CEDAR GROVE

The First Hundred Years

On August 17, 2008, the town, or should I say the community of Cedar Grove, will officially turn one hundred years old. In reality, Cedar Grove, or the community that it encompasses has been around for much longer than that. Cedar Grove has always been a community. Cedar Grove, the town, never seemed to get off the ground. The fates against it, Cedar Grove is the only incorporated Laurens County town to have never had a post office and though it was the largest Laurens County town ever created by the Georgia Legislature, its location far away from railroads and populous centers doomed it to fail as a municipality. In the end, Cedar Grove and those who have lived there and those who still live there have persevered to make it a fine place to live.

Early residents of the community, the Clarks, Gays, and Burches often traded for goods and supplies, not in Dublin, some twenty three-airline miles away, but instead along with other early residents of Scottish descent in Montgomery County, now Wheeler County, in the community of Little York, once located west of Alamo. Later in the 19th Century, residents traded at McRae, ten miles closer than Dublin.

Before there was a Cedar Grove, there was Arthur, Georgia. Located near the intersection of Georgia Highway 45 and Paul Young Road and west of the present Cedar Grove Crossroads, Arthur, established as a post office on June 29, 1880, was named for Arthur Burch, a member of the Burch family, who has for more than a century and a half lived in the area. The first postmaster at Arthur was Daniel H. Burch. He was succeeded by D. Cabie, who served for only 18 days until Arthur Burch took office. Arthur Burch only served for 79 days until John Burch was sworn in as postmaster, a post he held until C.M. Clark became the final postmaster in 1900. The post office was closed on September 22, 1908 and the mail ordered to be sent to Depue in Dodge County.

In the latter decades of the 19th Century, what would become the Cedar Grove community was inhabited by the Browning, Burch, Caldwell, Clark, Clements, Colemans, Currie, Gay, Harrell, Harrelson, Lowery, Miller, Mullis, Purvis, Ryals, Sears, Taylor and White families.

Citizens of McRae desperately wanted a railroad to Dublin. They had hoped to lure the Dublin and Southwestern Railroad away from Eastman. In 1904 the men from Telfair County met and formed the McRae and Dublin Railroad Company. C.B. Parker was elected President of the company. Grading was begun from the depot to the Seaboard Air Line near the Oil and Fertilizer plant. Ransom Rogers of Atlanta laid off the route and the work was begun on the 35-mile road. The road progressed along the present day Highway 441 toward Dublin, but failed due to lack of financial support. Telfair County tried again in 1912. The Jacksonville, McRae, and Northern Railway was incorporated to build a road from the Ocmulgee near Jacksonville through McRae and northward to Dublin through Cedar Grove. One of the incorporators was future Georgia governor, Eugene Talmadge. Like many other attempts, this railroad also failed. The coming of the railroad would mean new people and, more importantly, more money for the Cedar Grove Community.

Promoters of an actual town had high hopes. On August 17, 1908, the Georgia Legislature adopted a bill incorporating the town of Cedar Grove. It was the largest town ever created in Laurens County. With twenty four land lots of two hundred two and one-half acres each, the new town was 4,860 acres in size or 7.59 square miles. John P. Harrell was named as the town's first mayor. James Purvis, J.T. Parish, W.E. Kinchen, J.Y. Hill, and S. Harrelson were named to the first town council until an election was held on the first Saturday in January 1909.

Yet, there is one burning and mystifying question about Cedar Grove which still puzzles anyone who ever lived there or just passed through. Where are the cedar trees? Well, the story goes like this. About the year 1869, Rev. Cornelious Clark, a righteous and God-fearing man, wanted to build a church near his home. He remembered a grove of cedars growing in a nearby cemetery and decided that this would be the place for his house of worship and obviously named it "Cedar Grove." Samuel Harrelson, Mary Pharis, B.L. Lowery and others joined with him in establishing the new church. Others took offense that the community's church would not be located in a more central location, so B.L. and Lamar Lowery offered to build a church in the triangle formed by Georgia Highways 46 and 126 and Sudie Pearl Jones Road, about one and a quarter miles to the northwest along Sudie Pearl Jones Road. Clark reluctantly agreed to the new location but insisted that the name Cedar Grove be retained. And, it did.

The most accepted authorities state that Purvis' store was the first business in the town. Sam Mackey, Russell Howell and Cordie Joiner also operated establishments there.

Cedar Grove became the center of religious, civic and educational activities. The earliest church, the Clark Baptist Church, ceased to exist in the 1880s. There was a New Hope Church located southwest of the Cedar Grove Crossing off Chic Inn Road.

The Masons of lower Laurens County organized the Whiteford Masonic Lodge in 1885, moved to the Lowery community shortly thereafter, and later returned to Cedar Grove. The Odd Fellows of Cedar Grove established a lodge, which they share with the Masons.

The original school began in a log church. As the school population grew, classes were held in the lower floor of the Masonic Lodge until 1924, when the schools of Whitewater, Oakdale and Union Springs were consolidated into Cedar Grove School. A large school, for its time, was built in 1926 and expanded in 1939. The school closed and merged into Laurens High School near Rentz.

In 1920, the Cedar Grove Community Council was created to help promote the community. The original members were: J.W. Horne, J.T. Grimsley, D.E. Grinstead, J.C. Ussery, J.F. Burch, J.W. Purvis, R.F. Gay, M.L. Miller, B.H. Howell, C.W. Clark, A.B. Miller, H.R. Gilder, J.P. Jackson, Dr. B.S. Benson, R.L. Thigpen, B.L. Lowery, E.N. Johnson, S.L. Miller, L.L. Howell, A.H. Johnson, M.L. Beasley.

The actual town of Cedar Grove only existed for ten years and two days. For on August 19, 1918, when most of her citizens were fighting World War I, the boll weevil and flu bugs, the Georgia Legislature in its enigmatic wisdom repealed the town's charter. They might have killed the town, but they could never kill the spirit of Cedar Grovers, who love their community as their forebearers did.

ADRIAN, GEORGIA NEWS

ADRIAN SEVENTH GRADE EXERCISES

ADRIAN, Ga. - May 27. Seventh grade
graduation exercises will be held in the Adrian
school auditorium Friday morning, June 5,
beginning at 10 o’clock, with Col. J. Eugene
Cook, of Wrightsville, delivering the class
address.

Those who will receive certificates at
that time are:

Lanelle Avery, Mary Barwick, Elvie
Mae Barwick, Robbie Braddy, Donald
Chapman, Tincie Douglas, Corliss Douglas,
Nina Pearl Elliott, Edsel Flanders, Cathleen
Flanders, Essie Ree Hall, Hilda Joiner, Walden
Johnson, Billy Key, Ida Mimbs, Vera Mathis,
Gene Meeks, Maxine Odum, Marjorie Smith,
W.C. Tyson, Dale Thompson, Elaine Taylor,
Verlon Watson, Opal Ivey, Reba Wheeler,
and Maxine Hutcheson.

Dublin Courier Herald, May 27, 1936.



ADRIAN F.F.A.
TO LAKE BURTON

14 BOYS AND MR. AND MRS.
HAYDEN ON WEEK’S CAMP THERE

ADRIAN - August 4. - Fourteen
Future Farmers of America boys, accompanied
by their teacher, O.L. Hayden and Mrs.
Hayden, left in a large school bus Monday
morning with Lake Burton in the northern part
of the state as their destination. They will
spend a week and will be instructed in the art
of camping, boating, fishing, swimming, and
other sports.

Those making the trip include Austin
Drake, Henry Grady Neal, Harry K. Neal,
Roland Gillis, Billy Gillis, Lyman Hutcheson,
Fay Fountain, Arnold Loyd, Walker Bailey, Jr.,
Lyman Webb, Myles Webb, Julian Thigpen,
Dale Thompson, and Edward Griffith.

Dublin Courier Herald, Aug. 4, 1936


ADRIAN F.F.A.
HAD BIG TIME

By BILLY GILLIS

The members of the Adrian Chapter of
the Future Farmers of America sponsored an
educational tour last week. The following boys
went on the trip: Lyman Hutcheson, Roland
Gillis, Billy Gillis, Harry K. Neal, Henry Grady
Neal, Arnold Loyd, Lyman Webb, Myles
Webb, Dale Thompson, Austin Drake, F.A.
Fountain, Julian Thigpen, and Walker Bailey,
Jr.. Mr. and Mrs. O.L. Hayden went with the
boys.

The group camped at Magnes Camp on
the shore of Lake Burton, the largest lake of
the Georgia Power Company. Each day a
program was set up for the boys which included
mountain climbing, fishing, swimmings, and
trips to places nearby. We spent one day in
North Carolina.

The boys are looking forward to seeing
more of the wonders of Georgia in all sections
of the state by making a trip each year.

The motor boating was one of the
greatest sports with the boys, and if you don’t
think so you might ask Lyman Hutcheson what
happened at Jones’ Fishing Camp.

Several of the boys, including Julian
Thigpen, Arnold Loyd, and Myles Webb were
taught how to row a boat without lunch. Ask
them all about the man that gave them dinner.
The trip was an enjoyable one and everybody
had an excellent time.

Dublin Courier Herald, Aug. 17, 1936



ADRIAN W.M.S.
TO STAGE PLAY

MUSICAL COMEDY “COOL KNIGHTS”
WILL BE PRESENTED FRIDAY NIGHT

ADRIAN - Aug. 4 - The Methodist
Women’s Missionary Society is staging a three
- act musical comedy, “Cool Knights” on
Friday Aug. 7 at 8:30 in the Adrian High
Auditorium. The play is being directed by Miss
Emma Lane Rabb of the Triangle Producing
Company of Greensboro, N.C. Proceeds will
be used on the Methodist Parsonage.

Included in the cast are Misses Elizabeth
Flanders, Essie Mae Anderson, Frankie Ricks,
Katherine Hutchinson, Dorothy Anderson,
and Louise Moye. Thomas Fountain, Edward
Cook, G.B. and Lambuth Hutchinson, Edwin
Drake, Evan Taylor, and Carl Gillis, Jr.

There are three groups of attractive
chorus girls. In the first group are Louise
Curry, Vivian Thigpen, Sephale Hutchinson,
Madeline Gillis, Nell Ricks, Mina Lee Braswell,
Daphne Thompson, Martha Colvin, Clara
Odom, Julia Meeks, and Emma Dell Spell.
The younger chorus groups are composed of
Patricia Gillis, Elaine Taylor, Tincy Williams,
Marjorie Kea and others.

Music for the occasion will be furnished
by Miss Hortense Fountain.

Dublin Courier Herald, Aug. 4, 1936.





DUBLIN DEFEATS ADRIAN 26 TO 16

Locals Stage Six Inning Rampage Yesterday

By Billy Keith

Coach Kelley’s high school Irish baseball
team staged a six inning rampage gathering 15
runs and smothered the Adrian High nine 26
to 16 in the wildest game of the season played
here yesterday afternoon.

Adrian was out front in with a ten run lead
in the second inning, but the locals were only
three runs down in the fourth. The 15 run
rally staged in the sixth inning gave the green
and white team a 26 to 16 decision over the
Adrianites. The locals batted three Adrian
pitchers over the diamond.

Line up:

Dublin 26 Adrian 16
Brown 1b Watson 3b
Morrison 2b Smith rf
Scarboro 3b Drake p
Bedingfield lf-p Webb c
Baldwin ss-p Thompson 2b
Towns rf Anderson cf
Hobbs cf Billy Key lf
Clarke p-1b Kelly 1b
Shepherd c Jack Key ss
Smalley
Daniel
Brunson
Keith
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
Adrian 4 6 1 2 3 0 0 - 16
Dublin 1 0 5 5 1 15 0 - 26

Dublin Courier Herald, May 3, 1939.

COMMENCEMENT AT ADRIAN
WILL BEGIN FRIDAY

Adrian, Ga. May 9, 1940 - Graduation
exercises of the Adrian High School will begin
Friday night, May 10, at 8o’clock, when the
Seniors present their play, Good Gracious,
Goodness.

Those taking part in the play are Verlon
Watson, Henry Grady Neal, Elvie Mae
Barwick, Maxine Odum, Anton Horton, Pete
Cooper, Edsel Flanders, Dale Thompson, Patsy
Holmes, and Corput Kelly.

On Tuesday night, May 15, the Grammar
School operetta, “Child’s Mid Summer Night
Dream,” will be presented. Thursday night, a
concert by the piano pupils of Mrs. F.L. Kea
and the band pupils of I.L. Taylor will be an
enjoyable.

Class night will take place on Friday night,
May 27, with the following seniors taking part
on the program: Salutatory, Elvie Mae
Barwick; Valedictory, Robbie Braddy; Class
History, Maxine Hutcheson; Prophecy, Elaine
Taylor; Last Will and Testament, Mary
Barwick.

Dr. E.M. Highsmith of Mercer University
will preach the baccalaureate sermon on
Sunday morning, May 19. The program will be
completed on Monday night, May 20, when
Dr. Marvin S. Pittman, president of South
Georgia Teacher’s College at Statesboro,
deliveres the graduation address. Emanuel
County school superintendent will deliver the
diplomas, and Ned Warren will make the
awards. All events will take place at the
newly completed Community Hall.
Dublin Courier Herald, May 9, 1940
FINE BUILDING FOR ADRIAN GYM

Adrian - Work is progressing nicely on the combined auditorium and athletic court. The floor of the old auditorium was removed and dirt was excavated to give proper depth for basketball playing. A waterproof concrete floor is being built, which will be covered with a wood floor. Eight rows of grandstand seats will be placed on the sides for athletic events and additional folding chairs have been purchased to use in the center of the building for other occasions, thus increasing the seating capacity to 800. Marvin Woods is in charge of the work. When finished, the Adrian school will be one of the most complete gymnasiums in this section.

Dublin Courier Herald, March 18, 1940


ADRIAN SCHOOL GYM IS OPENED

Adrian, Ga., May 3, 1940 - The formal opening of the Adrian High school new
gymnasium took place on Tuesday night with a capacity crowd present to enjoy the
festivities. The program opened with an invocation by Rev. J.C. Walker. An address by Judge Robert Humphrey of Swainsboro, former Adrian citizen, was featured. Judge
Humphrey was introduced by T.J. Braswell, member of the local board of education. Other school board members present were, J.R. Williams, M.T. Riner, Marvin Woods, and H.C. Williams.

The school band under the direction of I.L. Taylor, leader, played several selections. Two ball games concluded the evening entertainment. The women teachers lost to the girl’s high school team by a score of 6 to 25, and the Adrian Athletic Club won over the Adrian High School boys in an exciting game, the score being 29 to 21. Woodruff Kea was the referee for the girls game and Lanier Flanders for the boys.

Superintendent Sam Jones stated that by converting the auditorium into a gymnasium,the seating capacity has been increased from 550 to 900. Grandstand seats have been placed on each side of the building, and directly over these are long rows of balcony seats. The old seats were sold for more than enough to purchase 350 folding chairs to be used in the center of the building for stage programs. Mr. Jones stated that much credit for the building is due to Marvin Woods, contractor for the job and to O.L. Hayden and the agriculture boys, who actually did a great part of the work.

The community as a whole is grateful to superintendent Sam Jones for conceiving the idea and it was largely through his untiring efforts that it was accomplished. The building has been named Community Hall.

Dublin Courier Herald, May 3, 1940



F.F.A. BALL TEAMS
DEFEAT OPPONENT

Adrian, Ga. - Adrian Future Farmer’s Association
softball team defeated the Emanuel County Institute
Tuesday at Adrian in a close game. Adrian won by a
score of 4 to 3. Adrian is playing in a softball league
with other teams in this section.

Members of the Adrian Club are Spell, Kelly,
Watson, Thompson, Fountain, Flanders, Ricks, Frazier,
Spearman, and Hayden.

Dublin Courier Herald, April 25, 1940


SENIORS AT ADRIAN ARE GIVEN HONORS

Adrian, Ga. - The honors for the Senior Class have
just been announced by Superintendent Sam P. Jones.
They are first, Robbie Braddy, second, Elvie Mae
Barwick, third, Maxine Hutcheson, fourth, Elaine
Taylor, and fifth, Mary Barwick.

Other seniors, forty four in all are Barnettte
Brantley, Donald Chapman, Pete Cooper, Corliss
Douglas, Doris Durden, Nina Pearl Elliott, Noel
Fowler, Edsel Flanders, Ovie Garnto, Patsy Holmes,
Anton Horton, May Horton, J.T. Horton, Essie Ree
Hall, Samolene Hall, Maxine Herrmann, Walden
Johnson, Walden Johnson, Hilda Joiner, William Key,
Margaret Kitchens, Corputt Kelly, Tom Lee, Ralph
Morris, Pearl Mimbs, Gladys Miller, T.L. Nobles, Henry
Grady Neal, Maxine Odum, Dorothy Price, Lula Mae
Spell, Emadel Spell, Corene Smith, W.D. Smith,
Josephine Skinner, Laura Thigpen, Dale Thompson,
W.D. Tyson, Ellen Walker, and Verlon Watson.

Dublin Courier Herald, April 22, 1940


ADRIAN BOYS WIN TOURNEY

Emanuel Cage Meet Held in Swainsboro

ADRIAN, Ga. - The Adrian boy’s basketball team
won the Emanuel County tournament at Swainsboro,
which was terminated Saturday night.

Adrian defeated Oak Park in their first game
Thursday night, 33 to 18. Friday night they easily
downed E.C.I. Graymont, 47 to 24, then on Saturday
night in the finals, Adrian defeated a strong Swainsboro
outfit in an extra playing period 28 to 26.

The final game was really a thriller, and the score
was tied several times. Billy Key, crack forward for
Adrian, hit the basket with a spectacular shot the win
the game for Adrian.

Adrian has won the Emanuel county tournament
three consecutive years and is entering the district
tournament this week with high hopes of winning.

Dublin Courier Herald, February 20, 1940


Adrian and Cadwell Open Play Tonight

Adrian and Cadwell open the athletic tourney
tonight at Brewton’s gynasium, Coach Heckle
announced today.

The game will be at 8:00 p.m. The second game of
the tourney will be played between Wrightsville and
Harrison ball teams, beginning at 9 o’clock this
evening.

Dublin Courier Herald, February 20, 1940




ADRIAN F.F.A. HELD BANQUET
Home Ec and FFA Entertained Their Parents

Adrian, Ga. - The Adrian Chapter of the Future Farmers of
America and the Adrian Home Demonstration Club were hosts to
their Annual Father and Son and Mother and Daughter banquet.

The following guests were present: A.W. Blackburn, County
Superintendent of Emanuel County; Otis G. Price, Swainsboro,
member of the County Board; R.M. Perkins, Stillmore; E.L. Smith,
Graymont; A.L. Flanders, Swainsboro; H.C. Williams, Adrian, of
the State Board of Education; Mr. and Mrs. T.J. Braswell, Mr. and
Mrs. Marvin Woods, of Adrian; Mr. and Mrs. Z.T. Houser, of
Scott. Mr. Houser is a member of the Johnson County Board of
Education.

Brief talks were made by A.W. Blackburn, Otis G. Price, Z.T.
Houser, H.C. Williams, and S.P. Jones, Superintendent of Adrian
schools.

Verlon Watson, president of the Adrian chapter, presided.
Herbert L. Smith was an honorary guest, having won the American
Planter’s degree in Kansas City last October. This degrees is the
highest award that a member of an Association may win. Mr.
Smith was introduced by his former teacher and advisor of the
Adrian chapter, O.L. Hayden. J.N. Baker, District Supervisor of
the Southeastern District of Vocational Agricultural Education
was introduced by Dale Thompson, treasurer of the Adrian
Chapter.

More than one hundred guests were served by the Home
Economics department under the direction of Miss Sara Malone,
teaching of Home Economics in Adrian school. The tables were
beautifully decorated with a small Christmas tree on the speaker’s
table. Miss Laura Thigpen, president of the Home Economics
Club, introduced the club’s part of the program.

After the banquet, J.N. Baker showed a new educational picture
just put out by the department of Vocational Education dealing
with the vocational work.

Dublin Courier Herald, December 14, 1939


ADRIAN AND KIBBEE
SPLIT DOUBLE BILL

Adrian, Ga. - Adrian cagers won the
opening game of the season by smashing a
fighting Kibbee team 48 to 18. Splendid
coaching by Ned Warren, school principal,
played a big part in the Adrian victory. Verlon
Watson was high point man for the visitors
with fourteen markers. Billy Key and J.T.
Horton with eleven tallies each.

The Kibbee girls won from the Adrian girls
by a score of 30 to 15.

Dublin Courier Herald, Nov. 13, 1939.



ADRIAN SCHOOL BAND BEGINS YEAR
PROGRAM

Adrian, Ga., Oct. 7, 1939 - Isaac Taylor, band leader
announces, that the band instruments have arrived and that
practice will begin immediately. This is the first year that
Adrian high school has had a band and much interest is being
manifested. The leader, Isaac Taylor, is a graduate of Berry
Schools of Rome, has played with the Chattanooga, Tennessee
Municipal Band and last year conducted the Montgomery high
school band.

The personnel of the band is as follows: Trumpets, David
Rogers, Verlon Watson, Grable Braswell, Clark Hutcheson;
Clarinets, Lowell Wilson, Martha Douglas, Kent Hutcheson;
Alto Saxophone, Paul Kea; Trombones, Jimmie Gillis, Donald
Chapman; Baritone, Esdel Flanders; Bass, Earl Watson;
Cymbals, Sammie Lee Hall; Bass Drum, Gailord Hammock;
Snare Drum, Harvey Smith.

Dublin Courier Herald, October 9, 1939


ADRIAN BOYS IN TOURNAMENT

Adrian, Ga. - The Adrian High boy’s
basketball team won second place in the First
District tournament for the second successive
year. Adrian was rated as an underdog at the
beginning of the season, but under the
excellent coaching of Ned Warren, proved to
be a match for the outstanding teams in the
district.

Adrian opened the tournament,
Wednesday, Feb. 21, defeating a strong
Soperton outfit by a score of 17 to 12, then on
Friday night they defeated former district
champions, Collins by the unusual score of 13
to 1. Saturday night they defeated Glenville 28
to 10, and on Monday night, in the finals, they
were defeated by the strong Brooklet team on
the latter’s court, in a close game, 24 to 18.

Dublin Courier Herald, Feb. 29, 1940

I DREAM OF YOU OHOOPEE

As clear as any great white wine having
Missed the red Georgia clay,
From a spring in Washington County
It started its wandering way,
Passing Mason’s Bridge where we’d climb
Out on a sweet gum limb
Plunging eagerly into its dark cool depths searching
For the bottom before our lungs burst.
No bottom at Mason’s Bridge
Or so the old timers said.
On she flowed through sandy loam
Seeking the sea, her final home.
On past a bend with golden sand,
Yellow Landing was molded by the Almighty’s hand.
It was here I learned to swim and where small caves
Formed in the banks and Pig Moore excelled.
Pig was a fisherman like no other
His quarry the wiley bass
Into the caves he’d swim and hands
Along logs and roots would pass.
Pig was different - what we’d call
a hand fisherman down South.
When he’d surface, you could see his catch
In both hands and his mouth.
Route 80 bridge spanned the river and swamp
An there was James’ well
An artesian flow so sweet and soft
One sip and you were under it’s spell
Timber Landing where the Baptists came
To wash their sins away
A super swimming hole where in the eighteen hundreds
Logs who find their way.
To be floated when the river was high to mills down by the sea.
Older boys made sport of us and made
Us fear old Blue Hole
A scary place both dark and deep with tales of depths untold.
Oh, Ohoopee! Ohoopee, Ohoopee of my youth,
Roll on you clear proud stream
Your beauty has so entrenched me,
You’re still my boyhood dream.

by Paul Kea

MOORE STATION

MOORE STATION

Moore Station was founded in 1891 as a station on the Macon, Dublin and Savannah Railroad. With the coming of Dublin’s first railroad to the western regions of the state, a small community sprang up around the small depot located on the railroad where the lands of J.T. Moore and A.H. Moore came together.

A post office named Picciola had been established in 1879 in the area with Jeremiah H. Yopp as its first postmaster. In 1889, just prior to the coming of the railroad, the name of the post office was changed to Vallambrosa. That post office closed in 1899 and the mail was sent to Dublin for delivery.

Located five miles west of Dublin, Moore’s Station was located near the junction of the Dublin-Cochran and the Old Chicken Road. The Moore families sold of their original plantation lands to speculators, which included Dublin hardware magnate, W.W. Robinson, and Thomas M. Hightower, who maintained a large pear orchard on the outskirts of the community. Other early property owners included Alex Brady, Rollin Hughes, N.C. Chandler, Z. Kennedy, and Dr. E.R. Jordan. The Laboring Friends Society established their lodge at Moore’s Station in 1899.

For most of the first half of the 20th Century, Moore’s Station, though no longer active as a railroad depot, was a small commercial center for farmers living west of Dublin. A two story brick store remained in existence until the 1950s on the southwestern part of town.

CADWELL

Main Street of Cadwell, 1918


CADWELL
THE FIRST HUNDRED YEARS


Today August 21, 2007 marks the end of the first one hundred years of the town of Cadwell, Georgia. Tomorrow, a new century will begin on the anniversary of the incorporation of the town on August 22, 1907. Over the last century, Cadwell has risen from a tiny village to a bustling farm town and railroad depot, settling in as a quiet place to raise a family and spend the waning years of retirement.

The origin of Cadwell actually goes back more than a mere 100 years. The area was formerly known as Reedy Springs. The name comes from a nearby spring, which undoubtedly had a lot of reed plants around it. The Reedy Springs MilitiaDistrict was created on October 5, 1883. After the Civil and Indian Wars, the necessity of each militia district was no longer necessary. The militia districts then began to function as voting districts and Justice of the Peace Court districts.

The Reedy Springs community was also known by the name of Bluewater. That name was derived from a nearby creek to the north and west. In 1883, the Reedy Springs District had four churches (all Baptist), a common school, a steam gin, a grist and saw mill. Farmers produced 800 bales of cotton, 800,000 board feet of lumber, and 8,000 pounds of wool. The farmers of the area, which extended down to the current day Cadwell area and over to Dexter were: E.F. Alligood, H. Alligood, I. Alligood, A.J. Barron, H.D. Barron, J.H. Barron, W. Barron, W.T. Barron, J.D. Bates, A. Bedingfield, J. Bedingfield, R.A. Bedingfield, W. Bedingfield, W.A. Bedingfield, G.W. Belcher, Eliza Clarke, H.C. Coleman, W. Coney, J.E. Crumpton,R.H. Crumpton, C.C. Gay, Hardy Gay, Mrs. M. Gay, Stephen Green, D.Y. Grinstead, E. Grinstead, P.E. Grinstead, Robert Grinstead, J. Hobbs, A.B. Holliday, W.F. Holliday, L.H. Hudson, S.B. Johnson, W.D. Joiner, A. Jones, W.J. Kinchen, W.F. Kinchen, G.B. Knight, J.T. Knight, R.G.B. Knight, B. Lewis, S. Lewis, T.J. Lewis, J.R. Locke, J. Lowery, W.A.N. Lowery, G.W. McDaniel, H.R. McDaniel, J.R. McDaniel, R.F. Mathis, C. Mullis, J. Mullis, W.H. Mullis, R.F. Register, and A. Rountree.

The local businessmen were A.J. Adams, machinist; H. Alligood, sawmiller; J.M. Bass, miller; W.B.F. Daniels, general store; J.T. Rogers, general store; R.L. Faircloth, machinist; James Lovett, wheelright; J.R. Sheperd, general store; and Wynn Brothers, general store. Local ministers in 1883 were N.F. Gay, D.E. Green, J.W. Green, T.J. Hobbs, J.T. Kinchen, J.T. Kinchen, Jr., J.I.D. Miller, J.T. Rogers, C.B. Smith, and C.R. Winham. L.A. Bracwewell was Justice of the Peace and A.B. Clark was the Notary Public and ex-officio Justice of the Peace.

Situated along the rail line of the Dublin & Southwestern Railroad was the defunct town of Mullis, or "Mullis Town." Mullis, which was incorporated as a town in 1906, was located just north of the northern city limits of Cadwell. An intense rivalry began between the citizens of Mullis and Rebecca Lowery Cadwell Burch, who had plans of her own to develop a town of her own. Shortly after Cadwell began to flourish, Mullis Town, at least in its official status, faded away.

Rebecca Burch had intended to name her new town "Burch" in memory of her late husband. Mrs. Burch knew that the town would have to have a post office, so after making an application for one, she discovered that the name of "Burch, Georgia" had already been taken. As an alternative choice, Cadwell's founding mother submitted the last name of her first husband, Matthew Cadwell. When Matthew Cadwell was buried in Lowery Cemetery, he was buried with his horse, the same horse that he was riding when he was struck by lightning.

The owner of a fine tract of land, Mrs. Burch hired Zollicoffer Whitehurst to survey and lay out a design for a new town to be named in honor of her late husband, Charlton O. Burch. Whitehurst's original design, completed in 1905 - two years before the incorporation of Cadwell, contained 52 commercial lots and four larger lots on the northeastern side of the just completed rail line. Initially, Whitehurst placed five streets in his design. Snow Hill, Burch and Coleman streets paralleled each other running in a northwest to southeast direction. Dexter (Georgia Highway 117) and Dublin (Railroad) streets intersected these streets at right angles.

The original limits of the town included all of Land Lots 11 and 20 of the 17th Land District of Laurens County and encompassed an area of 405 acres. Two years after Cadwell was incorporated, the town actually shrunk in size, down to 1000 square yards in a square shape centered around the intersection of Dexter and Burch streets. It would be another forty-six years before the the size of the town was doubled in 1955 to encompass 2000 square yards.

The town of Cadwell's first mayor was J.W. Warren. Warren was appointed to lead the first town government by the Georgia legislature with the wise counsel and guidance of the initial slate of councilmen, James Burch, Joe Ethridge, C.C. Cadwell and Ed Walden for a period of two years until a new election could be held.

According to the first census of Cadwell, one hundred and fifty four persons lived in Cadwell in 1910. Among the heads of families that year were: Uriah Woodard (telegraph operator,) Arthur Mullis (salesman,) Daniel Harrell (house carpenter,) John Weaver (barber,) William Mullis (farmer,) Hershall Jones, James Fason, Henry Smith, Willie Powell, Robert Pullen, Robert Pannell, William Curry, Leon Joiner (turpentine laborers,) Thomas Wood, Allan Carter, Thomas Bird, James Gallimore, Josiah Griffin (railroad laborers,) Murl Coleman, Isaac Coleman (telephone operators,) James Mullis (farmer,) Simeon Bland (physician,) Henry Bedingfield (farmer,) James Burch (bank cashier,) Robert Burch (drug salesman,) Henry Coleman (farmer,) H.C. Stonecypher (merchant,) Hiram Mullis (merchant,) Horace Mullis (telegraph operator,) Robert Ridley (hotel keeper,) John Ridley (laborer,) Bennett Bedingfield (farmer,) William Colter (salesman,) C.C. Cadwell, and Victoria Cadwell.

Cadwell's charter was repealed and a new one put in place on August 19, 1912. H.C. Burch was named Mayor by the new act. A.T. Coleman, A. McCook, H.R. Bedingfield and J.A. Burch were appointed councilmen. The new law gave the town government the right to establish it's own public school system, a novel power not given to other Laurens County towns. In 1925, the Cadwell Public School system was abolished and the town's school became part of the county public school system.

Yet another charter was issued in 1914. H.C. Burch remained in the position of mayor, but A.M. Johnson, L.T. Harrell, H.R. Bedingfield and E.E. Hicks were named as new members of the council.

The first post office in Cadwell was established on August 17, 1908 after being moved from Mullis. Arthur Mullis served until September 21, 1910, when Bennett J. Bedingfield assumed the duties as postmaster. Other Cadwell postmasters were Joseph A. Warren (1912-1914), Homer Mullis (1914-1918), Hiram Mullis (1918-1935), John B. Bedingfield (1935-1936), Belie B. Hicks (1936-1943), and Katherine F. Underwood (1943-).

Laurens County's third bank, the Cadwell Banking Company, was granted a charter on January 5, 1910 with an initial capital of $25,000.00. The original incorporators were L.B. Holt and G.C. Wood of Sandersville, H.C. Coleman, Jr., W.H. Mullis, Sr., J.A. Burch, H.C. Burch, H.R. Bedingfield, A. McCook, H.C. Stonecypher, and W.B. Coleman of Cadwell. A brick building was onstructed on the southwest corner of Dexter and Burch Streets. L.B. Holt served as the first president. The bank acquired the assets of the Citizens Bank of Cadwell in 1916. The new board of directors chose H.R. Bedingfield as president, H.C. Burch as vice president, J.A. Burch as cashier, and H.H. Burch as assistant cashier. The bank failed to open on fall day in 1928 and Cadwell was without a bank.



Cadwell Banking Company, 1918


C.R. Williams led a group of local citizens in forming the Citizens Bank of Cadwell which was granted a charter on November 5, 1913. Many of the incorporators were listed among the shareholders of the Cadwell Banking Company. They included A. McCook, Mrs. R.E. Burch, B.K. Smith, S.F. Scarborough, C.J. Barrs, L.P. Lavender, C.C. Cadwell, T.R. Taylor, Victoria Cadwell, J.M. Gay, J.B. Bedingfield, H.R. Bedingfield, J.L. Watson, D.W. Alligood, L.W. Lavender, O.S. Duggan, A.H. Duggan, A.J. McCook, W.W. Warren, B.J. Bedingfield, J.H. Barron, W.J. Mullis, J.F. Graham, A.F. McCook, J.A. Warren, H.B. Warnock, J.B. Colter, Mutual Telephone Exchange, H.C. Stonecypher, A.M. Johnson, J.W. Bass, Sr., J.W. Bass, J.E. Rogers, J.F. Etheridge, C.C. Hutto, and A.B. Daniel.

The citizens of Cadwell regathered and formed a new bank in the early months of 1929. The bank was a private bank owned by J.B. Bedingfield, J.F. Graham, W.D. Parkerson, and L.K. Smith, who served as cashier. The bank underwent a series of name changes from the Graham, Sikes, and Company Bank to the Graham, Smith, and Bedingfield Bank, and finally to the Farmers Clearing Bank. W.A. Bedingfield joined the firm after J.B. Bedingfield was elected Clerk of the Superior Court. W.D. Parkerson left the firm and the bank reorganized with L.K. Smith as president and W.A. Bedingfield as cashier.

In 1966 the directors received a state charter and became the Farmers State Bank. Early officers of the bank included L.K. Smith, W.A. Bedingfield, W.B. Coleman, and Kennon Smith. The bank moved to the former post office location on Burch Street, the site which it still occupies today. In 1980 the bank was purchased by Farmers Bancshares of Douglas. Edward E. Morris took over as president of the bank, a position which he still holds today. Dan Rowe was elected cashier. The bank opened its branch office in Dublin on Veterans Boulevard in October of 1984.

The single most important factor in the establishment and growth of Cadwell into an economic center of southwestern Laurens County was the establishment of the Dublin & Southwestern Railroad. E.P. Rentz, a Dublin banker, owned a saw mill in Rentz and took a keen interest in the project, becoming the main owner of the railroad.

Grading began on March 2, 1904 in western Dublin along Marion Street near the Dublin Cotton Mills in Dublin under the supervision of E.P. Rentz and superintendent, Frank S. Battle. The organizational meeting of the railroad was held in the Citizens Bank on April 6, 1904. E. P. Rentz was elected president. J.J. Simpson and W.D. Harper were elected as vice president and traffic manager/treasurer respectively. William Pritchett, J.M. Stubbs, and David S. Blackshear of Dublin were elected to the board of directors. The first spikes were driven and the workers raced to complete the road to Rentz by mid May.



Cadwell Depot

From its intersection with the Macon, Dublin and Savannah Railroad, the D & S RR ran southwesterly and crossed the present day Industrial Boulevard on the site of Flex Steel. The line ran in a southerly direction as straight as possible crossing Turkey Creek at Tingle, later known as Garretta. From that point the road turned in back to the southwest through a small station known as Mayberry (at the site of Southwest Laurens Elementary School) and thence to the lumber mill in Rentz. From that point on, the old tram road bed allowed the owners to cheaply, and fairly rapidly, complete the railroad into Eastman.

Engineer J.P. Pughesly immediately began laying out the road along the old tram road. Col. Stubbs traveled to Eastman on June 27th to solicit monetary and moral support from the businessmen and farmers of Eastman and Dodge County. In return for their subscription of shares for the twenty to twenty-five thousand dollar project, the investors would be given a share of the company. Eastman investors were reluctant to get involved. However, when the city of McRae invited the directors of the D&S RR to turn the course of the railroad in a southerly direction, the men of Dodge County put their names on the dotted lines. S. Herman, W.H. Cotter and W.H. Lee of Dodge County were added to the railroad's board of directors.

The first scheduled train from Rentz to Dublin ran on June 29, 1904 with two daily trips to follow in July. Battle's crews began laying rails in mid-August. The old tram road bed was in fairly decent shape, two years growth of weeds and saplings excepted. Next along the line was the town of Mullis.

From Cadwell, the railroad turned again toward Eastman, running first through the community of Plainfield. Construction was delayed by legal actions by some Eastman citizens along the route of the railroad and the City of Eastman as well. General Manager W.J. Kessler, a highly successful former manager of the Wrightsville and Tennille Railroad, moved the headquarters of the railroad to Eastman in May of 1905, with the ultimate intention of extending the road on the Ocmulgee River.

Any town needs a church, or two or three churches. John Burch was the first to put that belief into motion. He organized a Sunday School for children in one of the Frierson Company houses. The adults became interested and Mrs. Rebecca Burch came through with an ideal spot on the corner of Snow Hill and Walnut streets. On September 10, 1909, the first organizational meeting was held and the Cadwell Baptist Church was born. John Burch and A. S. Jones were elected as deacons. Jim Burch took on the duties of church clerk. The founding members of the church included John Burch, H.C. Burch, J.A. burch, C.C. Hutto, A.B. Daniel, A.S. Jones, A.F. McDaniel, Mrs. M.A. Burch, Mrs. A.B. Daniel, Mrs. Leo Lewis, Mrs. Neily Cadwell, Miss Lola Burch, Miss Ellis Lewis, Mrs. Flora Graham and Mrs. J.F. Ridley. Those present at the initial organizational stages elected the Rev. E.W. Evans as the church's first pastor.

The original church, a fairly large wooden structure, was completed in 1910, though the building was not painted on the outside until 1913. In 1919, the members of the church finished their new and current building on the corner of Dexter and Snow Hill Streets. An annex building was erected in 1957.



Cadwell Baptist Church, circa. 1915-1920



Despite the large contingent of Baptists in Cadwell, there were a few of the Methodist persuasion. Again Rebecca Burch stepped up and deeded a tract on Walnut Street to J.E. Perry, Beulah Burch and Mack John as trustees of the of Methodist Church. The first pastor of the Methodist Church at Cadwell was the Rev. Silas Johnson, who in 1943 became the president of Wesleyan College in Macon. The church's first stewards were Mrs. R.E. Burch, Mack Johnson and W.J. Ballard. The Methodists built their first and current building, a modest wooden structure, in 1913 on a lot which adjoins the old Cadwell school site.



Cadwell Methodist Church, circa 1915-1920



Cadwell Methodist Church, circa. 1948.


A second and more important essential element of a new town is the establishment of a school. In yet another public spirited donation from Rebecca Burch, H.C. Burch, B.J. Bedingfield, J.E. Faulk, A.W. Mullis and D.W. Alligood, appointed by the Laurens County school board, took title to a two-acre tract at the corner of Snow Hill and Dexter Streets in 1911. The first school was a large wooden building with a tall belfry on the southern end. It suffered the usual fate of all too many wooden buildings when the school burned in 1928.



Cadwell School, circa 1915-1920

Jim Smith was the community's first school teacher and principal. He was followed by Mr. Marsh and H.L. Lawson. An additional school was built in 1916 on the present school site. It was two-room brick building with an adjoining auditorium. After giving up it's charter as a separate system in 1925, a newly created school district was formed under the leadership of H.C Burch, J.B. Bedingfield, J.F. Rivers, J.T. Jones and D.W. Alligood. Cadwell students excelled in a wide variety of subjects, particularly in the fields of agriculture, home economics and as the Cadwell Bulldogs in the sport of basketball. Children attended school in Cadwell until the 1960s when the students were transferred to Laurens High, which later became a part of West Laurens High School.

The following is a tribute written to Cadwell, which at one time was being promoted as the county seat of Northern County, to be named in honor of Gov. William J. Northern (1893-1894.) The movement, like several others of its kind, to crop off an extremity of Laurens County never materialized.



A TRIBUTE TO CADWELL

Cadwell is a beautiful city,
Capital of Northen County,
Contains one thousand people,
and pretty girls in bounties.

When a good place to board is wanted,
Stop with Mrs. Ridley on the hill,
Three young ladies to entertain you,
You will never regret the bill.

Miss Fannie B. plays the piano,
Miss Della B is in love, I am aware.
Miss Arbelle is so good and quiet,
You would hardly know she's there.

But they are all fine, I tell you,
I love them all you bet.
But Buren and Swanson have got me beat,
To my sorrow and great regret.

But I must soon leave you all,
And bid you all good bye.
It make me feel so lonesome,
and I feel like I could cry.

I have enjoyed my stay immensely.
You have been so nice and kind.
I thank you all ever so much
and this is all my little rhyme.

For a more detailed history of Cadwell see 70 Years, A History of Cadwell, Georgia by Fannie Jo Bedingfield Holt. It is with great honor and respect I dedicate my capsuled history of Cadwell to Mrs. Holt and to all the fine people who have ever called Cadwell their home.

BREWTON, GEORGIA

Beall's Store, Brewton, Ga.



THE EARLY HISTORY OF BREWTON, GEORGIA

One hundred and twenty years ago this Thursday, the Town of Brewton was born. It was born under with three different names, only one of which would survive until today. For the better part of six decades, the town of Brewton, Georgia was the largest and leading town of eastern Laurens County. Today, twelve decades later, the town in its official capacity as a legal town is gone, but the community survives. Its heritage is not forgotten by its residents, who prefer to live where life is slower and where fond memories endure.

The genesis of Brewton occurred in September 1878 when an election was held at the Shady Grove School to elect a Justice of the Peace and two constables to serve the newly created 1309th Georgia Militia District, hence forth known as Jackson’s District, named for a prominent family of the area. In April 1880, Frank M. Taylor began operating a grist mill on Brewton Creek giving the area the name of Taylor’s Mill.

On July 1, 1884, the United States Postal Department established two post offices, Lovett, a station on the Dublin and Wrightsville Railroad, which was still under construction and Dodo, several miles to the southwest along the projected route of the railroad into Dublin. Why Henry Troup Jones, the first postmaster, chose such an innocuous name for the post office to the east of his home near Shady Grove Baptist Church remains a mystery. The word "Dodo" has two common meanings. A dodo is an extinct heavy flightless bird which once lived on the island of Mauritius. A less flattering derivation of the term relates to one who is stupid and hopelessly behind the times.

The new post office was located on the plantation of the recently deceased John Jackson, an early resident of the area and a soldier of the War of 1812. The creek on the northern end of the Jackson estate was named for a member of the Brewton family, who lived in the area in the late 18th Century. The Jackson estate contained a tract granted to Benjamin Brewton in 1792. John and William Brewton, possibly brothers of Benjamin, received grants as well, the oldest going back to 1785, while the area was then a part of the newly created Washington County. While an exact determination of their lands cannot be reasonably determined, it is likely that their lands became a substantial portion of the old Eli Ballard place northwest of the town and lying along the present route of Highway 319.

In December of 1884, James L. Keen purchased a 405.5 acre portion of the John Jackson estate, which would encompass the future site of the entire town, just seven miles from Dublin. While Keen was aware that the railroad had just been completed to a point within his newly acquired lands, he nearly doubled his investment by selling his father-in- law’s land for $1200 on November 14, 1885. Excitement was high. The railroad had arrived and business was booming at the place they began to call Bruton.

W.T. Smith advertised pleasure rides and mail delivery to Bruton to residents of Dublin for seventy-five cents. His hack left Dublin at 6:30 a.m. and returned after the fifteen-mile journey at 11:00 a.m.. The owners of the Dublin and Wrightsville Railroad had a more tempting offer. Merchants of Wrightsville and Johnson County farmers were invited by station manager George "Tom" Mason to ship their cotton to Bruton, where it would be transported by wagon to the Oconee River at Dublin. From that point, the cotton was loaded on a flat boat and shipped to Savannah for a total cost of $1.50 per bale, a cheaper price than shipping it to Tennille for a direct connection to Savannah. The Dublin and Wrightsville Railroad was purchased and absorbed by the Wrightsville and Tennille Railroad. It became fully operational in September of 1886. The No. 1 train in the morning left Tennille at 6:10 a.m. and arrived in Bruton at 8:05. The remaining trip, with a brief stop at Condor, lasted until 8:35 when the train arrived on the eastern banks of the Oconee River at Dublin. Passengers and cargo had to be transported by ferry across the river into Dublin. The No. 2 train left Dublin at 7:30 and arrived at Bruton at 8:15. Somewhere along the line, the two trains had to pass each other. The No. 3 train passed back through Bruton at 5:05 in the afternoon before finally coming to a halt in Dublin forty minutes later. Again the No. 4 return train to Tennille passed the incoming train to Dublin somewhere between Bruton and Condor. The new connection through Bruton and thence to Macon, Augusta and Savannah allowed Laurens County merchants, farmers and citizens an economical way to reach markets in Georgia’s largest cities. In March of 1887, the station would allow Dubliners to send and receive telegraphic messages over a wire stretched out to Bruton.

Almost immediately area residents petitioned the Court of Ordinary to establish a new road from Carter’s Chapel Church through the lands of G.W. Carter, Warren Carter, M.V. Hilbun, Charles Holmes, Judson Keen and Frank Taylor to Bruton station. This road followed on or near Highway 80 by Graham Memorial Church and followed along the present South Peachtree Street into Bruton. A year later, the road was continued in a northerly direction through the lands of R.H. Hightower, J.H. Curl, J.A. Sumner, G.W. Jackson, Irwin Jackson, W.T. Jordan and David S. Blackshear at Blackshear’s Mill. This road is today known as North Peachtree Street and Willie Wood Road.

Dr. Robert Henry Hightower, a leading Dublin physician, purchased the Jackson estate from James L. Keen. He immediately began preparations to build a town around the new depot. Hightower laid out the town in a traditional grid pattern on the southern side of the railroad tracks. Streets running from east to west were named for individuals while, those running from north to south were named for trees, Peachtree Street being the primary north to south route. The main street running from east to west along the right of way of the railroad was named Jackson for the long time occupants of the town. Next came Cleveland, named for then President Grover Cleveland. Further south was Gordon Street, named for Georgia governor John B. Gordon, Georgia’s hero of the Confederate Army. Other individuals honored were John Laurens, the namesake of Laurens County, Thomas Jefferson, and Broughton, for an early founder of Savannah. From east part of town to west, streets running from north to south were named for trees: Mulberry, Maple, Peachtree, Walnut and Chestnut.

A.L. Wynn purchased the first lot on Cleveland Street on April 9, 1886 for the bargain price of $20.00. He bought an adjoining lot five months later for a like amount. Subsequent lot purchasers included F.M. Taylor, D.H. Williamson, G.R. Ballard, Charley Fowler, A.F. McLean, James E. Jackson & Son, Jerry Carter, T.J. McKown & Sons, George T. Mason, C.B. Linder & Co., J.O. Wilson, and R.W. Blackshear. Hightower sold five-acre lots on the north side of the railroad to J.E. Harris, Rachel Kight, Bill Moorman, and Henry Adams. D.F.Williamson and C.W. Holmes purchased a 29-acre tract on the east side of town in 1888. Dr. Hightower sold the balance of his lands in Brewton, approximately 350 acres, to Dublin entrepreneur J.D. Smith in 1890, realizing slightly more money than he had initially paid for the Jackson tract five years earlier. Considering the development costs, Hightower apparently acquired only a modest return on his investment.

The town of Bruton, Georgia was incorporated by the Georgia Legislature on August 20, 1889. The limits of the new town extended one half-mile in every direction from the depot of the Wrightsville and Tennille Railroad. M.M. Shepard was appointed by the legislature as the town’s first mayor on an interim basis until an election could be held on the first Saturday in October. The interim council was composed of Ezra New, D.F. Williamson, J.A. Jackson, G.T. Mason and J.O. Wilson. Jack Horton was appointed as the first town marshal.

William Smith was credited with being the first merchant in town. Other early merchants included John L. Keen, F.H. Brantley, B.F. Maddox, I.E. Thigpen, J.D. Bush, M.G. Thipgen, J.B. Blackwell, J.N. Maddox and N.W. Josey. A.A. Lanier established a fish and meat market in Brewton around 1900. J.M. Lovett built a large cotton gin near the town. Dr. Ezra New was the first physician in the town. His practice extended throughout eastern Laurens County. Other physicians who practiced in the area were J.A. Curl, W.A. Thomas, W.C. Sessions and Simeon D. Bland. Lou Burney and G.A. Wright fed the citizenry in their restaurants.

Washington Wells succeeded Henry T. Jones as the second postmaster of Dodo. Wells was followed by George T. Mason in 1886 and James H. Pullen in 1892. Pullen became the first postmaster of Brewton, when the post office officially changed its name on June 25, 1894. Edna Crump, Edna C. Lanier, William C. Sessions, Callie O. McCarty, James N. Garrette, Ila N. Pope, John B. Keen, Thusia Wynne, Chloe R. Maddox and Irene Jordan served as postmasters of the Brewton Post Office, which officially closed on May 31, 1958.

A cataclysmic fire struck the town of Bruton on the evening of January 14, 1893. Just after dark, a fire ignited in the residence of Dr. Ezra New. The conflagration spread to G.W. Tanner’s drug store and finally consumed the general merchandise store of F.H. Brantley. Dr. New was insured, but Dr. Tanner lost $2500.00, without any insurance. Mr. Brantley’s net losses amounted to $2000.00.

On December 16, 1895, the official name of the town was changed from Bruton to Brewton. The statute provided that the center of town by shifted to the south removing it from the depot to John Jackson’s grave, fifty yards south of the academy. The grave, which once was located just across the fence from Brewton Baptist Church, was only recently removed to Boiling Springs Church Cemetery.

The 1900 Census, the first available for the town, enumerated 293 persons living within the town limits. Hundreds more lived on the fringes of the town in the greater Brewton community. B.M. Grice was the town blacksmith. William Davis served as the sole fireman in Brewton. W. Gilbert, a train conductor, lived in the boarding house of W.C. Duggan along with Davis. William Strival kept a hotel in his home on Peachtree Street. Cicero Turner and Raymond Petters were listed as porters.

Laurens County’s third oldest existing bank, the Farmers and Merchants Bank, originated in Brewton. Brewton was located at the junction of the Wrightsville and Tennille and the Brewton and Pineora Railroads. The bank was chartered on May 10, 1910. The bank's initial capital stock was $15,000.00. The initial board of directors was composed of James L. Keen, President, I.E. Thigpen, Vice President, J.H. Curl, Vice President, H.T. Burch, J.M. Lovett, and Lehman Keen, Cashier. The original bank building is still, but barely, standing, on Jackson Street.

Farmers & Merchants Bank, Brewton.

While the Central of Georgia Railroad had control over the Wrightsville and Tennille Railroad, an enterprising group out of Macon had planned a railroad from Sofkee in Bibb County through Laurens County and running from Brewton to Savannah. The road was originally known as the Macon and Atlantic Railroad or the Atlantic Shortline Railroad. The company envisioned a railroad which would connect with the Macon, Dublin, and Savannah Railroad at Dublin. From Dublin, the railroad would go through Brewton in an easterly direction toward the coast. An alternate route took the proposed railroad from Brewton in a northwesterly direction, bypassing Dublin. The railroad was to cross the Oconee River at Carr's Bluff, about six miles above Dublin. From there it would go through the Elmwood Community heading in a northwesterly direction toward Macon.

In August of 1891, it was announced the railroad would take up the old line of the Savannah, Dublin, and Western Shortline from Dublin to Statesboro, where it would be met by the thirty-mile line of the Savannah, Americus, and Montgomery Railroad. Originally the road was to be built to Savannah. However, the directors publicly announced that they were changing the route and bypassing Savannah. The new terminus would be on the Savannah River, north of Savannah. The railroad planned to establish a new seaport at Colleton's Neck, near Bluffton and Port Royal, South Carolina. Savannah businessmen were outraged and somewhat dismayed since they had always cooperated with new railroads coming into their community.

W&T Railroad Depot, Brewton, ca. 1890s.

Notice the men on right side of photograph

with snow balls in their hands.

The project fell on bad luck and was forced into receivership. The assets including some graded lines were sold to a new company, the Brewton and Pineora Railroad. The Brewton and Pineora connected Brewton with Pineora on the Central's tracks just northwest of Savannah. The short-line track passed through Scott, Adrian, Norristown, and Stillmore among others, utilizing the previously graded lines east of Brewton.

Finally on June 9, 1901, the railroad opened giving direct service to Savannah. Dublin businessmen wasted no time in asking the railroad to extend their line to Dublin. There was one daily train to Savannah and with a shorter route people could spend more time on business or at play. Of all of Dublin's railroad excursions the most popular were the daily excursions to the Central's recreation spot, Tybrissa, on Tybee Island at the Atlantic Ocean. The cost was only $1.75. Dublin convinced the railroad to move the terminus to Dublin on July 21, 1901. The railroad kept the name of the Brewton and Pineora but was often called the Oconee Branch of the Central Railroad. J.M. Wright was named the joint agent of the Wrightsville and Tennille Railroad and the Brewton and Pineora Railroad. The tiny hamlet of Brewton exploded with business and became the largest community in eastern Laurens County. Failing businesses forced the abandonment of the Brewton and Pineora in the 1930's.

For some inexplicable reason, the population of Brewton plummeted to 158 in 1910, representing a nearly 50% decrease from the previous count of 293 persons. Apparently absent or simply uncounted were many of the black residents who were enumerated in 1900 and again in 1920. The leading merchants were Benjamin F. Maddox, J.D. Bush, M.G. Thigpen, J.A. Curl, Mrs. J.L. Keen, A.A. Lanier, N.W. Josey, C.H. Marchman, H.W. Donaldson and Isaac E. Thigpen. F.A. Brantley, Millard F. Beall and J.J. Boatright were the leading farmers. Mrs. M.L. Smith and F.H. Brantley operated boarding houses in the town. George Walker was the town parson. Doctors W.A. Thomas and W.C. Sessoms were the town physicians. Hardy and Lara Lawrence were the teachers at the colored school.

An entire railroad crew lived in Brewton in 1910. J.S. Taylor was the yardmaster. Engineer G.B. Turner, Section Foreman N.T. Bloodworth, Section Hand B.H. Horton, Flagman Hartwell Bell, Brakeman Luther Daniel and laborers Job Smith and Wesley Johnson all resided within the limits of the town.

In the years following World War I, Brewton continued to thrive, despite the devastation of the cotton crop and migration of black tenant farmers to the North. While up from the 1900 population, 247 persons called Brewton home in 1920. There were seven stores operated by H.H. Beall, H.L. Maddox, H.A. Curl, F.H. Brantley, J.B. Keen, B.F. Maddox and M.G. Thigpen. Millard Beall, A.T. Pope, J.J. Brantley and C.C. Tyre struggled to make ends meet on the farms devastated by the devilish boll weevil and burdened by a lack of ready capital.

J.P. Cooper kept the trains going, while Police Chief Lewis Watson made sure everyone behaved properly. I.E. Thigpen began to dabble in real estate at a time when land was cheap. Mechanics F.A. Brantley, Shelton Sutton and A.E. Underwood kept things running. Dr. Cecil G. Moye treated the sick. G.B Lawrence and Alie Lawrence taught at the colored school. N.L. Cooper fed the hungry, at least those with money. L.J. Hamilton, B.B. Merritt and H.A. Jones comforted the troubled from their pulpits. Mrs. M.E. Brantley was a fine hostess in her boarding house. W.H. Tyre operated a grist mill to fill the supper tables with the finest meal around. K.B. Maddox operated the telegraph in the depot. W.T. Lord milled the finest pine and hardwood timber in his saw mill. Nina Nobles taught the children at the white school.

The third decade of the 20th Century took its toll on Brewton and the surrounding community. The coming of the boll weevil and bank failures throughout the county, the Farmers and Merchants Bank excepted, led to the abandonment of the Brewton and Pineora railroad. People began to move away. By 1930, the population of the town had waned to 151 persons, about one-half of the Brewton’s peak population.

The number of stores in town decreased to six. Old timers B.F. Maddox and Isaac E. Thigpen, aided by his son Hugh and his daughter Frances, were still in the dry goods business. A newer store was operated by Thomas Whitehurst. Carlton Watson, John A. Curl and Melton G. Thigpen owned the grocery stores. Charles Brantley and Leon Brantley operated an automobile garage. Charlie Tyre took over the operation of his father’s grist mill aided by Willie Brantley. Dr. Moye was the town’s sole doctor. Mrs. Benzie Blankenship operated a boarding house. One of her boarders was Barton Herndon, the cashier of the Farmers and Merchants Bank.

Despite the tough economic times throughout the country side, the school at Brewton flourished. A large thirty-thousand dollar brick school was erected in 1922 as a consolidated school encompassing the Shady Grove and Leach schools. The first school burned, was rebuilt, and burned again in 1938. The teaching staff in 1930 included Charles Murchison, Eva Murchison, Clara Moye, Emma Harden and Frances Whitehurst. The operation of the railroads continued under the direction of Brewton residents Kelly Maddox, Robert Carter, Chris Meran, Robert Daniel, Tommie Newman and Barton Hardee.

Brewton School - circa 1897

Eleven Brewton citizens, including two women - Fannie Ballard and Viaya Daniels, were engaged in farming. The leading farmers were Millard Bell, Joe Curl, Willie Mosley, James Mosley, Willie Young, Gilbert Lawrence, E.G. Blankenship, James Durden and Tom Tootle.

Religion was and still is a significant element of life in Brewton. The first church was established in 1889. This Union Church was used by both the Baptists and Methodists until 1895 when the Brewton Methodist Church was established. The building was destroyed in a storm and rebuilt in 1921. The present structure, remodeled at different times, was constructed in 1936. The Brewton Baptist Church was established in 1890. A year later, the church was admitted to the Mount Vernon Baptist Association. The first pastor of the church was the Rev. JG. Bush. Among the early pastors of the church were M.L. Lawson, W.A. Garner, Thomas Walker, J.E. Duren, E.E. Dye, E.L. Fields, G.A. Blount, James G. Page, G.L. Allen, J.T. Chipley, J.R. Kelley, J.J. Harrison, Joseph Branch, W.W. Culpepper, W.F. Chambless, E.A. Gilgore, E.A. Townsend, D.W. Edwards, Claude E. Vines and H.R. Mitchell, who ended his term in 1943.

The remoteness of Brewton proved to be a problem for the security of the depositors of the Farmers and Merchants Bank. President J.L. Keen personally supervised the stringing of telephone lines on poles and over tree limbs from Dublin out to Brewton. Even with telephone communications, bank robbers would be long gone before sheriff’s deputies could arrive from their headquarters in Dublin. The bank had survived the dark depths of the Great Depression, but could not survive the desires of greedy bandits. Finally, President Keen and the board made the inevitable decision to close the bank and move it to Dublin in 1937.

With the bank closed and the tracks of the Brewton and Pineora gone, the town of Brewton began to wane. Then came World War II. A contingent of young men and boys served their country with pride and devotion. Fortunately all of the young men returned home. James K. Maddox was at Hickam Field when the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941. John L. Tyre served as a member of the legendary "Merrill’s Marauders," surviving the trials and tribulations of the long heralded unit in the jungles of Southeast Asia. Alton Jordan was captured by the Japanese, survived the "Bataan Death March," and survived in the bowels of Hell in Japanese prisoner of war camps. Curtis Beall left the University of Georgia, where he was a cheerleader and campus leader, to serve in the Marine Corps in the critical island fighting in the Pacific. One former Brewton resident, Shelton Beverly "Slim" Sutton, Jr., a former star Georgia Tech lineman, was killed while serving aboard the U.S.S. Juneau in 1942. The ship was sunk and most of its crew perished, including the five famous "Fighting Sullivan Brothers." Two years later, the U.S. Navy honored the heroism of Lt. Sutton by naming one of its new destroyers, the U.S.S. Sutton. Among the children growing up in Brewton in the 1930s were Theron Sapp, who went to become a legend in Georgia Bulldog football in the 1950s and Rubye Jackson, who became the first woman in Georgia to serve as an Assistant Attorney General.

For now and decades to come, fine folks will continue to call Brewton home. From its days as a fledgling depot town to its rise to its zenith in the era when cotton and railroads were monarchs of life and to its recline to the slumber of a peaceful hamlet, the town of Brewton, her memories, her traditions, will never pass from the memory of those who lived there. Long live Brewton, where there are no dodos, just good ole country folks.

BALL'S FERRY

THE BRIDGE AT BALL’S FERRY


It was big, real big! At the time it had more impact on the people of Johnson County, than anything but the War Between the States, the train, the automobile,and electricity. Though it does not lie within the bounds of the county, the bridge over the Oconee River at Ball’s Ferry made a significant and lasting impact on the citizens of Johnson and surrounding counties.

The history of Ball’s Ferry goes back several hundred years. Some historians believe that the Spanish explorer Hernando de Soto came through the area in 1540. The site may be the place where the ancient Upper Uchee Trail crossed the Oconee on its way to the Augusta area. The ferry was established prior to 1816 by John Ball, an early resident of Wilkinson County and a soldier of the American Revolution. In the waning days of November 1864, a small group of local militia, prison guards, military cadets, and some regulars mounted a stand on the east banks of the river at the ferry, which lies about a half mile above the bridge. The stalwart defenders gave way to the sixty thousand men of Gen. William T. Sherman’s right wing.

The conception of a bridge began many years ago. The ferry was adequate, but not always reliable. The final push to build the bridge came in 1931. The road to Irwinton, known as the “Bee-Line Highway” was still just a dirt road. Charles Rountree, editor of “The Wrightsville Headlight,” had been leading the effort since World War I. Rountree and others sought the support of Congressman Carl Vinson of Milledgeville. Georgia governor Eugene Talmadge thought the bridge was unnecessary and directed his appointed Highway Board members to deny any requests for funding. Consequently, the Federal government refused to fund the project without state support. A standstill arose in Federal funding of Georgia Highways. The U.S. government finally consented and funded all projects in Georgia, except the Ball’s Ferry Bridge. A new governor, E.D. Rivers, was elected in 1936. Rivers was more sympathetic to the concerns of mid-Oconee valley residents. Rivers’ newly appointed Highway Board members moved quickly to authorize funding of the bridge.

The Ball’s Ferry bridge is actually two bridges. The smaller, or relief, bridge is six hundred feet long and was designed to allow flooding waters to pass around the causeway leading to the river. The relief bridge is bounded by thirty foot high fills. Each fill is about eleven hundred feet along and contains one hundred sixty thousand cubic yards of dirt. The Washington County dirt was placed on the site by workers of W.C. Shepherd. The dirt used would cover a football field up to a height of over thirty one feet. In one month, Shepherd and his crews set a record by placing one hundred twenty thousand cubic yards of fill dirt. Wilkinson countians filled in their dirt on their side of the bridge with county workers.

The main bridge is 1683.5 feet long. The center of the bridge is twelve feet higher than the ends. The increased height was necessary due to the fact that the river was still considered navigable. The bridge stands an average of fifty five feet above the water at the apex. The span was constructed in such a way as to allow enough horizontal room for boats to pass through. The steel girders weighed two million pounds and took six hundred gallons of varnish, twelve hundred gallons of aluminum bronze powder, fourteen hundred fifty gallons of red lead primer paint to cover. Over eighteen thousand rivets were used in the main span.

The twenty four foot wide bridge was supported by three hundred thousand pounds of reinforcing rods. If placed end to end, these rods would stretch from Macon to Wrightsville - a distance of fifty seven miles. To mix the concrete for the bridge, workers combined fifty train car loads of cement, fifty one hundred tons of sand and gravel, and forty thousand gallons of water, formed with one hundred thousand board feet of lumber. The bridge rests on a foundation of shell mart and stratified fuller’s earth down an average depth of thirteen to twenty three feet below ground level. After one and a half years and two hundred thousand man hours of work, the bridge was complete. Wages varied from thirty cents an hour for unskilled workers up to a whopping seventy five cents an hour for skilled laborers.

The big day for the bridge dedication was set for March 31, 1939. Proud citizens invited President Franklin Roosevelt to take a leisurely ride over from Warm Springs for the big occasion. Gov. E. D. Rivers, who had been so instrumental in the construction of the bridge, was slated to give the main address. Every school child and teacher in the area had the day off and a free meal at the site. Floats from five counties were brought in for a short parade, which began on the west side of the bridge. The Laurens County Marching Band, the G.M.C. Band, and the Y.M.C.A. Band from Macon provided the musical entertainment.

The crowd was estimated to number as many as twenty thousand people. Several hundred hogs were sacrificed to satisfy the appetites of the hungry onlookers. Gov. Rivers was late in arriving and his place was taken by Warren Grice of Macon. Also on hand for the festivities was Congressman Vinson, State Highway Chairman Miller, and Labor Commissioner Hulet.

A special edition of the “Wrightsville Headlight” was published to commemorate the event. Merchants and well wishers sponsored several pages of ads to salute the efforts of the community and the workers. Listed by the “Headlight” as the leading Johnson County families who supported the construction were the Rowlands, Brinsons, Andersons, Claxtons, Kents, Moyes, Veals, Faircloths, Brays, Martins, Lovetts, Parkers, Blounts, Vanlandinghams, Cooks, Pournells, Cullens, Kights, Hatchers, Halls, Outlaws, Vickers, McAfees, Robinsons, Clemmons, Daleys, Johnson, Fulfords, Prices, Powells, Townsends, Jenkins, Millers, Smiths, Jones, Browns, Davises, Tanners, Frosts, Mixons, Tarbuttons, Olivers, Riners, Brantleys, Duggans, Mayos, Flanders, Harrisons, and six or seven dozen more - in other words, the entire county.

An event of this type depends on hard working committees. Charles Rountree, H.F. Tarbutton, and Elizabeth Vickers were the officers of the Bridge Committee. Representing Johnson County on the committee were W.C. Brinson, future Georgia Attorney General, Eugene Cook, and Harlie L. Fulford. Other Johnson countians serving on committees were Mrs. Clifford Martin, Pauline Lovett, Mrs. B.L. Kight, Mrs. Albert Raley, Mrs. H.T. Johnson, Monroe Cook, L.L. Palmer, E.J. Claxton, C.D. Prescott, J. Tom Davis, Byron Price, W.M. Shurling, L.L. Lovett, B.A. Anderson, Mrs. J. Eugene Cook, Mrs. J. Roy Rowland, and Mrs. M. Daley.

The old ferry which had operated for thirteen decades shut down. The boat and equipment were removed to the Flint River. Lester Brown, the last ferry operator, got a job as a chain gang guard. As it enters its seventh decade of service, the bridge at Ball’s Ferry remains a monument to the dedication of thousands of Johnson, Wilkinson, and Washington county residents, whose unceasing efforts bridged the ancient Oconee and brought the rest of the world a little closer to home.

LOVETT, GEORGIA

A Look Back

The town of Lovett is the third oldest incorporated town in Laurens County, losing the honor of being the oldest town not including Dublin or Brewton, which it finished behind by a mere three days in 1889. At the turn of the 20th Century much of the experiences in Lovett was published in the Macon Weekly Telegraph. Then without any explanation the snippets of the shenanigans and shining moments disappeared leaving the historians with virtually no record of the events which happened there until surviving issues of the Dublin papers began to chronicle her past. But when the calendars began to replace the 18s with the 19s, Lovett could be lively and Lovett could be lovely. And, Lovett could be lurid, but loving too.

Just after Easter Sunday, the Rev. George C. Matthews, a former minister of the First Methodist Church in Dublin and a founder of the Holiness movement in Georgia, was the featured speaker at the South Georgia Holiness Association's annual meeting. The streets of Lovett were crowded with hundreds of people, all in town to hear the elegant sermons of Rev. Matthews and a host of other prominent religious leaders. Association organizers provided special daily train rides for the large crowds from Garbutt's Mill to the meeting place, a large sixty foot by ninety foot cloth tent. The professing Christians met for more than a dozen days.

The Rev. W.A. Dodge, Matthew's counterpart in the North Georgia District, spoke to the gathering, estimated to have been more than two thousand believers and sinners. As the session came to a close, thousands appeared at the tent. They came on foot, on horseback, in wagons and on trains. They came early and continued to assemble after the climactic service began. Rev. Dodge preached the morning sermon and spoke only to the men that afternoon. Mrs. Crumpler spoke to the ladies, while the men folk talked about manly things. It was reported that the meeting exceeded any other meeting ever held in Lovett in the good it did and "many sinners were moved to repentance and conversion - and the town was generally shaken up."

But, as it goes in small towns of the day, the good news turned to bad news, within a cycle of the moon. Pebe Hall and Miss Radford of Lovett had gone down to the Big Ohoopee River at Snell's Bridge for a day of jollity and picnicking. Leaving their friends on the banks of the river, Pebe and his best girl rowed their boat into the center of the stream. All of a sudden the boat wobbled throwing the couple into the swollen stream. They cried out for help, and help was on its way. But before they could be rescued, the popular couple disappeared down to the sandy bottom of the muddy water. The pall of their deaths lasted a long time in the minds of their many friends.

It would only be three fortnights before another dead body would be found in the merciless waters of the Big Ohoopee near Snell's Bridge. A crowd of men were seining the river for a mess of fish when to their utmost horror the fisherman found a solitary leg and a man's head. Attached to what remained of his neck was a 150 pound iron bar. A closer examination of their nets revealed a satchel and several articles of clothing. Investigating officials determined the dismembered remains belonged to one George Yates, who had disappeared three months earlier on March 4th. There were suspects. Just to make sure, Georgia governor Allen D. Candler offered a one hundred dollar reward for the villainous perpetrators. Within a week, George Yates rose to the surface, not from the water or his grave, but he had been alive all the time. Thoughts of the identity of the corpse turned to Jack Benedict of Athens. Thought to have been wearing similar clothes at the time of his disappearance led Dr. Benedict, the brother of the suspected victim, to examine the remains and determine that the skull sizes matched. Believing that the Athens physician was simply seeking closure to his brother's fate, the investigation continued. J.T. O'Neal, a convicted bootlegger who had vanished after his release, may have been the casualty of vindictive co-conspirators he helped to convict. Johnson County Ordinary J.E. Page continued to investigate the true identity of the mystery man.

Just as the citizens of Lovett were trying to overcome the horrors of the river deaths, a small epidemic of smallpox terrified every man, woman and child. Between two and three dozen cases of the deadly disease were reported in a small area between Harrison and Lovett. Physicians were summoned and comprehensive vaccinations were begun, ending the crisis.

Another month brought another tragedy. On the 9th of August, Bascom Flanders was trying to find a seat on the wood in the tender of a fast running train when he lost his balance and fell to the ground striking his head against an series of immovable cross ties. Little hope for his recovery was given.

On the lighter side, the farmers of Lovett were enjoying a plentiful season, raising enough corn, fodder and provisions to provide for their families for another year, without being forced into debt. Ike Askew brought the first two bales of cotton into town on August 9th. Mr. E.A. Lovett paid Askew $5.80 for his prized bales. By the end of the month, heavy tropical rains severely damaged the unpicked half of the cotton crop. Fears of losses were erased by the first of October, most of the farmers were happy. But Lovett continued to grow. Sidewalks were given much needed and overdue repairs and three new handsome homes were erected that summer. The young people were preparing a concert and a traveling showman thrilled the congregation of folks with a ascension of his hot air balloon.

The townsfolk of Lovett were proud of the wonderful springs on Tucker's Mill Creek. Although unnamed in a newspaper article, these springs are now known as the "Thundering Springs," which are located three crow fly miles west of town. Folk medicine believers swore by the healing effects of the mineral laden waters which erupted from the earth. The boil of the spring was constant and constantly rose about a foot above the surrounding water level. The springs were ideal for swimming and bathing because even the poorest swimmer could never sink below his heart. Determined divers attempted to touch the bottom, but the force of the boiling water pushed them back to the surface. It was said that on cloudy days, the roar of the springs, which emanate from miles and miles away, rival the loudest reports of an approaching thunderstorm.

After a festive, and somewhat lively, holiday season and the end of the 19th Century, promises of bigger and better things were abundant in Lovett. On the very first day of the 20th Century, six inches of snow covered and killed a fine crop of winter wheat and oats in the fields. J.T. Lovett was chosen as the century's first mayor. E.A. Lovett, A.T. Cobb, W.J. Stewart, P.M. Johnson and Z.M. Sterling constituted the town's first council in the 20th Century. Professor W.J. Daley opened the doors of the Lovett School. Fifty kids came to class and more were expected to attend. E.F. Cary and W.J. Stewart established an Express office in town. Lovett farmers planned to increase corn plantings in the spring. The farms and saw mills of the area were so profitable that the lack of available laborers became a problem.