USA > Georgia > Tift County > History of Tift County > 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 | Part 50 | Part 51
In April H. H. Tift, L. G. Manard, and W. S. Witham after spend- ing a week in the inspection of the leading cotton mills in Georgia, made a trip to Charlotte, North Carolina, to meet with the agents of the lead- ing cotton mill machinery manufacturing concerns of the country. The representatives of the Tifton mills found machinery in great demand ; how- ever, they finally closed a contract with the agent of an English manufac- turer, who had just filled a contract for the machinery of a small firm that had "gone broke." The machinery was left on his hands, and accord- ing to the contract, it was to be delivered in Tifton by July I.
Soon after the return of the Tifton representatives, a permanent organi- zation was effected. H. H. Tift was chosen president; S. M. Clyatt, vice- president ; and L. G. Manard, secretary and treasurer. The board of direc- tors was composed of H. H. Tift, L. S. Shepherd, W. W. Banks, E. P. Bowen, S. M. Clyatt, L. G. Manard, and Briggs Carson.
In 1900 the Tifton Ginning Company organized with the following officers : J. L. Ensign, president, and E. P. Bowen, secretary and treasurer. The board of directors was composed of H. H. Tift, J. Lee Ensign, H. Kent, E. P. Bowen, and L. G. Manard.
By 1904 other cotton gins and several cotton warehouses had been established as indispensable to Tifton's economic future. Furthermore the Tifton Cotton Mills were operating at a maximum rate of speed, reaching
53
54
HISTORY OF TIFT COUNTY
a weekly amount of 8,000 pounds of Number 30's a ply yarn. During 1903 the cotton mills showed a net earning of $22,000.
As farming interests increased, J. L. Herring envisioned the possibili- ties of this section. His words later proved a fulfilled prophecy :
"Every year the professions are becoming worse crowded; every year entrance into them made more difficult; and success after entrance is gain- ed, made harder to obtain. In business lines, it is noteworthy that not one man in twenty-five goes through life without a failure.
"Yet, on the millions of acres of farming lands in South Georgia is room for every son of her soil. And under the tillage of an educated, comprehen- sive husband-man, the return is a thousand fold, and success is assured . . .
"Educate your sons, men of South Georgia, but educate them for the farms; for the calling to which his maker assigned man, and you prepare them for a life of long years, peace, and happiness, and lay up for your- selves the plaudits of your grateful countrymen !"
During the pre-county period there were a number of economic de- velopments. Adequate long distance telephone service was effected in the fall of 1902 when the line of the Southern Bell Telephone Company ar- rived in Tifton. About this time the Tifton Ice and Power Company was organized. The franchise of the new firm-good for five years and carry- ing an extra five-year option if the arrangement proved satisfactory- was first bought by B. M. Griffin, who later sold it to L. P. Thurman.
The new power company was organized with the following officers: S. M. Roberts, manager, and L. P. Thurman, secretary and treasurer. The stockholders were: S. M. Roberts, L. P. Thurman, J. G. L. Phillips, H. H. Tift, W. T. Hargrett, and W. W. Banks. A light plant was soon in- stalled and in March, 1903, "The fair hands of Mrs. W. W. Banks and Mrs. S. M. Roberts pushed the lever and instantly, as by a magician's wand, the city sprang from darkness into a light as of day!" (Tifton Gazette).
During this period W. S. Cobb and J. M. Price, of Canton, Georgia, and S. N. Pool and Mr. R. E. Dinsmore, of Tifton, planned the erection of a ten-thousand-dollar guano plant in Tifton. Briggs Carson and C. W. Fulwood gave the town a modern foundry, when they bought and con- solidated the plants formerly owned by P. J. Clark Foundry and Machine Company and the Gifford Iron Works Company. Another step in prog- ress was taken by the management of the Tifton Cotton Mills when a twenty-thousand-dollar knitting mill was built. The finished plant had a capacity of from two to three hundred dozen pairs of hose a day of ten hours.
At this time there was a tremendous increase in banking business in Tift County. In December, 1903, a meeting was held at the office of Colonel John Murrow, and the Citizen's Bank of Tifton was organized with the
55
HISTORY OF TIFT COUNTY
following officers : E. A. Buck, president ; C. A. Alford, vice-president ; and J. M. Paulk, cashier. The directors were I. H. Myers, W. F. Rudistill, C. E. Fryer. J. B. Murrow, J. M. Paulk, E. A. Buck, C. A. Alford, and G. F. Alford The bank was organized with twenty-five thousand dollars subscribed and paid capital.
In the late summer of 1903 plans were completed for the organization of the First National Bank, number 6542 on the official roster at Wash- ington. By September, capital stock worth twenty-five thousand dollars had been sold. The first officers of the new bank were J. J. L. Phillips, presi- dent; I. W. Myers, vice-president ; O. D. Gorman, cashier. The directors were H. H. Tift, Briggs Carson, Asa G. Candler, J. J. L. Phillips, W. E. Baker, I. W. Myers, A. B. Hollingsworth, O. D. Gorman, and Perry- man Moore.
On October 5, 1905, Tifton's fourth bank was organized, when the stockholders of the Merchants' and Farmers' Bank met and elected the following board of directors: J. L. Brooks, L. O. Benton, W. H. Hend- ricks, Perryman Moore, E. E. Slack, J. N. Horne, M. L. McMillan, I. W. Bowen. and J. L. Gay. The following officers were elected : L. O. Benton, of Monticello, president; W. H. Hendricks, first vice-president; Perryman Moore, second vice-president; and J. L. Brooks, cashier. The new bank was capitalized at thirty thousand dollars.
Devastating fires swept over many buildings during 1904 and 1905. In January of 1904, the Tifton Supply Company in the H. H. Tift building caught fire. Losses were estimated at twenty thousand dollars, with about fifteen thousand dollars insurance.
Three months later F. J. Clark and Company's Foundry and Machine Shops were damaged to the extent of three thousand dollars.
In February, 1905, the building occupied by Carson Brothers was de- stroyed by fire. The loss was nine thousand dollars above insurance. Then on February 24, the Tifton Gazette issued a fire extra. Bold headlines an- nounced : "Hotel Sadie Is No More!" Excerpts from the story are :
"What was yesterday the home of hundreds, a hive of life and indus- try, is now a smoking ruin, and the stranger in Tifton is without a home.
"Four lines of hose were quickly laid to the main from the fire pump at Tift's mill.
"For a while the Williams, Clyatt, Smith, and Boatright buildings, the Bank of Tifton, and Sumner's stables were in imminent danger and but for the fact that it was a calm, still night, and that the fighters fought valiantly, probably the balance of the business part of Tifton would have fallen victim to the ravenous appetite of the God of flames."
In March fire caused about three thousand dollars damage above in- surance coverage in the building owned by Mr. John Murrow.
Probably the most disastrous fire in the history of Tifton was on No-
56
HISTORY OF TIFT COUNTY
vember 4, 1904 when a blaze began in the four-story Slack building, sweep- ing through it, the two-story Regent Hotel, covering more than a full lot, the two-story Bowen building with the opera house on the second floor, the E. B. O'Neal building, the E. H. Tift building, and all the stores and offices in these buillings. The residences of Mrs. Julia Pope, H. W. Brown, C. B. Holmes, and Mayor W. W. Timmons were also destroyed by fire. Only heroic efforts of Tifton citizens saved the Na- tional Bank and the post office. The loss was estimated at between $115,000 and $125,000 with $60,000 insurance.
On Sunday evening November 7, the Tifton Knitting Mills, with all machinery and other equipment, were burned. The mill and machinery, owned by H. H. Tift and valued at twelve thousand dollars, were a total loss.
Disconsolately Tifton citizens viewed a bleak town, but looking into lifeless ashes, and envisioning new structures, soon effected plans for re- construction.
In connection with these fires Mr. J. L. Williams, editor of the Tifton Free Press, tells a mysterious story. After a traveling group of men and women had preached for several days on the streets of Tifton, causing some disturbance, the city council passed a resolution to request these evangelists to leave town. Infuriated, the band gathered on the northwest corner of Love Avenue and Second Street; weird sounds issued from the spot. Tif- ton citizens could not understand all of the speeches, but could hear the pronouncing of a curse and the stamping of feet on the spot. The incanta- tion, "In forty-eight hours something terrible will happen in Tifton!" floated from the corner distinctly enough for by-standers to hear; then the group shook Tifton dust off their feet and stalked away.
Exactly forty-eight hours afterward the flame began in the basement of the Slack building, increasing to a conflagration, which swept in all direc- tions from the corner where the incantation sounded. Fire raged, but stopped before reaching Mr. W. T. Hargrett's home. This fire destroyed the buildings on the property of all the councilmen who owned any except those of W. T. Hargrett, who, strange to say, opposed the resolution to make the visiting preachers leave, and H. H. Tift. The latter, however, soon afterwards lost his knitting mills by fire.
Excerpts from the Tifton Gazette :
"March 15, 1901-William Tygart, representing the Standard Oil Company, arrived in Tifton last week and is superintending the erection of an oil reservoir to care for the growing business here.
"March 22-Colonel R. Eve, Mrs. Neville, and Mrs. Maud Greer, undaunted by the potential wrath of Tifton's first baby show announced winners : to the boy and girl under one year, Malcolm Peterson and Ruth
57
HISTORY OF TIFT COUNTY
Harmon ; one to three years, Ralston Padrick and Leona Wilcox; three to five years, Ernest Baker and Mary Tift.
"May 3-Tifton Lodge Number 47, Free and Accepted Masons, with the duly constituted ceremonies of the order, laid the cornerstone of Tif- ton's new $8,000 Methodist Church Wednesday afternon at 3:30.
"June 21-Measurement of the railroad tracks within the corporate limits has elicited the information that Tifton contains over sixteen miles of railway track.
"Nov. I-It is plain to every citizen, and even to the most casual ob- server, that the law against selling intoxicants is being violated every day in the city and in the two negro suburbs immediately adjoining. And al- though they have had several months, both city and county officers appear powerless to either stop the sale or bring the lawbreakers to justice.
"Nov. 15-At the state fair, James Clyatt won the first prize in the grammar class of oratory; Miss Laura Smith won first prize in the elocu- tion contest.
"Jan. 17, 1902-A visitor to Tifton had the following to say of Super- intendent Harmon: 'I am sure the people of Tifton realize and appreciate their good fortune in having such a fine preceptor and organizer as Pro- fessor Harman since he built up the school from the crude state in which he found it, with only 65 pupils to the present well-ordered, thoroughly- graded school of more than 200 scholars.'
"Jan. 31-An idea of the work that is being done in Tifton now can be gained from the fact that 25 residences have been built and contracted for since the first of January.
"Of these, eight for the knitting mill have been finished ; eight for Slack and Phillips are soon to be built; two for H. Kent, two for B. W. High- tower, and five on Tifton Heights will be completed in the near future.
"Feb. I-The Atlanta papers quote John Temple Graves as saying : 'Tifton is a type of life and progress in all the Southern section of the state . .. Time was, and I recall it, when to spend a summer amid the supposed malaria of South Georgia was deemed equivalent to a written invitation to fever and death. Now the artesian wells flowing crystal and freely through all these southwestern towns have made the wiregrass as healthful as the Piedmont hills and demonstrated to a certainty that it is malaqua, and not malaria that has been the curse of southern climes.'
"Feb. 14-Bishop Nelson, of the Georgia Episcopal Church, says: St. Anne's Church, Tifton, is the outcome of a missionary effort begun under the direction of the Bishop by the Reverend Frank B. Ticknor in 1894.
"April 18-Inclement weather is no handicap to Sam Jones; during less than a week, his revival has brought over a hundred new members to the local churches.
58
HISTORY OF TIFT COUNTY
"June 27-Prof. Jason Scarboro, for three years head of the Moultrie public schools, has been elected principal of the Tifton school system.
"September 2-There are thirty-five business houses in Tifton less than two years old.
"October 24-Harry Goodman enjoys the distinction of having brought to Tifton the first "Auto-Bi" or motor-bicycle. The vehicle when steamed up to the right temperature is calculated to make the speed of one mile in one minute and twelve seconds.
"Nov. 7-The Women's Literary Club was organized Wednesday after- noon with the following officers: Mrs. C. D. Fish, president; Mrs. F. S. Harrell, secretary; and Mrs. W. E. Myers, treasurer.
"Jan. 2, 1903-A Tifton German Club was organized last Friday night. Standing chaperons are: Mr. and Mrs. E. H. Tift, Mr. and Mrs. Boatright, Mr. and Mrs. Bond, Mr. and Mrs. Greer, Mr. and Mrs. T. S. Williams, Mr. and Mrs. H. S. Murry, and Mr. and Mrs. Delph.
"Jan. 23-In the first race for judge and solicitor of the city court F. G. Boatright was elected judge and C. C. Hall, solicitor. O. L. Chest- nutt, justice of peace for two years, resigned his office to accept the clerk- ship. T. B. Henderson, a former sheriff of Ware County, was appointed sheriff.
"Feb. 13-Last week, seventeen Tifton carpenters met for the purpose of organizing a union. The following officers were elected: R. W. Ter- rill, president; J. L. Hamilton, secretary ; M. Chance, treasurer; B. W. Harrell, financial secretary; H. Harris, conductor ; and Mr. Martin, war- den.
"Feb. 20-Following the lead of the carpenters in union consciousness, yesterday the skilled sawmill workers of Tifton met and organized a union, with the following officers: R. E. Hall, president; John Bruce, vice-presi- dent; W. W. Cowan, secretary; C. L. Gaulding, sergeant-at-arms. The enrollment of this union has reached sixty names, embracing the best work- ers in this section. The local organization is under the protection of the National Federation of Labor.
"July 3-The Tifton and Northeastern railroad was sold to the Title Guarantee and Trust Company in Atlanta Saturday last. The money was paid and the stock transferred, President H. H. Tift making the transfer to attorneys representing the trust company. The cash price was $243,750. The stock was transferred in blank.
"July 17-Tax returns for the Tifton district of Berrien County show a big increase over last year, having passed the million dollar mark. In exact figures, they are $1,033,144. Last year, they were $965,090, showing an increase over 1901 of $243,301.
Twenty years ago, the total taxable property of Berrien County reached the sum of $1.000,000.
59
HISTORY OF TIFT COUNTY
Wednesday night, Juniper Camp No. 105, W. O. W. was reorganized in Tifton, and the following officers were elected : J. L. Williams, Coun- cil Com .; W. T. Mangham, Advisory Lieut .; R. H. Hutchinson, Jr., Banker; C. R. O'Quinn, Clerk, and N. Peterson, Camp Physician.
"July 31-The Tifton Terminal Company has been organized to con- trol the railroad yards formerly belonging to the Tifton and Northeastern Railroad. Mr. H. H. Tift is president and Mr. J. L. Jay, Junior-superin- tendent.
"Dec. II-The Tifton Rifles, Company F, Fourth Georgia, received their uniforms and other equipment Monday. There are two uniforms for each man, fatigue and dress. The guns are the Krag Jergensen rifle, with several thousand rounds of ammunition, side arms and accoutrements. R. Eve is captain of the new unit.
"Manager Keith Carson, of the opera house, has arranged with the Van Epp Vaudeville Company to give their high-classed entertainment Satur- day afternoon and evening. The very latest and best of moving pictures will be presented-among others, the celebrated Harvard-Yale football game, at Cambridge. 'Still His Trousers Grew' is another new fascinating picture ; 'Happy Hooligan,' another.
"Jan. 22, 1904-Since the merger of the Tifton, Thomasville and Gulf, rumor has been rife that the Atlantic and Birmingham would also absorb the Brunswick and Birmingham. This rumor has been confirmed.
"April I-The pupils of Tifton Public School took the clapper out of the bell, the handle off the pump, scattered the chalk and books and nailed up the door this morning. A sign over the door says: 'Nothing doing at school, and the boys and girls are off to the woods.'
"April 15-The Tuesday Afternoon Whist Club was entertained this week by Mrs. Erminie Scott at the home of her sister, Mrs. F. S. Harrell, on Sixth Street.
"April 22-John Murrow was elected judge of the city court with a majority of 63 votes over Raleigh Eve; the voters named J. J. Murray solicitor.
"May 23-Carrie Fulwood, Charles H. Garrett, and Effie Kent took part in the program for the first commencement exercises of Tifton Public School last week.
"July 1-Effective July 1, Tifton post office will be advanced to the second class, due to the fact that the receipts of the office have averaged over $8,000 per year for fifteen months past.
"July 15-For the past year, the Tifton district showed a gain of $133,113 in tax returns, making a total of $1,166,257 worth of taxable property. The Tifton district has shown a gain in tax returns since 1890.
"July 22-J. L. Johns, of Tifton, caused a near riot early in the week when he carried an automobile to Cordele. He was carrying passengers to
60
HISTORY OF TIFT COUNTY
the ball diamond, working under a liveryman's license. He was fined a dollar for creating disturbance, despite the fact that Cordele did not have an ordinance to cover automobiles.
"Dec. 30-Washington Camp Number 8, Patriotic Order Sons of America will be instituted in Tifton Jan. 16.
"Jan. 27, 1905-J. L. Johns, the liveryman, who bought Tifton's first automobile last summer, received three handsome. new Rambler machines last week. One of them, an eighteen horse power roadster, speeded to forty miles an hour, was purchased by J. L. Brooks.
"Feb. 10-A meeting was held Saturday afternoon at the home of Mr. and Mrs. E. H. Tift to organize a literary and social club. MIrs. W. O. Tift was elected president; Mrs. W. S. Walker, vice-president : and Mrs. N. Peterson, secretary and treasurer.
"March 3-The Henderson Oil Co. was organized in Tifton this week. The charter members and officers are: W. J. Henderson, president ; Dr. O. Daniel, vice-president ; J. E. Peeples, secretary ; and W. W. Banks, treasurer.
At the meeting it was decided to put fifty shares of stock on the mar- ket, at $100 per share. After a canvass of one day by the secretary, thirty- five shares of the stock were sold. The company owns 120 acres of land in Washington County, Florida.
"March 31-Sixty-five lots were sold by the New England Develop- ment and Improvement Company, at prices ranging from $136 to $325. The lots were on Park and Ridge Avenues between tenth and Twelfth Streets.
"April 21 (Chipley, Florida. April 20-Special to the Gazette) :
"Struck a fine grade of petroleum oil today at Orange Hill, Washing- ton County. Great excitement here. W. J. Henderson.
"Mr. Perryman Moore began work yesterday on a thirty-room hotel building on Main Street, one lot south of Fifth.
"November 3-The bond election held Monday in the city courtroom to authorize the issuance of $50,000 of thirty-year bonds to purchase a site, erect a school building, and put in a system of waterworks and sewerage system, and the remainder for water works.
"Dec. 1-At the Georgia Baptist Convention held in Macon, President Jackson, of Monroe College, read a note from Mrs. H. H. Tift, stating that her husband would donate $37,000 to complete the Bessie Tift me- morial hall at the Forsyth Institution. This is one of the largest gifts in the history of Baptist benevolence.
CHAPTER VIII TIFT COUNTY
A tremendous crowd had gathered in Tifton for a celebration. It was time for rejoicing-the time for speeches, barbecues, and bonfires! Exactly at 5:20 Wednesday afternoon August 16, 1905, Tift County was born! The Tift County bill passed the senate by a unanimous vote-it had passed the house the previous Friday. On Thursday morning S. M. Clyatt and W. WV. Banks, committeemen, carried the county bill-the birth certificate-to Governor Joseph N. Terrell, "who affixed his signature with a handsome gold pen, made for the purpose by Jeweler Cochran, of Tifton, and bearing Tift County on a pearl name piece." (Tifton Gazette.)
Many citizens had worked strenuously for this moment, but no one had excelled J. L. Herring, editor of the Tifton Gazette, in his efforts. According to the Ocilla Star, Mr. Herring cut the pigeon wing in four languages, when the news about the county came. In 1895 John L. Her- ring began agitating the creation of new counties in South Georgia. He strongly contended for a new county with Tifton as its seat. The only road from Tifton to Nashville, twenty-five miles away, was a three-path trail, made by horses and buggies. The long trips to the county seat were burdensome ; it took hours for one to travel this distance.
Many people agreed with the editor, but when his efforts assumed the form of a crusader, few were willing to march with him. The few people with foresight gave the movement its initial impetus. In a few years the cause had gathered more followers. The strongest newspapers and some of the influential citizens of South Georgia had joined forces in the fight for new counties. People of Tifton had had opportunities to observe the benefits of a county seat. The need for new counties had increased as the rural sections became more thickly populated.
On October 7, 1894, complete returns of a state-wide vote showed that amendments for new counties were carried by a large majority. The feel- ing between Nashville and Tifton became very intense. C. W. Fulwood, of Tifton, and John Knight, of Nashville, ran for the legislature on the new county issue, and Knight was the successful candidate. Tifton's chances seemed slight.
Tifton's leading citizens, however, began to lay their plans with deter- mination to win. A committee on boundaries began work early in 1905. The proposed county was to embrace ninety square miles from Berrien, ninety-five from Irwin, and sixty-eight, from Worth.
In a meeting in February Mr. C. W. Fulwood suggested the name Han- sell for the new county, in honor of Judge A. H. Hansell of the Southern
61
62
HISTORY OF TIFT COUNTY
Circuit; Mr. Monk suggested Tift for H. H. Tift. This suggestion was adopted without a vote, and the first motion, withdrawn by C. W. Ful- wood. Later at a mass meeting in March the question was discussed, and the motion to name the county Tift was carried. S. M. Clyatt, Briggs Carson, and T. S. Williams were appointed to notify Mr. Tift of the action and escort him to the hall. When he appeared in the door, loud applause greeted him. S. M. Clyatt in an enthusiastic speech presented Mr. Tift.
The editor of the Tifton Gazette commented on the choice of name :
"While naming the new county to be created here Tift aids in per- petuating in the memory of the people of the state the distinguished services of the late Mr. Nelson Tift, yet the people of this section, in choosing a name for their county had in mind their own fellow citizen, the man who founded Tifton, and but for whom there would have been no Tifton and consequently no Tift County. As a factor in the development of South Geor- gia, he yields place to no man, and the reason for naming the county here for him are ample and sufficient. Tift County was named for H. H. Tift, of Tifton, although we are glad that the name aids in perpetuating the memory of Nelson Tift."
The reason for naming the county for the great benefactor, H. H. Tift, resembled a boy's argument that Columbus deserved more credit for dis- covering America than Washington for defending it. The podgy boy on Friday afternoon during the nineties arose, went to the stage of the old school house and succinctly argued : "Columbus deserves more credit for discovering America than Washington for defending it. If Columbus hadn't discovered America, where would we have been?" If Tift had not founded Tifton, where would the new county have been ?
When August of 1905, a legislative committee decided to name no county for a living man, the honorary beneficiary was changed to the honorable Nelson Tift, who was responsible for much of South Georgia's early progress.
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.