Jasper County GaArchives News.....Bicentennial Bits - Monticello - Jasper County Scrapbook 1970's ************************************************ 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: Suzanne Forte suzanneforte@bellsouth.net July 2, 2004, 10:22 pm Monticello News BICENTENNIAL BITS BY JOHN HARVEY Monticello - Jasper County Scrapbook Where Did The Early Settlers of Jasper County Come From? - Many people think that the colonists who came with Oglethorpe in 1733 and those who followed them spread out from Savannah and Augusta and after a few generations had settled the whole state. This isn't so. The original settlers and their descendants remained mostly in South and East Georgia. Middle, West and North Georgia were settled in the "Second Immigration", which began about 1800, when mostly Scotch-Irish farmers from Virginia, North and South Carolina poured into Georgia looking for rich "cotton land". These settlers especially admired the great leaders of the Democratic- Republican Party and the heroes of the Revolution. Examples: Randolph (original name of Jasper County, Va.), Monticello (home of Thomas Jefferson), Jasper (Sgt. Jasper, S.C.) Monroe (Va.), Madison (Va.) are just a few. HIGHIWAY 16 PAVED FOR WAR - In 1939, Georgia Highway 16 was unpaved from Griffin to Warrenton through Monticello. It was decided that if war came as it appeared it would that Georgia 16 would be the most direct route from Columbus (Ft Benning) to Augusta (Camp Gordon). It was decided that this Highway should be paved immediately. Gov. E. D. River's announced that any prisoners in the State Prison System who agreed to work on this road with the exception of life termers would be considered for pardon. Work began in the winter of 1939 and 149 days later was completed, in 1940. This was a record for Monticello widening, scraping, and laying road bed. A few days later another crew came thru laying rock and gravel, to be followed by a third crew laying asphalt. A special crew laid cement from the Ocmulgee river thru Monticello to the end of Eatonton Street. The cement between the river and Monticello was not covered with asphalt until 1959. Many said this river highway was the best constructed in the state. It was finished just in time, the next year, the Third Army used Monticello as one of its stops on the way from Ft. Benning thru Augusta to staging area in New Jersey. THE THIRD ARMY MOVES THROUGH MONTICELLO - In the fall of 1940 the government decided to move the Third Army from Ft Benning to the Staging areas in New Jersey. Some U.S. troops had already been sent to England to help the British with the large volume of Lend-Lease material being shipped from the U.S. In the Spring of 1941 Gens. Eisenhower and Clark were to make their secret trip to North Africa to talk with Free French sympathizers. So, many felt that is wasn't long before the U.S. would be in World War II. Because the Army did not have enough vehicles available to move the whole Third Army at one time it was decided to move them in stages - sort of leap frog like. One group would start out walking toward Griffin while a second group would load up all the trucks, jeeps, etc, and ride to griffin where they would set up a camp. After setting up camp they would start hiking toward Monticello. In the mean time the trucks would return and pick up the men between Griffin and Columbus. The next camp was at Sparta, then at Camp Gordon (Ft. Gordon) and so forth up to New Jersey. Monticello's two camps were at Shepherd's Pasture (across from Piedmont Academy) and four miles out on Eatonton Highway. The Third Army spent seven days passing thru Monticello. General Patton came through on the third day. GENERAL PATTON SPENT TWO MINUTES IN MONTICELLO, NOVEMBER 1940 - The Third Army had been passing thru Monticello for two days. At night everything was open to accommodate the soldiers who did more looking than trading. They started coming in on Wednesday and we were told that Gen. Patton and his staff would come thru on Friday afternoon at about two. School was let out at one o'clock. Actually he didn't come thru until nearly three o'clock. Monticello's football team had made the playoffs for the region and was in the midst of practice for the championship game the next weekend with Dublin, Ga. The players were given an extra hour before practice to see the General. (Monticello won 18-13 on a blocked, intercepted pass by Roy Kelly and a 98-yard run by Harold Morgan. Monticello had its first region championship) At just before three o'clock, the two MP's stationed at Church and Washington Streets began pushing everybody back to the curb. A third MP made a sliding stop on his motorcycle and came to attention all in one fluid motion. The next instant two ammunition carriers with MP's on motor cycles in front and behind flew by at close to 50 mph. Standing in the back of the first car with his arms folded across his chest, two pearl handled 45's strapped low on his hips (western gunfighter style) was six foot six, 250 lb. Gen. George S. Patton, Jr. When the car turned to go around the square and out by the City Hall he didn't lean an inch. They were gone almost as soon as they came in sight. BICENTENNIAL BITS BY JOHN HARVEY "Monticello - Jasper County Scrapbook" THE DOW'S PULPIT MONUMENT on Highway 11 near the Jasper-Newton County line there stands a rock shaped like a pulpit. Because of the efforts of Judge A. S. Thurman in 1934 this was the first spot marked in our county by the Sate Historical Commission. Lorenzo Dow, a Methodist circuit rider often preached here in the early 1800's. Many of you are familiar with the often printed story of Mr. Dow and the town of Franklin in Effingham County. Mr. Dow had a reputation of being able to find out things when others could not. The Monument has a story, just as everything connected with Mr. Dow has. It was said that is was where he caught some thieves that the law enforcement officers hadn't been able to catch. In 1934, Judge Thurman heard that the State Highway Department had plans to pave Highway 11 from gray to the Hub and that the rock would be removed. Instead he got the state to declare it a historical spot. During WW II someone removed the marker and it was later found in Florida. It was returned, cleaned up and bolted to the rock where it remains today. Source: Mrs. Kate Thurman's Booklet on Early Monticello THE DEER COME TO JASPER COUNTY: Jasper County is now pretty much accepted as the “Deer Capital of Georgia” but there was a time when all the deer had been wiped out. In October 1934, Dr. L. Y. Pittard announced through the Monticello News that a local community affiliated with the State Fish and Game Commission had secured a buck and two does from the state of Washington. The deer would arrive on October 18 and would be placed temporarily in the pens behind the Courthouse until they could acclimate themselves. After a few days they would be released on Jackson Lake near Camp Suitsus. Citizens were warned that shooting deer was illegal. It was to remain so until the deer had increased to a point where hunting could be allowed. Source: “The Monticello News” JACKSON SPRINGS - A HISTORIC SPOT NEAR MONTICELLO: For many years, Jackson Spring on the Forsyth Highway has held interest for many. It was said that Gen. Andrew Jackson camped there on his way to Florida in the Seminole War between 1816 and 1819. The ancient cannon that once graced our square was said to have been dug up at the Spring and had been one of Jackson’s. We have now come across an article written in 1910 about the Spring. This article was one of a series sponsored by the Sergeant Jasper Chapter, DAR, to acquaint the people of Jasper County about the history of their county. The following is taken from the article: “This Spring was known to the people of Jasper County as early as 1810 when it became a popular gathering place for special events. An arbor was erected for revivals and the annual countywide Sunday School picnic was held here each May until 1885 with Methodist, Baptist and Presbyterians participating. “Beginning about 1820, political speakers and meetings began to be held here many candidates for State and local office held barbecues and spoke to supporters from the surrounding counties. “It was in 1816 that the Spring got it’s name. In that year. Gen Andrew Jackson and the U.S. Army camped there on their way to Florida to fight the Spanish and Seminole Indians. Jackson had planned to spend only four days at the Spring, but people from all around the area came out to make his stay pleasant and the weather was pretty, so he stayed two weeks. “Shortly after 1810, Rueben Jordan bought most of the land around the spring and settled his plantation there in 1820. His son, William F. Jordan, was born here in 1833 (died 1902). William F. Jordan built his antebellum home near the Spring in 1860” (This is presently the home of Mr. and Mrs. L. O. Benton, III) At the time of the writing of the article the spring was on the property of Mr. Harvie Jordan, well known Jasper Countian then living in Atlanta. The Spring was destroyed in 1886 when the road bed for the Macon and Athens Railroad was laid. Source: Article by the Sergeant Jasper DAR Additional Comments: Transcribed by Suzanne Forte (suzanneforte@bellsouth.net) from copies of articles contained in the Monticello News. There articles were prepared by Mr. John Harvey and published in this newspaper during the 1970's time frame. Permission has been granted by Mr. Harvey for use of these very valuable and informative articles. File at: http://files.usgwarchives.net/ga/jasper/newspapers/gnw202bicenten.txt This file has been created by a form at http://www.genrecords.org/gafiles/ File size: 10.2 Kb