USA > Georgia > Dodge County > History of Dodge County > Part 3
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For this act General McIntosh was brutally murdered by a band of enraged Indians. They went to his house, in what is now Carroll County, and at about three o'clock in the morning of April the 30th, 1825, set fire to it. They shot him and another Indian and dragged them out and scalped them. The scalp of McIntosh was suspended on a pole in a public square of Ocfuskee. They also killed his son-in-law, Hawkins.
On the well-known rock near the Varner House, which marks the site of the famous compact of agreement, the members of Piedmont Continental Chapter, Daughters of the American Revolution, erected a tablet of bronze which bears the following inscription:
"Here on February 12, 1825, William McIntosh, a chief of the Creek Nation, signed the treaty which ceded to the State of Georgia all the Creek lands west of the Flint River. For this act he was savagely murdered by a band of Indians who opposed the treaty. Placed by the Piedmont Continental Chapter of the D. A. R., A. D. 1911."
In 1827 the Creeks ceded the last acre of land held by them and withdrew from the State. By successive agreements they had sur- rendered first one part of the country and then another, until, after nearly one hundred years had passed since Oglethorpe made his first treaty with them, they were entirely removed from the present territory of the State.
THE PIONEERS.
A FTER the treaty of 1827 whereby the Creek Indians ceded the last acre held by them to the State and departed for the west, new settlers began coming into this section rapidly. They came from other counties in the State and from other states, many coming from the Carolinas and Virginia. Many of them were of Scotch descent, and were good, sturdy citizens. The Indians were gone and they had nothing to fear. The soil was fertile and well adapted to the growing of cotton, corn, potatoes, grain, sugar cane, and in fact all crops that could be raised in almost any part of the United States. New farms were rapidly developed as the settlers came in and cleared the land of the timber. Their homes were erected of the pine logs cut from the lands as farms were cleared for cultiva- tion. The houses were generally built on what was then called the "double pen" style, having two large rooms with a wide open hall running between the two rooms. There were usually shed rooms to the back of these two rooms. Later, as they became more pros- perous, larger homes were erected, usually on the same style except with a stairway leading to the attic where bedrooms were fitted up. The kitchen and dining room were always built from 40 to 60 feet to the rear of the main house, this having been done as a precau- tionary measure against fire. In some instances a plank walk was built to connect the kitchen with the main house. The buildings were covered with boards riven from pine and cypress timbers cut from the land, the instrument used for cutting the boards being called a "frow," and the life of these boards was many times the life of the shingles used today for covering buildings.
These pioneers were intelligent, enterprising and thrifty in those days when they were forced to rely on their own genius and labor for subsistence. From sheer necessity they became skilled in me- chanical works, producing practically everything upon which they subsisted, including food, raiment, wagons, carts, agricultural im- plements, harness, saddles, etc. Before the days of steam navigation on the Ocmulgee, when goods had to be freighted up the river on pole boats, the cost of all manufactured articles was excessive, neces- sitating rigid economy, forcing the people to produce at home by their own skill and labor practically all the necessaries of life. Every family had its hand loom and spinning wheel and the clothing
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THE PIONEERS
of the family and of the slaves was spun, woven and made up at home. Both the rich and poor had their looms and many of the wealthiest ladies were expert weavers of fine cloths from cotton and wool. Plows, plow stocks, gear, chairs, bedsteads, tables and other household furniture were made at home. There were no cook stoves then in this section and the cooking was done in broad open fire- places in pots, ovens and spiders. A crane was suspended in front of the fire which held the main pot in which the vegetables were boiled, while on the hearth coals were placed under and on top of the ovens and spiders in which bread was baked.
There were tanneries in the county and shoes were made at home; there were also hatters who made wool hats, and gunsmiths who made fine rifles. There were blacksmiths who made axes, jack planes, augers, chisels, hoes, etc.
There were no cotton gins at that time, and the seeds had to be picked from the cotton by hand, a very slow process. After the invention of the cotton gin by Eli Whitney, the cotton production picked up, and it is now the principal product of this section.
The pioneers had none of the comforts and luxuries that we of the present age enjoy. Even matches were unknown at that time. Their method for starting a fire was by striking a piece of steel against a flint rock which produced a spark of fire and this ignited some dry trash or cotton which had been prepared for the purpose. This trash and cotton were kept carefully stored in a tin box which was called the "tinder box," and was always kept in a dry and con- venient place. They had no kerosene lamps, and tallow or beeswax candles, which were made at home, were used for lighting purposes. These candles were made by twisting several twines of cotton string together, and then dipping them into melted tallow or beeswax, the twine forming the wick.
The firearms of pioneer days were fired in a similar manner to the method of starting fires. The percussion cap used at present had not then been invented, and each gun or pistol was made with an arrangement for holding a flint rock. The hammer of the gun striking this steel would cause a spark which would ignite the powder, causing the gun to fire. The guns and pistols were desig- nated as flint and steel firearms. They were loaded in the following manner: a certain amount of powder was first placed in the barrel
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HISTORY OF DODGE COUNTY
of the gun, after which a wad of paper or cloth was placed in the barrel and rammed down the barrel of the gun with a long stick which was called a "ramrod"; a certain number of shot were then placed in the barrel, which was followed by another wad of paper or cloth and rammed down in a similar manner with the "ramrod." The paper or cloth used was called "gun wadding." It was neces- sary to always keep the gun powder dry, and each person who owned a gun had what he called a "powder horn," or "powder gourd." These horns were obtained from the heads of cows, and were prepared for use by stopping up the large end of the horn and boring a small hole in the tip or small end, which was kept closed by a peg or stopper. This made it impossible for water to come in contact with the powder. These horns were usually carried by a string attached to each end of the horn, and thrown across the shoulder, allowing the horn to swing at his side. Attached to each horn was a small cup or measure which was used to measure the amount of powder and shot forming each load. This cup or measure was called "the charger."
The mode of travel in those days was generally a two-wheel cart drawn by a yoke of oxen or a mule or horse. When drawn by a horse or mule, the family was placed inside the cart or wagon, as the case was, and the man of the family rode the mule. The reason for the popularity of the two-wheel cart was due to the poor condi- tion of the roads which were nothing more than trails, making it much easier to travel on two wheels than on four.
Log Rollings and Quiltings.
The pioneers had different methods for getting the heavy logs or timber moved from their land to make it ready for cultivation, one of which was called the annual "log rolling," to which all the neigh- bors for miles around were invited to attend, each of them bringing along his "hand stick," this being a hickory stick about six feet long and about three inches in diameter in the center and tapering towards each end. These were placed under the log about two or three feet apart and a sufficient number of men would take hold of the hand sticks to carry the log to what was called the "log heap." These log heaps were where any number of logs were piled together and when so piled were burned. Every man felt it his duty to go
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THE PIONEERS
to his neighbor's log rolling when invited, as a great many acres of land could be cleared of the logs in one day. On these occasions it was the custom of the housewife to have several quilts prepared to be quilted, and the wives and daughters of the men invited to the log rolling were invited to her quilting. While the men rolled the logs from the land, the women spent the day quilting. It was cus- tomary on these occasions for the host and hostess to have an immense spread at the noon hour, consisting principally of collard greens, chicken pie, potato pie, home-made ham boiled and fried, together with corn bread, biscuits and other things. The corn bread was made from home-ground meal and the biscuits from home- ground wheat. At night there was another bountiful spread and then the guests retired to one of the large rooms in the dwelling and spent the night dancing, the dances then being the old-time square dance, the Virginia reel, and the minuet. The music was usually furnished by three negro men from the plantation, one playing the banjo, another the fiddle (violin), and the third "beating the straws." The favorite tunes were the Arkansas Traveler, Turkey In the Straw. Chicken In the Bread Tray, etc.
A Corn Shucking.
Another custom of ye olden times was the neighborhood "corn shucking." When a farmer gathered his corn he would pile it down beside his crib, and on a certain night would invite all the men of the neighborhood in to assist him in shucking his corn. They would form a line around the pile of corn on their knees and begin shuck- ing the corn and throwing it into the crib, two or three logs having been removed from the side of the crib near the top making an opening so that the corn could easily be thrown into the crib. No one who has never attended one of these corn shuckings can imagine the enthusiasm and excitement that was engendered as each man would try to shuck and throw more ears into the crib than the man next to him. Frequently several hundred bushels were shucked in one night. The negroes were placed at one end of the pile and the whites at the other, and in most instances it was customary for the gallon jug of corn whiskey to be passed down the line at certain intervals and each man given an opportunity to take a drink. It was seldom that any one present ever refused, however it was also
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HISTORY OF DODGE COUNTY
seldom that any one ever became intoxicated at one of these affairs. After the corn was shucked the guests were invited into the dining room to partake of a sumptuous feast prepared by the housewife. After the meal it was the custom to build a big log fire in the back yard where the negroes would wrestle and box until daylight, the whites sometimes taking part in these bouts. These occasions were as much pleasure to the pioneers as the modern dances and prize fights are to the present generation.
Hardships of the Pioneers.
From letters written by General Blackshear and other military of- ficers to the Governor of the State during the period of the British- American War of 1812-15, it would appear that the necessities of life, especially mechanical tools, clothing and food supplies, were exceedingly scarce in this section of the country, and the few in- habitants suffered many hardships.
In letters to Governor Early, dated at Camp Blakely (Hartford), December 23-28, 1814, General Blackshear complains of the worth- lessness of tools furnished by the Quartermaster Department, stat- ing that the "axes were made of iron, the screw augers were not worth a cent, that the army had no soap, no spirits, no candles; nor is there any component parts of a ration except flour, meat and salt and no contractor to apply to." Wilson Navey, foragemaster for General Blackshear, wrote from Hartford January 1, 1815, that the people were extravagant in their prices of corn, (75 cents per bushel), and that it had to be hauled ten to twelve miles.
Writing to Governor Early from Camp Little Ocmulgee (Lumber City) January 27, 1815, General Blackshear states that he would be detained there a day in crossing the river and that it would be the last letter he would write for some time as he was "out of paper." There were no stores in the country at that early date and the people, as well as the army, were forced to do without luxuries and most of the ordinary necessities of life.
NAVIGATION ON THE OCMULGEE IN PIONEER DAYS.
IN THE PIONEER DAYS the only means the people had of transporting their products to market, and obtaining supplies that could not be provided at home, was by pole boats on the Ocmulgee and Altamaha
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THE PIONEERS
Rivers to Darien, thence by sail to the markets, or by wagon. Boats were built in the county, loaded with cotton and other farm prod- ucts, drifted down the river to Darien, where the cargoes were transferred to sailing vessels for Savannah and other ports. The boats were then loaded at Darien with cargoes of general merchan- dise brought by sail from Savannah, Charleston and New York, and polled up the river by hand, requiring several weeks to make a trip. In times of high water it was often necessary to use a rope and windlass to pull the boats up the swift current at certain narrow places in the river, so it can be readily understood that the up trip of a pole boat was slow and tedious, requiring much hard and patient labor. In those days the freight on many kinds of goods was more than the prime cost.
There may be many of the old people who remember when the Ocmulgee and Altamaha Rivers were navigated between Macon and Darien with many pole boats, which was then the only means of transportation Macon had for shipping off cotton and other freight, and for obtaining freight from abroad; sailing vessels would bring it to Darien where it would be transferred to the pole boats for Macon. There were many of these boats, and though Hartford and Jacksonville were the only towns near the river, and no other habi- tations could be seen along the river on either side, yet it was lively times with the many boat hands all along the sinuous river.
Drifting Signs.
While drifting down the pilots on the boats, where the river was very crooked, would every minute or two command those working the front oars, "Bow to the Injun," and then "Bow to the white." These commands of seeming politeness meant that the pilot would sometimes wish the bow of the boat turned towards the side of the river occupied by the Indians, or to the side settled by the white people, so to signify in which direction the boat was to be turned the command was, "Bow Injun" and "Bow white." This old slogan was continued in use for many years, and is still used by raft hands in drifting rafts of lumber down the river to Darien. The Indians claimed all the land and the game on it between the right bank of the river and the farthermost point of Florida.
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HISTORY OF DODGE COUNTY
Mr. Luke Harrell, who has spent practically all his life near the banks of the Ocmulgee River, says that Mr. Norman Statham, who is about 104 years old and who resides in Wilcox County, was a pilot on one of these pole boats. Mr. Harrell worked with Mr. Statham many years in rafting timber down the river to Darien, and it was on these trips that he learned much of the early history of navigation from Mr. Statham. He is author for the statement that when General Blackshear cut the road from Hartford to Darien that he also placed spiked timbers across the river so that in the event the enemy's gun boats tried to come up the river they would be spiked and sunk. Mr. Harrell says that he saw some of these spiked timbers in the river near Doctortown in his early years and was told by Mr. Statham that they were the ones used by Gen. Blackshear.
Mr. Harrell further states that many years ago when Germany went to build a large fort that they bought the timber in Dodge County from Mr. Jack Daniel and Mr. James Bishop, Sr .. the con- tract having been let through Mr. Statham. The timber bought was 100 pieces of hewn timber, size 100 feet long to square 27 inches in the middle. It took 20 oxen (10 yokes) to pull each piece of timber through the swamp, and about thirty hands, negroes and whites, to lift each stick. This timber was floated down the river to Darien where it was delivered to the sailing vessel bound for Germany.
THE ACT CREATING DODGE COUNTY.
SECTION 1. BE IT ENACTED, etc. That there shall be a new county laid out and formed of the thirteenth (13th), fourteenth (14th), fifteenth (15th), sixteenth (16th), nineteenth (19th), and twentieth (20th), land districts of originally Wilkinson County, (except that portion of said land districts numbered thirteen (13), sixteen (16), and nineteen (19), which now lie in and constitute a part of Laurens County), now forming parts of the counties of Pulaski, Telfair and Montgomery; that said new county shall be called the county of Dodge, and shall be attached to the Southern Judicial Circuit, to the Second Congressional District, and the Four- teenth Senatorial District.
Section 2. BE IT FURTHER ENACTED, That the county-site of said new county shall be at a station on the Macon and Brunswick Railroad, called Eastman, the same being station No. 13 on said railroad.
Section 3. BE IT FURTHER ENACTED, That the voters of said new county, entitled under the Constitution and laws of this State to vote for members of the General Assembly, shall assemble at Eastman, the county-site aforesaid, and proceed, pursuant to the election laws now in force, to elect all county officers necessary for the organization of said new county, pursuant to the Constitution and laws of this State, and it shall be the duty of the managers of said election to certify the same, and the result thereof, to the Governor of this State, and it shall be the duty of the Governor forthwith to commission the county officers so certified to be elected, and to authorize by dedimus to him, any Justice of the Peace or Notary Public, resident within the limits of said new county, to qualify the said county officers, according to the Constitution and laws of this State; said county officers so elected and qualified shall hold their offices for the term prescribed by law; said election shall be held on Wednesday after the first Monday in January, 1871.
Section 4. AND BE IT FURTHER ENACTED, That all mesne and final process, in the hands of any of the officers of the several counties from which the said new county by the residence of the defendant, or the location of land where land is the subject-matter
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HISTORY OF DODGE COUNTY
of suit therein, shall be delivered over to the corresponding officer of said new county, and all suits, declarations and pleadings, of all kinds of property appertaining to said new county, for the reasons aforesaid, shall be transferred from the courts of the counties where now pending to the corresponding courts of the new county; and the officers charged with the administration and execution of the law, in said new county, shall proceed with said suits, and said mesne and final process, as if the same had been commenced in said new county.
Section 5. BE IT FURTHER ENACTED, That the Superior Court of said county of Dodge shall be held on Friday after the second Monday in April and October in each year, and the Court of Ordinary on the first Monday in each month.
Section 6. BE IT FURTHER ENACTED, That the Ordinary, Sheriff, and other officers of said county, shall be required to give such bonds and security as the laws of this State prescribe.
Section 7. BE IT FURTHER ENACTED, That the executors, ad- ministrators, guardians, etc., residing in said new county be, and they are hereby, authorized and required to make their returns to the Ordinary of said new county.
Section 8. BE IT FURTHER ENACTED, That until the official machinery of said new county be put in operation by the election, commission and qualification of the officers hereinbefore provided for, the proper officers of the county from which the new county is taken, or any of them, be, and they are hereby empowered with full authority to copy, direct and serve process and judicial writs of all sorts within the said new county; and all officers resident within the limits of said new county shall exercise all their powers and func- tions of office until the officers of the new county are elected and qualified.
Section 9. BE IT FURTHER ENACTED, That all laws incon- sistent with this act are hereby repealed.
Approved October 26, 1870.
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THE NEW COUNTY
THE NEW COUNTY.
"Some time ago, I can't say when, It was done by wise and solemn men, Old generous Laurens gave a nook, Some from Pulaski we took; Montgomery had a little to spare, The rest was furnished by Telfair, To make the County of Dodge."
THE ABOVE VERSE was written by Mr. H. W. J. Ham and appeared in the Eastman Times in 1873. It shows from whence came the County of Dodge, except as regards Laurens. Laurens gave a portion to form Pulaski, which in turn contributed quite a bit for the forma- tion of Dodge.
Dodge County was created by an Act of the General Assembly on October 26, 1870. It was named in honor of William E. Dodge, who had come to this section prior to its creation. Mr. Dodge came from New York and purchased a large estate, which later caused much strife and bloodshed. This estate embraced most of what is now Dodge, Laurens, Pulaski, Telfair and Montgomery Counties, and reached from the Oconee to the Ocmulgee River. When the new county was created the population was very scattering and often neighbors lived miles apart. It is said that one could travel from the Oconee River to the Ocmulgee and never see a living thing. This section was a vast forest of virgin pine timber, conceded to be the finest yellow pine in the world. Lumbermen and capitalists from the north and east began coming in rapidly, buying up the timbered lands and erecting saw mills. Among the capitalists who came were William E. Dodge of New York and William Pitt East- man of New Hampshire, who located at this point.
In 1869 the Macon and Brunswick railroad (now the Southern) was built. Towns began to spring up all along the line, and, as this immediate section was so far removed from the county seat, Hawkinsville, it was deemed expedient to create a new county and place the county seat at this point. Mr. Eastman generously donated the land for the new town and county seat, Eastman, and also do- nated the land for the court house. Mr. Dodge, in whose honor the new county was named, expressed his appreciation of the honor conferred upon him by having built at his own expense what was
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HISTORY OF DODGE COUNTY
then a magnificent court house and presented it to the citizens of the county. It was erected where the present court house now stands, and was a two-story frame structure which cost about $25,- 000.00. It was used as a court house until 1908, when it was torn away for the erection of a more spacious and magnificent edifice.
J. R. Alexander was the first Superior Court Judge. The first Jury Commissioners were: J. L. Lampkin, J. A. Harrell, Ira R. Foster, J. W. Harrell, J. M. Buchan, J. S. Livingston, Loyd Smith, H. B. Maloy, L. L. Hargrove, G. W. Walker, J. J. Baker. Daniel Williams, B. H. Harrell, S. C. Nicholson, Harlow Clark, I. N. Bowen, John McCranie, Daniel McCranie, J. J. Hanley, F. A. Howell, I. N. Mitchell.
First Bailiff was M. S. Peters.
The first case filed was that of Peter J. Williams et al., vs. John Rogers, tenant in possession (ejectment case). Counsel for plaintiff in case, Nesbit, Bacon, Hines, Dawson, Rivers. Counsel for defend- ant, L. A. Hall, Stanley and Watson.
The minutes show that the first case contested was that of John G. Lidy vs. Jan A. McGriff, lien on a steam saw mill. Judgment was rendered in favor of plaintiff. J. Watson was attorney for plaintiff.
The first officers of the county of Dodge were: Sheriff, Jordan Brown; Clerk of the Court, Ruben A. Harrell; Tax Collector, T. P. Willcox; Tax Receiver, Jno. W. Bohannon; Ordinary, S. W. Burch.
The first Postmaster of the new town of Eastman was Dr. J. M. Buchan, who later represented Dodge County in the Legislature.
At the time of its creation there were only 334 voters in the county. There were 490 children in the county between the ages of six and eighteen years of age.
Among the first citizens of the new county were: J. M. Arthur, Judge C. B. Murrell, L. M. Peacock, Sr., Mrs. L. M. Peacock, Sr., Judge D. M. Roberts, Mrs. D. M. Roberts, Mrs. Lizzie Daniel, mother of Messrs. M. J. W. and W. B. Daniel, Harlow Clark, J. W. Griffin, L. L. Hargrove, James Bishop, Sr., John M. Daniel, H. J. Sapp, Peter Bowen, J. W. Coffee, David Cravey, John McLeod, Alan Mc- Leod, Sr., Josiah Reaves, John Reaves, Phillip Reaves, Josiah Reaves, Jr., Susan Taylor, Hiram Taylor, William Taylor, Job Lester, Daniel Lester, Nick Rawlins, John C. Rawlins, Edward Tripp, Berry Tripp, W. W. Harrell, Col. John F. DeLacy, William Pitt
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