Jones COUNTY  GA   Towns - Fort Hawkins

File contributed for use in USGenWeb Archives by 
Gene Funderburk
funderbk@wilmington.net


Fort Hawkins was originally located in Jones County, however the old fort
location is now in Bibb County across the river from Macon, Georgia.  

Fort Hawkins was built in 1806 by Colonel Benjamin Hawkins, U.S. Indian
Agent.  It overlooked the mounds at Ocmulgee Old Field, as well as the
future site of Macon, across the Ocmulgee River.  It was located on a 100
acre reserve, and played an important part in the Area's life and Indian
relations.  The earliest nearby white settlers came in 1818.

The Fort or Factory as it was called then, consisted of two large
blockhouses, connected by a strong stockade.

The stockade was made of hewn timbers, 14 feet long and 14 inches thick,
sunk in the ground 4 feet, with port holes for muskets at each alternate
post.  The area within the stockade encompassed about 1.4 acres.

The blockhouses were at the southeast and northwest corners of the
rectangular stockade, and were constructed similiarly - about 28 feet
square at the base, two stories and a basement, totaling 34 feet in height,
surmounted by watch towers 8 feet high.  The basement was built of blocks
of stone 18 inches thick, and was 10 feet high.  The first and second
stories were each 12 feet high, and were made of hewn logs 12 inches thick,
with port holes for cannon and musketry.  The second floor extended over
the first by 3 feet on all sides, with holes in the floor of the part
projecting, so that if Indians reached the blockhouse and attempted to
scale the stone basement, they could be shot down from above.

There were four long houses, made of logs, inside the stockade, one in the
center of each side, their 20 foot width forming part of the stockade.
These houses were used for soldiers' quarters, for provisions, for factory
goods to be exchanged with the Indians, and for storage of animal skins
(pelts) received in return.

In the center of the fort were the officers' quarters, surrounded by oaks,
for shade.  The rest of the inside and the entire 96 acres outside the fort
were cleared for undergrowth and large trees, to prevent surprise attacks,
and for clear observation.

Fort Hawkins was more than adequate in case of Indian attack, their most
formidable weapons being the bow and arrow, the tomahawk, the battle axe,
and the rifle.

In its strategic position, the fort helped protect the right flank of the
English settlements from the Spanish on the South, the French on the West,
and the Indians of the entire area, in the mammoth struggle for possession
and control of the extensive southeast area of the newly discovered
continent, with its political implications.

During the Creek wars (1812-1814) which were brought about because of the
War of 1812 with Great Britian, Fort Hawkins was prominent for the
rendezvous and disposition of troops.  Several skirmishes with the Indians
occurred in this vicinity during the war and a battle was fought on the
opposite side of the river, resulting in the Indians withdrawing beyond the
hill on which the Little Theatre and Museum of Arts and Sciences are now
located.

In October 1814, 2,500 Militia were organized and equipped at the Fort to
join General Andrew Jackson at Mobile, and some of these soldiers were used
in South Georgia because of the Seminole uprising there.  

Fort Hawkins at this time was the principal depository for army supplies,
and was distributing rations for troops fighting to repel the British
invasion of Georgia, and for activities against the Indians.

A 19-gun salute was fired at the fort to celebrate General Jackson's
victory over the British at New Orleans, and in 1817, General Jackson with
1,000 Tennessee patriots arrived at Fort Hawkins where he was joined by 900
Georgia Militia and a number of friendly Creeks on his way to quell a
Seminole uprising in Florida.

The last large assembly of Indians occurred in 1817, when 1,400 gathered to
receive annuites from the government.  Each Indian treaty provided payment
of such annuities in return for ceding the ownership of the land.

In 1818 people began settling on the land near the fort.  A ferry was built
across the river.  The settlement was called Fort Hawkins until 1821, when
the name of Newtown was adopted.

By the Treaty of 1821, the Creeks gave up the land between the Ocmulgee and
the Flint Rivers, and Macon was laid out shortly afterwards on the west
side of the Ocmulgee River.   

========================
USGENWEB NOTICE:  In keeping with our policy of providing free
information on the Internet, data may be freely used by non-commercial
entities, as long as this message remains on all copied material. These
electronic pages cannot be reproduced in any format for profit or other
presentation.
 The submitter has given permission
to the USGenWeb Archives to store the file permanently for free access.