USA > Georgia > Jefferson County > History of Jefferson county > Part 3
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In an old issue of the Louisville Gazette, dated February 26, 1799, there was an executive order, signed by Thomas Johnson, Secretary to Governor James Jackson, calling on all the artists of the world
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HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY
to submit drawings for the proposed new Great Seal of the State. An outline sketch was furnished ac- cording to the terms of the Act, approved February 8, 1799, and a premium of thirty dollars was of- fered. The drawings were to be lodged in the Ex- ecutive Office at Louisville on or before April 20, 1799. At the same time proposals were to be sub- mitted for making and engraving the device, and July 3, 1799, was fixed as a limit to complete the contract. Daniel Sturgis, State Surveyor General, made the device approved by the Governor for the Great Seal, but the most elegant drawing was sent by one, Charles Frazer, of South Carolina, who was only sixteen years old. He would have obtained the premium but made a mistake by placing all the fig- ures on one side, instead of making a reverse. This Great Seal has never left the borders of the State of Georgia, though the impression on the minds of a great many is otherwise, attributing to Governor Charles Jenkins the rescue of Georgia's precious heirloom from the hands of military usurpers. The instrument of office which Governor Jenkins bore into exile for safe keeping, was the Seal of the Ex- ecutive Department. The Legislature awarded to this noble old Roman a facsimile of this Seal exe- cuted in gold, with the inscription, In arduis fidelis. The Great Seal was in the custody of Hon. Nathan
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C. Barnett throughout the entire period known as the Carpetbag Regime. He secretly moved it from the State Capitol to his home in Milledgeville. When Sherman, in his march through Georgia, reached Milledgeville he had Mr. Barnett arrested and ordered him to surrender the Great Seal, which he refused to do, stating that he would die before he would betray his trust. He was put in prison, but refused to tell where it was. When Georgia re- sumed her rightful place in the Union, Colonel Bar- nett restored the Great Seal. He had secretly buried it under his house at dead of night, telling no one but his wife.
In the Reconstruction days which followed the Civil War, another effort was made to find the Great Seal, as some pretense of legal form was needed to give authority to fraudulent transactions, so an imitation seal was substituted. No expense was spared by the Bullock administration to counter- feit the Great Seal, but when the contrivance was finished, it bore upon its reverse side the bar sin- ister. At first the difference was not noticed, but in the course of time it was found that the soldier standing between the pillars, "Justice" and "Mod- eration", held his sword in his left hand, while in the original he held it in his right hand.
The Judiciary system of the state was revised at
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HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY
the session of the legislature in 1798, and the state divided into three judicial circuits-the Eastern, Middle, and Western. Jefferson County was in the middle circuit, and George Walton was elected judge. These judges of the Superior Court were to be elected by the general assembly every third year, and were required to alternate in the circuits so that no two terms of court in the same county should be held by the same judge successively. The courts were held twice a year in each county, and each court had a clerk and sheriff. The office of Attor- ney-General was vested in one person for each cir- cuit. There was no supreme court, but the judges of each circuit were required to meet annually in Louis- ville, on the second Monday in July, to make rules for the government of the Superior Courts, and to determine such points of law as were reserved for agreement, and to give opinions on constitutional questions referred to them by the Executive. Another class of courts were called Inferior Courts. These were also held twice a year, in each county. The officers were appointed by the general assembly and were subject to the rules governing the superior court. Justice courts were held monthly in each county and had jurisdiction in suits not exceeding thirty dollars. . The justices were appointed by the Inferior Courts. Greater simplicity in pleading was
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provided for, and all defects in form could be reme- died on motion. Another act at this session pro- vided that the general election should be held the first Monday in October, and the voting should be by ballot. Members of Congress should be elected every two years. The time of the meeting of the general assembly was changed from January to the first Monday in November. The population of Georgia had increased to about one hundred and sixty-three thousand, whites and blacks. Cotton cul- tivation was becoming popular, since the invention of the cotton gin by Eli Whitney. Previous to this invention, the seed was picked out by hand, neigh- bors meeting at a specified home at night and hav- ing pleasant social times while working at the cotton in which the young and the old joined.
At this time the literature of Georgia was in its infancy. Only six academies had been incorporated in the state: Savannah, Augusta, Louisville, Sun- bury, and one each in Burke and Wilkes Counties. The treaty to ratify the boundaries of Georgia, Alabama, and Mississippi was approved and duly signed by the legislature in Louisville in 1802. Judge George Walton, Judge of the Middle circuit, died at his home in Augusta February 2, 1802, and Ben- jamin Shrine was appointed in his place. As Louis- ville had proved to be unhealthy, five commissioners
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were appointed at the 1802 legislative session in Louisville, to select a suitable spot at the head of navigation of the Oconee River and survey a tract of three thousand two hundred and forty acres of land to be set apart for a town to be called Milledge- ville, for the future capital of the state.
The military laws of the state were also revised, and the state divided into four militia districts, and these sub-divided into eight brigades, and these con- tinued into regiments, battalions and companies ; the numbers to be enrolled into these several bodies were prescribed and the times and places of musters, drills and other military duties were appointed. The governor was made commander-in-chief. These gatherings, composed of so many classes of people, were sometimes occasions of disorder, which in- cluded fights, horse racing, gander pulling and other things. Whiskey flowed freely.
These muster occasions were the inspiration of Longstreet's famous book, "Georgia Scenes," in which the characters were taken from real life. Louisville, as the capital of the state, was a great gathering place on muster days. The capitol was moved to Milledgeville in 1807, and in 1808 the legislature took some steps to prohibit the sale of spiritous liquors, and the same year the importation of African slaves was made unlawful.
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June 18, 1812, war was declared on Great Brit- ain, and the arms stored in Louisville were moved to Milledgeville.
In 1836, Hon. William Schley was elected Governor. He was educated in Louisville and Augusta. Howell Cobb, who was made governor in 1851, was born in Jefferson County. In 1853, the Democratic party was formally recognized in Geor- gia, and Herschel V. Johnston was elected demo- cratic governor. At this time the North and South were agitated over the slave question, and states' rights, which grew in intensity, and was the cause of bitter sectional feeling. The South stood for sep- arate State rights, the North adhered to the Union and when, in 1860 and 1861, the Southern States, one by one, seceded from the United States, war was declared, and continued four years. The South fought under great difficulties, but finally yielded to better equipment, and greater forces-many foreign soldiers being hired by the Federal government.
One of the closing scenes of this war was General Sherman's march from Atlanta to Savannah. Jef- ferson County lay in the path of this march, and great destitution of food and clothing followed. This was in November, 1864. The men of the country were in the army, from boys of sixteen years to old men, and only women and children, with most
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of the slaves, were left on the plantations. Some of the slaves had gone into camp with their masters to wait on them. The feeling between slaves and their owners was like the dependent trust and love of children, combined with the protecting care of the blacks for their white folks. The white family was responsible for the food and clothing and medical attention of the slaves; religious services were con- ducted by themselves, sometimes by the white min- isters. The slaves, in turn, gave love and service to their white folks. This was demonstrated after Sherman's march to the sea, when but for these faithful servitors, many a child and the older ones, at the "big house", would have suffered more; for negroes have an uncanny way of finding things to eat, and they shared it all liberally with their mis- tress and her children, leaving their own family to get what was left.
Never in all history was shown a closer or more tender feeling between two races than was shown between the whites and blacks, until after the uncivil war. Very few of this type are living, for it is sixty years behind us; but, now and then, you will find an old "mammy" who, though too feeble to do much, still comes among the children of her white folks and putters around, knowing at the close of the day, when she goes home, the empty basket she brought
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in the morning will be filled to capacity with sub- stantials.
Because Jefferson County had a part in the work of evangelizing the negroes, an article from the "Blue Book of Southern Progress," issued by the Manufacturers Record of Baltimore, Maryland, is inserted : "One phase of Southern life of olden days needs to be told and retold. This is the religious spirit which prevailed among people of all classes. With a profound conviction of their responsibility to God and to the negroes, people of the South, be- tween 1800 and 1860, did the greatest missionary work in human history. There is nothing compar- able to it. Slaves just from the jungles of Africa representing many tribes, tribes which had fought each other-some of which had been cannibalistic in spirit and in act; tribes which could not speak the language of other tribes, were brought to this country.
"The slave-trader or slave-importer was not gen- erally of Southern birth, but wherever he might hail from, whether from New England or England, or other lands, he was thoroughly despised by the peo- ple who bought slaves from him. Taking these negroes just from barbarism, absolutely without ed- ucation or any knowledge or conception whatever of God, the Old South concentrated its energy upon
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teaching them the story of the redeeming power of the Cross of Christ. Hundreds of thousands of these men and women black in face became white in heart. No more consecrated, devoted Christians have ever been known than many of these negroes to whom the Gospel of Christ was preached in the home and in the church by the men and women of the Old South. There were four million negroes in the south in 1860; all of them had been civilized and a very large proportion had been evangelized. Most of them had learned to love and respect their owners, and between owner and slave there was a spirit of actual devotion on both sides far greater than any but Southern born people have ever con- ceived of. The man who loves his faithful dog would fight to protect his dog against a brute, just as freely as the dog would fight to protect his master. There is a love between the dog and his master beautiful to behold, impossible to adequately de- scribe. A greater love existed between most owners and their slaves. To a large extent each would pro- tect the other against an enemy. It was a peculiar relation that had some elements of love and devo- tion on both sides which few outside people have ever understood."
As a lion defeated once, rises and shakes him- self to renew the battle, so the men, straggling home
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from battlefields in 1865 adjusted a new perspective to the desolate situation and plunged in to begin anew in untried ways, the effort of providing for themselves and family.
On many big plantations the negroes had re- mained, except some younger ones; with these, their former owner, if he returned from the war, made arrangements to run a little crop, provided some- thing in the way of an animal to pull the plow could be found, for nearly everything had been killed or driven off by Sherman's army. Sometimes a few cows and horses had been hidden by some faithful slave and were brought home after all danger was over. Often a milch cow was hitched to the plow, then milked at night to furnish food for the children. The heroic work and sacrifices of widows left with little children can never be recorded on earth. The people spun and wove cloth, both cotton and wool, for clothing; and many were the experiments in dyes and weaving to make unusual results. Shucks from corn were made into hats as well as other materials. The negroes used a great deal of wire grass, a native forest grass of this section, for baskets and other objects. Nearly every farm of good size had a small vat in which to tan leather for making shoes.
There was very little money in the country, and
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every thing needed, and that could be grown or made on the farm, was produced. Flour that could not be produced at home, and sugar and coffee, were ob- tained by barter as in primitive days. Slowly but surely the South was coming into her own. Jeffer- son County passed through this struggle. For a few years education was at a low ebb, but a few schools that had been established began again to function. Louisville had not suspended; Bartow, Stellaville and Bethany had good schools, with one or more lit- tle schools in country settlements. Cotton planting again absorbed the farmers who, many of them, in a few years accumulated money and some fortunes.
Other business enterprises came in, saw mills, tur- pentine farms, cotton seed oil mills, railroads, and dairying with various other things, are developing the county which, with good roads and good schools, together with its fine farming lands, make it the peer of any section in Georgia. Here can be raised al- most any crop that grows in the temperate zone. Truck farming is profitable. Dairying and poultry raising are attracting much attention, where it is easy to raise everything needed for feed. Since the boll weevil has infested the cotton fields, diversity of farming is practised and made a scientific study. The county has for a number of years kept an expert farmer in Louisville at the service of every farmer in the county.
LOUISVILLE ACADEMY
STAPLETON SCHOOL
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HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY
Jefferson County, with her five senior accredited high schools, stands forth as the leading Rural County along school lines in Georgia.
Education is not sold to a community in one gen- eration ; hence when one considers the progress that Jefferson County schools have made during the past five years one will immediately say that for the past century Jefferson County has been composed of cit- izens with vision.
Consolidation in our county has been practiced as well as preached. The people have been educated to the fact that the small, isolated, lonely, antiquated, inefficient one-room school must give way to the large, well-equipped consolidated schools, as the ox- cart has given place to the motor car.
For the first time in the history of Jefferson County the schools opened in September, 1926, with all the one-room schools merged into the centralized schools.
Below are given the names of the small schools which have been consolidated : Aldred, Black Jack, Brinson, Calhoun, Cedar Grove, Dry Branch, Ebe- nezer, Hardeman, Harmony, Hadden Mill, Holly Grove, Johnson, Lofton, Log Yard, Laurel Hill, Midway, Middleground, Morris Grove, Noah, Oca- la, Ogeechee, Oak Grove, Padgett, Post Oak, Rock- dale, Stapleton Cross Roads, Swan, Tuckyhoo,
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Union Hill, Union Institute, Williams, Willie, and Woodland.
Hon. M. L. Duggan, Rural School Agent, thought so much of the schools of Jefferson County, that he made a stereopticon view to show to the back- ward counties of Georgia the progress that our county has made in consolidation and school build- ings.
Jefferson County is proud of her Senior high schools. Any boy or girl in the county can reach one of these schools in an half hour ride.
Louisville Academy is housed in a handsome $100,000 building, surrounded by a campus of eight beautiful acres with spacious grounds for athletics and playground.
This historic school was created by the legislature in 1784, the same year in which Franklin College, now the University of Georgia, was created.
Stapleton High School has the unique distinction of having erected a $50,000 school building by pub- lic subscription of her own patriotic people.
Wrens Academy stands as a monument to the heroic and self-sacrificing efforts of Supt. C. C. Mc- Collum, who has been at the head of this wonderful school for the past thirty years. Mr. McCollum has seen this school grow from a one-room shack with an enrollment of twenty-five pupils to the present
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handsome structure, with an enrollment of over 400 pupils.
Bartow High School is today in one of the most up-to-date school buildings in the State, erected in 1923.
Wadley High School was the first brick school building erected in the county. The people of this fine community were not satisfied with the school accommodations, so in 1923 a new grammar school building was erected, which is the pride of the whole district.
Junior high schools are located at Avera, Grange, Moxley, Matthews, Stellaville, and Zebina.
These schools teach nine grades and have from three to five teachers in each school, with a term of at least eight months.
Avera and Matthews schools will soon be housed in new buildings, as bond issues were recently held.
The curriculum in these schools is in conformity with the regular work of our Senior high schools.
Instead of carrying the school to the children, the children are brought to the school. All transpor- tation is handled by Ford trucks with standardized bodies; the drivers contract a salary for the year and furnish their own trucks.
There are twenty-eight Ford trucks operating daily over the county transporting over 1,000
SCHOOL AT WADLEY
SCHOOL AT MATTHEWS
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children to the schools. Over one-half of the en- rollment in our consolidated schools is composed of rural children. The average cost per day a child is less than ten cents.
Competent drivers and good roads enable our trucks to make schedule time and also guarantee to the parents the safety of their children.
It is not a question now of getting people to send their children to school; the great problem is to ad- equately care for the ones that are sent. All of our schools are crowded to capacity and the teachers are burdened with large classes.
Parents who have been sending their children on- ly six months to the small schools are now sending them nine months, as they readily see the great op- portunities that are placed before their children.
Our five high schools enroll eighty per cent. of the 2,700 white children in the county of school age. Louisville Academy has an enrollment of 450 pupils ; 250 of this number are transported in the seven Ford trucks that operate to this school.
Wadley and Bartow schools have each enrolled 350 children with fifty per cent. of them coming from the country.
Stapleton, with an enrollment of 275 children, has over 125 from the rural districts.
Wrens Academy, with an enrollment of over 425
WRENS SCHOOL
SCHOOL AT BARTOW
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HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY
children, has over fifty per cent. from the country.
Louisville Academy has won literary honors for the past three years in the County Meet. In the Tenth District Contest in 1924, Louisville won the Literary Cup. A County Meet is held each year ; all the schools of the county gather for athletic and literary contests. The interest of the teachers and children is stimulated weeks before the contests and the schools of the county are kept before the public eye.
Stapleton High School has always made credit- able showing both in literary and athletic events. Stapleton won the County Basketball Cup recently, and the Augusta Trade District Cup the year pre- vious.
Wrens High School won the County Basketball Cup in 1925, and the Tenth District Cup in 1926. Wrens school also won the Athletic Cup in the Tenth District Contest in Warrenton in 1925.
All teachers of Jefferson County have enrolled one hundred per cent. in the Georgia Education Association for the past three years. .
The financial condition of a county always reflects upon the efficiency or inefficiency of the County Board of Education. Over $125,000 is spent an- nually for the maintenance of the schools. In ad- dition to the county-wide tax of five mills that is
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levied, the thirteen local school districts levy five mills for administration of the schools.
All money raised to finance the $500,000 invested in school buildings is raised by bond issues in each local district.
Money for education is as much a preventive ex- pense against ignorance and crime as the dollars spent on the army and navy prevent war.
The equalization of educational opportunities for all children is at last coming to be realized in our county. The child in the remotest country district has access to as good school in Jefferson County as the one born and bred in the largest towns of the county.
Our school system has developed a splendid com- munity spirit and has broken down the long-standing barrier that has existed between the country and the town. The happy result of the $250,000 bond elec- tion for Good Roads last November has proven the above statement.
Three of the five accredited high schools in the county are on a paved road known as Federal High- way No. I, which runs from Fort Kent, Maine, to Miami, Florida. The present generation, and gen- erations to come, will always sing praises to Hon. J. R. Phillips, member of the State Highway Com- mission, for his untiring efforts in getting this main thoroughfare through the county.
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The experience of Jefferson County with the dis- trict and consolidated system has been most happy; and it is hoped that our entire rural school system throughout the State will be developed along the lines outlined in this short history.
THE YAZOO FRAUD
The territory of Georgia extended to the Missis- sippi River on the west. By all the treaties the state held all that region in undisputed control. In 1789 a party of men in South Carolina organized them- selves into a company, and named their organiza- tion the "South Carolina Yazoo Company". It was called Yazoo from a river and region of land near the Mississippi, once possessed by the Yazoo Indians, which this company undertook to purchase from Georgia.
Other companies were formed at the same time for the same purpose viz: "The Virginia Yazoo Company," with Patrick Henry at its head. "The Tennessee Company" was another corporation. These companies made application to the Georgia Legislature at the same time for grants of western lands. The agents of these companies worked with great energy, and much excitement prevailed. Soon, another company was formed, called "The Georgia Company".
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Many began to look with distrust on these com- panies, while the agents painted, in glowing terms, the benefits that would come to Georgia by the sale of these lands.
The Senate passed the bill legalizing the sale of Georgia's western lands after nine days' discussion, and was signed by Governor Walton. By the pro- vision of this bill, the three companies from South Carolina, Virginia and Tennessee-Georgia being excluded-received over twenty million acres of land in payment of two hundred thousand dollars or one cent per acre. This legislation produced great indignation in Georgia, but fortunately all the pro- visions of the grants were not fulfilled, and as the companies could not claim their lands, this sale was never completed. Other companies sprang up, and in 1794 the legislature received new proposals for the purchase of the western lands.
The companies were: "The Georgia Company", "The Virginia Yazoo Company", "The Tennessee Company", and "The Georgia-Mississippi Com- pany". These companies applied for twenty-three million acres of land and offered five hundred thou- sand dollars for it, or about two cents per acre. George Matthews was governor. He opposed the passage of any bill granting these lands. Every argument was used to gain his approval. The bill
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