Pulaski County GaArchives History .....Ocmulgee River 1935
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Joy Fisher http://www.genrecords.net/emailregistry/vols/00001.html#0000031 July 28, 2004, 10:52 pm

THE OCMULGEE RIVER

   It is the popular belief that the Ocmulgee River has as its source a spring
under the Kimball House in Atlanta. Another theory is that it begins above
Atlanta and joins the little stream from the spring. The stream flows along by
Macon, Hawkinsville, Abbeville,

p. 95

and joins the Oconee below Lumber City, forming the Altamaha. The name Ocmulgee
is from the Creek Indian name Oko-mulgi, "the turbulent stream."

   Existing records show that DeSoto's army, in search of gold, marched up the
Altamaha until they reached the point where it is formed by the confluence of
the Oconee and Ocmulgee, and then up the Ocmulgee until they came to the present
site of Macon in 1540. An Indian guide leading this party became converted and
was baptized in the river. An old legend says that the war paint was washed off
his face, and that is why the water is red. This is claimed to be the first
baptism on American soil.

   Before the days of so many railroads, the Ocmulgee played an important part
in the transportation of freight. The first steamboat to come up the river was
the North Carolina, in 1829. It came from Darien and carried back seven hundred
bales of cotton. Mr. Mat-thew Mathias McCormick, father of the late D. G.
McCormick, was captain of one of the first steamboats that plied this river, and
had charge of a boat for twenty-seven years. Sometimes as many as four boats
were tied up here at one time. About a week was required to make the trip to
Brunswick and return. It has been for all time a large factor in the growth and
development of Hawkinsville. In the days gone by it gave Hawkinsville a rate of
50 cents to $1.00 a bale on cotton to Savannah, and made this the best inland
cotton market in Georgia-a reputation that time and the boll weevil have not
obliterated. Today, the log and lumber boats are about the only ones seen on the
river.

   The first bridge built on the Ocmulgee River was in 1825. The first wagon
bridge built at Hawkinsville was in 1879. This was a wooden structure
originally, but eventually steel spans and girders were put in as replacements.
The pier was built about 1888. This was used until the present bridge of
concrete and steel was built, which represents an outlay of $250,000.00. It was
begun in 1920, and when it was opened September 16, 1921, it was presented as a
memorial from Pulaski County to her boys who fought in the World War, and was
christened by Mrs. David P. McGriff. There are two bronze tablets on this
bridge; one was dedicated in memory of the boys who gave their lives, and was
unveiled by Miss Willie Mae Holt; the other to the ones who offered their lives,
and this was unveiled by Miss Louise Richardson. Our bridge is one of the
prettiest in' the State. being built of concrete, and is one-half mile long.
Before the days of bridges, ferries were used to cross the river.

   There have been several freshets since Hawkinsville was estab-

p. 96

lished. The most noted are the Jackson freshet, in January, 1818; the Harrison
freshet, in 1840; the Centennial freshet, in April, 1876; the Garfield freshet,
in March, 1881; and the January freshet, 1925. Until the recent high-water mark
in January of 1925, the Harrison or Stout freshet, in 1840, was considered the
most important. But on the 21st of January, 1925, the water broke all previous
high-water records, rising to 36 6-10 feet. It rose at the rate of one inch per
hour, carrying along everything in its path. Trees were felled across piles of
ready-cut lumber to keep it from floating away. The lumber industry was
completely demoralized. All sawmills on the river banks were completely
submerged except the smoke stacks. Traffic on the main line of the Southern
Railway was at a standstill. Hawkinsville was without mail for four days. Box
cars filled with sand were placed on the trestle to hold it down, as the water
was running over the crossties. Automobiles were prohibited from going over the
wagon bridge. Water was seeping through its drain pipes on the eastern end and
grave danger was felt for the fill at that end. The high-water mark before this
was 29 1-10 feet. There was quite a contrast between this high-water mark of
1924, and the low-water mark of 8-10 foot in August, 1925. The prolonged drought
of 1925 caused the river to recede to such a shallow depth that wading parties
became the popular pastime of the season. The water, though low, was clear, and
the bottom could be seen in most places.

   The river swamp has always supported the lumber industry. Saw-mills dot the
banks of the river for miles in both directions. The Standard Lumber Company was
in 1925 one of our leading industries. White oak, used in making barrels at the
old factory in Hartford, was a product of the swamp. Little hardwood is left now.

   A beautiful poem, "Ocmulgee," from the pen of Horace M. Dubose, then Bishop
of the Methodist Church, South, who was one of the chief speakers at the
0cmulgee Chautauqua in 1898, is given below:

OCMULGEE

Where the lazy fern leaves float
  On the fragrant vernal air,
And the gushing sunbeams gloat 
  O'er the fringing "maiden hair"; 
By the little breezes stirred,
By the ancient forest cheered,
  Murmurous in the silence there, 
      Flows the 0cmulgee.

p. 97

Dreamy spaces stretch away
  Through the woodland, dusky, cool, 
Where the dancing naiads play
  At the marge of many a pool, 
Overbrimming in the shade, 
Dripping through the reedy glades,
  Mimic rivers running full
      To the Ocmulgee.

Farm and orchard edging down,
  Meadows green with browsing kine, 
Lodges that the high cliffs crown,
  Hamlets in the broader shine, 
Cities by the laving tide,
Watch the waters onward glide;
  Watch the waters dark as wine;
      Watch the Ocmulgee.

Summer days shall come and go,
  As in all the years before;
Futile winds of winter blow;
  Peace with the war's alternate roar, 
But a seaward rolling flood
  Shall its quenchless fullness pour 
      Through the Ocmulgee.



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

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