Coffee County, Georgia - History Submitted by Karen Batten ************************************************************************ USGENWEB ARCHIVES NOTICE: These electronic pages may NOT be reproduced in any format for profit or presentation by any other organization or persons. Persons or organizations desiring to use this material, must obtain the written consent of the contributor, or the legal representative of the submitter, and contact the listed USGenWeb archivist with proof of this consent. The submitter has given permission to the USGenWeb Archives to store the file permanently for free access. http://www.usgwarchives.net/ *********************************************************************** Georgia Coffee County COFFEE COUNTY HISTORY Coffee County was created from Irwin and Appling counties in 1854. General John Coffee, who was born in Hancock Co., Ga., is the person for which the county is named. He was a renown Indian fighter,and a leader of the Ga. militia. He is responsible for the building of the Coffee Road which in 1954, formed the western boundary of the county. He died in 1836. Mr. B.H. Tanner was the first sheriff of the county INDIANS OF COFFEE COUNTY Apalachee and Lower Creek Indians, also known as Muskegee Indians once occupied the territory of Coffee County before the white men arrived. Most of their villages could be found along the Oconee, Flint, and Chattahooche Rivers. Their route of travel brought them through the area of present-day Coffee County. Due to the abundance of wildlife in the area, the Indians used this region mainly as hunting grounds. Many times they would come to the area and camp for weeks at the time. One trail used by the Indians during travel was located about five miles east of Douglas on the Seventeen Mile Creek. The area of the crossing is known as Indian Ford or Indian Springs. A regular camping site was located about fifteen miles northeast of Douglas on Mr. J.M. Lott's old home place. At one time during the history of Coffee County Indian mounds could be seen near Gaskin Springs and Indian Ford. Many of these Indians were upset over the arrival of the white man. On several different occasions, they were known to attack. One such incident happened near West Green, Ga. All settlers were asked to report to a nearby fort for safety. Settlers were expecting an Indian attack. A negro slave lady was asked to return to the home of her master to gather clothing for the children. Indians robbed the home and murdered the negro lady. Another incident occurred not far from Pridgen when a Grantham family was killed by Indians. A posse of men was mustered and gave chase. Finally, near the Flint River in Albany, Ga. the posse caught up with the Indians. Many Indians were killed , while others swam across to safety. Bare in mind, however, that not all Indians were harmful to the white man's settlement. Finally, Andrew Jackson succeeded in forcing the Indians to surrender. By the year 1814, Indians couldn't be found in the area. These Indians didn't leave any history behind. All sources of their existence were gone, except for buried arrowheads and broken pottery. Source: Ward's History of Coffee County TOWNS OF COFFEE COUNTY Douglas was established as a city in 1854 being named for Senator Stephen A. Douglas, who ran against Abraham Lincoln for the presidency. He was born in 1813 in Brandon, Vermont. Fifty acres of land for the purpose of building public offices/buildings was donated to the city by Mr. James Pearson. In 1888, Douglas had 6 houses, one small store and a log courthouse. The city began to grow slowly until the Civil War period at which time the town actually begin to die. Around 1890, Douglas couldn't be found on the map. The population in 1900 was only 617. However, in the early years of 1900 the city began to flourish and continues to do so today. Ambrose became a town in 1899. The founding of the city was due to the A.B. and A. Railroad. After the railroad came through that portion of the county, Mr. Dennis Vickers and J.J. Phillips gave the land to build the town. Vickers and Phillips families still live in this area and are quite large families. Mr. H.L. Vickers built the first brick building for which he used as a general mercantile store. Dr. Moorman built the first drug store. Mr. Dennis Vickers built the first cotton gin. Here also was the counties first guano plant, built by Mr. T.J. Holland. Ambrose's first church was built in 1915 and still stands today. On October 1, 1930 the town received electricity. Ambrose is located about twelve miles west on Douglas. The railroad is still the north/south dividing line for the city. Broxton was named after the nearby Broxton Creek. Mr. John Passmore owned the land on which the town is situated. Later, Mr. Jesse Lott bought the land from Mr. Passmore and built a log cabin in the center of the present town. At first Broxton was known as Gully Branch, and is still referred to as such by many elderly citizens. Mr. Jesse Lott was the first postmaster of Broxton. Nicholls also was established due to the railroad. This town is located about twelve miles east of Douglas and was first settled by the Southern Pine Company, in 1895. The tobacco business got its start in Nicholls. Actually on a farm about two miles south of Nicholls occupied by a Mr. S.J. Brown. At the time the farm was known as the McGee farm. It is here that the first tobacco warehouse was built. Some of the pioneer families of this area are: Meeks, Halls, Bagleys, Kirklands, Davis, Lewis, Tanners, and Taylors. West Green actually came about as the result of two tramroads belonging to the Southern Pine Company. The main road from Hazlehurst, Ga. branched out into two roads; one going to Broxton, the other going to Nicholls. It was at the site of this branching that West Green was formed. In the early days it was known as "The Twenty" and boasted on one shanty. Eventually, a small courthouse was built. West Green's first industry was teh Boyd Bird Cross Tie Company. Later, when the railroad changed its name to Garrant so did the settlement. Later Mr. G.W. Lott sold his entire real estate holdings to the South Georgia Farm Co. Through their influence people from South Carolina, Tennessee andother states begin to arrive. During this period the town was incorporated and named West Green after Mr. Westbrook, a member of the South Georgia Farm Co. Source: Ward's History of Coffee County COURTHOUSES OF COFFEE COUNTY Pre-1855 to Present Wherever a community arises there is always a need for law and order. And so it was with the first settlers of Coffee County. After the arrival of several families, a group of settlers met in a private residence near present-day West Green, Ga. to hold "court". This first meeting of "court" was held very near to the site of Lone Hill United Methodist Church. At that time this location was practically in the center of Coffee County. In later years around 1855 or 1858, the settlers built a log structure to be used for the purpose of public meetings and "court". This was the first actual building to be used for a courthouse. It was a simple log structure with a few benches and a judge's seat. A clerk's office was added to this structure at a later time. The settlers used this building not only for court but as a general gathering place and for church meetings. It's location was in the downtown area of Douglas, east of the present courthouse. As population grows so do the needs of the people. So in 1889 another courthouse was constructed. Again it was a log structure, located where the present courthouse is located today. Mr. B. Peterson bought this building for $350.00 and donated it to the Methodist Church. However, in 1898 the structure was destroyed by fire. Once again the county was in need of a courthouse. This time the pioneers decided to spend a little of their hard earned money. Bids were taken and T.C. Thompson and Brothers were the successful bidders at a cost of $14, 695.00 Construction was started and later halted for 8 weeks due to an error in the bids. Supposedly, the officials had not followed the legal steps for acquiring the bids. To rectify their mistake, construction stopped until advertising for the bids was completed according to law. Again T.C. Thompson and Brothers were the successful ones. This Victorian Architecture courthouse was completed in January 1900 at a final cost of $15,000. The first courthouse to have lights and water. Fire engulfed another of Coffee County's courthouses on Nov. 25, 1938. The courthouse was completely destroyed with the exception of it's records and the bell which hung in the tower. The next courthouse was built in 1940 on the site and a part of the present courthouse. In the past few years a local option sales tax was passed in order to construct a new courthouse. The decision was made to use the 1940 structure and the Douglas Infirmary as a part of the new construction. The 1940 courthouse faces Peterson Ave., while the Douglas Infirmary faces West Ward Street.