JONES COUNTY GA Towns - Round Oak Copied with permission from "History of Jones Co., GA, by Carolyn White Williams Typed by Barbara Shore ROUND OAK Round Oak community is located in northern central Jones County in Military District 360 and is on the line between Whites' and Barrons' districts. It is five miles from the Jasper County line on the north and ten miles from the courthouse in Gray on the south. Tradition says the village was named first Sylvania, later Round Oak, for a huge oak tree under which the Indians held their powwows and which was over 100 years old. About 1810-1815 the Indian children were at play on the west side of Falling Creek while the white settlers' children were at play on the east. The RR came through in 1885 and a large water tank was built under the old oak which leaked and killed the tree by 1895. The tank was moved to Hillsboro in 1907. Some of the early families here were: BUTTS, WHITES, HUNTS, BARRONS, DAYS, HASCALLS, COULTERS, MARSHALLS, FUNDERBURKES, GREENS, GORDONS, RICKETTS, OSBURNS, MCBURNEYS, REESE GOODSONS, GRAY and WILBURNS. A half mile south of the old Sunshine Church, a log building (no one know the denomination), also used for a field school. The Battle of Sunshine Church took place here. In November 1864, this church was burned by Sherman's forces, and in 1875 a church was built on the hill at Round Oak. The charter members have many of the names who had previously belonged to old Sunshine Church and they are buried in the nearby cemetery. This church has in recent years been named Sunshine Church II. One of the wounded Federals who had been hospitalized at old Sunshine Church in 1864, wrote a letter and sent a newspaper clipping to the HUNTS who befriended him, and which letter is now in their possession from which I quote: "I preached in the new church at Round Oak, 25 years after I was wounded and prisoner near here at old Sunshine Church. I brought my wife and daughter from Shelby, Ohio with me to visit the J.M. HUNTS. After the service I walked around the church looking over the grounds where we did some of the hottest fighting and under the church I found several 50-calibre bullets and minie balls." Signed by Sgt. B. F. MORRIS of Shelby, Ohio. During the skirmishing, a cannon was set up under the historic oak by the confederates. I have one of the shells in my possession, also a Yankee gun and other cannon balls. The Federals shot into the house (later owned by George B.J. WHITE) north of Round Oak thinking that WHEELER had his headquarters there. This ten pound cannon ball I have as it was dug out of a huge sill thirty years later. Children attended the old field school or had private teachers until a small subscription school was started. Some of the early teachers were: Rev. E.W. SAMMONS, Rev. T.W. ELLIS, Mr. SEARCY, W.E. PATTERSON (later Chr. Of the GA Prison Com.), B.F. MEEEITT, Claude CHILDS and others. About 1880 a school house was built on the church grounds, the school burned in 1910. In 1912 a new two-story building was constructed near the depot. This building had four teachers and 125 pupils. In 1923 this building was considered unsafe and was taken down and the material used for a one-story building and auditorium which served until 1946 when the school was consolidated with the Jones County High School at Gray. The first stores were run by L.O. BENTON & Co. from Monticello and the clerks were John MALONE and Milton CAMPBELL. They had large stables where they sold mules, wagons, and farming implements. Other stores here were: J.W. TURK, Dr. Ben BARRON, B. WALKER, E.P. HUNT. W.H. BARRON and George GORDON. George GORDON also had a cotton warehouse and his clerk was George PURSLEY. Early on morning, a fire broke out in the store owned by E.P. HUNT which burned the whole town except a store owned by J.T. WILLIAMS. In 1901 BARRON and HENDERSON put up another store. "Little Rick RICKETTS," lived where later W.H. HENDERSON built his home. RICKETTS farmed and made shoes. He went to the Army with the Jones Co. Volunteers in the 12th GA Regiment and although he was only five feet and a few inches, he was as brace as could be. The boys in his company said that when Lee invaded Maryland, they had to wade the Potomac River. Long Jim GOOLSBY was six and one-half feet tall and very thin. He plunged into the water which came up to his chin then he looked back to the bank at "Little Dick" and yelled, "Come on Dick," to which he replied, "All right, let me roll up my pants," which brought a laugh from his comrades. "Little Dick" went across the Potomac on the shoulders of his friend, "Long Jim GOOLSBY." He made a fine soldier and could take down anyone twice his size. Henry MARSHALL and his family lived out near the DAY-BARRON place and he was the carpenter who built the church here. One son, Starling MARSHALL was the engineer on the Central passenger train, and to let the folks know who was behind the throttle he would give many fancy toots on the steam whistle as he approached the station. "Sugar Hill," was west of Round Oak 7 miles and in 1892 they had a great commencement at the school. Several buggies, surreys with the fringe on top, and young men on horseback went to this affair. The rains poured, the bridges washing out and the night was dark and many attendants from here were days getting home. In 1900 the second Jones Co. Fair was held here. This fair was a red-letter day in this little town and many oldsters still tell of the horse running away and of prizes awarded by the Judges, the drawnwork, the exhibits of farm products and the picnic at "Smith's Park." In 1904 two families from Asbury Park, N.J., Mr. And Mrs. Sam PATTERSON and sons Henry and George, Mr. and Mrs. A.W. DEY and children, Helen and Sam bought lands a mile south of Round Oak and built a large Colonial home. They were friendly and hospitable and beloved in the community. The home was sold to the G.W. JACKSON family about 1914. Early physicians who practiced here were: Dr. Ben HOLLAND, Dr. C. H. RIDLEY, Sr. Dr. J.T. GARLAND (from Hillsboro) and Dr. T.A. WHITE. Out in Hammocks District, G.M.. 377 where New Hope church is located, there were many early families: JACKSONS, JARRELLS, BURNS, HAMMOCKS, PIPPINS, MAYNARDS, CRUTCHFIELDS, RUSSELS, COULTERS, MIDDLEBROOKS, GORDONS, GREENS, GRESHAMS, GLAWSONS AND HUFFS. On out near the Ocmulgee River were: HODGES, DAMES, BEELANDS, GLOVERS, ZELLNERS, VANZANTS, TRIBBLES, HERNDONS, GREENS, and others. Up in the northwest corner of Jones, called Cornucopia or Sugar Hill were: TIDLEYS, MITCHELLS, John KELLY, Mac PATTERSON, Wm. BROOKS, Lane JACOB, Bryan LEE, KING< GARLANDS, Isaiah PACKER, Isham MEADOWS, and others. "Fiddlers Rest," long since disappeared, was a notorious place for drinking and gambling, two miles west of Round Oak. This was a crossroads where men gathered at a store and barroom run by George MANN who held shooting matches, gander pulling, gambling and wrestling. Often under the influence of drink, men cut and fought and some died here. There were five or six houses near here at that time. Round Oak has a population of about 200 (1957) a post office with Mrs. R.L. WHITE as Postmaster, it is on Hwy No. 11, Central RR and is adjacent to the many thousands of acres owned by the U.S. Government called "Piedmont Wildlife Reserve," on the west and "Soil Conversation District," on the east; also "The Hitchitee Reserve," on the southeast. ======================== 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.