USA > Georgia > Greene County > History of Greene County, Georgia, 1786-1886 > Part 7
Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30 | Part 31 | Part 32 | Part 33 | Part 34 | Part 35 | Part 36 | Part 37 | Part 38 | Part 39 | Part 40 | Part 41 | Part 42 | Part 43 | Part 44 | Part 45 | Part 46 | Part 47 | Part 48 | Part 49
GREEN COUNTY PEOPLE DURING THE SEVENTEEN-NINETIES
I have heard a good many people say, "I do not care what my ancestors did in the long, long ago, I am interested only in what is going on now." However, there are some who are in- terested in tracing, step, by step, the rugged road that led to the intelligent age, prosperity, and culture that we now enjoy ; and it is for these that this, and similar articles have been writ- ten.
The following paragraphs were found among Greene County's earliest Court records that were laboriously written with a quill pen and home-made ink. The title page of the book that I have before me reads :
60
HISTORY OF GREENE COUNTY
"RECORD OF THE INFERIOR COURT OF GREENE COUNTY
VOL. 1."
Many of the entries bear date of 1798, and some of them deal with matters that took place even earlier than that. No, this book does not contain the original records, but were transcribed by Benjamin Jourdan in years 1812-13. The writ- ing is like the beautiful script we "oldsters" were taught to try to copy in the copy-books that our "daddies" bought for us back in the days when there were no free schools nor free school books. Handwriting is almost a lost art now.
There is a pathetic story concerning Benjamin Jourdan and the beautiful records that he transcribed for Greene Coun- ty. I have his original contract to do this work before me. Short- ly after he began his work on the records, he was indicted, tried, and convicted of murder. The jury recommended mercy and the Judge heeded the recommendation. The sentence was, that he be branded on the thumb of his left hand, with the letter "M" signifying that he was a murderer; and to be confined in the common jail for a period, and then to pay the cost of the trial and, in the event he could not pay, he was to be kept in jail until the Court felt that he had been punished sufficiently.
Benjamin Jourdan wrote many of the records while con- fined in jail, and most of the money he received for his work went to pay his fine.
Not all of the early settlers of Greene County were scalped by the Indians, but altogether too many were, and had it not been for the Military Dragoons who patrolled the banks of the Oconee River and every able bodied man had to leave his plow and serve, when called upon, and had not forts, both private and public, been dotted within easy reach of the people, many of the present day citizens of Greene would never have seen the light of day.
Those early citizens built cabins, cleared their lands, slept with their rifles by their bed side, kept faithful watch-dogs
61
HISTORY OF GREENE COUNTY
and were alert to every noise. When they went to their fields their wives and children went with them, and the trusty dog and rifle were close at hand.
That they raised corn, wheat, tobacco, indigo, a little cot- ton, many cattle, hogs, sheep, chickens etc. ,is evidenced by claims filed against the State and nation, covering losses by In- dian raids.
As early as 1787, we find where William Harris, a farm- er who lived near Greensboro, complained that Elijah Clark and Micajah Williamson's soldiers, who were camped on his land, allowed their horses to get loose and invade his corn field. A committee was appointed to examine the field and assess the damage for which Mr. Harris was compensated.
That Augusta, Ga., merchants advanced money and sup- plies for Greene county farmers to produce crops, and in lieu of a promissory note to repay the money, the agreement was to pay with tobacco, is clearly shown by the following entry that appears in Book, 1. Proceedings of the Greene Inferior Court, p. 86 :
"I acknowledge myself justly indebted to Ander- son Fambrough twelve hundred and fifty weight of neet inspected Crop Tobacco to be delivered in Au- gusta by the first day of November next for value Received given under my hand this 19th day of March 1791."
(Signed) Charles C. G. Ivey
Testator O. Porter
Tobacco Warehouses were numerous in 1791
Watkins Digest of Georgia Laws, p. 445, names the following Tobacco Warehouses that had been authorized by the Georgia Legislature :
62
HISTORY OF GREENE COUNTY
"An Act for regulating the inspection of tobacco. Sec- tion III, reads: "And be it further enacted by the authority aforesaid. That public warehouses for the inspection of tobacco persuant to this act, shall be kept at the several places herein after mentioned, that is to say, at Augusta, the three tobacco inspections already established, called and known by the name of McCall's, Richmond, and Augusta; at Henry Arrington's on the Savannah River, at New Savannah, on the land of John Twiggs; at Yamacraw ,on the lot of Mordecai Sheftall; at Hardwick's, at the mouth of the Ogeechee; at Louisville, on the land of John Shellman, at Galphinton, on the land of Robert Forsyth; at Georgetown, on the land of Arthur Fort; at Lexington, on the land of Charles Statum; at Rocklanding, on the land of John McKinzie; at Montpellier, on the land of Charles McDonald; in the town of Greensboro, on the land of John Armour ; at the town of Washington, on the lot of at the mouth of Broad river, on the land of John Oliver; and at Pace's Ferry, on the land of Drewry Pace; on the land of White, Robinson & Co. at their iron works, on Sweet Water.
Twelve other Tobacco Warehouses were established, in eastern and middle Georgia, prior to 1799, but not a single Cotton Warehouse was mentioned.
CHAPTER IV VILLAGES, POST OFFICES, RAILROADS, AND ROADS
There were many communities, towns and post offices in Greene county, which were important until the War Between the States and the Reconstruction Era. Most of the mills were burned by Sherman's Raiders and few rebuilt later.
1. Park's Bridge: This community was where the old Chop't Road from Greensboro to the Walnut Hill on the Missi- sippi River crossed the Oconee River. This road was laid out by Samuel Dale, a Greene County citizen, who was ap- pointed by President Thomas Jefferson to extend the road to the west. In addition to the finest mill in Greene County, were several stores, an Inn where the stagecoach changed horses and the passengers were fed, a post office which was called Park's Bridge. The office was discontinued May 29, 1851. (Athens Southern Banner of May 29, 1851).
2. VEAZY: This was a very old community and in all pro- bability named for Eli Veazy, a prosperous merchant and farmer there. The present postoffice still bears that name it is about one mile nearer Greensboro than the original location. (Herald-Journal, Feb. 24, 1939)
Veazy, was listed in the Herald of 1897 as a neighbor- hood with many advantages. The lands were cheap and fertile and there were excellent schools and churches. Vea- zy was six miles south of Greensboro. The lands were sandy and five to fifty dollars per acre. There were grist mills, a planing mill, a mill for corn and wheat, a wood shop, a wagon and buggy manufacturer, a saw mill and a shoe shop. Some of the people mentioned here were : J. H. Brown, Joel J. Ruarks, A. F. Jackson, T. J. P. Atkinson, John A. Veazy, Wm. H. Hardeman and Dr. W. F. Hailes.
3. WOODVILLE: This village was located five miles north of Union Point on the Athens branch of the Georgia rail- road. This was once a prosperous village of 300 people,
63
64
HISTORY OF GREENE COUNTY
a bank and large stores. It is said to have been given that name because here the trains loaded up with wood. Before it was called Woodville it was called Beeman for a man who owned a large store there. After the railroad was built the name was changed. These families came from this vicinity: the Davisons, the Durhams, the Wilsons, the Flukers, the Cheneys, the McWhorters and many other prominent families. While not as prosperous as once, Woodville is still there.
Woodville was a good trading point. This village was ten miles from Greensboro. In 1887 they shipped 3,500 bales of cotton. There were two ginneries, three stores, and dairy- farming. The paper in 1897 carried pictures of Hon. W. P. McWhorter as being prominent in this community and serv- ing in the Third Georgia Regiment during the Civil War. There were other men mentioned as business men in the community ; Hon. R. E. Davison, C. C. and T. C. Davison, W. J. Durham, G. F. Callahan, C. G. Moody, J. M. Rey- nolds, Prof. Hawes Cloud.
WOODVILLE 1820
"The following lines, extracted from Port Folio, are un- derstood to be from the pen of Mr. Henry Denison, late of this place :
WOODVILLE
They tell me of the villas fair That on the banks of Schuykill rise; But every charm that opens there, Beneath the face of summer skies, - The green sward walk through scenery That like a bride draws every eye. And fruits and flow'rets every where All have I seen and all are fair. But Georgia's clime delights me more; I would not journey north again, For all that art and nature pour Upon the fruitful land of Penn: For nature's choicest bounty lies Beneath the warmth of southern skies: - Here all the sweets of earth combine, - Land of the orange and the vine. They tell me that of lovely streams,
65
HISTORY OF GREENE COUNTY
The elm-bound Merrimac excels;
On its green brink in fairy dreams, Enrapt I've sat 'till evening bells,
From distant steeple broke the chain, Which fancy webbed and wove again: - Yes, while a boy I wandered there, And own that Eastern lands are fair.
But Eastern lands may boast their groves,
Their ocean-isles and emerald fields; Our piney woods and turtle doves, And gardens where the red bird builds;
Our river-cane that hides the doe, And forest oak with mistletoe, Our stately pine and cornel tree,
Have thousand nameless charms for me. O Woodville! wheresoever yet
To roam shall prove my destiny O, never can my soul forget
The pleasant hours I've spent by thee.
Thy pines may no fierce lightnings rend:
But show'rs of silv'ry dews descend,
And on thy sylvan bosom swell, Those beauties which I love so well.
(Note The dictionary says a "cornel tree" is a dogwood.)
4. RICHLAND CREEK, was so named by the first settlers while this was Washington County and is said to be so named because of the rich lands through which the creek ran. Many "headrights" grants refer to Richland Creek and its waters as boundary lines. (Wm. Greer's Survey of Greene Co. May 1786)
5. CAREY: (Litch Postoffice) Carey was named for James Carey, for many years an employee of the Georgia rail- road. Litch was the name given the postoffice at Cary for a Mr. Litchfield who had a store there and no doubt was also Postmaster. This is where the Georgia railroad cross- es the Oconee River.
6. 6 CAWTHORN: In the 1890's Major J. W. Cawthorn operated a store three miles southeast of Liberty Church. This postoffice was established here and only a few people ever lived here.
7. GRESHAMVILLE: This community was probably nam- ed for Hon. Volney Gresham, or his father. New Hope or Fork Baptist Church was established here in 1800 and
66
HISTORY OF GREENE COUNTY
Adiel Sherwood was once its pastor. It is located in Greene County about one mile to the right of Highway number 12 between Greensboro and Madison. This community was settled prior to 1793 and suffered much from Indian raids. It was not incorporated but had a postoffice, two churches, several stores and there live about 100 people. (Robinson's History of Ga. Baptist Asso. & Minutes of the New Hope Church)
This town was located in the forks of two rivers, the Oconee and Appalachee. There were grown, cattle, stock, rye, wheat and cotton. There were two churches, and a good school, as well as gins, corn mill, brick stores and ten or twelve families. The land was valued in 1897 at from one to $10 on acre.
8. RUTH: This was the name of a postoffice and small com- munity located about one mile from Liberty Church. The Post-mistress was Miss Ruth Williams.
9. RICHLAND FARM: This was three miles west of Greensboro, on the Georgia railroad extending back to Richland Creek. A Mr. Sims from Atlanta owned about 2,000 acres of land here. He built a number of houses, a de- pot and a side-track. Here he operated a large dairy and owned some fine Jersey cows. But alas! he did his spend- ing with the money from an Atlanta bank of which he was cashier. He broke the bank, was tried and served a term in the State penitentiary, and his farm was eventually sold to the highest bidder.
10. WRAYSWOOD: This was the home place of the Wray family and is located between Greshamville and Scull Shoals. This has a store, postoffice and public ginnery. The last of the Wray's died within the past ten years but Tom's widow operates and owns the 200 acre farm. This family has owned these lands for 100 years. (Dr. Rice, 1939)
11. GRANTVILLE: This town which is now extinct was lo- cated on the old Greensboro-Washington road some three miles north of Union Point. Daniel Grant settled here
67
HISTORY OF GREENE COUNTY
while that territory was a part of Wilkes County. It was taken from Wilkes and added to Greene in 1802. Here was a tavern, postoffice, stagecoach station, horse racing, cock fights, greased pole contests, gander-pulling and many other primitive sports. Mr. Grant sold his holdings, took contracts for building parts of the Ga. railroad, moved to Marthasville (now Atlanta) and got in on the ground floor and made a fortune out of real estate. Grant's Park was a gift of this man to Atlanta.
12. DANIEL'S SPRING: This is where Grantsville once stood and there is nothing except a mineral spring which was discovered by Cordial Grant who bought the lands. The popularity of the spring rises and falls with the vary- ing waves of prosperity and at the present the status is very low. (1939)
13. SHOULDERBONE CREEK: This creek rises near White Plains flows southeast via Harris' Mill thence to the Oconee River. The origin of the name seems to have passed into oblivion. It was named this when Washington County was laid out. It was wholly within Greene Co. from 1786 to 1792 when Hancock Co. was formed from parts of Greene and Washington. When the Shoulderbone Trea- ty was signed Nov. 3, 1786 in Greene County, it is said to have been signed at a Fort, probally Fort Twiggs which was where Fort Creek empties into Shoulderbone Creek several miles below Harris' Mill. Dissatisfaction over this treaty is supposed to have been responsible for the burning of Greensboro in 1787.
14. ROCK LANDING: This place is located on the Oconee river some six miles below Milledgeville and the spot is marked with a bronze marker telling of the historic events that took place there. This was also the starting point of defining the boundary line of Greene County. (Watkins Digest of the Laws of Ga. pp. 322-3, 521)
15. PUBLIC SQUARE: This was an important community with a post office. Justice of Peace, polling center and had the largest store in Greene Co. in 1820-30. It was located
68
HISTORY OF GREENE COUNTY
on the Greensboro-Washington road three miles north of Union Point. Sparks Hunter was the, "Merchant-Prince," of Public Square and an uncle of William H. Sparks the author of "Memories of Fifty Years". When Sparks Hunt- er died and the railroad came through, Public Square died, and TEMPERANCE BELL succeeded and in Feb. 8, 1834 the postoffice was closed. The great revival near Be- thesda Church in 1826-27 is said to have brought about a Temperance wave that swept that section and gave the name of Temperance to the place.
16. BETHANY: This first community was settled in early 1784 and the first church was organized in 1786 and has continued to function throughout all the years. (History of Bethany by W. E. Reynolds, written in 1886)
In 1790 the Greene Co. Inferior Court ordered a road laid out from Thweat's Bridge on the Ogeechee to Rock Landing on the Oconee. Fort Fidius was erected here and here General Twiggs, Irwin, and Major Gaither met for the purpose of destroying Elijah Clark's Trans Oconee Re- public," and it was here that Clark made a bloodless sur- render. (Dr. Rice was present at the unveiling of this marker and delivered an address on Elijah Clark and his Republic in Milledgeville to the Nancy Hart Chapter, D. A. R.) Markers were also placed at Fort Defiance and Fort Advance. The Shoulderbone Treaty can be found in Watkins Digest pp. 779,80,-81. This treaty was secured in 1786, soon after Greene County was formed. This was why the Indians hated Greene County and burned and massacred the citizens.
17. UNION POINT : Union Point was first known as Thorn- ton's Cross Roads, then as Scruggsville for a blacksmith by the name of Scruggs, and then as Union Point as it was on the junction of the main line of the Ga. railroad and Athens branch. Here lived the Thorntons, Harts, Bryans, Sibleys, Carltons and other prominent families. Up until the 1830's it was called Thornton's Crossroads and it was incorporated. Wayside Inn was located here during the War Between the States and now there is a historic mark-
69
HISTORY OF GREENE COUNTY
er which tells the story. Some people say that one crew of railroad builders from Augusta met another crew from Scruggsville to form the union of the rails and that they named it Union Point. At this writing, 1939, the old Red- mond Thornton house is still standing and is probably the oldest house now in Greene County. (moved to Atlanta 1960.) (See Homes.")
The postoffice here was opened in 1839 and W. P. Law- son was first Postmaster. (Athens Banner of April 20, 1839) The great Buffalo Lick where the surveyors started in marking the boundary lines of land ceded by the Indians at the Augusta Treaty of 1773 is also on the highway between Union Point and Jefferson Hall. Union Point is a progressive town of about 1500 inhabitants and very fine people.
Union Point, was a town boasting of mineral ores such as iron and copper as well as gold. There in 1897 we find the bottling works, knitting mill, steam grist mill and ginnery. There in 1897 was a large brick yard.
"The Terraces," was the name of the large hotel, the Union Point Academy had Dr. J. H. Bailey as the Prin- cipal. There were Methodist and Baptist churches and the Presbyterians met in these churches too.
Hon. John C. Hart was Judge of the Ocmulgee Circuit and an outstanding citizen as was Hon. Miles W. Lewis in 1894 and a graduate of the University of Ga. in 1877. Here were handsome homes, schools and churches.
The Herald-Journal of Oct. 1, 1897 carried pictures of other outstanding citizens. County Judge, Hon. W. M. Weaver who was a gallant soldier of the Confederacy and a Captain. He was elected Mayor of Greensboro seven times consecutively. In 1875 he edited the Herald-Journal and was a prominent Mason.
Columbus C. Oliver, Hon. James B. Park, Sr. was a man of executive ability and a leader in that day. Greene County's Board of Education members were: Henry W. Jernagin, C. C. Davison, J. V. Thomas, James L. Smith,
70
HISTORY OF GREENE COUNTY
T. A. Branch. There were pictures of County School Com- missioner R. B. Smith, J. H. H. Brown Treas. of the County and Miles Copeland, Tax Receiver.
18. SILOAM was a progressive community and in the same issue of the Herald-Journal of 1897 this town was one of well-to-do and thrifty farmers. There were cotton gins, large stores and fertile lands abounding. Siloam was lo- cated six miles east of Greensboro and seven miles from the junction of the Athens branch and main lines of the Georgia railroad. There were 300 people living here and some lands were advertised from $12 to $20 an acre. The Methodists and Baptists had handsome churches here and the Presbyterians had a new church building.
A fine school was under the supervision of Prof. Tal- fourd Smith. Some of the business men were: James T. Fillingim, John T. Boswell, E. J. Stanley.
19. LIBERTY, was a historical part of Greene County and a farming section where, cattle, grain, cotton and fruits flourished. Land sold from $3 to $10 an acre. Cotton was the main crop and the town was advertised as being free from malaria. (1897) There was water power on the near- by river, there were two good schools, and two churches, a post office with two daily mails, three gins, three grist mills and many stores.
20. SCULL SHOALS: This place was settled in 1784 and figured in numerous massacres by the Indians. Fort Clark was built in 1794 where Georgia's first paper mill was built, the first cotton gin, and the first cotton factory in 1834. Here was the home of Governor Peter Early and this was the second largest village in Greene County at the close of the War Between the States. There was a grist mill, a flour mill, several stores, a postoffice, a Baptist church and more than 500 people. (Acts of Ga. Legisla- ture, Adiel Sherwood, Geo. White, and other historians)
21. GREENSBORO:The county seat of Greene County and named as such in the Act creating Greene County on Feb- ruary 3, 1786. It was named for Nathaniel Greene, gov-
71
HISTORY OF GREENE COUNTY
erned first by a board of Commissioners appointed by the Legislature. This was designated as the site of the Uni- versity of Ga. It was burned by the Indians in the summer of 1787 and incorporated as a town in 1803. The postoffice was established in 1792 and the first term of Superior Court was held in Jan. 1790 with Judge George Walton presiding, who was a signer of the Declaration of Inde- pendence.
The present courthouse was built in 1849 and remodeled in 1937. The Augusta Chronicle tells of the burning of the second courthouse and jail in 1807 by a runaway Negro. The old rock jail now standing was built that same year. The third courthouse was a framed building and stood very near where the present courthouse now stands. The first permanent public improvements, water works and sewer system started in 1898 under Mayor E. W. Copelan, T. B. Rice and J. E. Armor, Aldermen. The first municipally owned public school was built in 1908 under Dr. J. H. Gheesling, Mayor and Aldermen, T. B. Rice, B. J. Mc- Whorter, J. B. Park, E. G. Pennington and J. H. Mc- Whorter. Other units have since been added and a $35,000 gymnasium and auditorium. In 1939 the Mayor is C. E. Robinson, Aldermen, J. S. Callaway, Howard Connally, T. Hamp McGibony, R. C. Townsend and Carey Williams. This administration junked the old inadequate steam elec- tric plant and brought in Ga. Power Co. electricity, paved the streets, improved the town, schools, waterworks, clean- ed up the town and encouraged improvements of every kind.
22. WHITE PLAINS: This was called Fort Neil soon after Greene Co. was settled and later took its name from the sandy soil of the land. Settlers moved north of the first set- tlement to springs to get water and the White Plains Aca- demy was incorporated in 1834, and the town before that. The town has always been noted for its culture and fine citizenship and that is still true.
White Plains is situated in the southeastern portion of Greene Co. twelve miles from the county seat of Greens-
72
HISTORY OF GREENE COUNTY
boro. It was the terminus of the Union Point and White Plains railroad a distance of fourteen miles. Crops raised there as stated by "The Herald-Journal," issue of Oct. 1, 1897 says that cotton, corn, wheat, oats, rye and potatoes were grown there in large qualities. The fruits were peach- es, pears, apples and grapes. White Plains boasted of the Dawson Institute at that time under Prof. J. W. Glen as- sisted by Misses Orr, Helen Kilpatrick and Mrs. E. B. Ho- ward.
Some of the business men there in 1897 were : Randolph Tappan, Jr. and T. C. Holden, Z. T. Walker, Rev. J. H. Kilpatrick, Rev. B. E. L. Timmons, W. T. Rodgers, J. R. Marchman, A. S. Smith, J. D. Anderson, Hillsman and Gorham. There were two physicians; Dr. I. D. Moore and Dr. C. C. King. There were W. M. Tappan and son in the mercantile business. This was at that time an enterprising town, with brick business houses, manufacturing of wagons, buggies, road carts and all vehicles, woodwork, coffins and caskets.
The climate was advertised as being ideal and industry was being urged to locate there.
23. JEFFERSON HALL; This was the name given the home built by Lemuel Green and which is still standing a little more than a mile east of Union Point to the right of paved highway number 12. Quite a village sprang up here when the Ga. railroad was built and it was the terminus for several years. There were several stores, an Inn, postoffice, warehouse and other buildings. Freight for Greensboro, Athens, Madison and Covington is said to have been dis- charged at Jefferson Hall.
24. PENFIELD, was the cradle of Mercer University. It is seven miles to the north of Greensboro, and here in this ob- scure village much of the history of the Baptist church of Georgia has been written. Here the famous University of the Georgia Baptists was founded and here the great Jesse Mercer sleeps on the old college campus.
73
HISTORY OF GREENE COUNTY
In 1829 when the Ga. Baptist Convention met in Mil- ledgeville, it was announced that Joseph Penfield, of Sa- vannah, a deacon in the church had given the sum of $2,500 on condition that an equal amount be raised. This com- mittee was named to suggest a plan of action: Thomas Cooper, H. O. Wyer and J. H. T. Kilpatrick. They asked that a like amount be pledged and in fifteen minutes the amount necessary was raised. A Committee purchased from James Redd 450 acres seven miles north of Greensboro.
Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.