"The Way It Was" Newspaper Column on Baker County, Florida History, 1983 File contributed for use in USGenWeb Archives by Gene Barber (no email address), through Carl Mobley (cmobley@magicnet.net) USGENWEB NOTICE: In keeping with our policy of providing free information on the Internet, data may be used by non-commercial entities, as long as this message remains on all copied material. These electronic pages cannot be reproduced in any format for profit or other presentation. This file may not be removed from this server or altered in any way for placement on another server without the consent of the State and USGenWeb Project coordinators and the contributor. *********************************************************************** THE WAY IT WAS ------------------------------------------------------------ William Eugene "Gene" Barber authored a series of articles for the Baker County Press entitled "The Way It Was". His articles covered all aspects of Baker County pioneers lives in a colorful, entertaining, as well as, educational manner. At an early age, Gene possessed the desire and ability to interview the 'Old Folks'. He was as talented in the use of the pen, as he is with a brush, choosing his words and expressions in a way to paint an exciting and interesting story. The following are his articles written in 1983. Contents: * The Colorful Colonel Cone * The Colorful Colonel Cone - Part Two * Darbyville, a parent community of McClenny * Getting the Cracker treatment in Keystone * The Georgia-Florida boundary - Part One * The Georgia-Florida boundary - Part Two * The Georgia-Florida boundary - Part Three * Boundary wrap-up and notes on the Dawkins Lodge * McClenny Potpourri * some old and interesting McClenny structures * some old and interesting McClenny structures - Part Two * some old and interesting McClenny structures - CONCLUSION * some old and interesting McClenny structures - Sites without structures or newer buildings * A recap of the 1st Centennial * Rain soaks sale; but not the dance * Well, it's our final weekend to celebrate! * The Centennial - A wrap-up (in part 2) * The month of May has arrived... (in part 2) * Historical potpourri from a desk drawer (in part 2) * Historical potpourri from a desk drawer - Part Two (in part 2) * Historical potpourri from a desk drawer - THIRD AND FINAL PART (in part 2) * A Plea For Presidential Pardon (in part 2) * A look at commercial McClenny of 1887 (in part 2) * McClenny social notes from the year 1887 (in part 2) * Fred 'Bubba' Bullard; a genuine McClenny product (in part 2) * It's been eight years..... (in part 2) * Historical potpourri (in part 2) * Ms. Liberty and Daisies (in part 2) * "Summer sort of slow-walks you down" (in part 2) * More Nostalgic Reminiscenses (in part 2) * What are is not..... (in part 2) * Now, what art is..... (in part 2) * Composition in art (in part 2) * Creativity in art (in part 2) * Different types of art (in part 3) * Autumn brings out poet (in part 3) * Hoppin' John discourse (in part 3) * 1921 catalogue goodies (in part 3) * The Household Guest, 1921 (in part 3) * Historical potpourri (in part 3) * More.....potpourri (in part 3) * 'Ain't no boogers tonight (in part 3) * Crackers & nature's signs - Part One (in part 3) * Crackers & nature's signs - Part Two (in part 3) * Boost Christmas downtown (in part 3) * The'Tarnished Tinsel Trophies' (in part 3) * Edging into Christmas (in part 3) * The Yule tree ordeal (in part 3) * The 'magic' of Christmas (in part 3) * Thoughts on the new year (in part 3) _____________________________________________________________________________ THE BAKER COUNTY PRESS, Thursday, January 6, 1983 Page Two THE WAY IT WAS - Gene Barber The Colorful Colonel Cone Christmas is always a warm and lively occasion at the home of the writer's father and step-mother, especially since the grandchildren are proliferating all over the place. The conversation and laughter so increased at one time that day until the writer's baby sister (a pixyish young thing who is due to become a lovely madonna any minute now) warned that the family might get written up in the next Press issue. Jean Marie was somewhat prophetic, but it was not to be the immediate family who would be this week's subject. It is a coincidence that the subject would be the multiple-great grandfather of one of the family's Christmas day callers, Miss Linda Finley (surely the world's prettiest attorney). Ms. Finley's maternal grandmother, the late gracious Mrs. McAlpin, and your writer used to enjoy swapping stories about Colonel William Cone over at the Stephen Foster Memorial where she spent many volunteer hours. It cannot be said of Colonel Cone that after he was made the pattern was thrown away; he did not fit any known pattern. Frontiersman, soldier, statesman, humorist, planter, and a tweaker of the nose of the devil, Bill Cone would try anything and always succeeded. He was born in North Carolina (Orange County, we believe) in 1777 to William Cone and the former Keziah Barber (great aunt of Baker County settlers Moses Barber and Louvicy Mann). The elder Cone was considered a Revolutionary War hero among the North Carolina Line. His sister-in-law Frances (nee Barber) Carter was said to be the ancestress of many Alabama, Georgia, and Mississippi Carters, including one well-known Georgia peanut farmer with a toothy grin and a fondness for executive mansions. The Cones moved down into Effingham County, Georgia, soon after the Revolutionary War, and some of the family remained in that area where they married into the famous Harvey and Williams families who later peopled much of northern Baker County. Robert Cone of Bullock County who married Florida Damula Williams (daughter of State Representative Samuel N. Williams, Sr.) and who got into serious trouble with Baker County unreconstructed Democrats in the 1870's was also a relative (is everybody related to everybody? Yes. Is everybody happy about that? No). The stories about Bill Cone are legion, and some of them are apocryphal. Many are true, and one wonders how one man could have lived so long and fully so as to perform all the feats attributed to him. In the very early 1800's (sometime in the vicinity of the Creek or First Seminole War) Colonel Cone was captured by the Indians somewhere in the area of the present Folkston. It was said of the sagacious gentleman that he could talk anybody or anything into or out of any item or situation and that his ability to fluently speak several Indian languages and dialects fascinated his captors so much that they delayed sending him to the happy (or unhappy) hunting grounds. Others figured that since Cone was so despised by the redmen that they kept him tied all night just that they could plot a more fitting, creative, and lingering torture and death for him. Whichever, Colonel Cone escaped his bonds during the night, stole the Indians' rifle balls from their weapons, replaced the powder, placed the bullets in his pocket, and sat back until the Creeks waked. When he noticed the first one stirring, Cone bolted for the woods. The Indians made hot pursuit, firing their bulletless rifles at him. Cone turned and pretended to catch the balls and put them into his pocket. He then walked over to the amazed Indians, retrieved the rifle balls from his pocket from where he had placed them the night before and, to use an idiom of our day wowed them. They justifiably fled, leaving their horses behind. Colonel Cone returned home still happily attached to his scalp and soul and leading the Indians' horses as a bonus. _____________________________________________________________________________ THE BAKER COUNTY PRESS, Thursday, January 13, 1983 Page Two THE WAY IT WAS - Gene Barber The Colorful Colonel Cone PART TWO Colonel William "Bill" Cone settled in old Camden County, Georgia, about the beginning of the nineteenth century (it is known that he was there in 1804), and set about forming a volunteer militia unit. Cone's outfit saw duty in and about the Okefenokee Swamp ostensibly to protect the Camden County Anglo-American residents, but, actually, he and his men were attempting to exterminate the Creek Indians in the area. They did a fairly good job of it too, but succeeding waves of Indians from western Georgia, Alabama, and Florida kept replenishing the stock. Sometimes, in fact quite often, Cone's men made forays into Spanish Florida where they retrieved stolen and runaway slaves, "stray" cattle, and "unattended" horses. They were so successful in these ventures that it is traditionally rumored that the Spanish government offered a reward of $10,000 for his head. The reward can be well believed because the Spaniards knew that many of the Georgians were not above turning in one of their own for a handsome price, but the amount is a bit incredible (the Spanish were extremely tight with a peso). At the beginning of the War of 1812 (sometimes called the Second War of American Independence), Colonel Cone performed the southernmost known feat against the British in that war. Archibald Clark of St. Marys was a collector of customs in that port and was a major lumber miller near Traders Hill (not a great distance above Baker County). When the British occupied St. Marys (not at all a difficult feat for them), they demanded Clark to hand over his funds. He refused, and he and Abraham Bessent (ancestor of many Baker Countians, some of whom lent their surname to the now defunct community of Bessent in the south of our county) secreted the money at a hideaway somewhere between Traders Hill and the Okefenokee. Bessent, by-the-way, was waylaid by some Spanish thugs and...but that's a whole other story worthy of its own space. The British marched up the crooked St. Marys River to burn Clark's extensive lumber milling operation in revenge and for the purpose of destroying a valuable American asset. Cone's unit, including some familiar names among the Bend and Baker County area - Hicks, Garrett, Crews, Greene, etc. greeted them from the banks of the stream and destroyed almost half the British force (Cone was greatly out-numbered but not outsmarted). The Cone Militia was later active in the Bend Section and made a number of belligerent trips into Florida where they harrassed the Spanish and Indians in what has become known as the Florida or Patriots' War (not-so-simply stated as a concurrent and extension conflict of the War of 1812 as well as a fight between anybody and among anybody who cared to join in). Colonel Cone married Mrs. Sarah Peeples in 1826. She was born Sarah Haddock, a daughter, of a very old English family from British Colonial days in East Florida. It was probably because of her dowry (a sizable hunk of Nassau County real estate) that he moved to the new American territory of Florida. He gave up his long-time seat in the Georgia Legislature for the move but was soon involved in Florida territorial politics. Cone, as a Georgia legislator, had wanted Spanish Florida to give up several million acres of northeast Florida when he pushed for the headwaters of the South Prong below the present Sanderson to be declared the beginning of the St. Marys River (there had been an agreement between the two governments that the beginning of the St. Marys would play a starring role in just where the boundary lay). However, he found himself as a Florida statesman having to oppose and finally successfully fight his own claim regarding the river's beginnings. He used the Old Settler Trail/Yarborough Trail through the Okefenokee-Pinhook complex and the Jacksonville-Tallahassee Road that ran through the center of the present Baker County and through the Gum Swamps for much of his business. He evidently saw that Columbia County's western part and those areas beyond along the route were somewhat more fertile and amenable to settlement than the swamps and sand of Nassau and Baker. He moved there during the Second Seminole War (1835-1842) A grandson was the late Governor Fred Cone, a friend to Baker County and one of the most human and humorous chief executives this state has had. Another grandson (and brother of Governor Cone) was Macclenny attorney William Branch Cone. Colonel Branch Cone was a member of the state Democratic Executive Committee, Chairman of the Baker County Democratic Committee, mayor of Macclenny for several terms and was secretary to his brother Governor Cone from 1937 to 1941. He received his law degree from Stetson University in 1910 after graduating from the public schools of Lake City and Jasper. His home in Macclenny was at the corner of Fifth Street and Shuey Avenue, now occupied by his grandson Kenneth Kirkland. This is one of the fine old residences that is a reminder of the city's rich past. The widow Mrs. Cone was for many years church pianist at the First Methodist Church in Macclenny and was the excellent and dedicated librarian at the Emily Taber Public Library. These are the type of people who made Macclenny the pleasant, personable, and unique community it is. Please help it retain that flavor and meet with the Macclenny Centennial Commission Tuesday evening at 7:30 in the city hall to plan and man (or person) the greatest function of its sort anywhere. _____________________________________________________________________________ THE BAKER COUNTY PRESS, Thursday, January 20, 1983 THE WAY IT WAS-Gene Barber Darbyville, a parent community of McClenny Darbyville was established as a naval stores community in about 1868 by Colonel John Darby and Mr. Oliver Savage. Colonel Darby was a native of Ireland, had lived in South Carolina, and was a Confederate veteran. His principal interest in Florida had been in the present Bradford and Clay Counties. By 1872, the little settlement of shacks, turpentine distillery, and Darby's commissary had grown sufficiently to warrant a post office. Before that time, Colonel Darby had served as an unofficial postmaster from his "Big Store"on or near the site of the present post office and from his commissary which stood on the site of the present Chevron Oil yard on East Florida Avenue. Charles A. Finley moved his newspaper The Star to Darbyville from Sanderson sometime in the late 1860's, and he soon had competition from a C.D. Allen from the North who published for a short while The Florida Standard (later re-vitalized as The Macclenny Standard. J. Mott Howard, who published The Press at Sanderson in the early 1880's, also joined the newspaper war in Darbyville sometime around 1880. As agriculture eased in to add to Darbyville's economy, a cotton gin was constructed just south of the railroad on the east side of forth Street. The area north of the present US 90 was an extensive cotton field. In 1871 the Dawkins Lodge F&AM was established in the tiny community, named for prominent Floridian Dewitt C. Dawkins (or so we've been told). Some of the older Mason heads also informed this columnist in years past that the Lodge had first been established in Sanderson, but others tell us this is not so (this is one of those situations in which we can only report what heard). In 1880, the federal census (the first taken after the founding of Darbyville) indicated the village had few inhabitants. They were Dr. Richard Kennedy of North Carolina, his wife, Mattie C., and their son, Richard W. who was born in Kansas; John D. McClenny, his wife, Georgian, and children, Ulala, John W., Julia, Laura, Emma May, Carr B., Ada and James E., and they were all born in Virginia; Walter Turner of Mississippi, his wife lilla, and their son Ulphian G. (both born in Florida), and Mr. Turner's sister Irene of North Carolina . (Mr. Turner's father, Charly was a moving man who lived through much of North America except the northwest and Canada). There were also Charles F. Swain (a school teacher) of New Hampshire, his wife, Susan M. of Florida, and children, Charles A. and Susan M., both of Florida, and Mrs. Swain's grandmother Matilda Norton (born in Florida); William Chambers and his mother, Martha of Ireland; John McIver of Georgia, his wife Elizabeth of Georgia, and their children, John L., Emma E., Thomas E., and Carly E., (all born in Florida); and Carr B. McClenny of Virginia, his wife, Ada of South Carolina (a daughter of the aforementioned John Darby), and children, Clara and an unnamed infant son, both of Florida. Captain McClenny, a wheeler-dealer of note, constructed the Hotel McClenny in 1881 and catered to northern tourists and winter visitors. Since Jacksonville and Saint Augustine were the end of the southern line, all the little outlying communities came in for their share of the Yankee trade, and Darbyville was no exception. According to some of the McClenny descendants, the Messrs Talbott and Coloney (we've lost their first names through the vandalism to our records a few years ago) got together in about 1880 to plat out a new town near Darbyville. That new community would become Maccienny. Mr. Talbot, from Indiana, was rumored to have been a relative of Captain McClenny and was a U.S Army veteran during the Civil War. He had been a hardware Merchant in Cincinnati and Gallipoiis, Ohio. He came to Jacksonville in 1879. because of failing health. He joined up with Mr. Coloney, a native of Virginia and, for many years, a resident of Gallipolis, Ohio, and a wholesale grocer. He also came to Jacksonville to recuperate from a severe illness. They foutnded Coloney, Talbott and Company early in 1880, but Mr. Coined retired in 1884. They laid out the town of Edgewood and were the real estate agents for their little enterprise (now the lovely section of Jacksonville known as Avondale). From their office at 39 West Bay Street, Jacksonville, they controlled 70,000 acres of what was described by Wanton Webb as "desirable lands" in Florida, and much of it was in Baker County, (again, according to some of the older heads and Mr. Wanton). If anybody has information regarding the map of 1883 bearing the name "McClenny" prepared by Coloney, Talbott, and Company in 1883, we will offer almost our right arm for a copy. There was once a poor copy in the courthouse, but it has since disappeared (please, we're not casting aspersions on the custodians of those venerable records, but we are simply asking the person who "borrowed those invaluable pieces from the courthouse to anonymously return them. Darbyville continued as a community until the Malaria Epidemic of 1888. When the fever was over in the fall of that year, so was Darbyville. _____________________________________________________________________________ THE BAKER COUNTY PRESS, Thursday, January 27, 1983 Page Two THE WAY IT WAS - Gene Barber Getting the Cracker treatment in Keystone For the past several years, your columnist has been on the lecture circuit and putting his hot air on a paying basis. Last week saw him in the delightful community of Keystone Heights before the Woman's Club. A live-wire group in a well laid out facility, that bunch of sweet ladies threw the grandest Cracker buffet this writer has ever been privileged to witness and pig out through. There were generous servings of sweet tater pone, turnip greens with corn dodgers, bisquits and cane syrup, home-put-up pickles, black eyed peas and sow belly, corn pones, cheese grits, and a few variations of old dishes such as grits souffle'. For comment, we can echo a remark often written by the late editor of The Press, Tate Powell, Sr., when writing about his sampling a mess of something brought to him by a Press reader: "Umm, and were they good!" The ladies were lovely in their period costumes, creative in their antiques display (a brainchild of Mildred Weisgerber), and gracious in their treatment of this Baker Countian who dared approach the ladies with the attitude that he could enlighten and instruct them. We met the personable authoress Zonira Hunter Tolles and obtained a copy of her second in the trilogy of the history of the north Florida lake region between the St. Johns and Santa Fe Rivers. The two completed and published works are Shadows On The Sand and Bonnie Melrose. We came home, built up the fire, and settled in for a long and never dull night of reading. We don't dare risk displaying our ignorance by reviewing so scholarly and meaty a book, but we can unequivocally recommend it (and the first) to any who have even a casual interest in Florida history. Some of the surnames mentioned, and some with detail, who have connections with Baker County families are Austin, Baldwin, Barber, Bennett, Bessent, Canova, Carter, Cason, Chesser, Cone, Darby, Dougherty, Drawdy, Driggers, Dyess, Finley, Fowler, Futch, Geiger, Godwin, Griffith, Griffis, Malphurs, Mann, McRae, Mizell, Mobley, Osteen, Prevatt, Raines, Revels, Raulerson, Roberts, Sapp, Stafford, Sweat, Terrell, Thippin, Thompson, Tillis, Weeks, Wells, Wilkerson, Wynn and Yelvington. We might have gotten a little mixed up on some of the aforementioned names, but we think we are on the right track with most, if not all, as being connected to Baker Countians. During last week we also kept speaking and luncheon engagements at a number of our neighboring towns and cities, and the general theme was,"We hear you're having a centennial celebration; tell us about it." We've been asked to travel down the state to do more of the same. We came home quite merry and hopped up on the enthusiasm exhibited by our neighbors and sister counties, in fact, so much so that we accosted the first acquaintance we saw when we arrived back in town that we met, "Hey, man, ain't you excited about our upcoming centennial?" And he answered with a quizzical expression and a "...whut?" When we see that more interest in the city's centenary has been generated outside the county than within, and when we don't see as much preparation and offers of participation as our boundless enthusiasm makes us want to see, we begin to wonder if we haven't jumped into a fathomless deep by getting all this started. But we pause and remember Glen Saint Mary. We believe some of the spirit begun there is still alive, and we take heart. If you want to become part of the McClenny Centennial Celebration, drop a line to Centennial, 118 East Macclenny Avenue, or call 259-6261 during working hours or 259-3385 or 259-6430 at night. It's your city's birthday; help your ol' columnist plan the party. Appointments...... The committee chairs for the Centennial are filling up. For your interest and convenience, here they are: Beauty Contest, Tina Rhoden; Run, Joyce Davis; Dances, David Jay; Big Creek Skirmish, Clark Williams; Souvenir Shirts and Sales, Joyce Davis; Softball Tournament, Margaret Nelson; Telephoning, Patty Wells; Typing, Claudette Rhoden; Parade, Judy and Mike Long; Arts and Crafts, Magi Kline and Alice Williams; Traffic Control, Joe Barber and Buddy Dugger; Fireworks, Margaret Nelson; Bass Tournament, Eddy Yarbrough; Rodeo, Curly Dekle; Schools involvement, Janice Hancock and Naomi Roberson; Museum, Historical Society; Photo Contests, Gerald Roberts; Darbyville Mall, Warren Williams and Gerald Roberts; Hosting, Robin Dinkins; and a few others which are filled but the committee chairs who have been appointed don't know it yet. Chairs are still needed for the following committees; Costume Promenades and Contests, Concessions, City Decorations, and several contests which will be explained in the Centennial meetings held every Tuesday evening (except second Tuesdays) at 7:30 pm in the city hall. _____________________________________________________________________________ THE BAKER COUNTY PRESS, Thursday, February 3, 1983 Page Two THE WAY IT WAS - Gene Barber The Georgia-Florida boundary Our recent columns about Colonel William Cone prompted several letters to this writer, and, incredible as it might seem, they were all in a positive vein. Many offered additional information on the interesting gentleman and his times. Our property appraiser, the Honorable Josie L. Davis, Jr., kindly sent us a lengthy and meaty article from the Sunday Constitution Magazine, Atlanta, 18 February, 1923, in which one of Cone's pet projects - The determining and defining of the Florida-Georgia boundary - is treated at great length. "A State Without A Southern Boundary Georgia Finds Herself In Just About this Shape". Several separate and distinct boundaries have been drawn to separate Georgia and Florida, but none of them is a settled boundary whenever a territorial dispute arises over the sale of lands and transfer of the titles. Now a Cornell professor, rather than commissioned agents of the state of Georgia, is trying to clean up this controversy over where Georgia ends and Florida begins - a question that has intrigued Georgia legislators time after time." Thus began the article by Ralph T. Jones. We had at first decided to paraphrase Mr. Jones' writing, but additional thought makes us believe that we should copy it verbatim for its historical value. Here, then, is the most scholarly and understandable work on this most fascinating subject which touches heavily on our local Baker County history. Please bear in mind that this is from 1923. "Recently a letter was received in the office of S. Guyt McLendon, Georgia secretary of state, from a lumber firm in south Georgia, asking information about the location of the Georgia-Florida boundary line. It was explained that the timber-cutting rights of the firm extended to the line between the two states, and that another concern, in Florida, owned the property up the line. "Both concerns expect to cut their timber up to the line at an early date, but neither desired to cut on the other's property. Therefore the question arose, where does the line run? Simple question? Far from It. "It happens that Secretary McLendon has devoted considerable time during the past year to a compilation of all available data concerning this southern boundary of Georgia, and he was, therefore, enabled to furnish the best possible information to the concern in question. Also, he expects to incorporate a review of the entire boundary question in his annual report, to be printed shortly. From the manuscript of that report, the facts in this story are taken. "It is, however, a remarkable fact, and one which sheds no lustre on Georgia's record, that the present investigation into the history and location of the line, is being made by Cornell University and not by the state itself. Neither Georgia nor Florida have seen fit to take any interest in this important subject. Cornell, however, has appropriated funds for the prosecution of an exhaustive search and has sent one of her most famous investigators, Dr. A.H. Wrightn into the wooded regions of the Okefenokee, the St. Mary's River, and the state boundary, to uncover the historical and scientific date concerning this subject. "Up to 1802, when the state of Georgia sold her western territory to the United States, the southern boundary of Georgia was the southern boundary of the United States. Up to that time, Georgia, the southernmost of the original thirteen colonies, extended west to the Mississippi River, and included in her domains wide stretches of territory which are now included in the states of Alabama and Mississippi. Since that time, four distinct lines have been run by surveyors, either under the direction of the federal government, or of the government of Georgia itself, and every one of the four is different. The latest, known as the Orr and Whitner line, was run in 1859-60, and is legally the present dividing line between the two states. But there are no markers to locate it, there is no physical evidence of its existence, and it is necessary to run a special survey when exact location becomes necessary on any part of the line. "The legal history of Georgia contains cases in which this question of boundary location has figured, and, in the case of Coffee vs. Groover, decided by the federal courts on October 17, 1887, the tangled situation is reviewed at length. It can readily be seen, where reality lies between two or more of these varying state lines, how legal disputes may arise. Both states have given title to the same piece of property, each believing it to come within its own territory. Be it said, however, that in every instance it has been Georgia which has been at fault, inasmuch as each of the four succeeding lines surveyed has moved the boundary a trifle further north than the preceding one. _____________________________________________________________________________ THE BAKER COUNTY PRESS, Thursday, February 10, 1983 Page Two THE WAY IT WAS - Gene Barber The Georgia-Florida boundary PART TWO We continue this week with the verbatim quoting of an article printed in the Sunday Constitution Magazine in 1923, authored by Ralph T. Jones. Near the end, Jones refers to a picture, which unfortunately we do not have available to illustrate this column. In the treaty between the United States and Spain, affirmed on October 27, 1795, the boundary between Georgia and the Spanish provinces of Florida, is defined as follows: "The southern boundary of the United States, which divides their territory from the Spanish colonies of east and west Florida, shall be designated by a line beginning on the River Mississippi, at the northernmost part of the thirty-first degree of latitude north of the equator, which from thence shall be drawn due east to the middle of the River Apalachicola, or Catahouche, (sic) thence along the middle thereof to its junction with the Flint; thence straight to the head of the St. Marys River and thence down the middle thereof to the Atlantic Ocean." Article II. Treaty Between U.S. and Spain, 1795. European Treaties, Vol. 8, page 140. A glance at the map will show how this boundary has since become the southern boundary of Mississippi and Alabama, as well as Georgia, with the exception of that stretch where the two more western states both run their territories down to the coast of the Gulf of Mexico. The same treaty which is quoted above also contained a clause providing for a joint survey of this line by two surveyors, one appointed by the United States and one by Spain. It was provided that this survey should be made within six months of the date of the treaty. For the running, of this, the first line of this boundary, Andrew Ellicott was appointed as commissioner on behalf of the United States and Stephen Minor on behalf of Spain. Following are the instructlons issued to Mr. Ellicott by Colonel Pickering, then United States secretary of state: "So far as the boundary line is a parallel of latitude, you will ascertain the same with all practicable accuracy, and erect permanent monuments of stone, where attainable, and at other places of earth. And in the latter case, it may be eligible to plant in the ground large posts of cedar, or other durable wood, two or three at each monument, in the range of the line, and to bury them up with several feet of earth, so that by being concealed they may not be liable to rot. The amounts of earth may be oblong in the range of the boundary line. Where cedar or other very durable wood is found, a large post may be erected in the center of each mount, standing above ground, with the words United States cut on one side, and Florida, or Spanish Florida, on the other." Department of State. Philadelphia, September 14, 1796. Timothey Pickering, Secretary of State. Senate Documents, First Session; 20th Congress (104) page 8. Thus began the first survey of the southern boundary. But, unfortunately for Georgia of a later day, while Eilicott and Minor made a complete survey of the line from the Mississippi to the Chattahoochee and Flint, they were forced to abandon their work when the latter river was reached. Governor Gayoso, of the Spanish Colonies of Florida, withdrew the military escort he had provided, at that point, and harrassments by bands of Indian warriors, threatening to plunder the surveying party while they worked between the Flint River and the St. Marys River, so endangered them all that the survey was abandoned at the Flint River. Which, of course, means just where the boundary line of Georgia of today begins. Wherefore, the future troubles. Ellicott and Minor, however, did accomplish one important object essential to a proper locating of Georgia's line. They found the head of the St. Marys River. It is not so easy, even today, to say just exactly where St. Marys River begins. There are at least three important branches to this river and Mr. Elilcott traveled up what he believed to be the longest, or main branch, as far as he could go. He then tried to find out if the river had its source in the Okefenokee swamp and decided that it had not. He then erected a mound of earth as near as he could to what was apparently the true source of the river and this mound, known as "Ellicott's Mound", remains to this day as the starting point of all surveys since made of the boundary line. The mound is shown in the accompanying picture. It has almost worn away in the intervening years and is indicated in the picture by the man standing on its top with a gun in his hand. That Mr. Ellicott was right in his decisions about the source of the river was later confirmed in the year 1819. In 1817, Captain William Cone, then a member of the Georgia legislature, charged on his own knowledge that Ellicott had mistaken the true head or source of St. Marys Rlver; that another branch was the main source, and that the head of this branch was about twenty miles south of the point where Ellicott had erected his mound. The legislature then authorized the governor of Georgia to appoint three comissioners to ascertain the truth of the facts alleged by Captain Cone. The three Georgians appointed were Major Generals John Floyd and Wiley Thompson and Brigadier General David Blackshear. After a faithful discharge of their duty, these generals reported to the governor and the legislature. It is very interesting to know that the text of this report neither in the original nor any copy thereof is to be found in the archives of Georgia. Secretary McLendon received a copy of this report from Dr. Wright, of Cornell University, and it is herewith printed, so far as known, for the first time in Georgia." Next week: the first known recorded description of a trip through what is now known as Baker County, Florida. _____________________________________________________________________________ THE BAKER COUNTY PRESS, Thursday, February 17, 1983 THE WAY IT WAS - Gene Barber The Georgia-Florida boundary Part Three We continue our verbatim quote from an article written in 1923 for The Sunday Constitution Magazine: "Fairfield, Camden County, February 20, 1819. Sir: We, the commissioners appointed by your excellency, in obedience to a resolution of the general assembly of the state of Georgia, passed the 12th day of December, 1818, for the purpose of ascertaining the true head, or source, of the St. Marys river, have the honor to report that, pursuant to the object contemplated by said resolution and in obedience to executive orders to us severally directed, on the 5th instant we set out for the town of St. Marys intending there to arrange the outfit of the expedition, which place we reached on the evening of the same day. On the succeeding day, having made the necessary arrangements for supplying ourselves and the detachment ordered out as our escort, in conformity to your instructions, we set out from the town of St. Marys, on the evening of the 6th, for Fort Alert, or Traders Hill (usually called) on St. Marys river where the detachment of militia drafted to escort the commissioners were ordered to rendezvous on the 8th instant; which place we reached on the morning of the 8th; and, at the close of that day, were mustered thirty-one men, including officers, under command of Captain T.H. Miller. Anxious to avail ourselves of every means of facilitating the accomplishment of the contemplated object, with that precision calculated to meet the expectations of government, we employed Mr. T.T. Woods, of Camden county, as surveyor, to ascertain by actual measurement the length of the northern and southern branches of the St. Marys river, (these being the principal branches, which, by uniting, make the St. Marys river) and thereby, obtain unequivocal testimony on which to predicate our report. While in St. Marys we had the pleasure of meeting Major E.P. Gaines, of the army of the United States, who apprised us of his intention to explore the St. Marys river and the neighborhood of the Okefenokee swamp, by a detachment of regulars under the command of Lieutenant Burch, which detachment was ordered to leave Fernadian (sic) on the morning of the 8th instant and that he had also ordered Lieutenant Burch, in the event of its being necessary, to co-operate with us for mutual security against the attack of an enemy. On the 9th instant the detachment of militia, under command of Captain Miller took up the line of march for the neighborhood of Okefenokee swamp, or the head of the northern branch of the St. Marys river, supposed to be connected with this swamp. But, on the suggestion of General Gaines, who had in the interim arrived on a visit at the garrison, we halted the militia a few miles in advance; that gentleman politely suggested the propriety of awaiting Lieutenant Burch, with the detachment under his command, inasmuch as the route Lieutenant Burch intended to pursue was very nearly that which it was the duty of the commissioners to prosecute, and would therefore add to the security of each detachment; and notwithstanding very little danger was apprehended from the hostility of the neighboring Indians, yet the possibillty of danger was a sufficient justification of the sacrifice of one or two days to the attainment of the contemplated object. "On the evening of the 9th, according to anticipation, the detachment under Lieutenant Burch arrived; and on the 10th, the commissioners, in company with Lieutenant Burch and his command, joined the command of Captain Miller - when the whole proceeded on the march for the neighborhood of the Okefenokee swamp and encamped near the head of the north branch of St. Marys river, on the evening of the 11th instant. From this encampment, in company with Lieutenant Burch and Griffith, and Dr. Greene, escorted by a few horsemen, we explored the country immediately between the swamp and the head branches of the northern prong of the St. Marys river, and were unable to discover any communication between the swamp and the river. The surface of the country on the eastern and southeastern borders of this celebrated swamp, is an inclined plane, tending to the swamp and from this circumstance, added to the fact of the very considerable extent of the swamp, and the numerous drains pouring their waters from the surrounding country into the swamp, we do not hesitate to admit the possibility that, during long and excessive rains, the swamp may discharge some of its redundant waters over the surface of the country intervening between the swamp and the head of the northern branch of the river, is a poor pine barren of ordinary elevation, thickly covered with saw palmettoe, (sic) and at present perfectly dry. Having thus obtained satisfactory evidence that there is no positive connection between the Okefenokee swamp and St. Marys River, we returned to our encampment, and immediately commenced our march down the left bank of this branch of the river, ordering at the same time and point a commencement of a survey of this branch, with a view to ascertain its length to the junction of this and its southern branches of the St. Marys river, and immediately commenced the measurement of the latter branch up its left bank (the McClenny side of the Little Saint Marys River. Ed. note), and on the evening of the 14th instant, reached a considerable swamp, in which this branch terminates. Thus having scrupously (sic) examined these several branches, and compared the appearance, size and length of the northern and southern branches, (these being the main-prongs of the St. Marys river) and finding the northern branch of greater length and size and assuming more the appearance of a river than the southern branch, we are therefore of opinion that Mr. Ellicott and the Spanish deputation were correct in establishing on the northern branch the point of demarcation between the state of Georgia and the province of east Florida. The object of the expedition being thus accomplished, we commenced our return march, and on the 16th instant arrived at Fort Alert, where the surveyor and militia were discharged; and on the 17th instant, we arrived at Fairfield. "We have the honor to be, very respectfully, your excellency's obedient servants, Wiley Thompson, John Floyd, David Blackshear. His Excellency Governor Rabun." _____________________________________________________________________________ THE BAKER COUNTY PRESS, Thursday, February 24, 1983 Page Two THE WAY IT WAS - Gene Barber Boundary wrap-up and notes on the Dawkins Lodge This column had intended to complete the Sunday Constitution Magazine article on the Florida-Georgia boundary, but much of the remainder is redundant, and instead, we shall quote the final wrap-up paragraphs: "First: In 1796, Ellicott and Minor set out to make the survey but were forced, by roving bands of hostile Indians, to abandon it when they reached the point where the present state of Georgia begins, on the west, but how they located the spot, near the head of the St. Marys River, where the later surveys have all begun in the east. "Second: how Dr. Greene ran a partial line, but which was later found to be incorrect. "Third: In 1820, the state of Georgia caused Colonel Watson to run another line north of the Greene line, known as the Watson line. "Fourth: The federal government, for the territory of Florida, ran the third, or McNell line, again moving the boundary even north of the Watson line. Fifth: How the final joint survey, made in 1859-60 by Orr and Whitner, finally placed the line still further north than any of the others had placed it. "The Orr and Whitner line was ratified as the official boundary of the state of Florida in 1861. Owing to the war between the states, Georgia ratification was delayed, but finally, in 1866, the Georgia legislature, also ratified the Orr and Whitner line." Thus ends the Constitution story of the boundary. Our typographer and proof reader are probably very pleased that they won't be fighting through all those extra commas those old-time journalists were so fond of. From Mr. Larry Scott of the Dawkins Lodge, F&AM, comes the following historical McClenny information. It is closer in time to us, and some of the older heads will undoubtedly recognize several of the names listed. According to the 1873 proceedings of the Grand Lodge, Dawkins Lodge, Number 60, at Sanderson had one of the state's largest memberships. Dawkins would remain at Sanderson for several more years, but most of its members moved with it to Darbyville when that community began to challenge Sanderson for its role as county seat. A number of gentlemen from the Georgia Bend section also joined fellowship with the Darbyville Dawkins Lodge. Please note although we refer to Darbyville as late as 1888 in some of our writings, it is to reflect actual historical facts rather than confuse you; McClenny as a community name began to ease in as early as 1881, and Darbyville as a community name was not given up by diehard conservatives until as late as 1888. Members in 1873 were J.J. Williams, Worshipful Master, U.C. Herndon, John N. Barnett, John R. Herndon, John W. Howell, Jasper Altman, John T. Austin, James S. Barnett, J.W. Barnett, T.F. Barnett, H.D. Berry, Hugh Brown, Edmund Burnsed, R.W. Cain, George P. Canova, William C. Cobb, James Combs, James S. Davis, Belonia Dinkins, B.W. Fenell, John J. Harvey, T.A. Hill, James H. Lee, John W. Mann, James B. O'Quinn, B.J. Roberts, William Richardson, D. D. Robinson, E. Robinson, A.J. Sweat, L.T. Taylor, W.L. Taylor, John C. Thompson, Ansel A. Green, and W.H. Lewis. Fifteen years later, the cash book kept by secretary C.F. Barber listed these names: E. Burnsed, J.W. Canady, John Brown (this was the ex-Confederate who first lived at the present site of the present Olustee Battle Monument), A.J. W. Cobb, John R. Herndon, John Jones, James Kyger, George T. Pearce, C.A. Young, J.I. Harvey, Brother Malphus, G. Chisom (Chisholm, Chism), and C.A. Young. Also entered was a gift of $50.00 from the Jacksonville Masonic community. Since it was marked "releaf" (relief) and entered in November, 1888, we are probably safe in presuming it was for easing the results of the infamous and disastrous yellow fever epidemic of the previous summer. Brother Barber might have been secretary, but this writer knows the book was not written in his hand...we could read it. _____________________________________________________________________________ THE BAKER COUNTY PRESS, Thursday, March 3, 1983 Page Two THE WAY IT WAS - Gene Barber McClenny Potpourri * Reverend S.S. Gasque was appointed pastor of the McClenny Methodist Church in 1886. He was a wholesale grocer, and his impressive house was at the southwest corner of McClenny Avenue and 6th Street. From the Florida Sentinel - a McClenny newspaper at the time - came this announcement: "Farewell Sermon. Tomorrow at 11 A.M. Rev S.S. Gasque will preach his farewell sermon at the M.E. Church at this appointment, and the evening at Bluff Creek." The Reverend Gasque's name was pronounced "gas' key." * Captain Carr B. McClenny's store stood on the northeast corner of McClenny Avenue and College Street. He and his wife Ada planted some sycamores in front of their store and home. They requested the city to insure the trees' survival, but the installation of the city water and sewer system in 1950 caused them to be cut down. At one time, McClenny's trees formed a tunnel over US 90. * One could ride to Darbyville/McClenny from Jacksonville in 1888 for $1.40. * McClenny/Darbyville's newspapers have been the Baker County Star, Charles Finley, proprietor, established 1884; The Florida Sentinel, established about 1885; The Press, established in 1880's, Mott Howard, editor; The Macclenny Sentinel, established in the 1890's by James B. Matthews; The Baker County Press, established 1929, Tate Powell, Sr., owner; and The Standard in the 1930's by Quentin Milton. * In 1880, Darbyville had a population of about 80. Five years later Darbyville/McClenny had grown to about 200. * One could stay at the Hotel McClenny for $2.00 to $2.50 per day in 1885. The grand structure had gone up in 1881 (this was also the first time the name McClenny had been applied to the town...on advertising) on the block on which sits the present city hall. The hotel had over 800 feet of covered, broad veranda. * Shuey Avenue perpetuates the name of one of the city's earliest promoters - C.F. Shuey. He was an attorney-at-law and land commissioner of the Florida Improvement and Colonization Society. Mr. Shuey built an attractive home just east of a cotton field on what is now Fourth Street. It is rumored he died in the yellow fever epidemic of 1888, and his survivors sold the house to T. Willie Williams. After Mr. Williams moved to Jacksonville to help rebuild the city after its major fire, the house was rented for a while. After Mr. Williams' death the widow sold it to Uncle Tom Carroll. Mr. Carroll was originally from South Carolina, was a Confederate Veteran, a prominent public office holder, and pillar of the Baptist church. * Mrs. Alma Geiger has maintained the lovely old house since the death of her husband, Cecil, several years ago. * Max Brown was the youngest member of the Florida Senate in 1915 and maintained his office in the Hotel McClenny. A native of Columbia County, he received his A.B. degree from the old University at Lake City. He completed his Law course at Washington and Lee University before he was 21 and was the only Florida man ever so elected. (1904). He settled in McClenny about 1906 and was elected its mayor three times. At 25 years of age, Mr. Brown was the youngest state-at-large delegate ever elected to a Democratic Convention (Denver, 1908) * To call this city in 1908, one had only to tell the operator, "give me McClenny, please." There were very few telephones in the county at that time, and one of them was listed under the Barber-Frink Company. Barber-Frink raised for sale the following: oranges, satsumas, pomelos (grapefruit), lemons, kumquats, peaches, plums, pears, persimmons, apples, figs, pomegranates, loquats, mulberries, apricots, quince, huckleberries, grapes, pecans, walnuts, Japan chestnuts, chinquapins, almonds, roses, camphor, catalpa, cottonwood, cedrus deodara, cherry laurel and magnolias of all kinds. _____________________________________________________________________________ THE BAKER COUNTY PRESS, Thursday, March 10, 1983 Page Two THE WAY IT WAS - Gene Barber Some old and interesting McClenny structures Florida's climate, so salubrious to both residents and Northern visitors, is definitely not conducive to longevity in wood structures. This state has, through most of its history, depended on wood for almost all of its building. Besides the termite and rot encouraging climate, fire took its toll of the state's early wood buildings. Therefore, very old Florida structures are very rare. McClenny has some structures at or near the century mark, and some will be on the Centennial Historical Homes and Sites Tour. They and a few other homes which are not so old but are furnished with antiques and other items representative of the nineteenth century will be open as living history books to the public in return for a nominal fee from April second through April seventeenth. The following is a list of some of those venerable structures with a few sentences about each. Please understand that much of the information came from the older residents of those houses and from other sources, few or none of which were around when the buildings went up or did not mention a specific building date. If anyone disagrees, please let this column know the facts. And, by-the-way, could we do it without the all-too-often venom in the voice that comes with the mistaken idea that this column intentionally misrepresented the facts as a personal insult to the knower-of-the facts? Thank you. Padgett House. At the northeast corner of McClenny Avenue and 6th Street, this was the home for many years of the B.J. Padgett family. Before that, it was the home of some Northern folk named Corbett, and before that, it is reputed to be the second home of John McClenny, brother of the founder of the city. The gentlemanly smile of the affable Barney Padgett warmed up this corner for many years, and the site is old McClenny at its best. Thompson/Reynolds House. This structure is supposedly 100 years old this year, and is at 149 East Florida Avenue. It was considered the city's showplace in 1905, according to an article and photograph in the Macclenny Sentinel of the time. Victorian embellishments are gone now, but the interior charm is being recaptured by its present owners. Shuey/Carroll House. The fourth structure on the east side of Fourth Street, this lovely old home was built by attorney Charles F. Shuey to face a cotton field. The house vies with another as being the oldest extant house in town. Please see last week's column for more information on this house. Barber House. The builders of this, often called the oldest house in McClenny, were Edward and Jesse Rowe and the owner C.F. Barber. One of its prettiest features was once a second story tiny covered porch. It was called "Mother Vic's Porch" because of the owner's mother's habit of using it daily while excluding all others from enjoying it. Herndon/Thompson House - Some of the older heads claim the builder was a Northern man named Merritt (there were several in town by that name in the days prior to the yellow fever epidemic). John Herndon, Baker County Judge, is supposed to have purchased it in 1888 soon after he and the county seat moved to McClenny from Sanderson. Aunt Jane Herndon, his widow, operated a boarding house there for many years. The modern day inhabitants were the family of Mr. Jim Thompson. Robert Meara is presently restoring the place, and its bright yellow, close to its original color, lends a note of cheer next to the old brick courthouse/Emily Taber Library. Sentinel Office. This two story house at the northeast corner of College Street and McIver Avenue has had a succession of owners, but many of the old-timers referred to it as the Sentinel office. It was moved several feet from its original position when College Street was widened sometime around the years of the First World War. Bob Rogers House - One of the best preserved houses in the city, this structure at 327 South College Street went up before the disastrous yellow fever epidemic of 1888. One of its turn-of-the-century owners was Bob Rogers who operated a taxi service in town. Between turns with his horse and buggy taxi, he worked with Clarence Milton in Milton's store downtown. Some folks say the house never knew an untidy housekeeper. The columnist remembers well Aunt Carrie Rhoden regularly raking the yard and scrubbing the porch. To be continued-- _____________________________________________________________________________ THE BAKER COUNTY PRESS, Thursday, March 17, 1983 Page Two THE WAY IT WAS - Gene Barber Some old and interesting McClenny structures Part two We think we should remind our readers that not all of the structures we are writing about in this particular series will be included on the McClenny Historic Homes and Sites Tour. Hardware Brown House - At the northeast corner of Shuey Avenue and Fifth Street stands another "fever house", so-called because it was built before the yellow fever epidemic of 1888. The builder was either W.H. or James L. Herndon, and subsequent owners were M.E. Howell, Charly and Mattie Hodges, and Robert Knabb. The pleasant and handsome Judge W.M. Brown moved here from Columbia County and purchased the old Wells Hardware Store, and it was from Judge Brown that the house received its best-known name. Shuey-Sessions House - Just out of the southern city limits and north of George Hodge Road stands a house believed to have been built by State Representative Samuel N. Williams in the years soon after the close of the War Between the States. It was later purchased by Dr. M.F. Shuey and used as a hospital during the yellow fever epidemic, hence the long-skirted, female ghosts busily and eternally hauling pails of water to moaning fever victims throughout every full moon season; There were a succession of owners including Jacob E. Sessions and family and the Bert Hodges family. Garrett-Williams House. Of pre-fever construction, this house on north Fourth Street was once owned by George W. Garrett. Mr. Garrett owned a sizable section of town including a horse lot where the Citizens Bank now stands. The writer's grandparents Barber were united in marriage on the front porch. For many years Tax Collector George P. Williams lived in the house, and his widow is the current owner. Eisenberg House - Mr. Eisenberg lived in McClenny in the 1890's and into the twentieth century, but whether he built the house on the northwest corner of Shuey and Fourth is unknown by this column. Mr. Eisenberg was a blacksmith, and his shop and lot were across the street from his house. The widow Strickland lived there for several years with a houseful of daughters. When Mr. Garrett's wife died just south of Mrs. Strickland's home, she became the third Mrs. Garrett. The Eisenberg House was a fine example of fishscale shingles decoration. Bair-Worley House. There is some debate on the construction date of this house at the corner of McIver and Third (it originally stood one block west). Many people remember Mrs. Rosa Worley, a long-time resident of the house and an accomplished musician and social leader in McClenny. When she left the house, a lengthy line of old-time McClenny folks there was ended. The David Briggs' live there now. Powers-Green House. Now located on the southeast corner of I-10 and 121, this is believed to be a "fever house." Originally built on the east side and mid-block of Sixth Street between McClenny and Shuey Avenues, it was moved to its present site in the mid 1970's. The writer recalls that it was the home of the delightful and ever-smiling Eula Drawdy Powers. Georgia Wolfe House - Built in or about 1923 on the northeast corner of College Street and Minnesota by Mrs. Georgia Williams Wolfe, this well-preserved structure replaced an earlier house destroyed by fire. It has always been a house of quiet, under-stated design and decoration, full of dignity and well reflecting the cultured ladies who lived there. There are houses much older, but very few are such perfect examples of the architecture of the period. Dorman House - Built in 1907 by Jess Rowe for T.M. Dorman and conforming exactly to plans drawn by Mrs. Nettie Bynum Dorman, this type house on the corner of College and McIver is called "Queen Anne." It was once a social hub of the city. In tacit answer to criticism from friends and neighbors about the design of her house, Aunt Love hung a sign over the front entrance stating "Suits Us." Turner-Rhoden House. Built about 1903 by Edgar "Bud" Turner, the longest resident there was Duncan Rhoden and his wife, Miss Lila. They helped rear a group of some of the loveliest girls (their grandchildren) ever to grace McClenny. Uncle Duncan was a son of a Confederate veteran, and one of the most pleasant afternoons possible was to while it away listening to his gentle voice recall the old days. Judge Preacher Rhoden House. Believed by some old-timers to be a "fever house", this structure on the east side of Sixth Street between McIver and Michigan was, for many years, the home of William R. Rhoden and his family. Elder Rhoden was one of the county's most noteworthy and respected Judges and Primitive Baptist preachers. The house has a decidedly "Yankee look" and was probably erected by one of the early Northern transplants soon after the city was organized. Citizens State Bank Building - There is disagreement regarding the building date of the building, but it is known that it went up prior to the paving of the present US 90 because there are photographs of it with dirt roads, mud puddles, and hitching posts in front and side. A painting of the original building hangs in the present Citizens Bank lobby. The first structure changed very little until the 1950's. Baker County Press Building. Built between 1905 and 1910, it was home to grocery stores and a newspaper until bought by Tate Powell, Sr., for The Baker County Press in 1929. The bricks for the very thick walls were lifted to the top by a mule-powered lift. To be continued... _____________________________________________________________________________ THE BAKER COUNTY PRESS, Thursday, March 24, 1983 Page Two THE WAY IT WAS - Gene Barber Some old and interesting McClenny structures CONCLUSION Old Baker County Courthouse/Emily Taber Library Building. This venerable and handsome structure was erected in 1908 by Jess Rowe, the man who built old McClenny, and his cousin Art Rowe. Your writer was privileged to have seen the plans of this buliding many years ago, and he is pleased that there is no appreciable difference in the exterior appearance. Old Baker County Jail/Historical Society Headquarters - An article from the old Sentinel informed that the land was filled in for this building in early 1911. Locally produced brick was used in some of the structure, but being of poor quality, it began to deteriorate soon. The cell block wing was added many years later. Some of the area's best names are represented by inmate graffiti, and the rusty cell block is spookier than any horror movie. The old gallows trap door has been long covered over. There is a mystery room with no entrance above the old office area. The Historical Society will house some of its museum acquisitions in this building during the final weekend of the centennial celebration. Barber House (Rural). Called by the family as simply "the House", this is the home that was never completed. Built by Jess Rowe and his cousin-in-law Charly Barber in 1881, 1886, and 1889 (pick your date, the family disagrees, and this writer will not argue with them). It incorporated material from an earlier structure from the 1840's. Like most of the older homes in this area, the lumber came from C.B. McClenny's sawmill where young Charly Barber was sawyer. This warm and friendly old house has been home to scores of non-family members who had fallen on unfortunate circumstances, host to many well-known personalities, and the birthplace of this writer. Depot - Constructed in the 1920's to replace an older frame building about a block to its west, this is the building represented on the centennial logo. Your writer recalls when it was a social center and just a fine place for sitting on the platform on Sunday afternoons. Branch and Ruth Cone House - Built by a Mr. Powell in 1915, this recently remodeled home at the corner of Fifth and Shuey was residence for the late Mr. and Mrs. Cone for many years. Mr. Cone was a local attorney and the brother of former Governor Fred Cone, and Mrs. Cone was a pillar of the Methodist Church and volunteer county librarian for a very long time. Much of the success of the library is due Mrs. Cone's unselfish and dedicated work and attitude. Griffin/Fraser House - Located in rural south McClenny, this lovely old house was constructed in about 1905 by Dave Griffin who had recently moved from Texas (it was said he was originally from "up North"). This site was the old Griffin Interstate Nurseries, the precursor of the present Southern States Nurseries (once billed as the South's largest). The late Clem Fraser family lived there for several years. Taylor/Powers House. On US 90 in west McClenny, this house was built by Paul Taylor and was the first electrified structure in the city (1928). McClenny Councilman and Mayor Dink Powers snd his wife Sadie spent much of their lives there. Business Buildings on South Fifth Street. The oldest (1903) masonry building in McClenny is contained within this group of structures on the east side of the street just south of the railroad. They have been home to such diversified businesses as Thompson's Grocery, Thompson's Millinery Shop, a movie house, Charly and Mattie Hodges General Merchandise, Jewel's Fish Market, the Baker County Standard, and Frank Dowling's General Merchandise. Two of the old shops will be open for the centennial tour-Victoria's School of Dance and the Knabb Offices- and both will feature displays of the city's history. Goethe Building. Some research by a University of Florida team has been done on this block, but this writer has had no access to it. The Goethes were a sawmill family operating here in the early years of the twentieth century. Its architectural interest is focused on the top of the facade. Hotel Annie Block. Perhaps McClenny's most famous site, patrons flocked here from along the eastern seaboard for the sumptuous fried chicken dinners at almost give-away prices. It is a successor to the old Hotel McClenny built in 1881. Like many of the other historic sites in McClenny, it will be open to the public during the centennial homes tour. There are other sites, some old, some interesting, but our limited space precludes listing all of them. Why not treat your home as an historic site and try to outdo your neighbor in getting it ready for the centennial? Visitors will be hitting the area in about a week. Are you and your great McClenny home ready for them? _____________________________________________________________________________ THE BAKER COUNTY PRESS, Thursday, March 31, 1983 Page Two THE WAY IT WAS - Gene Barber Some old and interesting McClenny structures Sites without structures or newer buildings First Methodist Church. The cornerstone was laid in 1914. This brick edifice on North 5th Street replaced an older white frame structure built sometime in the 1880's. A Methodist Society was in Darbyville from the earliest years, but the church was not established until the mid 1880's. First Baptist Church - The original building, dating from before 1890, was razed in the 1950's for a newer brick meeting house. This congregation began in 1877 as the Bethel Baptist Church south of town (across the road from the present Woodlawn Cemetery) and later affiliated with the newer McClenny Baptist Church (1883). For many years this united group went under the name Bethel. Allen Chapel Methodist Church. This group meets in a newer sanctuary, but the church dates from 1871. It was founded as a separate black congregation during Reconstruction. Saint James Baptist Church - Now located on West Boulevard (Church Street), it is believed to be the successor of a very old church from south of the city. Some old-timers recalled that the blacks worshipped with Bethel Church but chose to remain near the old site when the white members voted to remove to McClenny Baptist. Saint James Episcopal. Established in the early 1880's or earlier by the Reverend Charles Snowden, this church has suffered vicissitudes engendered by fever, changing economy, and shifting population. Its physical structure is considered by many to be the loveliest in McClenny. Calaboose. The foundation is still visible at the northwest corner of McIver and Sixth. It dates from the early 1880's or before, and it remained in operation until the First World War. First Cattle Fever Tick Dipping Vat In Florida. Located on Rowe Barber Road in south rural McClenny, this site marked the end of the dreaded tick fever that was rapidly destroying the state's rich cattle Industry. Senator C.F. Barber pitched a gigantic barbeque at his ranch in 1913 to celebrate the event and to run the first cattle through the arsenic solution. Saint James Academy Chapel and Dormitory - Better known as the Poythress House, this structure came down several years ago. It was bulit by C.B. McClenny in 1885 to house the school established by Mr. Snowden in 1881, but the yellow fever epidemic of 1888 shut its doors forever. Hotel McClenny - It was in the hotel's first advertisements in 1881 that little Darbyville's name-change fate was sealed. Captain McClenny catered to northern visitors and commercial travelers. The hotel's heyday was over in the summer of 1888, but even after the fever epidemic of that year, the new proprietress Elizabeth Ann Barber continued a thriving business until the grand structure burned after the turn of the century. These do not complete the list of old and interesting places in and around McClenny, but they are representative of the city's rich heritage. Some of them will be on the Centennial's Historic Homes and Sites Tour during the first three weekends of April. Some of the homes are far from elegant (your writer's, for instant), and most have been modified to conform to today's desire for convenience and comfort. All, however, retain the charm of old McClenny. Purchase your tour tickets at The Baker County Press office, McClenny City Hall, and George Rhoden Agency. At $5.00 per ticket, you can visit every one of the more than a score of sites. It could very well be the last big bargain of your life. _____________________________________________________________________________ BAKER COUNTY PRESS Thursday, April 7, 1983 Page Two THE WAY IT WAS - Gene Barber A recap of the 1st Centennial week Macclenny Avenue was lined with enthusiastic spectators Sunday afternoon as Easter paraders passed in review in their centennial finery. "Put on Your Easter Bonnet" sung by children and seniors on gaily decorated floats and from cooperative tape decks along the way cheered the marchers on. Under a clear sky as only a north Florida spring can create, there were vintage automobiles, horse and mule units, an impressive Easter float - a joint project of the First United Methodist Church and Southern States Nurseries - a miniature covered wagon, a wheelchair, and hundreds of promenading paragons of period fashion folk. To our knowledge, it was Baker County's first, and, judging from its reception, the 1983 Easter Parade might be but the first of many. The weekend was a study in contrasts. The day before the quiet, pleasant Easter parade was blustery and filled with unexpected excitement as Gary's Tush Hawgs descended on beard violators and dunked them in the dipping vat on the city hall parking lot. The hapless breakers of the beard code were mercilessly, and justifiably, hauled through the streets of Macclenny in the bear cage. We might say that despite the gorilla size (and appearance) of the beard posse, they were sometimes hard-put to consumate the dunking act when they tackled certain wirey and feisty violators. There mysteriously appeared tacked to sundry sites a rash of challenges to the authority, and a questioning of the virility, of the Tush Hawgs. These came to light concurrent with Sunday's dawn. A salient feature of the weekend festivities was Robin Higginbotham's Gospel Concert in west Macclenny. It could well be billed as the world's only drive-in Gospel Concert; the lot across the street was filled with a parked audience. There will be another Saturday at 10 am. Ol' Don was a perfect host Friday night for the first function of the centennial. Hutto's Restaurant was the scene for a great dance with music by the Eddings Brothers (those boys are good!). We trust you will show Mary and Don your appreciation for being the very first sponsors of the very first event of the very first Macclenny Centennial. There will be another shin-digging this Saturday down in west Macclenny at 8 pm. For those of you who complained that just as you were getting started, it was all over, may we suggest that you get started when the band does? Try parking those vehicles for a while and put your feet into four wheel drive. Come this Sa'day nite. Saturday will be a busy day with the Macclenny Merchants Co-op Sale (the Sale of the Century). See the ad elsewhere for the merchants taking part and spend your money at home. These people are making this centennial celebration possible. While in town, take your kids around to the depot area for the pony rides and petting zoo. For a nominal fee the kids can re-live the wild frontier days of old Florida atop a mighty mustang (or maybe a Shetland pony). For a quieter thrill, try petting a brand new goat kid and a baby lamb. You raquetball enthusiasts will want to get around to Todd's Gym for the big tournament beginning at 9 am. If you're not into raquetball or petting goats, don your centennial duds (try to make them authentic...no TV-inspired stuff), and join us for a promenade through Jacksonville's shopping malls and centers. We're leaving city hall at 11 am, on the dot. Come early and let's make pictures. Pick up your historic homes and sites tour tickets and maps at city hall, George Rhoden Agency, or The Press offce before 4:30 Friday afternoon. _____________________________________________________________________________ THE BAKER COUNTY PRESS, Thursday, April 14, 1983 Page Two THE WAY IT WAS - Gene Barber Rain soaks sale; but not the dance Although inclement weather prevented a successful Merchants Co-op Sale Day Saturday, all ended on a cheerful and musical note. Margie's Street Dance was called by some the best ever held in the city. All the friendly and accommodating merchants in west Macclenny went out of their collective way to make the evening a happy one. Look for another frolic in the same area this Saturday night at 7. West Macclenny will not wait for evening to light up. David's Barber and Beauty Designers and Pat Dugger are going all out with organ music all day. The famed Nice House of Music will co-operate with them for the day long event. Music will still be the theme of the day with the Gospel Singing Concert between Sherry's Restaurant and WBKF starting at 10 a.m. There is a rumor that if things are going right, they might not even finish up by the scheduled 2 p.m. There won't be food concessions down at the west end Saturday...there are enough fine restaurants and sandwich shops to satisfy the most discriminating tastes and ravishing appetites. If you can't find it in the west Macclenny shopping area, you don't need it. Margie's and the Sub Shop will be open late. Show them your appreciation. This week the fine folks out in south Macclenny Join in (they've been with us all the while, but now they're giving us some real big action). Cedarwood Shopping Center activities begins at noon with a Macclenny first, a weightlifting demonstration and physique posing, compliments of Todd's Gym. If you ladies can stand it after the couple hours of the city's best beefcake, there will be the Bear Country Cloggers immediately following. All will then turn to old-fashioned musical entertainment and dancing. The Flatland Bluegrass Band will be picking and fiddling, and we hear they are outstanding. There will be concessions out at Cedarwood, and the fine merchants will be open to take care of your hunger and nibbles pangs. No doubt, some are wondering about the apparent lack of foresight and complete disregard of sponsoring folks' feelings by having two or more functions at the same time. We refer you to our first flat-out statement when we began making plans - "Activities and events will be non-stop and concurrent at various sites within the city and thus avoid needless and embarrassing gaps. No one celebrant will be able to attend and participate in all scheduled events and acttivities." Reason? Safety (less heavy congestion might mean fewer run-over people), convenience of our visitors and local celebrants (would you want to stand a half mile from the only activity going on at the time?), and lack of space (we are definitely short on coliseums, available football stadiums, and huge fields). Starting off the day will be the Centennial Bass Tournament at Ocean Pond. Trophies will be awarded for the biggest bass, and perhaps there will be a trophy for the biggest fish fib. The hours are 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. The old Wagon Wheel (West 90 Auction) will be the scene of an antique and depression glass show all day Saturday. Wander in and view some Baker County treasures hosted by Jeanette Maddox. One of our biggies for the day is the Arts and Crafts Show in the citizens Bank Parking Lot (9 a.m. - 4 p.m.). The Arts and Crafts Show will feature what its name impiles as well as a very interesting old-timey wood-working demonstration by Nick Nichols of Mandarin. Entertainment and concessions will be a pleasant adjunct to the show. Friday, April 15, and Saturday, April 16, are the big rodeo nights. Come down to the Riding Club grounds in southwest Macclenny at 7 p.m. for some of the best roping, riding, and bull-tossing you've ever seen. There'll be clowns, excitement, and one heck of a good time. Tickets are $3 and $5 and are available at the gates. Now, what you've all been waiting for (you have, haven't you?)...Darbyville lives again! On the site of the old Hotel Annie you will find a reasonable facsimile of old Darbyville. Drop by to photograph, amble, buy, and to enjoy the ambience of an old frontier Florida town. You will be pleasantly surprised. The Homes and Sites Tour continues from 10 a.m. to 12 noon and from 2 p.m. until 4. Tickets are available until Friday at 4:30 at The Press Office, City Hall, and George Rhoden Agency. They may also be purchased Saturday morning at City Hall and at the Rhoden Agency from 10 until 12. This is the last week for the tour. There will be no continuation next weekend; get your tickets and go now. Listen for updates on the schedule on WBKF-FM, the voice of the Macclenny Centennial (they're such nice folks down there). _____________________________________________________________________________ THE BAKER COUNTY PRESS, Thursday, April 21, 1983 Page Two THE WAY IT WAS - Gene Barber Well, it's our final weekend to celebrate! In spite of windy, rainy, and chilly weather, Centennial activities have been moving right along, smoothly and well. Our crowd estimators' figures varied, and we averaged them up to 4,000. More important than numbers of celebrators were the numbers of smiles on the faces of those celebrators. If the purpose of this fest is to have fun, we're right on target. If a person had a little change, there was no excuse for his going away hungry. The food and assortment of same was outstanding...everything from superior biscuits and sausage to real strawberry shortcake that was magnanigoshious. There will be an even wider variety this coming Saturday. Look for all the refreshment and foods concessions clustered around the centers of activity at the City Hall, Citizens Bank parking lot, and, of course, Darbyville Mall. There will be no concessions down in the west end of town, but the merchants there will be open for your convenience. As for activities and entertainment, please check the ads elsewhere. There will be everything from a shotgun wedding to a tobacco spitting contest. Don't sit in one place but do keep moving from the east end near City Hall, by Darbyville Mall, over to the bank parking lot, and on down to the west end. City Hall - Kelly Norman and Bob Gerard will be strumming and singing from 10 a.m. until 11. Robert Combs and Mark Gainey take over with some picking until 12:30. We'll take a break for the parade, and Jeffery Platt will sing at 2 p.m. Roy Snow will appear at 4. Gather under the lynching tree for some good old time, home-grown entertainment. Bank Lot - 10 a.m. until 11 is open, but there will be noise or entertainment of some sort. Todd's Gym will present aerobics from 11 until 11:30. The Bear Country Cloggers will return after a successful session at Cedarwood last week. They entertain from 11:30 to 12:30. After the parade, Billy Nash and Hickory Wind (home-grown recording artists) appear until 5 p.m. West End - Beginning Thursday evening at 5, Cheryl Brown will be conducting the Middle School Advanced Band in front of David's, and the Baker County High Wrestilng Team will be featured Friday at 5 p.m. A genuine shot-gun wedding is scheduled for 7 p.m. in front of David's. Judge D.L. Griffis will officiate. On Saturday, the Nice House of Music and David's will present an organ concert all day, and the Jacksonville Firebirds Cheerleaders will show up at 5. The big finale' weekend will bring you two street dances. The first will be Friday night in the west end with Floyd Harvey and Mark Gainey and Flatland Bluegrass and the Eddings Brothers. Saturday will end up the dancing in the streets with Tommy Ott's band at Neil Lee's Convenience Store at the corner of 23A and Miltondale Road. Don't forget the Grand Centennial Ball Saturday in the high school gymnasium. Tickets are still available at City Hall and from members of the Junior Woman's club. Darbyville's Friday evening activities will be some impromptu music sessions; the opening of the commemorative post office (collectors, get there early) in the afternoon; the Costume Parade and judging at 7:30; and your last chance to get an official souvenir shirt, cap, and badge. For the athletic minded, there are the softball tourneys on Saturday and Sunday (about 20 teams competing), the 5000 meter run, and the one mile fun run. There is still a little time to enter the runs. Call Marie and Lucky Bell at 259-2013 or stop in at City Hall for your entry form. The county museum in the old Jail will be open Friday and Saturday, and there will also be an old fashioned Cracker-type dinner served there on Saturday. A quilt show and home remedy museum are scheduled at Sands Motor Company all day Saturday. Gramma's Kettle will be open in the Dykes Building for those who might wish to sit and rest in air conditioning while they eat. And, next door, one can lose his dinner by riding the mechanical bull. The big parade begins at 1 p.m. and travels along East Boulevard and US 90, and immediately following is the skirmish at Barber's Plantation re-enactment on the east bank of the St. Mary's River. Beards will be judged Saturday night in Darbyville, and fireworks begin at or near 9 p.m. One of the biggies for the weekend will be the Marine's Pageant of Flags at the street dance at 8:30 p.m. We strongly recommend your viewing this stirring sight. There will be so much more, but space does not allow a complete listing. Stop by the information booths or stop one of the well-marked hosts or hostesses and ask about the schedule. Whatever else you do, come downtown this weekend and celebrate the city's first one hundred years.