Baldwin County GaArchives History .....History of Baldwin County - Sketch by Mrs. N. R. Talley 1925 ************************************************ Copyright. All rights reserved. http://www.usgwarchives.net/copyright.htm http://www.usgwarchives.net/ga/gafiles.htm ************************************************ File contributed for use in USGenWeb Archives by: Joy Fisher http://www.genrecords.net/emailregistry/vols/00001.html#0000031 October 5, 2004, 11:54 am Sketch by Mrs. N. R. Talley Abraham Baldwin, member of Congress from Georgia, from 1785 to 1788; Representative, from 1789 to 1799; Senator, from 1799 to 1807. Died in the Senate. Treaty of limits between the United States and the Creek Nations. This treaty took place at Fort Wilkinson on the Oconee river on the 16th of June, 1802. Ratified, January 11, 1803. Commissioners on the part of the United States James Wilkerson, Benjamin Hawkins, and Andrew Pickens. This treaty is signed by forty chiefs and warriors. State House cost $115,000. Baldwin County was named for the man chiefly instrumental in founding the State University, and Milledgeville named for the largest early benefactor of that institution. How suitable that with advancing years this town should have become itself a seat of learning, and famous for its schools. Services of John Milledge: Representative in Congress from 1792 to 1802; Senator, from 1806 to 1809; Governor, 1805—Trustee of University of Georgia, 1809. Scottsboro was originally settled by Major John Scott. He emigrated from Virginia and obtained a large grant of land in 1806, soon after the opening of this section of Georgia. He built a stout frame house, which is said to have been the first dwelling, not a log structure, erected in the interior portion of the state. In 1807, when Aaron Burr was arrested in Mississippi and carried north for trial, he and his escort made a rapid transit across Georgia, traveling on horseback, and spent only one night on the route. ------------------------ p. 40 History says this night was spent "in a house south of Milledgeville," and a strong local tradition asserts that this house was that of Gen. Scott, five miles due south of Milledgeville. Some old inhabitants, and people of great credibility, among them the late Dr. Powell, superintendent of the State Sanitarium, asserted positively that they had always heard this to have been the case, and the fact of Mr. Scott's rank as a Militia General would make it most probable that his house was selected for the night's rest of such a distinguished political prisoner. This original house is still standing, largely added to by Col. Carter in 1820, with porches and verandas of a still later date. About the year 1813, Col. Farrish Carter bought Gen. Scott's house and plantation. In 1820 he moved there and established a permanent residence. Desiring to live in an agreeable community he presented a number of his friends with building lots, which were situated on the northwest edge of his plantation. He could do this without cutting into the body of his property. Among these friends were the Hartridges of Savannah, Mrs. Fitzgerald, the Meils, the Cullens, Miss Maria and Miss Catherine McDonald, (sisters of Mrs. Carter), and Judge A. H. Hansell, then a struggling young lawyer just admitted to the bar. At about the same date that Col. Carter bought the Scott plantation, Col. Seaton also acquired a large plantation and built a handsome home quite near Scottsboro. The Hartridges and several others lived on the coast and utilized Scottsboro as a summer home, making the journey back and forth each year by coach or in the family carriage. A more delightful and cultivated community than Scottsboro of those days can hardly be imagined. Alas, that its kind has perished from the face of the earth! A rural community of ladies and gentlemen, of educa- ------------------------ p. 41 tion and refinement, situated on a beautiful oak-shaded plateau, swept by delightful breezes, above all pervaded by the real genius of Southern hospitality, in a day that knew no need of economy, or fear of want! It is difficult to imagine the conditions that existed then. My old Mammy used to tell me that in Col. Carter's house there were twenty house servants, and never were those hospitable halls without a quota of quests, going, coming, coming, or remaining for an indefinite length of time. In an oak grove just in front of Col. Carter's gate was istuated an Academy for young ladies, well known in that day and time as quite recherche' and exclusive. This was conducted by Dr. Brown and was aided in its success by the well-known healthfulness of the community in which it was situated. It may be of interest to note that many years later, about 1878, the last building remaining from Dr. Brown's Academy was used as a chapel when Rev. J. N. Stoney of St. Stephens Episcopal Church conducted for many years a flourishing Mission Church in Scottsboro for the country people living round about. "The Gazetteer of Georgia," published in 1837, gives the following description of Scottsboro: "Scottsboro is a villege four miles south of Milledgeville, containing ten or fifteen houses, occupied as a summer residence by the inhabitants of the town and also by permanent settlers. The water is good and the situation pleasant and healthful. It is at present the seat of a very respectable Female Boarding School. "Scottsboro is a delightful summer residence. Two or three schools are now in operation at this place. It is difficult to conceive of a more quiet retreat from the bustle of the capital. The society is intelligent, refined, and hospitable." In 1828, the State Capitol was completed at Milledgeville, at a cost of $115,000. Jett Thomas, the architect of this building was an Englishman, and its ------------------------ p. 42 crenallated battlements, rising above the feathery elms and crowning the hill-top still suggest an English castle set in an American landscape. I have always been told that this gentleman while superintending the building of the capitol resided at Scottsboro, and a small house still standing there, exhibiting a rather unusual style of architecture is said to have been built by him, and is still sometimes called "the English Cottage." Additional Comments: From: Part I HISTORY of BALDWIN COUNTY GEORGIA BY MRS. ANNA MARIA GREEN COOK ILLUSTRATED ANDERSON. S. C. Keys-Hearn Printing Co. -1925— File at: http://files.usgwarchives.net/ga/baldwin/history/other/gms233historyo.txt This file has been created by a form at http://www.genrecords.org/gafiles/ File size: 6.7 Kb