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.