Baker-Dougherty County GaArchives News.....Albany April 16 1845
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Albany Patriot [newspaper] microfilm Apr 16 1845-Nov 1847

Albany
     Believing that it would be acceptable to most of our readers, and 
interesting to those who are distant from us, we give the following sketch of 
our little city.
     Albany is located at the head of Steamboat navigation on the West bank of 
the Flint River, in the first district of Baker county, one and a half miles 
below the mouth of Kinchafoonee creek.  It is situated upon a table land of 
pine forest, fifty feet above the river, with a gentle decent to its banks.  
From the streets near the river a delightful view is had of the beautiful and 
noble Flint—her waters are pure and limped—her banks shaded by ever-greens in 
winter, and decked with every variety of wild flowers in spring and summer, 
which fill the eye with their beauty and the air with their delighful 
fragrance.—She seems like a canal wrought out by the handy work of nature, from 
the solid limestone rock which forms its bed, and rises like a wall upon either 
side to secure its banks, with here and there a slight obstruction to be 
removed by art, as the meager price of her incalculable benefits.
     In the spring of 1836, the place from whence we now write was the 
occasional home and hunting ground of the Creek Indian.  In the summer of that 
year the Creeks were removed to their new home West of the Mississippi River—
and in October following the settlement of Albany was commenced—a log store-
house for merchandise, a cabin for a residence, and a shed for cotton storage, 
completed the preperations for business, and in the spring of ’37 [1837] the 
first stock of goods was landed at this place from the steamboat Mary Emeline—
and thus commenced our first commercial transactions.  In ’38 [1838] a town 
incorporation was obtained from the legislature, which was in ’41 [1841] 
changed to our present organization of  City government.  The history of Albany 
for these four years of its infancy, if minutely chronicled would form a 
romance in real life which would prove interesting to the curious of the next 
generation.  It would show what ends may be accomplished by small pecuniary 
means, when combined with energy and perseverance—the certain and rapid triumph 
of law, order, morals and civilization when properly enforced; over 
lawlessness, disorder, vice, and semi-barbarianism, which is always more or 
less incorporated with border society.  Since the settlement of Albany, the 
business and importance of the place have been steadily progressive and 
healthy, without the aid of Banks or surplus capital, the ordinary stimulants 
of the growth of new cities.
     Albany nows contains a population of over one thousand persons, two 
hundred dwelling houses, sixteen stores, three hotels, two printing offices, 
one Methodist church, one Baptist church under contract for building, one 
Episcopal church, for which the lot is purchased and the subscription nearly 
completed for building, one steam saw and grist mill, besides shops which carry 
on the various trades and mechanic arts.
     Our Professional men, our Merchants, our Planters, our Mechanics and 
Artisans, in fact every class of our citizens, in point of intelligence, order, 
morality, and those virtues and hospitalities which characterize natures 
noblemen are not surpassed by any society of similar numbers in any place.
     It is believed that our exports of cotton for the present season will 
exceed 10,000 bales, and we may assert without doubt that within a few years 
our exports will reach 50,000 bales.
     The health of Albany has been uniformly good, if we except the sumer [sic] 
of ’43 [1843], and the ration of mortality for every year has has been beyond 
comparison, less than any other place with which we are acquainted.
     The future prospects of Albany, are promising beyond the conception of the 
mere casual observer.  Forming the centre of a fertile district of country, the 
diameter of which is more than one hundred miles, comprising many millions of 
acres within which she is, and from the nature of things must remain, without a 
rival for trade—when we reflect that this is one of the best cotton districts 
in the Union, besides its capability of producing almost all the necessaries 
and luxuries of every other clime—when we reflect too that the present 
generation will behold this vast section teeming with a dense population—our 
noble River cleared of all obstructions by the justice and munificence of our 
State Legislature, and a direct Rail Road communicaion opened with the 
Atlantic, by a joint effort of the citizens of this country and Savannah, as 
must soon be done from mutual interest—when we reflect, we say, upon our 
situation, the circumstances which surround us—the prospects which are certain 
and those which are probable, may we not say without exageration that our 
destiny, is onward and glorious.


Additional Comments:
At the time this article was written, Albany was in Baker Co GA. It is now 
located in Dougherty county.

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