Butts County GaArchives News.....Ocmulgee Water Power To Be Developed December 3, 1897
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Don Bankston http://www.genrecords.net/emailregistry/vols/00024.html#0005864 November 6, 2006, 7:48 pm

Jackson Argus – Butts County December 3, 1897
A deal is now on, and the indications are that it will culminate at an early 
date, in setting in motion some of the greatest enterprises yet attempted in 
this part of the state.

Briefly stated the deal contemplates the purchase of Smith’s mils, and the 
water power belonging thereto, and the building of one of the largest grist 
mills in the state.  In order to reach this property, it is proposed to build a 
railroad form the shoals to Flovilla, a distance of four miles.

This great scheme is being pushed by Mr. Samuel Carnes, a capitalist of Vienna, 
Ga.  Mr. Carnes came up to Flovilla last week, and in conversation said: “Well, 
I have come to buy the Smith mills property, if I can secure the right-of-way 
for my railroad.”

A route for this railroad has been surveyed down Little Sandy creek, but on 
this route the road passes through a great many small farms, and it will be 
difficult to secure the necessary right-of-way.  But so much in earnest is Mr. 
Carnes, that he took Capt. W. F. Smith as pilot and tramped out a different 
route, one which will be shorter than the original survey, but which will cost 
a little more to construct.  On this route small farms will be avoided, and the 
right-of-way can be secured.

It now appears that the trade lacks only the arrangement of a few details 
before it will be announced to the public, and the writer is assured that these 
details have all been fully discussed and agreed on.

But this is not all.  There are other monied men in this scheme whose names 
would give much interest to the story, were I at liberty to use them.  But by 
request they are withheld for the present.  The railroad is to be run up the 
river via Lamar’s shoals, Pittman’s shoals, Thomas & Harper’s shoals, Curry’s 
shoals and Cook’s shoals.

These shoals are all close together and they are unquestionably the most 
gigantic aggregation of water power in the state.  The obvious intent of this 
great movement is to establish at each of these points a large cotton mill.  It 
is intended to extend the railroad from the last named point, on to Cedar Rock, 
and from thence to Jackson, and on to the cap ground, where it will intersect 
with the I.S. & F. railroad, thus – forming a belt line of about 20 miles.

Cedar Rock is only about 3 miles from Jackson and a charter for the railroad 
from that point here, has already been obtained and is now on record.

This is the greatest granite bed south of Stone Mountain, and is being 
profitably quarried even now without railroad facilities.

The enterprise mentioned above are now in a fair way to become living 
realities, but as further details would border on the speculative, they are 
reserved for future publication.

It may be stated here, however, that Mr. Carnes proposes, in addition to his 
milling business, to generate electricity, which will be used as the motive 
power for the cars.  This would seem to solve the question of electric lights 
for Jackson, also, as the distance from this place to the river is less thasn7 
miles.

Capt. W. F. Smith, the indefatigatigable worker who built the Indian Spring and 
Flovilla railroad, has the credit of attracting the attention of capitalists to 
this gigantic enterprise, and it is from his lips that the writer has gathered 
the fabric for this narrative and the Captain feels sure that the time is 
rapidly ripening for active work to commence.

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