USA > Georgia > Tift County > History of Tift County > Part 6
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There were four important business developments in Tifton during the middle and last of the nineties: the establishment of two new railroads, the securing of banking facilities, the building of a telephone exchange, and the sale of the Tifton Gazette.
When P. H. Fitzgerald, at that time editor of the American Tribune, the official organ of the Grand Army of the Republic, conceived the idea of establishing a colony of old soldiers in Georgia, where they would be free from the blizzards and freezing cold of the northwest, his dream was not far from realization. In July, 1895, the first payment on the lands was made, and from that time there began an increasing immigration from the North and West. Within a year's time, there were six or seven thousand colonists located in Fitzgerald.
The Georgia and Alabama Railroad, within four miles of the site chosen for the colony city and with the grading completed to the town, was urged to rush its work to an end. Captain H. H. Tift, who had a tram road extending within thirteen miles of Fitzgerald, saw a possibility
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of opening a shorter route to the colony. Although he began his work six months after the corporation, the Tifton and Northeastern Railroad entered Fitzgerald only ninety days after the Georgia and Alabama. By the latter part of May 1896, the new railroad was doing a substantial business under the following officers: H. H. Tift, president; W. O. Tift, vice-president; F. G. Boatright, traffic manager; E. J. Williams, Jr., cashier.
Another railroad was built during the nineties, the Tifton, Thomasville and Gulf. On August 10, 1899 an immense crowd celebrated with a bar- becue the completion of the first fifteen miles of the T. T. & G. railway. The Business Men's League of Tifton with Briggs Carson, chairman, and J. H. Hillhouse, secretary, raised about eight hundred dollars for the cele- bration. Special trains brought crowds from a distance. They came from the country "horse, foot, and dragoon, in cart, wagon, buggy, and horse- back, and their families came with them."1
Another sign of progress was the banking business. Late in 1895 Messrs. Julian, Love, and Buck filled an important need by establishing a general banking business in connection with their wholesale grocery house. It was not, however, until the establishment of the Bank of Tifton in 1896 that the banking facilities of the town compared favorably with those of the best towns in Southwest Georgia. Practically all of the prosperous citizens of Tifton contributed toward the new bank. When the building was com- pleted and the bank capitalized at $50,000, the achievement was the result of a community enterprise. W. S. Witham was made president; Captain H. H. Tift, vice-president ; C. W. Marsh, cashier.
The Telephone Exchange, too, was organized in 1896 by C. W. Ful- wood, who was its first president, Briggs Carson, C. W. E. Marsh, W. O. Tift, and W. O. Padrick. The central office was located in the Tift building. During the same year, long distance telephone connections were established with Ty Ty, Sumner, Poulan, and other points along the Brunswick and Western Railroad. The end of this line was located in the wholesale establishment of Julian, Love, and Buck, to whose enterprise the town was indebted for the line.
In May, 1895, B. T. Allen sold the Tifton Gazette to C. W. Fulwood and C. C. S. Baldridge. On May 17, the new editors came forward with the following statement of their policy: "It will be the earnest and constant care of the new management to place the Gazette among the best country weeklies of the state and to make it a potent factor in the upbuilding and general improvement of the section which is its peculiar territory."
The change in control of the Gazette was obviously a good one. Bald- ridge and Fulwood were primarily interested in the development of real
1. Tifton Gazette.
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estate in this section, and it was a time when possibilities of the land need- ed intensive advertising.
In November, 1895, the paper was sold to a stock company, composed of C. W. Fulwood, J. L. Herring, W. O. Tift, J. A. Phillips, H. H. Tift, W. O. Padrick, and S. G. Slack. The importance of this change was the fact that it brought the man who had the ability to make The Gazette a real and lasting influence, J. L. Herring. On July 10, Editor Herring followed the example of the previous year, and published a trade edition of the paper, to be distributed free to the visitors at the Midsummer Fair. This eighteen-page issue, attractively made up and amply illustrated, gave a thorough discussion of the towns and the possibilities of the land in this section as well as much miscellaneous material.
Excerpts from the paper give pictures of the progress of Tifton :
"Tifton is essentially a railroad town. Here cross the two great sys- tems, the Plant and the Southern. Then add connection with the Georgia and Alabama system, by way of Fitzgerald and Abbeville, and the route graded to Thomasville, and you will see that we are in the midst of a network of rails. Within eight hours of Jacksonville, twenty-four hours of Key West and thirty hours of New York we have mail, express, and railway facilities of the very best ... Four to six train crews stop over in Tifton each night, and the supervisors, claim agents, attorneys, etc., of this division of the three roads reside there.
"Time only prevents us also giving a picture of the city's foster mother, the big mill, that for over twenty years has daily woke it from its morning slumbers by the long blast of the powerful whistle, echoing over the green hills and sunny slopes, through the cool and balsam-laden air, and at night has bid the city rest in peace. This mill has a capacity of from 50,000 to 60,000 feet of merchantable lumber daily with steam dry kilns, and a large planing mill, with a daily output of 30,000 feet, with acres of sheds, open yards, and sidings. Also, near the mill, is the turpentine distillery, which has been a fixture in Tifton as long as the mammoth sawmill. These two industries give active employment to about 250 men, whose payroll is over $1,000 per week. To serve the mill requires two locomotives on the road and one in reserve.
OUR BUSINESS MEN
"Beginning at the southern limit of the town, we come first to sales stables, built the year past by Perryman Moore ...
"Facing Fifth street is the well equipped blacksmith and repair shop of Youman and O'Quinn, who do all kinds of repair work and have a wide experience in the business . . .
"Just west of them is the iron finished, two-story building, which Col. John Murrow is having built and which is nearly finished.
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"Mr. C. A. Williams was the first man to erect a brick building in Tifton, his livery stables going up in 1890 . . .
"On Railroad Street Mr. J. M. Garrett has located the Tifton City Bakery in a building recently erected by Col. Murrow. The bakery has a capacity of 400 pounds of cakes, seventy-five pounds of rolls, and twenty- five ponds of doughnuts daily.
"For years Tifton felt the need of a wholesale grocery establishment, and early in 1895 Mr. W. H. Love established one in his two-story brick building facing the Georgia Southern Railway. He had associated with him Mr. E. A. Buck, of Douglas, and Dr. G. W. Julian, of Pearson .. . Later in the same year they established a general banking business, which also met with marked success. This year Dr. Julian retired, owing to pro- fessional duties, and the firm is now Love & Buck ... Mr. M. W. Kirk- land is bookkeeper.
"Mr. D. W. McLeod, the veteran hotel man from Sumner, is proprietor of Hotel Julian, which he is most successfully conducting ..
"Dr. J. C. Goodman is the pioneer druggist of Tifton, having built the Tifton Drug Store in 1889. In it he carries a first class line of drugs . . .
"Next door is the post office, with T. M. Greene in charge. During the past year this office has been advanced from the fourth to the third class, and is the distributing point for three star routes-southwest to Obe in Colquitt County, by way of Debbie and Hadley; northwest to Hat, by way of Sutton, and northeast to Irwinville, and thence to Minnie, Abla, Ocilla, Ocala, etc. A daily mail to Fitzgerald, over the T. and N. E., is one of the possibilities of the near future.
"Back of the post office is Mrs. Martin's boarding house, which she has run successfully for a number of years . . .
"The Georgia Southern depot is in charge of the best of agents, W. F. Rudesill, with R. B. Easley assistant and E. O'Quinn night operator.
"On the eminence midway between the two depots is Hotel Sadie, now owned and run by Mr. W. W. Timmons with Mr. Robb as manager .- It has long borne a reputation as the leading hotel in this section, which the present management is fully sustaining, if we may judge by the crowds that throng its corridors.
"In its basement is Tifton's veteran barber, George Davis, who, despite the changes of season and vicissitudes of fortune, has shaved Tifton's citi- zens for years past.
"On the corner, in the Timmons building, is located J. J. Golden and Company. Tifton's new druggists . .. Here they have $1,100 soda fount . .. Mr. P. J. Strozier ... is in charge of the prescription department .. .
"Mr. E. B. O'Neal ... came to Tifton from Lakeland, Florida, in the spring and purchased the Parlor Grocery from Mr. W. H. Love ...
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"In his store is located G. W. Robinson, a first-class watchmaker and jeweler.
"Upstairs is the office of Briggs Carson, who represents all lines of insurance.
"Across Third Street is the Tifton Market and House, Wilson and Company, proprietors.
"Next door is the general store of I. S. and R. L. Bowen, who carry a nice and complete line of goods . . .
"Mr. A. S. Averett carries one of the prettiest little stocks of dry goods in town, and his ice cream parlor is a marvel of cleanly neatness.
"In the same building with him is clever J. G. Dedge, the veteran sew- ing machine man . .
"Next door is the first mercantile business in town established by He- brews. The three Marcus brothers came to Tifton early in the year from Buford, S. C. Since then, one of the brothers has sold his interest to the others . . .
"Over Bowen Bros., Mrs. Turner runs a boarding house . . .
"This history of the Padrick Bros. is interesting, they having started five years ago with one room in the Love Building, and their floor space now covering 1,700 square feet . .. East of their store they have built a bed spring factory.
"Across in front of them are two German families, Robt. Woods and L. Meyers, who run a grocery store and restaurant.
"In the Pitts Building, Mrs. W. F. Ford has established a boarding house ... In the lower story is a nice line of family groceries, with Mr. W. E. Greene in charge . . .
"Next door is the Suwanee Restaurant, erected by the lamented James I. Clements, and the first hotel built in Tifton. Mr. Jno. B. Greene is in charge.
"The City Restaurant and Grocery, Guest, Kell, and Company, proprie- tors, under the able management of Mr. H. Fordham, one of the firm, and his charming wife, has a complete line of groceries, and serves a meal that is first-class in every respect.
"Everybody knows Mich Gaskins, yet few know why he has never sought wedded bliss. In his line of goods, he has a complete and varied one, to which he is constantly adding . ..
"Upstairs M. Leo Isaac, of Brunswick, has set up a first-class merchant tailoring establishment . . .
"Mr. Geo. Smith, druggist, is in charge of the Smith Drug Store . . . Master Murrow is employed as clerk.
"Mr. D. A. Fulwood does watch repairing and keeps a full line of stationery, books, and office supplies, as well as fishing tackle and sporting goods.
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"L. S. Shepherd & Co. have their large building stocked with an im- mense line of every kind of goods kept in a general store . . .
"The Bank of Tifton, capitalized at $50,000, occupies a marble front building of its own, with Mr. C. W. E. Marsh as cashier. It is doing a large business . .
"At the B. & W., Mr. W .. M. Touchton, well and favorably known along the line of road, is in charge, with the Western Union instruments under the fingers of clever F. M. Mangham. They make a good team.
"Mr. E. P. Bowen is one of the best known men in Tifton, and his store, filled with a fine stock of general merchandise, well patronized. He also has an undertaker's establishment, the only one in town.
"Adjoining him is the express office, a paying one, in charge of Mr. W. T. Mangham . . .
"The lower story of the Tift building is occupied by W. O. Tift, mer- chant, and S. G. Slack, hardware. Mr. Tift is the pioneer merchant of the place . .. His store is a mammoth one, filling a floor space 50 by 90, and a hall 60 by 80 feet to repletion.
"One year ago S. G. Slack first put in a small line of hardware, which a fast increasing trade has caused to grow to colossal proportions. His floor space is 50 by 90, and every inch of this, except bare standing room, is jammed with goods, piled to the ceiling . . .
"Overhead are the offices of Sebley and Company, real estate, recently changed to the Tifton Land and Immigration Company. These hustlers have the topography of the country on their finger-tips, and hold options on thousands of acres of Georgia fruit and farm lands.
"Located in the office with them is James H. Price, general insurance, who represents a large number of companies.
"In the same building is cigar factory No. 164, in charge of J. A. Haralson, who learned his trade in Key West, Florida.
"Just east of the large mill is the Tifton Foundry and Machine Com- pany, R. S. Kell manager, which employs a number of hands. It employs 20 hands and has a full capacity of from 150 to 200 finished barrels daily.
"Another Tifton institution is the dairy farm of Padrick Brothers, under the management of Mr. G. H. Padrick. They have about twenty-five head of fine blooded stock, and find ready sale for more milk and butter than they can produce.
"Mr. R. A. Reese, an experienced cabinet maker, makes a specialty of fine office work.
"Nor must we omit our hustling contractors, S. G. Slack, W. N. Pitt- man, 'Pony' Smith, and others, together with Mr. Geo. W. Rex, one of the finest sign painters and decorators that has ever come to the state.
"Now go to Sutton & Young, near the Hotel Sadie, who keep some of the nattiest turnouts and fastest teams in town.
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"No mention of Tifton is complete without its corps of professional men. As they have located with us, they are, Drs. J. A. McCrea, J. C. Good- man, N. Peterson, and R. T. Kendrick. Of these men one grand truth can be stated. Each has made the study of his profession a life work and has risen to the top. Each is a man of experience and the strictest honor and integrity ... We doff our hats to you M.D.'s !
"Dr. John A. Peterson, a graduate in dentistry, has handsomely ap- pointed office on Love Avenue.
"Col. John Murrow is one of South Georgia's self-made young men, and by energy, vim and industry is rapidly climbing the ladder . . His office is in the Love building.
"Hall & Hendricks are two Georgia boys just admitted to the bar who are already coming into a good practice and making a reputation. They are plucky and enterprising, and success will be theirs. Office in Paulk building.
"Col. J. B. Murrow has established quarters in the Tift building. This young man, an apt pupil of his brother, is forging to the front ranks of the men of his profession.
"City Clerk Murray, of Fulwood & Murray, is a young man of brains and ability.
"Everybody that knows Tifton knows C. W. Fulwood, and his fight up the rugged hill."
During the period the Tifton Canning and Manufacturing Company and a branch plant of the Columbus Barrel Factory deserve emphasis. This canning plant, with E. B. Warman in charge, had a capacity of 10,000 cans and employed one hundred twenty men. Mr. J. L. Rein- schmidt was superintendent of the branch plant of the Columbus Barrel Manufacturing Company.
Another achievement in the nineties was the first Empire Garden Mid- summer Fair, July 10-11-12, 1894. About this exhibition the American Farmer, published in Chicago, said, "This fair, which was held early in July, was a magnificent success in every respect, and the display of the products of the soil of Southwestern Georgia was a visible and emphatic proof of all that has been claimed for this section. The display of fruits and vegetables was such a one as has never been excelled on a similar occa- sion in the South."
Nature contributed snow, a partial eclipse of the moon, and Aurora Borealis to the history of this period. In 1895 children celebrated Wash- ington's birthday by making snow figures; snow fell from three to six inches on that day. The winter of 1894-95 was the coldest that anyone in Tifton remembered at that time. The partial eclipse of the moon occurred on the night of September 14, 1894. In August of the same year between twelve o'clock at night and two in the morning Tifton people had the
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opportunity of witnessing a colorful spectacle-the Aurora Borealis. Bril- liant red clouds with silver linings flashed in the northern sky at twelve, then suddenly faded, but reappeared later and lasted an hour.
Health conditions in Tifton during the nineties were good. People could not begin a cemetery because the death rate was low. There were five deaths in five years: one, an infant; the other, a man killed on a rali- road. Despite this fact a visitor had a different idea. In reference to tur- pentine stills the Tifton Gazette of 1892 had this paragraph :
"The stripped trees became white with the resinous sap and on a dark night one would take a turpentine farm for a huge cemetery with thou- sands of tombstones. A newcomer was heard to remark that he always thought South Georgia was unhealthy, but after seeing one of these seem- ingly large cemeteries he knew it. He packed up and left on the first train."
Although Tifton was more or less healthy and gay during the nineties, gayety did not extend to all parts of the rural district. Some families were living in one-room log houses with stick and clay chimneys and tending small farms. The following excerpt from a visitor's report about rural life near Tifton was published in 1895 in The Tifton Gazette: "The wife goes to church in a springless cart, to which is hitched a single ox, which is guided by ropes tied to each other." Tenants on farms worked for twelve dollars a month.
Despite the epithet, "gay nineties," Tifton had financial strain during 1892 ; some of the old negroes attributed the trouble to the fact that the year began on Friday.
Rural and town people, however, enjoyed many social events together regardless of financial difficulties. Candy pullings or "candy snatches" were very popular. Boys and girls from different groups mingled during wagon straw-rides to cane grindings. Many matches were effected to the rhythm of squeaks as the old mule went round and round his beaten path, and the mill crushed fresh sweet juice from the long stalks of red Georgia cane. Then couples would separate and exchange word affections, while beaus peeled cane for the town girls and rustic maids.
The grand finale of the cane grinding was the candy pulling. The last boiler of syrup cooked until it reached the candy stage ; then partners pulled the candy together until losing its dark color, it turned a golden hue; then the merry party broke and filled the wagons again. On the way home the young people sang popular songs and ballads.
The ballads were often directed by John Sutton, the wire grass minstrel of the nineties. In 1893 he moved to a farm, about six miles from Tifton and led the singing plays at cane grindings and other entertainments. One night he went to a place where some of the guests were playing cards. A card objector, he took a group of young people into a room and led the
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singing. Lusty voices announced such a good time that the choristers broke up the card game and the card players joined the singing.
Sutton, too, led church songs at Salem Church. Regardless of this con- tribution, however, the preacher and deacons tried to turn Sutton out of the church because of his belief in open communion ; he "outargued" all of them and stayed in the church.
Although Sutton passed the three-score and ten mark several years ago, he still remembers the ballads sung at different parties and vividly de- scribes the singing plays. Many nights during cane grinding season breezes carried such tunes as,
"London Bridge is falling down Oh, law, my lady is gay! We'll mend it up with sticks and clay Oh, law, my lady is gay. We'll mend it up with sticks and clay."
"Old Sister Phoebe how merry was she. The night she sat under the juniper tree. Put this hat on your head To keep your head warm.
"Ten thousand sweet kisses Will do you no harm No harm no harm I say But a great deal of good I know.
"Arise you up, Phoebe, and Go choose you a one. Choose you a fair one Or else choose none.
Oh, what a wretched choice you've made ! In your grave you'd better been laid. Sing him a song and make him gay Give him a kiss and send him away."
"Come under, come under My honey, my love My heart's above. My love's gone aweeping A long way from me I've got you here
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I keep you here My honey, my love, My heart's above My love's gone aweeping A long way from me."
"Old Uncle Johnnie He had a little mill ; All the wheat and corn he got He rolled it down the hill.
Hand in the hopper, Other in the bag; Every time you turn around The miller says grab."
"Corn in the crib, Poultry in the yard, Meat in the smokehouse, Tub full of lard.
Milk in the dairy, Butter on the board,
Coffee in the little sack Sugar in the gourd."
The conclusion of the gay period-the Spanish-American War-was inconsistent with the epithet, gay. After the insidious sinking of the Maine, the slogan, "Remember the Maine," vibrated from coast to coast. The Spanish government accepted as a declaration of war the President's ulti- matum to Spain, on April 16, 1898, giving that nation until Saturday at noon to say whether or not the Spanish troops would vacate Cuba. On April 21, 1898, the United States Fleet at Key West sailed for Cuba.
Among the Tifton sons who volunteered to join the colors were Raleigh Eve, Bill Jones, and Ezekiel Williams. The patriotic women of Tifton sent them a handsome hamper of necessities and luxuries. On top of one of the packages were a linen duster and a palm-leaf fan. These women also organized a Ladies' Relief Society for the purpose of providing re- freshments for the troops passing through Tifton.
The gloom of the war period was brightened by the bravery of Tift County boys and by the honor conferred on one of Tifton's daughters- Katherine Tift, daughter of W. O. Tift. On May 16, 1898 she received this telegram :
"Miss Powell, sponsor for Georgia at the unveiling of the monument to
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HISTORY OF TIFT COUNTY
signers of the Mecklenberg Declaration of Independence at Charlotte, N. C., May 20, selects you as one of the maids-of-honor. Leave Atlanta Thurs- day. Hope you accept.
"W. Y. Atkinson."
Miss Tift accepted the honor and was a credit to Tifton and Georgia.
On August 12, 1898 the Spanish-American War, which had lasted three months and twenty-two days, ended at 4:23 o'clock, when Secretary Day for the United States and M. Cambon, for Spain, in the presence of Presi- dent Mckinley, signed a protocol, the basis of a definite treaty of peace.
The United States paid Spain $20,000,000 for the Philippines. For sev- eral months after the war the United States had to fight the Filipinos, who declared that our country had no right to govern them and that they would fight as hard for their liberty as they had fought under Spanish misrule. Finally, however, the Filipinos had to accept "Old Glory," which later they learned to love and honor. These people proved their loyalty to Amer- ica during World War II.
CHAPTER VII THE EARLY NINETEEN HUNDREDS
In 1900 pine groves near Tifton still had their aesthetic and financial values. Turpentine distilleries, lumber and planing mills still attracted visitors. The Atlanta Georgian, May 8, 1903, carried an interesting article :
"Tifton is situated in the middle of the yellow pine lumber and naval stores belt of South Georgia. It is the home of the Georgia Saw Mill Association, and for each of the six working nights of the week four solid train loads of lumber are transferred in the railroad yards . . . This aggregates nearly 1,300 train loads of twenty cars each during the year, and gives you some idea of the volume of this business."
Despite these facts, the pine was not the absolute monarch that it had been in former years. The tendency toward stressing farming was strong during 1900. The attention to cotton was one of the indications of this interest in farming. In March, 1900, stockholders of the proposed Tifton Cotton Mills met and effected a temporary organization by electing the following officers: H. H. Tift, President; W. S. Witham, financial agent ; L. G. Manard, L. S. Shepherd, and W. S. Witham comprised the board of directors of the new company.
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