TALIAFERRO COUNTY, GA - HISTORY Hillman Community ***************** Copyright. All rights reserved. http://www.usgwarchives.net/copyright.htm http://www.usgwarchives.net/ga/gafiles.htm *********************** This file was contributed for use in the USGenWeb Archives by: Terri Saturday Touring Taliaferro County - (A special request) ­ Hillman, Georgia By: Terri Kimbrel Saturday Mr. Andrew Lafayette Hillman, son of Josephus Hillman and Martha C Roberts was a mineralogist for many years. He acquired the land near Sandy Cross, between Barnett and Washington Georgia, about three miles from Sharon from his father and for years has been sinking shafts in search of gold and alum on his place. Many of these attempts proved unsuccessful; but nothing daunted, in August, 1885, he commenced to sink a shaft at the foot of a mountain, the top of which, hundreds of feet above the Shaft, is capped with huge borders of rock that indicated the presence of alum. Mr. Hillman was in bad health, but his energy did not desert him. He was suffering from severe rheumatism and dyspepsia, and in the hope that the exercise would relieve him he went under ground, in this particular locality, into the shaft daily and worked an hour or so. A few feet from the surface a fine specimen of Alum Rock was found, and through this, with the aid of drill and blast, the work was pushed. At first it was only a well dug in the side of a hill to find alum water and afterwards found it to contain electricity. While at work men felt a queer sensation while handling the water. In handling the drill Hillman felt a peculiar sensation, similar to that experienced from a shock given by a galvanic battery. "Sometimes," said he, "the hands could hardly hold the drill. To my astonishment," he continued,” I had accidentally discovered on my farm remarkable cures that had been made sensation in the neighborhood. I found my dyspepsia greatly improved and my rheumatism completely gone. I persevered, and found myself restored to perfect health. I found water at the depth of fifteen feet, and cut under the mountain side of the Rock, at right angles, a square hole in the rock, as a receptacle for the water. Months afterward, after considerable urging Charley Callaway, who had been afflicted with rheumatism 14 month to try the well. He sat in it several hours each day and in 12 days went back to his work, cured. I took a medical gentleman with me to get his opinion of the matter, but he did not give me any very great encouragement. I went to Atlanta in the spring of 1886, leaving the Shaft covered.” The first time the Press discovered the large hill ­ they called it Mountain in the neighborhood - was on a rainy morning in 1886. Near a boorish frame, under the tall trees of the swamp, miles from any other habitation, stood a number a number of vehicles. Several horses were tied to the swinging limbs of the trees. A force of hands was digging with pick and spades a huge gap in the mountain side. The glittering dew was on the morning grass, and the mists were curling close tree tops. On discovery, curious people with plenty means went down to Mr. Hillman’s Georgia farm to see for themselves the wonders of his electrical discovery. The reputation of the place spread so rapidly, and the need for increased accommodations so great that what was but an eight foot hole in the ground was enlarged to 50 feet in length, twelve foot wide, and from eight to fourteen feet deep with three large houses over it and three sky lights to admit light to the pit. Each house was large, pleasant with sitting rooms situated in front for increased accommodations so great. (A reception room with hard wood floors, windows and doors completed all with a neat little porch.) It was very noticeable that all the men who worked in and about the Rock greatly improved with health and had enormous appetites, and said they felt so strong and active they wanted to sing and dance. Just to view the scene. Three dry rooms, with walls of rock and dirt exposed; around these walls long benches crowed with people holding their hands as if in pious exhortation against the dirt. The Plantation upon the Electric Rock consisted of 2,700 acres. The scenery was as picturesque as seen anywhere outside of a mountainous country, and the walk and drives were as good as could be found in the highest region of Taliaferro County. The high rolling country and the stately pine forests were located a third of a mile from the train depot, post office, photo tent and two stores of Hillman. It was said no blizzards or cyclones ever touched the tops of these majestic hills, whose elevation was such that the lights of two towns (Washington and Sharon) could be seen in the distance. The Hotel was a forty room house, modern in its construction and conveniences; electric bell in each room; open fireplaces and wood fires; bathrooms on each floor, provided with hot and cold water. In addition to several mineral waters, they had an abundant supply of freestone water. The Hotel was on an elevation of 600 feet above sea level. On the south side of the mountain Mr. Hillman made other discoveries. One was a magic well; the other the Nausea-Cure Spring. The magic water has derived its name from the magic effects it has on curing the worst cases of dyspepsia and indigestion. There were three wells in the shaft containing different kinds of minerals, such as alum, iron, sulfur, etc. Cases of Dyspepsia, Kidney and Liver troubles have been cured by drinking the water alone, while a great rheumatics have cured, leaving their crutches, or greatly benefited by even a short trial. The possibilities of the place were so great the eyes of the sagacious business men were soon turned towards it; The Electric Health Resort was organized under the name, “The Georgia Electric Mound Improvement Company.” The Hotel had changed hands many times but it had been filled with guests who came from almost every state in the Union. There had been many remarkable cures there, which had given the place a fame extending far and over the country. Hillman at this time was quite an emporium for Cotton. The Cotton Gin operated here near the depot. In 1922, Mrs. Irene Moore, Grady Moore's wife, ran the depot. Hillman also had a resident physician, Dr. J. A. Rhodes who resided about a mile away, west of the mountain in the community of Sandy Cross. The family homestead of Joseph Hillman (1827- 1880), father of Andrew Lafayette Hillman, lived and died in the house. It was a large two story building, with ten or twelve rooms, with large verandas. It was not quite a mile from Electric Rock, in 1889 was rented for the year by William L. Jackson for a boarding house in Social Hall. Lint Jackson owned a business in front of the Sharon Hotel and prepared music for the guests at Hillman during holidays in the pavilion. There was another boarding house at Hillman, owned by Mrs. Jennie Sims, within a few hundred yards of Electric Rock. Andrew L. Hillman and family lived about a mile from Electric Rock, on a high knoll, nearly covered with flint rocks and pebbles. These, with pine and oak grove and other pretty surrounding, gave his place a picturesque appearance. Sadly, on Sunday March 3, 1901 the Hillman Hotel was swept away at dawn. Flames went through the big structure like a Tinder Box and it fell to the ground in less than an hour. It was a total loss. Andrew L’s son Andrew Meade Hillman held his interest in the Rock. He operated a "Anti-fever" spring on the south side of the Hillman plantation. His wife Annie Burton Hillman ran advertisements in hopes to attract buyers. Even their son Andrew Meade Hillman held the dream on opening the Hotel once again. Mr. and Mrs. Clotworthy bought the Shaft on the North side from Andrew L. Hillman after the Hotel burned. It seems that when the couple came to Hillman she spoke of suffering from acute rheumatism and after spending time in the shaft and she was cured. She had two sons, Hugh and John. Hugh was the only one that stayed on at Hillman and farmed the land. John found a home in Atlanta. I was told he carried a nice tone over the Radio WSB in Atlanta. It appears Hugh left the area as well. Mrs. Clotworthy taught in her later years at the Sunday School in the Moore house where she lived with the Ferguson family. Andrew L. built three small places on the south side of the mountain but was never successful in this venture. On October the 31st, I joined Mr. and Mrs. Allen, Merlene Browning and her mother Leona Ogletree Jones at the Taliaferro County Historical Society. I discovered more history of the hotel there and asked if anyone one had been there. To my surprise our cousin Brian Edwards, who lives near the sight said he had been there with his late father, the famed historian David Edwards and the late author Wiley Jones. The following is our experience, together…. I had for several years heard about the hotel which burned down at Hillman, and about the stories of the curative powers of the springs and a rock which produced electric shocks but had never ventured there. The tale about the rock shocking it victims back health was fascinating that Brian and I went to Hillman the following week, determined to discover more. We followed Hillman road, from the Cotton Gin and train depot to the old road bed that once lead to the beautiful hotel. We roamed over the beautifully wooded country side, followed a meandering stream with steep cliffs on one side and a level flood plain on the other. The old road bed lead us to the old stone wall located at the foot of the mountain. There is where we located the famous seat that was carved out of the moss-covered rock wall. Behind and below it was an area about 30 feet long and 15 feet wide. It was there the visitors traveled from miles away to this obscure place and were once instructed to sit there on chairs carved from a solid rock, holding on to a bar. In the shot where we stood is where they sat with their hands on a steel bar, their feet in sand, in order to receive electric treatments which produced shocks similar to a battery, and gave the same tingling sensations. This shock would cure their diseases. Beside and under the wall were two wells, where spring water was captured, another spring was discovered to cure the worst cases of dyspepsia and indigestion and even nausea. Today the walls are crumbling and no one around can direct you to the healing tunnel. Perhaps the answer to the mystery of the rocks that shock lies in the poem written in 1887: To matter or to force The all is not confined; Besides the law of things Is set the law of mind. One speaks in rock and star, And one within the brain— In unison at times, And then apart again. And both in one Has brought us hither, That we may know Our whence and whither What an interesting day we had, Thanks Brian. I hope we can discover even more history, together. I take this time to thank all the members of the Historical Society that helped me with this tour of Taliaferro County and to thank my cousin, Brian Edwards for allowing me to step into his life and look into his past with his father that is missed by so many. A Special thank you is given to Merlene; her late brother Wiley Jones opened the eyes of many Taliaferro County natives to their history. Until my next adventure Terri Kimbrel Saturday