Pulaski County GaArchives History .....Bembry's Mill 1888 ************************************************ 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: Joy Fisher http://www.genrecords.net/emailregistry/vols/00001.html#0000031 July 28, 2004, 11:20 pm HISTORIC BEMBRY'S MILL On one of the best paved highways in this section, U. S. 341, about four miles southeast of Hawkinsville, is one of the most beautiful and historic spots in Pulaski County-Bembry's Old Mill. The tall trees, festooned with gray moss, the rugged hillside with its large rocks, and the beautiful concrete bridge which spans the creek just below the mill, to say nothing of the old bath-house across the wasteway with the rustic bridge leading to it, make a very picturesque scene. The large pond, just above the mill, has plenty of lilies and other water plants to counteract all animal waste, thus purifying the water and making of it a truly "balanced aquarium." It takes old Jake Bembry, who has been a permanent fixture around the old mill for about eighty years, as was his father before him, to tell you about the "old stump" where "Marse Washing's" wife used to fish, and the "smokehouse" up the pond where so many fine jack, trout and bream have been caught for years. It is easily worth a trip up the pond just to inspect the workman-ship of these little builders and perhaps to catch a glimpse of one of them. The "ole swimmin' hole" below the bridge, where so many of Pulaski's sons and daughters have learned to swim, was very popular years ago. However, it was frequented only by the men and boys in those days, so there was no argument as to the cut of the bathing suit. Only one type prevailed, and that was "a la naturale." The bath house was moved to the present site about 1922, and for years has been a favorite resort. If you consult the records you will find that the first deed recorded in the county was from Cornelius Dunahoo of Elbert County to William S. Lancaster, of Burke County, in Deed Book "A," page 1, to lot No. 388, the one on which the old mill stands. The deed was made November 7, 1807. p. 101 When, in 1802, Georgia ceded her eighty million acres, between the present boundary line and the Mississippi River to the United States, one of the conditions was that all Indian claims to lands within the present boundary were to be extinguished as soon as it could be done peaceably. Accordingly, in June, 1802, three United States commissioners met forty leading chiefs and warriors from the Creek nation for a conference at Fort Wilkinson, on the Oconee River, just below the present site of Milledgeville. The Creeks ceded to the United States a large body of land west of Oconee, the northern part of which was divided into the counties of Baldwin and Wilkinson. However, the Indians still owned what is now Pulaski County, and lot No. 388, about which we are writing; so in 1805 another treaty for cession of Indian lands was made. Six Creek chiefs met Henry Dearborn, Secretary of War at Washington City, and ceded to the United States the remaining lands between the Oconee and Ocmulgee Rivers. In consideration of this and other provisions the United States gave to the Indians a large sum of money. These lands were soon surveyed at public expense, laid off into lots, and divided among the people by the land lottery p. 102 system. The "head rights" system of dividing the lands east of the Oconee River had not been very satisfactory. In 1807, the first year that the legislature met in the new Capitol at Milledgeville, and while Jared Irwin was governor, there was a drawing for these lots at Milledgeville. William S. Lancaster, who, with his brother, Wright, had been valiant soldiers in the Revolution, was present at this drawing, and must have drawn a blank, as was quite often done on such occasions. At any rate, on the same day, November 7, 1807, on which lot No, 388 in Wilkinson County, was granted by Governor Irwin to Cornelius Dunahoo, who drew it, it was sold for the sum of $250.00. The purchaser was William S. Lancaster, who settled on the property and thus became one of the first residents of this section, and who is buried not far from the old mill. Some time later the lot was acquired by Washington Lancaster, who built a nice home about a mile below the mill on what is now the highway. This house was two stories, was painted and plastered, and was one of the first of its kind in this section of the county. It was a custom in this home every morning at a certain hour to ring a large bell to call the family and the slaves to prayer. The writer was told by one of the old slaves that it mattered not what you were doing, when that bell rang you knew to leave your task and go to prayer. It was this same Washington Lancaster. who had the old mill house, now standing, built several years before the War Between the States. He was the grandfather of Mrs. E. C. Smith of Hawkinsville, Mrs. W. 0. Betts, Mrs. D. T. Daniel, Mrs. Mary Lancaster, and Mr. C. C. Atkinson of this county; also of the late William S., R. J., and J. W. Lancaster, who for so many years were actively connected with the affairs of the county. J. W. Lancaster was for many years clerk of the court. There are a number of other descendants, not only in this county, but in Dodge and other adjoining counties, and in Florida, California, North Carolina, Tennessee, and other states of the Union. The contractor for building the old mill house was Shadrack Atkinson of Florida, another ancestor of the Atkinsons, fathers of this county. All of the material was of the very best heart timber. The sills, hewn out by hand, were mortised and pinned together with large pegs. Later there was a gin house and sawmill built, in line with the old mill house, and all three were operated by water power. The property has now come into possession of a son-in-law of Washington, Miles Bembry, who was a sheriff of the county and one of its largest landowners. He was the father of Mrs. S. C. p. 103 Smith, the late Robert T. and H. F. Bembry, and the grandfather of the Bembrys of Hawkinsville and those on the east side of the river. During, or just before the War Between the States, the sawmill and gin were burned. Mrs. Lydia Collins, grandmother of Mrs. W. J. Beatty and of the Collins families of Hawkinsville and the county, wanted some cotton ginned. As the owner was too busy to do the work, he loaned her the gin. She set her slaves to the task, and as they were not accustomed to the gin, let it get on fire and burned it and the sawmill. The old mill house was saved. It has had several close calls since, the last being when we had the flood in January, 1925, when water covered the floor, went over the top of the bath-house and over the concrete bridge. But the old mill house stood, attesting its splendid material and workmanship. It has ground the corn and wheat, furnished the fishing place and "swimmin' hole" for this entire section for nearly a century. For fully as long it has furnished the drinking water during the dry summer months for a number of people living nearby, and old Jake Bembry and others who have lived to be almost a hundred years old attest the purity of this water supply. Some time ago there appeared in the Dispatch and News an article in regard to the first deed recorded in Pulaski County, stating that the lot was in what is now Dodge County. This was a mistake, due perhaps to the name of the creek which was designated as "Gum Swamp." At any rate, lot No. 388, drawn by Cornelius Dunahoo, on November 7, 1807, and deeded by him to William S. Lancaster is the one on which Bembry's mill now stands. Roscoe Bembry, the present owner, has in his possession the original plot and grant given by Governor Irwin to C. Dunahoo. The property has been handed down for the past 128 years, and has never been out of the family. Additional Comments: Extracted from "HISTORY OF PULASKI COUNTY GEORGIA" OFFICIAL HISTORY COMPILED BY THE HAWKINSVILLE CHAPTER DAUGHTERS OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION PRESS OF WALTER W. BROWN PUBLISHING COMPANY ATLANTA, GEORGIA File at: http://files.usgwarchives.net/ga/pulaski/history/other/gms101bembrysm.txt This file has been created by a form at http://www.genrecords.org/gafiles/ File size: 8.5 Kb