Clay-Early County GaArchives History - Books .....HISTORY OF CLAY COUNTY January 1, 1976 ************************************************ 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: REBECCA STEWART RSTEWART@ENERVEST.NET October 5, 2011, 6:01 pm Book Title: HISTORY OF CLAY COUNTY PAGES 1-9 I History of Fort Gaines and Clay County “Out of the hills of Habersham Down the valleys of Hall, I hurry amain to reach the plain Run the rapid and leap the fall, Split at the rock and together again Accept my bed, or narrow or wide, And flee from folly on every side, With a lover’s pain to attain the plain, Far from the hills of Habersham.” From “Song of the Chattahoochee" by Sidney Lanier Thus sings the mighty Chattahoochee as it sweeps the western border of the little county of Clay. In this bicentennial observance, we feel it "especially appropriate to review some of the historical incidents connected with the Chattahoochee here at Fort Gaines. Ours is an old and historic town, and much of its history is linked with the river, about which Sidney Lanier sang so beautifully. Fort Gaines was first established as an outpost on the western border of Georgia about 1812-14, commanded by Lieutenant Sands and named for Brigadier General Edmund Pendleton Gaines, who as a frontier army officer contributed greatly to the development of the United States. He was born in Virginia in 1777; died in 1849. He served with distinction in the War of 1812, becoming Brigadier General in March, 1814, and receiving the brevet of Major General and appreciation of Congress for his defense of Fort Erie in August, 1814. He took a prominent part in the operations against the Seminoles in Florida in 1817 while in command of the southern military district and again in 1876. During the Mexican War he commanded the Department of the South with headquarters at New Orleans. During the mid-period of 1800 popular demand for additional counties and political strength caused the formation of many new county organizations from the original counties which came into existence following the close of the Revolutionary War. After that time counties replaced the Parish system used by the British government. Clay County, carved from old Early County to the south and from Randolph County on the northeast, had long been regarded as the Fifth District of Early County. It was incorporated as a county in 1854. The early years of the nineteenth century saw many adventurous people gradually reaching into the area of the present Southwest Georgia-Southeast Alabama territory. Unquestionably, there had been others even before this time because the Chattahoochee River was navigable from Columbus, Georgia to the Gulf of Mexico (the Chattahoochee River and the Flint River join below Fort Gaines forming the Appalachicola River). This waterway formed a natural economic center of trade for these early settlers. “It is interesting to note that several geological formations are exposed, or preferably, outcrop, on the bank of the river bluff at Fort Gaines. They are often referred to as starting points in the description of the geology of South Georgia. This section forms a part of the coastal plain region of Georgia. In addition, the area comprising the Chattahoochee River Valley or drainage basin has been elevated until the river is shut in by high hills with deeply eroded stream beds. This feature has placed the site of Fort Gaines on an elevated plateau, with well-drained territory. It has, been free of mosquito breeding swamps.” 1 The native Creek Indians resisted the new settlers for this was their homeland from ancient times. The Creeks, usually a peaceable people in this area, were supplied ample hunting, fishing and good fertile land. They lived in two main groups of villages. The upper one on the Tallapoosa and Coosa Rivers in Alabama, and the lower group between the Flint and Chattahoochee Rivers in Georgia. Village sites and burial mounds are frequently located in this section. The famous Kolomokee Mounds in present-day Early County are quite ancient in the Creek history. Numerous other mounds were explored and historically recorded along the Chattahoochee before the river water impounded thousands of acres forming Lake Chattahoochee (Walter F. George Lake). Today the most enduring memorial of a nomadic people are the many names given to the streams etc. by them. For instance, Chattahoochee is reputedly an Indian word for “Muddy Waters’*. Friendly at first, the native Indians naturally became resentful over the evergrowing numbers of pioneers who were continually pre-empting their lands and gradually forcing them back into less attractive sections. Resentment became war. Indian forays into pioneer settlements were frequent and disastrous. Lives were wiped out, cabins burned, livestock driven to Indian camps. None could be safe from these attacks, and soon the settlers were appealing for protection from their government. About 1812-14 a force of militia was sent to establish a fort, garrisoned by Federal soldiers. The outpost named Fort Gaines provided a refuge during frequent Indian raids and was constructed with blockhouses at each corner of an hundred-foot square enclosure protected by high-pointed picket walls. It adjoined a spring known as Basin Springs which afforded the vital water supply for the beseiged settlers. This outpost was located just north of the settlement at the juncture of “Town Branch” and Cemocheechobee Creek. For some years this afforded a haven for endangered settlers, provided they were alerted to anticipate the marauding Indians. Not everyone heeded to warnings to seek refuge, however, and many lives were lost as a consequence. In one case a settler and his wife who had always been friendly with the Indians returned to their home near the fort, assuming that the Indians were good friends and would not molest them. His wife went to Basin Springs under the bluff to get water. She was scalped by the Indians and left for dead. She recovered but was forced to cover her scalp wound with a piece of cloth. From then on she was pointed out as the woman who had been scalped by the Indians. During 1817, the Indians became active in the vicinity of Fort Gaines. They killed a settler named Keath who lived on the Jim Bennett plantation several miles below Fort Gaines on the west side of the river. People from the surrounding area took refuge in the fort. The men were mustered into military service and took part in suppressing the Indians. After a few months, quiet was restored and the people returned to their homes. However, it was not until February, 1825 that Chief William McIntosh signed the Treaty at Indian Springs ceding the land of the Lower Creeks above the line of Fort Gaines north of Cemocheechobee Creek. The Indians killed McIntosh and were not entirely removed until the “Trail of Tears” 1835-40. People began coming in great numbers to claim the fertile Chattahoochee valley lands, relying on the convenience and safety provided, by Fort Gaines. Almost without exception, these early settlers were Anglo-Saxons from the eastern part of Georgia and from the Carolinas and Virginia. Many came from families of education and easier lives than that which they assumed in the new land so recently vacated by the Indians. “There has been much written about the luxurious manner in which wealthy planters lived before the Civil War. This has been very much exaggerated. These wealthy planters formed a very small part of the population and were restricted largely to the Mississippi River Valley. Most of the people in this section lived on farms. These farms, when they became large enough, were known as plantations. They produced plenty to eat, and cotton was a surplus crop. The roads were few and poor, but the people were very hospitable. The traveler was never refused a meal or a night’s lodging. They lived for the most part in plain houses, did all their own work, raised crops and cattle which provided their food. The women made the clothing from cotton which was carded, spun, and woven on spinning wheels and hand looms. Many of the houses were constructed of logs and had but one room. Cooking was done in a large open fireplace. Across the fireplace and near the top was a large iron crane pivoted at one end in the side of the fireplace so that it would swing back and forth either over the fire or away from it. On this crane kettles of food to be boiled were hung, and the crane was swung back over the fire. Baking was done in ovens with tops on which coals were placed. The oven was on legs and placed over red hot coals on the hearth. Wood was the fuel, and in the hot ashes cakes of corn bread, sweet potatoes, and ears of corn in the shuck were roasted. People traveled in buggies, wagons or stage coaches, and frequently on horseback. It is related that sometimes a farmer would come into town on a holiday or other occasion riding a horse with a woman on the horse behind him. As he would reach the edge of town, he would start his horse at a gallop and pass through the streets yelling. He would often stop in front of the liquor store and provide himself with a well-filled bottle. Later in the day he would likely be found preparing to dispute some argument with another in the same condition with his fists, the woman hanging on his arms trying to stop it. These fights seldom resulted in serious injury. There were no telegraph offices and few newspapers. The people got together at camp meeting and other occasions and learned a great deal by personal contact. The camp meetings, usually held in the summer when farm duties permitted, were always well-attended. They were always a social event, and cabins were sometimes provided to take care of people who lived too far away to return home at night. They were usually held in the open. The barbecue was the favorite method of preparing food. Social life and customs were carried into occupations, such as corn shucking and logrolling. Usually at these gatherings there would be competitive sports as wrestling and foot races. The winner of these events would have a choice of partners in the dance which followed and ride home with the prettiest girl, often on horseback. The women would hold quilting parties. The building of a log house was a social event of importance. The owner would first cut and notch the logs, then invite his neighbors to a house raising. After the raising and putting on the clapboards he would “gin a treat”. The chimneys of these log houses were built of sticks of wood held together by clay or, when it could be obtained, of stone."2 A trading post had been developed on the west bank of the Chattahoochee across from Fort Gaines about 1814. This was known as Franklin and was a trading center which served useful years in the business life of this section. “Old Franklin was one of the first settlements in Henry County, Alabama. It was established in 1814 before the State of Alabama was admitted to the Union. It appears that Franklin was a thriving center while Fort Gaines was yet a military outpost, for Fort Gaines was not incorporated until 1830. Originally, there were only twelve families living in all Southeast Alabama. One such family was the family of one James Hughes, who located near Franklin in 1817. General Alexander Gordon, along with his two brothers, was born in Washington County, Georgia, and was brought to Franklin by his uncle, James Hughes. General Gordon’s parents were killed by the Indians in 1811, while he was still an infant. Because he would speak the Indian language, he later became clerk of the trading post, then operated by some New England merchants. One of the earliest stores was operated by William Irwin, who later became a general during the Seminole Indian War. He settled in Franklin in 1819, where he acquired large acreages of land. He later owned land holdings in Irwinton which became Eufaula. General Irwin was drowned in a leap from a burning steamer on the Chattahoochee River. He was returning from Columbus where he had gone to sell a large amount of cotton. It was rumored that he carried a large sum of money in his money belt. His body was later recovered 200 yards downstream from where the steamer sank, but the money was never found. While Franklin was growing into a thriving trading center in 1814, Fort Gaines, across the river in Georgia, was experiencing growing pains. Communication between the two villages was by means of a ferry, or by a canoe, until the first bridge was built in the late 1840’s. The first post office was opened in Franklin in 1832, and John L. Pugh was the first mail carrier. In 1841, C.V. Morris came from new England and entered the employment of Howell Chitty. Morris and Chitty later married sisters, Rebecca and Caroline Harvey. Mr. Morris became sole owner of the store in 1877, later moving to Fort Gaines where he continued in business until his death in 1912. Another of the stores in Franklin was operated by Bennett and Chitty, and grandsire of the late James T. Bennett of Fort Gaines. Following the Civil War, the principal firms doing business in Franklin were: T.H. McAllister, Bartlett Spann, C.V. Morris, William McAllister, and the firm of Mount and Appling. About 1856 or 1857 Old Franklin began its decline upon the completion of the railroad into Fort Gaines, with its outlet to Macon and Savannah. Fort Gaines, because of its modern transportation and lower freight rates, entered a new era of prosperity. The spot where Old Franklin stood, across the river from Fort Gaines, is now a pecan or-^ chard. Nothing remains to show that it was once a thriving business community. The writer is indebted to the late Co. E.A. Greene for the factual data in this story of Old Franklin.”3 Early County was formed by an act of the Georgia Legislature in 1818. It was im-mediately thrown open to settlers, and many came during 1818 and 1819. Their ability to acquire title gave the settlements an air of stability they had not had before. The names of early settlers who moved into the district during and before 1817 were: F. Porter, John Dill, Wm. A. Carr. F. Porter settled at Porter’s Ferry; Joel Porter halfway between the ferry and Fort Gaines; Dill and Carr in Fort Gaines. Devastating floods were frequent, and people began locating on the high bluffs along the eastern side of the river. The stockade on the north afforded some feeling of safety, and settlements increased. By 1819 the village of Fort Gaines was established. The Indian name for the village was “A-con-hollo-way Tal-lo-fa” meaning the Highland Town. The area of Fort Gaines was platted into lots which were quickly taken, and homes erected. Businesses began forming, and ambitions for a chartered town developed. In 1829-30 a petition for charter as an incorporated town was presented before the Legislature of Georgia, and in 1830 Fort Gaines became an incorporated township. Gabriel Johnson, George W. Prescott, John Dill, Jas. V. Robinson, and Edward Delandy were elected officers to direct the affairs of the town ship. By 1830-40 the Indians were removed to the West, at least most of them. Some few so hated to leave the home of their ancestors that they hid out in the high hills and woodlands and lived their remaining years among their beloved lands. These years were busy years of development for Fort Gaines and adjacent areas. Many people were coming from the older counties in the eastern part of the state. Many more came from the Carolinas and Virginia, and even some few of the older names were from the northeastern states. For some years the Head Rights System had been used as a method of attracting new settlers, but this had resulted in that the choicest sections were quickly claimed, leaving less desirable sections vacant and undeveloped. Surveys were more or less incomplete and bitter feuds resulted because of conflicting claims to the same lands. So the Land Lottery System was adopted by the State. This system directed that all lands be surveyed, numbered by lots, and authentic maps placed in the Surveyor General’s Office. After this was completed, the lottery system was used. The numbered slips with the numbers of the land lots were placed in a box, and eager settlers allowed to draw. Many estates of today had their origin under this system. Settlement was rapid under this system, largely during the administration of Gov. George M. Troup. When General Gaines left this area, General John Dill (one source states that the General was a courtesy title only and another that General Dill was elected Brigadier General of Militia by the Legislature of Georgia) was left in charge at Fort Gaines and lived the remainder of his life here. General Dill was a native of South Carolina. So far as is known, his military career was spent as an officer in charge of the post at Fort Gaines. Later he became a prominent business leader in Fort Gaines and served as its first postmaster. An old legend persists that the nucleus of his prosperity was a small fortune which he acquired through his marriage. Supposedly a party was proceeding by boats laden with supplies from gulf ports, mainly Pensacola and Appalachicola. The boats were protected by a few armed men, but as they headed into the river along the mouth of the Appalachicola they were ambushed by Indians. Only three Americans survived, two men and one woman. The two men escaped, but the woman was captured and carried to the Indian camp as a slave. Much debate as to her fate ensued, but the chief of the tribe prevailed, contending that his life had once been spared by the whites and that in return he would spare this woman’s life. The woman, a Mrs. Stuart, had lost her husband in the Indian foray and accepted her fate as a captive. It seems that she was permitted more freedom than some captives were allowed, being permitted to wander unguarded about the camp. As a result, she was able to gather the paper money which the Indians threw away when they returned from their many raids, regarding it as worthless. The lady understood its value and hid it under her clothing. Later during an encounter between a party of whites and the Indians, the woman was seen and rescued. Eventually, she reached a party of General Andrew Jackson’s men. It seems that General Jackson and General Dill were friends, and because of this contact, General Dill became acquainted with the lady. This developed into a marriage between the two-not the least of her attractions were those paper currencies which the lady still possessed. The first merchants in Fort Gaines were Hartwell Tarver, John Brockman, and John Dill. Brockman moved to Franklin, Alabama, where he died in 1824. Tarver moved to prospect Bluff, five miles above Fort Gaines where he operated a trading post with the Indians; John Dill remained in Fort Gaines, and in 1921 formed a partnership with John W. Sutlive, who moved to Fort Gaines from Tennessee in 1819. One of their first and most notable business ventures after the partnership was formed was the establishment of a tannery employing many hands, most of whom were slaves. They made only brogans, at first, for use by the slaves. As the workmen became more skilled, they made fine boots for their masters as well as shoes for the ladies. This business became one of the largest in the state of Georgia. The skilled workmen began making fine saddles and bridles, also, which were very much in demand and brought very high prices. Many of the buildings in downtown are built of locally produced bricks. The brickyard was located at the foot of the bluff above the old Central of Georgia railway depot. It functioned for many years, first under the management of John W. Sutlive and John Dill. The bricks were made by hand. Later, ownership came into possession of Sharp and Peterson. They installed modern machinery making it possible to increase the production substantially. An abundance of the proper type of clay locally, developed brickmaking into a prosperous industry. On the first floor of the old colonial house at the northeast comer of Commerce and Lee street, two brothers, Bob and J.P. H. Brown, opened a general store. Then they decided to set up a shop for the manufacture of pots, pans, and other tinware on the second floor. In a horse-drawn wagon the tin was taken around the countryside for sale. For some time this business flourished, but the volume production of tinware made it unprofitable, and the factory was closed. In 1880 this two-story building was purchased by J.P. Sharpe who converted it into a hotel. The first proprietor of the new hostelry was Mrs. E.C. Cook under whose management it soon acquired a wide reputation for its comfort and good food. About the time of the Civil War on Cemochechobee Creek (known locally as Brown’s Mill Creek) one mile above Fort Gaines, there was established the first thread mill. The mill was powered by/the current of the creek. This welcome facility relieved the women of spinning thread on the traditional spinning wheel. For some years this mill served a great need, especially during the war years. The Chattahoochee River was the main transportation artery, and after its union with the Flint River access to the Gulf of Mexico was available. Cotton was becoming a very important crop over all Southwest Georgia and Alabama. Wagon trains came from as far east as Palmyra (present Albany) and from as far as sixty miles in Southeast Alabama, laden with produce for the river freights. The wharves at Fort Gaines were busy with produce going out by boats as their incoming loads went out over the countryside in the same wagons and carts which had brought loads to the wharves. Roads were few and for the most part only unimproved clearings. The Hartford Road, as it is still known today, became an important artery for Fort Gaines. After removal of the Indians about 1826 from along the line above Fort Gaines, many newcomers were arriving in this section. An outlet was needed for the transportation of supplies to the increased settlements east of Fort Gaines, and Hartford Road became that means. It enabled the farmers and merchants to haul merchandise back to their homes from the river port. The only means of public conveyance, away from the navigable streams, was the stagecoach which usually ran on a schedule of once or twice a week. This immediate area was served from a central point at Hartford, Georgia running in a southwesterly direction serving the Tallahassee area. Another route came through Fort Gaines to Columbia, Alabama, crossing the Chattahoochee and extending on into South Alabama ending at a point near Evergreen, Alabama. No doubt connections were made at this point with other routes down to the Gulf of Mexico. The coming of the stagecoach was an important event in the life of many villages. None living now can recall those coaching days in all their glory. The sharp crack of the whip as the driver flourished it above the “leaders”; the long blast of the horn announcing the coming of the stage; the small boys watching as the lumbering vehicle drew to a stop at the station. Then, the quick change of fresh horses for the next lap of the journey; the interchange of mail and passengers; another blast of the horn; another crack of the whip and the excitement was over until the next stage arrived. The fare was usually about $25.00. The Globe Tavern was the stagecoach stop in Fort Gaines. Formerly Georgia territory extended from the Atlantic seaboard to the Mississippi River, but through the years portions were relinquished to the federal government in exchange for protection from the Indian. After the Treaty of 1826 with the Indians, the state line was placed permanently at the~ Chattahoochee. Before the settlement, travelersUesiring to go west through Indian territory were required to have passports. In the early 1840’s the first bridge across the Chattahoochee at Fort Gaines was constructed. Prior to this time the need for a bridge had long been felt, for the only bridge across the river was located at Columbus. Traffic from Alabama on the west was heavy and had to be handled by means of ferries, canoes, and flatboats. This was slow, cumbersome, and often times most dangerous. Prime movers for a bridge here was the firm of Bemis and Prescott* (Charles F. Bemis and Alfred Prescott), who conducted a warehouse and cotton factory at Fort Gaines. Fifty percent of the cotton received by the firm came from Alabama across the river. Plans were made in the early 1840’s, and the firm of Bemis and Prescott began the construction of the first bridge across the Chattahoochee at Fort Gaines. The wharves and the warehouses of Bemis and Prescott * Prescott and Bemis lot located in “Old Cemetery” in Fort Gaines. were located on a point a few yards south of the present bridge. Feeding this point was the road leading down to the landing. This road led from what is now Highway No. 39 south--back of where the present nursing home and hospital are located. Its original diversion from the highway known as the Blakely Road was what the older generations know as the Gully. This was filled years ago, and no trace is seen nowadays. However, the old road down to the river has become a ravine, and where it reached the old wharves is where the first sewerage emptied. The road had to be changed because of erosion. At the point on the river bank there is now a small beach with a sparkling waterfall from above. In a time of drought the remains of the brick foundations of that bridge can be seen on the Alabama side of the river. This was almost directly in line with tjhe wharves on the Georgia side. This first bridge was of wood construction throughout and was supported by three latticed piers. For twelve or fifteen years this early bridge afforded the community a great benefit, though often ravaged by the river floods. In the 1850’s it was washed away in a great freshet, and once again resort was made to boats and ferries. Anthony McCullough for many years operated a ferry for the people’s needs. In the early 1860’s a group of business men incorporated a company and let a contract to the firm of Bonner and Walden for a new bridge. This bridge was finished around 1867-68. River shipping, the main means of bringing in freight to this area, was centered at the Fort Gaines landing. Likewise it was the loading point for products brought here for shipping downriver to the Gulf of Mexico and in many cases overseas. The landing was on a shelf broad enough to house warehouses for receiving and storage. One of the first warehouses was constructed by John Sutlive and John Dill. In 1841 their warehouse was washed away and was not rebuilt. The firm of Bemis and Prescott erected another warehouse after their first one was also destroyed. They went out of business by 1861. Freight was raised from the boats on a type of railway hauled by mulepower, and was then loaded on wagons which still had to climb the winding road around the high bluff until it reached level ground-old records place this point near where the Woman’s Clubhouse now stands. By a reverse process, two sets of slides carried bales of cotton and other heavy freight from the top of the bluff down to the steamboats. A series of steps was made of boards upon which pedestrians could go down to the landing or vice versa. This was actually the most important means of travel for many years prior to and after the Civil War. Following the war, railroads gradually displaced river transportation. Many records of the fabulous, as well as dangerous days of the river steamboats are still told. ' “The deep blast of the steamboat whistle was the signal for those living in the villages and towns on the river to gather at the landings for such news as the river steamer personnel might bring from neighboring towns and from more distant points. The flat-bottom, stemwheel steamers carried a varied cargo on their lower decks, but the upper decks were reserved for passengers and living quarters for the crew. They ranged in width from 28 feet to 38 feet and in length from 125 feet to 165 feet. They used cordwood to fire their boilers. It was cut and stacked by the Indians at the various landings along the river. The price paid was one-dollar a cord. Many of the old river steamers had well-appointed interiors, especially on their upper decks. Many of them were floating palaces, with Brussels carpets, gilt trimmings, and chandeliers hanging in the passageways. They carried from forty to fifty passengers, and the fare for the five and one-half to six day trip from Columbus to Appalachicola was nine dollars including meals and lodging. Many now living, including the writer, remember the enjoyable, carefree excursions on the river. In the early 1900’s stops were made at Eufaula, Fort Gaines, Columbia, Wewahitchka, Owl Creek, Iola, Ocheesee, and Appalachicola. There was dancing to the music furnished by the Negro stevedores on their banjos and guitars, white one oldster regaled himself over his mint julep. The silent ripple of the water against a background of a lattice-pattern of moonlight and shadows as it filtered through the trees and the haunting strains of the stringed instruments was a setting around which many a romance developed. On the lower decks was a varied cargo of cotton, lumber, fish, turpentine and rosin products, honey, oranges, as well as fertilizers, seeds, grains, household and kitchen furniture consigned to farmers and others adjacent to the river. For a hundred years, the river knew the pageantry of commercial traffic. As Jane Raymond writing in the Columbus Ledger-Enquirer in its November 23rd, 1962 issue, has said: “The glamorous queen of the river once moved in majestic glory up and down the Chattahoochee. But she has bfeen stripped of her queenly gear. Her life blood is given through another source-electric power. Like a woman remembering the bloom of her maidenhood, she blushes and holds down within her heart the memories of when her admirers flocked to her side, and she was uppermost in the eyes and thoughts of men/' * It has been said that the Chattahoochee is not only the longest river in the state, but it is * the longest graveyard for sunken craft, also. ; Innumerable steamboats lie with its waters across their breasts, having met their fate by ; fire or striking snags or other obstructions on the river.”4 The railroad replaced the old stagecoaches and river steamers as passenger carriers. According to the notes of Col. E.A. Greene, a meeting was held in Macon, Georgia in 1847 the purpose of which was to construct a railroad from Macon through Southwest Georgia to some point on the Chattahoochee River. In 1854 the Central of Georgia Railway System extended a short line from Cuthbert to Fort Gaines, the rails terminating at Fort Gaines. For one-hundred years it was fondly hoped that the line would be extended across the Chattahoochee into Alabama--a hope never realized. The railbed was built by the labor of many workers as no modem machinery was then known. Quite many embankments and large culverts were necessary. After more than 100 years, when the line was rebuilt, these large culverts were found to be sound and strong for the heavy loads which had passed over them. These loads of stone and other supplies were brought in for the construction of the Walter F. George Lock and Dam above Fort Gaines during tthe 1950-1960 period. After months of service, the railroad became idle, and in late 1960 the line was discontinued. Eventually the tracks were removed. Three churches had become organized by 1845. The Baptist, Methodists, and Presbyterians were contributing effectively to the culture of the people. The first attempt made by a religious group was by the Episcopalian order but never became very strong as there still remained too much resentment of these hard people against the estaDlished Anglican order. These settlers were fiercely independent and strong-minded or they could never have ventured so far into undeveloped country. The churches became strong and exerted a great influence on society. (Church histories included in an appendix.) “The schools of that period (1820-1830+) were almost entirely private. The parents paid the teacher for tuition and had a direct influence in controlling his handling of the instruction. There was usually one teacher to a school, which would be located at some place convenient for the pupils to walk back and forth, a walk of several miles being considered average. As a result the simplest subjects were taught, the students being divided into classes instead of grades. These classes usually depended on the reader that the pupils were studying, there being no reader higher than the Fifth Reader. They would range from the First Reader Class to the Fifth Reader Class. The old field school was, as a rule, held in a log house and the pupils sat on benches without backs made of split logs. Light came into the schoolroom through a window which had no glass and was closed by a shutter. The teacher kept the school from sunrise to sunset. In winter it began as early as the light was good enough to read, and it closed when it was too dark to read. The studies were the three "R's” - reading, riting, rithmetic. The teacher received fifty cents per pupil per month paid by the parents, usually in provisions. The log house and the primitive conditions of this period were gradually improved as the communities became more settled and the inhabitants more prosperous.”5 In 1831, one year after the charter was granted incorporating Fort Gaines, the Fort Gaines Academy, located at the comer of East Commerce and Academy Street, was chartered with the following trustees: Samuel Johnson, Thomas T. Patterson, Sr., Leonard P. McCullough, Ira Cushmore and James Buchanan. One school was not deemed sufficient, and in 1838 the Legislature of Georgia approved a charter for the establishment of the Fort Gaines Female Institute. The trustees were John Dill, Simon Greene, Samuel Gainer, James P. Holmes and William Mount. Management of the school was entrusted to these men. This was one of the first schools for young ladies in the state of Georgia. Professor Serons Taylor, an educator of high attainment, was secured for the school. Upon his resignation, the trustees were able to secure an equally well- qualified instructor, Professor John W. Grant. Grant was forced to leave here after a short time because of ill health. After five years he was persuaded to return and rendered exceptional service as head of the Fort Gaines Female College (the name was changed from Fort Gaines Female Institute to Fort Gaines Female College). The architectural design of the college was a masterpiece and presented an imposing and attractive appearance. This colossal building was located on the river bluff just about where the tennis courts are now. The main building was 120 ft. in length and consisted of a chapel 80 ft. wide and 90 ft. long including a stage and two side rooms, with an apparatus room 30x80 feet in the rear. The chapel ran from east to west and was 40 feet from floor to ceiling. The wings, each 50 feet, contained four large classrooms, two above and two below with large fireplaces in each one. A gallery above connected the upper floors of the wings and afforded ample accommodations for large audiences. A cupola that towered eighty feet in the air adorned the main building and was cynosure of the eyes of all visitors to the town. Professor Grant owned a complete and quite valuable scientific apparatus, as well as a complete set of astronomical instruments including a very powerful microscope. The room back of the stage was used as a laboratory and the room above for other scientific experiments. This apparatus and these instruments enabled Professor Grant to teach and demonstrate philosophy, astronomy, geometry,and surveying. Several first class engineers were trained under him. Additional Comments: THIS IS A NON COPYRIGHT BOOK. IT IS OK TO PUBLISH. COMPILED ONLY FOR LIBRARY RECORDS AND NEVER COPYRIGHTED. 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