, the Meth- odist Church and other buildings were located. New vistas of opportunity were now opened. Soon a railway line was built, while stores, schools, churches and homes began to multiply. Today, in the most progressive sense of the word, Buena Vista is a modern town, equipped with an electric-light plant, with a water-works system, and with other public utilities. It is on the automobile highway between Columbus and Americus, and commands a wide territory rich in agricultural products. The Hoke Smith Institute, named for Georgia's senior Senator, is the pride of this entire section, having twice in succession won the silver trophy for this district. Two giften women of Buena Vista enjoy wide note as educators: Miss Ida Munro and Miss Nettie Powell.
Fort Perry. Near Buena Vista, at Fort Perry, can still be seen the breast-works thrown up by the United States infantry, when they occupied this place as a stronghold during the Creek Indian wars. Just a short distance beyond, at Poplar Springs, quite a band of United States cavalry encamped after fording the Chattahoochee River. Both sites will probably be marked in time with appropriate memorials.
Some of the Noted Governor O. B. Colquitt, of Texas, Sons of Marion .: the present chief magistrate of the "Lone Star State," spent several years of his early boyhood in Buena Vista, a town
*Acts, 1849-1850, p. 102.
871
MERIWETHER
founded by his grandfather, David N. Burkhalter. Judge Mark H. Blandford, an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of Georgia, opened an office at one time in Buena Vista for the practice of law. Hon. J. E. Sheppard, of Americus, and Hon. B. S. Miller, of Columbus, two of Georgia's most brilliant lawmakers, were reared in Buena Vista. Former State School Commissioner W. B. Merritt was a native of Marion. Hon. William S. West, of Valdosta, who, on the death of United States Senator A. O. Bacon, in 1914, was given an ad interim appoint- ment to fill this vacancy, was born on a plantation in Marion. Judge William B. Butt was a native of Buena Vista, where he practiced law until just a short while be- fore his election to the Bench of the Chattahoochee Cir- cuit. Marion County furnished three companies of in- fantry to the Southern army, Colonel Edgar M. Butt, Captain Taylor and Captain Blandford commanding; in addition to which a large number of volunteers went to Griffin and joined a cavalry company, led, during many fierce battles, by the gallant Captain T. M. Merritt. Some of the ablest lawyers in the State have practiced at the Buena Vista Bar. It is still ably represented by a group of strong men, among whom are Hon. William D. Craw- ford, Hon. William B. Short, Hon. George P. Munro, Judge John Butt, Colonel Noah Butt and Colonel T. B. Rainey.
MERIWETHER
Greenville. In 1827, Meriwether County was formed out of a part of Troup, and named for General Meriwether, a distinguished officer of the State militia, prominent in treaty negotiations with the Indians. The county-seat, fixed in the year following, was named for General Nathaniel Greene, of the Revolution. Green- ville's charter of incorporation was granted December 20, 1828, with the following residents of the town named as commissioners : Abner Durham, Joseph Cone, Levi
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GEORGIA'S LANDMARKS, MEMORIALS AND LEGENDS
Adams, Matthew Leverett and Abraham Ragan.1 The Meriwether County Academy was chartered on Decem- ber 22, 1828, with the following trustees, to-wit .: Alfred Wellborn, John L. Jones, Abraham Ragan, and James A. Perdue.2 In 1836 the Greenville Female Academy was chartered with trustees named as follows: Walton B. Harris, Joseph W. Harris, Joseph W. Amhoy, Robert A. Jones, Gibson F. Hill and Wiley P. Burks.3 Some of the most distinguished men of Georgia have been former residents of Greenville, among them Judge Hiram War- ner, one of Georgia's ablest jurists; Judge Obadiah Warren, his younger brother; Hon. Henry R. Harris, a former member of Congress, Hon. Joseph M. Terrell, a former Governor and United States Senator; Hon. William T. Revill, a noted educator, and Judge Hiram Warner Hill, a member of the present Supreme Court of Georgia. Governor John M. Slaton was born in Green- ville, but removed with his parents to Atlanta, where he grew to manhood and entered the practice of law.
Memories of Before the Civic Club of Greenville, dur- the Early Days. ing the month of January, 1914, Mrs. Mary Jane Hill, then in her eighty- fourth year, read a most delightful paper on the town of Greenville as she knew it when a girl. Mrs. Hill is the only child of the late Judge Hiram Warner, and notwith- standing her age, is still in splendid health, with a mind vigorous in its grasp of things, both past and present. From this charming paper, a few paragraphs are culled. Says Mrs. Hill :
"Greenville is an old town whose history dates back to the first settle- ment of the county. General Hugh Ector owned the land upon which the town of Greenville was built. I was four years old when my parents came to make their home here in 1834. We spent the first year in a rented house on the lot where Mrs. Jno. L. Strozier now lives. This place was owned by Major Alex. Hall, the grandfather of Mr. A. C. Faver, Mrs. J. R.
1 Acts, 1828, p. 149.
2 Acts, 1828, p. 15.
8 Acts, 1836, p. 8.
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MERIWETHER
Render, Mr. James Hall and other grandchildren now living in the county. Our next-door neighbor was Dr. William Tinsley, a leading physician of the town, and the grandfather of Mrs. R. D. Render, of LaGrange.
" Among the historie houses of Greenville is the one now owned by Mr. Arthur Pinkston. This house was built by a Mr. Hobbs and is one of the oldest in the town. It was for many years owned by Mr. Nathan Truitt, whose wife was sister of Judge James Render. A beautiful daughter, whose name was Elizabeth, was their only child. I attended her wedding when she became the wife of Stephen Willis, of Greene County. Three children came to bless this union, two sons, who are now living in La Grange, and one daughter, who married Jack Thompson and also lives in LaGrange. After the death of Mr. Willis, his widow married again, Mr. Rachels. She lived to a good old age, and passed away about one year ago. Opposite the Truitt home was that of Mr. Robert Adonis Jones. His family was' of the best. His wife, a Miss Macon, descended from that distinguished family for which the city of Macon was named. Mr. Jones died in Green- ville and his grave in the cemetery is marked by a slab.
"The building now occupied by the Civic Club and library was the residence of Mr. Isaac C. Bell. Mr. Bell was a tailor with shop in the north side of the square. Mrs. Bell was a woman of beautiful Christian character, whose religious life so influenced her husband as to cause a reformation in him after she passed away. They now sleep side by side in the little cemetery. The next house was the law office of Colonel W. D. Alexander, who came to Greenville from Virginia, and from tradition he rode horseback the whole distance. The lot on the north, where the at- tractive home of Mrs. W. T. Revill now is, was purchased, according to "old times, " by Mr. Levy M. Adams from the Inferior Court, and he erected the first building there. Mr. Adams was clerk of the Superior Court. He was also County Treasurer, lawyer and merchant. His home was noted for its hospitality and he is well remembered by many of the early settlers. The Gresham home, a little to the northwest, which has so long been in possession of the family, was originally owned by Abrain Ragan.
"Where the Presbyterian Church now stands, to the west of our home, lived two dear old ladies, the grandmother and great-aunt of Mrs. J. L. Strozier, Mrs. Martha Robertson and Mrs. Judith Mitehell. The friend- ship formed between these ladies and my mother lasted through her lifetime. Across the street, where now is the Methodist parsonage, lived the family of W. B. Ector.
"Two other houses were in the course of construction on this street, now known as Griffin Street. One of these was bought and has long been occupied by the family of the late Mr. Myron Ellis. The other to the east was built by Mr. Elerby. He lived only a short time in this house which he himself built. He died and now occupies an unmarked grave in the cemetery. My memory does not recall whether there was a house in the corner of this' street, now occupied by the Methodist Church. Later, I re-
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GEORGIA 'S LANDMARKS, MEMORIALS AND LEGENDS
member there was a grocery there, made memorable by a bear and dog fight having occurred in the rear of it, and a drunken man sitting on the porch singing a song beginning :-
"On the wings of love I fly From the grocerie to groce-ry."
"This bear fight was an event in the town, but it ended disastrously. So many were attracted to the scene that numbers of them climbed on the roof of the shed attached to the store in order to get a better view, but alas! too many sought this point of vantage, and the roof gave way, hurting several badly. One interested spectator, seated on a barrel under the shed when the roof collapsed, was crushed into the barrel."' 1
Judge Warner's Judge Warner was a man of unique Narrow Escape. character. He was veritably a Roman cast in the molds of the great Cato. One of Georgia's purest sons, he was also one of her bravest-a man to whom the instinct of moral fear was unknown. For the sake of principle he was ready to suffer the stake or the gibbet; but he was never inclined to turbulance. On the contrary, he was slow to anger, even-tempered and calm. The judicial poise of his great mind was seldom disturbed. The following incident of Wilson's raid, in 1865, is narrated by Governor Northen. It will serve to illustrate the character of the old jurist. Says Governor Northen :
"In 1865, just after Johnston 's surrender-but before it was generally known-Wilson's Federal raiders were abroad in Middle Georgia, bent on plunder. Vandalism is too weak a work to describe the petty meanness which marked the paths made by bands of Federal soldiers through certain portions of the South; and General Wilson was such an offender in this respect that succeeding generations have used his name to describe rapine and slaughter. Some of Wilson's raiders, visiting Meriwether County, headed for Judge Warner's home. As they approached all the whites on the place fled except Judge Warner and his daughter, Mrs. Hill. The latter, with an infant two weeks old, could not be moved. Her father remained with her. During the morning some cavalry detachments pass- ing by stole what they could carry off. About noon another party ar- rived and stopping, fed their horses, stole the silverware and robbed the smokehouse. Judge Warner stood by in silence. But suddenly the leader, putting a pistol to his head, ordered him to accompany them. Between the house and the negro quarters was a small woodland. To this grove his captors conducted Warner, and there the leader of the band, wearing the
875
MILLER
uniform of a Federal captain, took out his watch and said: "I'll give you just three minutes to tell where your gold is hidden." Warner pro- tested that he had no gold. They replied that they had been told that he did have it and that he must give it up. He again denied it. They searched him and found five thousand dollars in Confederate money and fifteen thousand dollars in Central Railroad bills, which they appropriated. At the end of three minutes the captain gave a signal. One of the men took from his horse a long leather strap with a noose at one end. The other extemporized a gallows by bending down the end of a stout sapling. With an oath the officer made him select a larger and stouter tree. Judge Warner remained silent. One end of the strap was adjusted around his neck and the other fastened securely to the tree. The sapling was gradually released until the line became taut, when it was turned loose and the Judge's body dangled in the air. On reviving, he found himself upon the ground, but with the noose still around his neck. The soldiers still sur- rounded him. Once more he was ordered to give up his gold under penalty of death. He replied as before. Again he was strung up and the sapling released. This was about two o'clock in the day. When he recovered con- sciousness the sun was nearly down. He lay at the foot of the sapling. The noose had been removed from his neck. The dry leaves of the preceding autumn had been fired, and these were burning within a foot or two of his head. He always thought that the heat of the flames brought him back to consciousness and to life. The soldiers had left him for dead and had set fire to the woods. He was barely able to make his way back to the house, where he lay ill for many days."
Woodbury. Woodbury is a rapidly growing town, with splendid rail- way connections. It was chartered by an Act approved August 23, 1872, with the following-named commissioners, to-wit .: John R. Jones, David Muse, Henry Worthy, John E. Buchanan and William Wheeler, but the charter was subsequently amended so as to provide for a municipal form of government .* The present public school system was established in 1900, at which time the Woodbury School District was incorporated with the following board of trustees': Dr. J. M. Hooten, B. T. Baker, Dr. H. W. Clements, W. J. Smith and Dr. J. D. Sutton .*
MILLER
Colquitt. In 1856, Miller County was formed from Baker and Early Counties, and named for Hon. An- drew J. Miller, of Augusta, a distinguished legislator, whose then recent death suggested the propriety of some memorial. At the same time, the county-seat was named for Judge Walter T. Colquitt, jurist and statesman, of
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GEORGIA'S LANDMARKS, MEMORIALS AND LEGENDS
whose brilliant services the State was during this year bereaved. The town was incorporated on December 19, 1860, with Messrs. Isaac Bush, J. S. Vann, D. F. Gunn, Thomas S. Floyd and F. M. Hopkins, as commissioners.1 Situated on the Georgia, Florida and Alabama Railway, Colquitt occupies the center of a rich territory, which has just commenced to develop, and the future of the town is bright with splendid possibilities.
1
Recollections of He was several times elected President of the Andrew J. Miller. Senate, in which position he evinced the highest administrative ability; and when, from political majorities in the Senate, adverse to him for the time being, he was passed over in the choice of presiding officer, his accurate knowledge of parlia- mentary law always caused him to be appealed to, in open Senate, when difficulties arose, on points of order. During his service of twenty years, he was the coolest, safest, and most practical mind in the Senate.
Frank H. Miller, Esq., in a letter to Major Stephen H. Miller, thus writes of his father. "He was plain and unaffected in manner of speech, suiting the word to the thought and expressing it as plainly as possible. He rarely, if ever used a metaphor. His memory was his most wonderful gift. He never forgot. He could remember the minutest details years after the event occurred. He was small of statue and a man of pleasant address, had blue eyes, which wore the appearance of gray as he grew older, his mouth and nose were large, and his lofty forehead expanded and grew broader the longer he lived. He had an amiable expression of coun- tenance, though there ever appeared around his mouth those small lines which indicated decision of character."*
MILTON
Alpharetta. In 1857 Milton was organized out of Cobb and Cherokee, and named for Hon. John Milton, who saved the records of the State during the Revolution. Alpharetta was made the county-seat. The town was incorporated December 11, 1858, with the fol- lowing-named commissioners, to-wit .: Oliver P. Skelton, P. F. Rainwater, J. J. Stewart, Thomas J. Harris and
1 Acts, 1860, p. 86.
*Stephen H. Miller, in Bench and Bar of Georgia, Vol. 2.
877
MITCHELL-MONROE
Oliver P. Childers .* Though without railway connec- tions, Alpharetta is a thriving town.
MITCHELL
Camilla. When a new county was made from Baker, in 1857, it was given the name of Mitchell, in honor of Governor David B. Mitchell, a distinguished former chief executive, while the county-seat was named for the old Governor's daughter, Miss Camilla Mitchell. The town was first incorporated in 1858. It possesses a splendid public-school system, established in 1889, a number of up-to-date public utilities, and is commercially a prosperous town, with a most encouraging outlook.
Pelham. One of the most enterprising towns of South Georgia is located in this county: Pelham. The town was named for Major John Pelham, an Alabama youth, whose gallantry on the field of battle immor- talized him before he was twenty-one. His heroic death has been the in- spiration of poems almost without number. General Lee once wrote of him: "It is glorious to see such valor in one so young," and to Stone- wall Jackson at Fredericksburg he remarked: "General Jackson, you ought to have a Pelham on each flank." The town was incorporated on September 14, 1881, with Hon. J. L. Hand as Mayor, and with Messrs. Cornelius Lightfoot, G. F. Green, J. C. Rhodes and J. L. Glozier Council- men. The corporate limits were fixed at one-half a mile in every direction from the Georgia, Florida and Western depot. To meet the demands of growth the town charter was amended in 1887 and the corporate limits extended.
MONROE
Historic Forsyth. On the highest ridge between Atlanta and Macon, in almost the exact center of the State, stands the old historic town of Forsyth, named for the illustrious diplomat and statesman, John
*Acts, 1858, p. 148.
-
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GEORGIA'S LANDMARKS, MEMORIALS AND LEGENDS
Forsyth. As United States Minister to Spain, Mr. For- syth negotiated the purchase of Florida from Ferdinand VII. He was also Governor of Georgia from 1827 to 1829, and afterwards a United States Senator. The town of Forsyth came into existence in 1822 when the new County of Monroe was created out of lands then re- cently acquired from the Creek Indians, at which time it became the new county-seat. On December 10, 1823, it was incorporated as a town, with the following pioneer residents named as commissioners: James S. Phillips, Henry H. Lumpkin, John E. Bailey, Anderson Baldwin and Samuel Drewry .* The town was originally laid off into lots of two and one-half acres each, affording ample room for garden plots and spacious green lawns. In 1855 the town limits were extended one-half mile. The following names of pioneer settlers frequently appear in the early records: Sharp, Roddy, Cabaniss, Thomas, Lumpkin, Sanford, Dunn, Martin, Johnson, Winship, Harman, Purifoy, Bean, Stephens, Litman, O'Neal, Banks, Coleman, Phelps, Turner and Wilkes.
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