A LANDMARK OF CHRISTIANITY

A LANDMARK OF CHRISTIANITY
Richland Baptist Church

On a perfect early autumn Sunday they came. They have been coming to this spot for the last two hundred years. They came this incredible day to celebrate two centuries of worship at a "Landmark of Christianity," Richland Baptist Church in southern Twiggs County, Georgia. They came to celebrate Christ. And, they came to celebrate their heritage, a heritage which keeps them coming back, year after year.

Nancy Faulk Herrington led the congregation in an uplifting version of Holy, Holy, Holy. The Rev. Steve Smith, pastor of Old Richland's successor church, New Richland Baptist Church, gave the opening sermon.

Susan Faulk Burford, President of the Richland Restoration League, Inc., welcomed those present as she presided over the day's ceremonies. The Civil Folks Singers, dressed in 19th Century clothing, serenaded the congregation under the direction of the Rev. Frank Hendrix, Living History Chair of the Restoration League. The league was organized in 1948 to restore the historic church to its holy grandeur.

Glenn Faulk, one of the many descendants of Mark Faulk who gathered at their family church, recognized the pioneer families of the ancient church, which was constituted two centuries ago on October 5, 1811. Faulk said, "This is a special moment in our history, a time we came together as a family." Located near the original county seat of Marion, the commercial and legal center in East Central Georgia from its location in the geographical center of the state during the 1810s through the 1820s.

There were Faulks, Wimberlys, Asbells, Bunns, Minters, Shines, Densons, Glovers, Vaughns and Fitzpatricks. One by one and family by family they stood and proudly recited their descent from their great, greats..., the founding and leading members of the time-honored church.

Robert Schultz remembered coming to the enduring church as a five-year-old boy. Schultz remembered the day in 1948 when the Restoration League first met and he was sitting in the front pew when he called upon to read a scripture. Since that day, Schultz make regular return trips to honor his family and to worship in the circa 1845 church.

And, there was George Faulk sitting in the "Amen Corner." Faulk, a veteran of World War II, was the oldest member of the congregation. Faulk, at ninety four, was born six years after the church closed its doors in 1911.

The descendants of Marmaduke Hart were there too, taking up a good portion of the center sections of the beautifully restored wooden church, at least the ones not filled with Faulks and Wimberlys. It was Marmaduke Hart who gave the land near his springs in the 1820s for the church's second structure.

Earl Hicks and his family were there too. Mr. Hicks recalled the relationship between his family and the Faulk and Wimberly families over the last two centuries, harking back to the day when both whites and blacks worshiped together in the two-story church.

Special musical entertainment was provided by The Wesleyannes, a choral group from Wesleyan University from Macon. Wesleyan is celebrating its 175th year as the world's oldest university for women.

The featured speaker for the day was the Rev. Francis Wilson. Rev. Wilson, a graduate of Cochran High School and Mercer University, spoke of his honor to preach from the pulpit where his grandfather, Rev. F. Bartow Asbell, who gave the last regular sermon in October, 1911 when the church ceased to conduct regular services. Rev. Wilson, a resident of New Mexico, spoke of the honor of having his family and knowing Jesus Christ, but ranked the honor to preach the Gospel standing in the footprints of his grandfather as one of his greatest blessings.

After the benediction of the service by the Rev. Gary Walker, the congregation adjourned to the well-kept grounds of the antebellum church for an old-fashioned dinner on the ground, complete with all kinds of scrumptious foods, including a tasty roasted pig, cooked by Satterfields of Macon.

If you would like more information on the church and the Richland Restoration League, contact Susan Burford at susanfburford@yahoo.com, Glenn Faulk at faulk.glenn@gmail.com or go to the league's website at www.historicrichlandchurch.org.
The League will sponsor its annual "Keeping Christmas at Richland Church" on Saturday, December 3, 2011 at 6:00 p.m. and Sunday, December 4, 2011 at 4:00 p.m.

RICHLAND BAPTIST CHURCH

THE RICHLAND TRADITION



Two Hundred Years and Counting

For most of the last two hundred years, folks in the southwestern part of Twiggs County have gathered together at Richland Baptist Church to ask the Lord's blessing. And on the first Sunday in October, the members of the Richland Restoration League will once again return to the church which they have lovingly kept from the neglect of the winds of time and total destruction.

Two hundred years ago on October 5, 1811, Richland Meeting House was constituted by the reverends Edmond Talbot, of Jones County and Eden Taylor of Baldwin County. The Rev. Micajah Fulghum was assigned to the pulpit of the church which was first located on the banks of Richland Creek in a log structure. About a decade later, a new structure was constructed near Duke Hart's springs.

The charter members of Richland Church were John Denson, Jacob Ricks, Edward Nix, William Coates, Sarah Denson, Susannah Ricks, Elizabeth Lipham, Elizabeth Truluck, Sally Parrott, Anna Hammock, Sara Glenn, Nancy Powell, and Chloe Hodges, a Negro woman. Jacob Ricks, a founding father of Twiggs County, was named as a commissioner of public buildings at the town of Marion, the county's original county seat, which was located a few miles to the northwest. Ricks also served as one of the first justices of the Inferior Court of Twiggs County. John Denson lived to the ripe old age of 90 and long enough to see the current church built. Edward Nix died just five years after the church. Few records, if any, could be found about the remaining charter members.

Membership continued to rise and by 1840, Richland Church became the largest church in the Ebenezer Baptist Association. During the first five decades of the existence of the church, both white and black members worshipped in the church together. Although the slaves were considered members, they were required to sit in the galleries of the church during church services. In the year 1860, black membership reached a peak of 165 members, representing nearly seventy percent of the total membership. After the Civil War, black members left white churches and formed their own congregations.

One of the most poignant moments in the history of the church came a century and a half ago at the beginning of the Civil War. The ladies of the Richland and Marion communities would meet at the church to sew articles of clothing and make supplies for their boys in gray. Mrs. Isolene Minter Wimberly gave a heart-stirring address from the front steps of the church to the men and boys who were members of Company I of the 6th Georgia Volunteer Infantry Regiment, "The Twiggs County Guards." Mrs. Wimberly presented her husband, Frederick Davis Wimberly, the company lieutenant and later captain, a hand made battle flag, which was turned to the flag bearer, Sergeant Warren. The Guards, like many other Southern units, suffered horrific losses while attached to the Army of Northern Virginia.

The current structure, built in about 1845 on the site of New Hope Baptist Church, was located near an old stage road running from Savannah to North Georgia. The Greek Revival style, rectangular church has four simple columns supporting the roof of the portico. The simple front has four doors with the center two leading to the aisles. Traditionally, the ladies of the church entered the right door and took their seats, while the men came through the left door. Both men and women sat in the center section, but were segregated by a wooden partition running down the center. Along the sides of the pulpit, smaller rows of pews were arranged to face the pulpit at right angles to the main pews. Commonly called "Amen corners," these areas were reserved for the hard of hearing and the elderly.

The roll of ministers of Richland Church reads like a "who's who" among prominent Baptist preachers during the antebellum period. Among the most well known ministers who served Richland were George M. McCall, J.H. Campbell, James Kilpatrick, James Cary Solomon, Henry Bunn, Edward J. Coates, C.D. Mallory, James McConnell, James Williamson, Vincent A. Tharpe, Theophilus Pearce, John Ross, Adam Jones, C.A. Tharpe, and Lott Warren, who would also serve as an attorney, judge, and Congressman. During its first 78 years as a member of the Ebenezer Baptist Association, Richland Baptist Church had its minister serve in the highly honored position of Moderator of the Association.

Membership slowly declined after the war after the county seat was moved from Marion to Jeffersonville. With black members leaving to form their own churches and the white population in the area declining, attendance all but ended. After G.W. Faulk, Jr., a leading member and deacon of the church, died in August 1911, the last days of the then century old church were at hand. The church's last, minister, Francs Bartow Asbell resigned almost a century to the date after the church was founded.

For the next 37 years, the grand and once glorious house of worship stood vacant on most Sundays. Then, after the country had come out of the darkness of the Great Depression and two world wars, the descendants of former members and supporters of one of the true treasures of Twiggs County stepped forward with their time, their money and their devoted hearts to stop the deterioration of the century old structure. The league has also been able to preserve the interior of the building and several original items used in worship services more than a century ago.

In 1948, the Richland Restoration League was formed. Mary Faulk Harrison was elected president of the league. Other officers included Irene Wimberly Gleeson, Clara W. Pope, Sara Faulk, and Mrs. H.D. Faulk. These women worked tirelessly to restore the church to its original grandeur. The efforts have continued until the recent past when a $90,000 renovation program was initiated in 2004 to shore up the church's foundation. Through the generosity of contributors, the loan was paid off in seven years.

On Sunday, Oct. 2, the members of the Richland Restoration League will hold a celebration in honor of the church's bicentennial. The featured speaker for the day's festivities will be the Rev. Francis Wilson. Rev Wilson, a former resident of Cochran and a graduate of Mercer University, will address the gathering. Rev. Wilson is a grandson of Rev. F. Barrow Asbell, the last official minister of Richland Baptist Church when it closed one hundred years ago.

The league's trustees invite the members of all Twiggs County and Middle Georgia churches to be a part of this once in a lifetime celebration of their devotion to Richland Church and its service to the Lord. The festivities will begin at noon and will include an old fashioned dinner on the grounds and a performance by Wesleyannes, a choral group from Wesleyan College in Macon.

To get to the church, take the I-16 exit (No. 24) at Ga. Hwy. 96 and turn west next to the Huddle House and onto Richland Church Road and follow the signs for about two miles. For further information, go to www.historicrichlandchurch.org.

JAMES JACKSON RUNS AMUCK

James Jackson Runs Amuck

COCHRAN, GA. - July 14, 1915 - No one alive knows why James Jackson ran amuck and killed a deputy, an overseer, and a young farmer. Those who did know what happened, could not or would not tell the whole story of James Jackson and why he killed three men and then was shot at and later blown up by a staggering posse.

The sun was scorching the fields of W.O. Peacock in Bleckley County, some three statute miles from the county seat of Cochran. James Jackson got on the very bad side of his field boss, Mr. Lem W. Sanders. Boss Sanders reprimanded Jackson and sent him back to his quarters in not too good of a mood. Hearsay repeaters swore that Sanders told Jackson that he would have to start working or quit his job on the farm. The rumor mongers consistently maintained that Sanders slapped Jackson, who stomped off in a huff. Some say he went back to get a gun, but the pervasive account is somewhat different.

It was nearly pitch dark when Sanders went to the Negro quarters to deliver some medicine to one of his sick workers. Sanders just happened to pass by Jackson's shack. After a long hard day in the hot fields, Sanders took a seat on the side of Jackson's front porch. Sitting with his back toward Jackson, Sanders' pistol was visible in his back hip pocket in the dim porch light.

Suddenly, and with no warning, Jackson sprang from his seat, grabbed his boss's gun, and pointed it point blank at his antagonist. Sanders, according to Hollis Blackshear, an occupant of the house, begged Jackson not to shoot him. Jackson grabbed Sanders by the arm and held him with one hand. And, with two shots into his heart, killed Lem Sanders dead with the other. Noticing that Blackshear had witnessed the murder, Jackson turned toward the trembling Blackshear and pulled his pistol trigger three times, all misfires. Jackson then fled to the home of one Peter Fambrough.

Fambrough took Jackson to the home of Jackson's brother, who lived near about three crow fly miles from Hawkinsville. When word got out that overseer Sanders had been shot, a small, but highly incensed, posse was organized by night marshal, W. Sumpter "Sump" Hogg. Oscar Lawson, a young farmer, went along with Sump Hogg up to the house to convince Jackson to give himself up.

Marshal Hogg approached a window of the shack and demanded the fleeing felon give himself up. Oscar Lawson went around to the back of the house. Jackson fired an instantly mortal rifle shot straight into the marshal's chest. Jackson walked across the interior of the house and fired a second mortal shot into an eye of Oscar Lawson, who never knew what killed him. Another member of the posse returned fire and temporarily disabled Jackson.

It was about that time when Bleckley County Sheriffs J.A. Floyd and Pulaski County Sheriff J. R. Rogers arrived with a very large posse of law enforcement officers and ordinary citizens. One of the officers grabbed Peter Fambrough and through the most persuasive acts of coercion, forced the terrified accomplice to go to the house and remove the corpses of Jackson's victims. All the while, Jackson kept up his fire from the inside of the embattled abode.

After dragging the dead men out of the line of fire, Fambrough was compelled to crawl under the house with a bundle of dynamite, which had been rushed in from a Hawkinsville store. When it appeared that Jackson was never going to give himself up voluntarily, the dynamite was ignited and Jackson's fortress was blown into various sized smithereens. The posse swarmed the shattered shanty, firing as thy approached. The point men found Jackson dead. Despite reports to the contrary, the Cochran Journal reported that James Jackson's death came at the hands of legally authorized law enforcement authors and not a lynch mob. Some reports suggested that Jackson was dragged from the splintered ruins of the flattened fortress and strung up in a tree by a vengeful mob of as many as six hundred men.

In the passion of the moment, Peter Fambrough and Jackson's brother were also killed when they resisted arrest. One published report maintained that the men had a shot gun, a pistol, and plenty of ammunition.

Lem Sanders, W.O. Peacock's 42-year-old trusted overseer, was buried with honors by the Woodmen of the World the next afternoon. Young Lawson was laid to rest in the cemetery at Antioch Church the next morning. Sump Hogg was known as one of the best officers of Bleckley County, whose sole fault was that he was too careless with his own safety. Mrs. Ludie Hogg and her three children sobbed as her husband was buried in the Weeping Pine Cemetery that afternoon.

Reports of the tragic events were often contradictory. Names of the principals were often misspelled or interchanged. One thing was for certain. Six men were dead. And, many Bleckley Countians were grieving as they closed their business houses for the three funerals.

Although there appeared to be no connection to the killings, the Bleckley County Sheriff announced his resignation within days after Marshal Hogg was killed. Sheriff Floyd stated that he could no longer perform his duties because he was unable to stand the financial strain. "During my first term, I wore out a good horse and buggy and a good automobile in the service of the county, and so far as I could determine, without any adequate financial return," the sheriff wrote.

Floyd maintained that his fees were based on sixty year old costs of operating the jail. He enjoyed his term as sheriff but urged the county to develop a more equitable form of salaries for sheriffs.

The exploding of a desperado by Bleckley County lawmen wasn't confined to James Jackson. Just four days before Christmas, some two and one half years later, Frank Hall was killed by Pomp Wiley. Hall reportedly attempted to break up a fight between Wiley and another man. Enraged at Hall's interference with his business, Wiley fired three true pistol shots into Hall's heart, killing him instantly.

Sheriff Jones and a band of fifty citizens located the accused felon, who had barricaded himself in the home of his brother-in-law. As soon as the posse came into the range of his weapon, Wiley opened fire, striking and wounding Vicar Meadows and Dewitt Morris.

While the main force kept a steady fire in Wiley's direction, a small group of men snuck around to the rear of the house. Sheriff Jones directed the men to place a charge of dynamite under the house just as his predecessor had done to keep James Jackson from killing any more people. And, not surprisingly, the plan worked with similar results - Pomp Wiley was blown up and would never, ever kill again.



JIM "FLASH" FORDHAM

The Fastest Man on the Field

The folks of the twin cities of Graymont and Summit didn't call their star running back "Flash" for nothing. Jim Fordham could fly up and down the gridiron with ease. And, he was big and strong too. He may have been one the greatest University of Georgia running backs that you never heard of. And, I will bet you that you didn't know he was only the second Georgia Bulldog running back to be drafted into the National Football League.

Fans of the Emanuel County Institute's football team back in the mid 1930s knew Jimmy Fordham could run, block and tackle. His opponents couldn't stop him as he galloped up and down the gridiron on both sides of the line of scrimmage. Fordham's senior season at E.C.I. came in 1935. That year, the boys from Twin City easily defeated their opponents, including their intra county rivals from Swainsboro, whom they beat twice.

In the first game with Swainsboro, half back Fordham came into the game, broken arm and all, and was responsible for the winning score. In one of Fordham's most outstanding games, he scored seven touchdowns to lead his team to a 50-0 shutout of rival Millen High. Standing on the sidelines, salivating at the sight of future college running back, was University of Georgia coach, the legendary Vernon "Catfish" Smith.

A rematch with Swainsboro was played on Thanksgiving afternoon. A large crowd was hoping for another upset like the city boys put on the highly touted eleven under the tutelage of Coach George Hagans. Once again, the E.C.I. team left the field as the champions of Emanuel County.

In the days before Georgia high school teams competed for true state championships, the pinnacle of success was the winning of the District Championship. Teams within each congressional district competed each against other regardless of the size of their student bodies.

The First District championship was settled on the afternoon of December 6, 1935. The team from Vidalia, which had not lost a conference game in three years, squared off against Fordham and E.C.I. After a twenty-yard run, "Flash" Fordham snagged a "bullet pass" from Tommy Vandiver. Fordham caught the ball and did what he did best, run. Fordham's 40-yard touchdown reception led to the only score of the game. Fordham, in his last game in high school, once again was the deciding factor in the game. Oh, by the way, Fordham played the entire game with a sprained ligament in one of his legs.

Cate, Salisbury, Fordham, and Mimms

Jim Fordham chose the University of Georgia to continue his love for the game of football. After playing for the freshman team in 1936, Fordham lettered in the 1937 season as an understudy to Bill Hartman, Georgia's first NFL player and an All-American. Fordham's Bulldogs finished a respectable 6-3-2 under Coach Harry Mehre in the last of his ten-year tenure at the helm of the Bulldogs. Mehre was proud of his three sophomore backs, Jimmy Fordham, Vassa Cate and Oliver Hunnicutt, all of whom were known far and wide for their tremendous speed.

Jim Fordham started at fullback and the spinner back position in the single wing formation during the 1938 season. Georgia coach Joel Hunt, in his first and only season as a head college football coach, had Georgia headed in the right direction. After wins against smaller schools, Georgia was 5-1 after a victory over Florida. They never won another game that season, losing to Tulane, Auburn and Miami and enduring a 0-0, sister-kissing tie with Georgia Tech to finish 5-4-1.

Fordham comes up to make the tackle.

Fordham's third head coach in three years was Wally Butts, the legendary Georgia coach, who coached the team to its first national championship three years later in 1942. Despite the swift running of Fordham and Vassa Cate, the Bulldogs fell to a losing record of 5-6. The season ended on a high note with a victory over Miami, a game in which Fordham scored a touchdown. Fordham ended his collegiate career as a member of the Gray (South) team in the annual Blue-Gray game.

Jim Fordham was drafted 67th by the Chicago Bears in the 7th pick in the 8th round of the 1940 NFL draft. Fordham, the second Georgia Bulldog back ever to be drafted into the NFL, followed by his former mentor, Bill Hartman, who was drafted in 1938. Despite being drafted, Fordham left football during the early years of World War II.

Fordham finally joined the Bears in 1944. With their legendary coach, George Halas serving in the armed forces, the "Monsters of the Midway" fell from the top of the NFL ranks. In his first season, Fordham running out the fullback position, played behind future Hall of Famers, quarterback Sid Luckman and center Clyde "Bulldog" Turner. Fordham, playing in eight of ten games, scored four touchdowns on the ground. Fordham pounded out a respectable average of 4.5 yards per carry. The former Bulldog returned two kickoffs for an average of 21 yards per return.

Under temporary coach, Hunk Anderson, Fordham and the Bears finished a respectable 6-3-1. Among the memorable highlights of the year was the Bears 21-0 shut out of their bitter rivals, the Green Bay Packers. In a match against the team's other bitter rival, the Bears lost to the Detroit Lions. Playing for the Lions that day was none other than Frank Sinkwich, the University of Georgia's first Heisman Trophy winner. Fordham did right by his Bulldogs with one of his best games of the season by carrying the ball 13 times for 82 yards, not bad for a man who was primarily used as a blocker and runner on short yardage situations.

Fordham's last season in football came at the end of World War II. With many of the league's veteran players coming back to the game after the end of the war, players like Fordham found themselves out of a job. In his last season, Jim carried the ball 45 times for 153 yards. He managed to score one touchdown that year.

In one of the more odd records, Fordham tied a record held by a few, but not by many. In a game where few people ever win their last games, Fordham's teams won his last game in high school, college, and the pros.

Sadly, I could not find much at all about the life of Jim Fordham after football. Maybe someone out there will come forward and I will tell the rest of the story of the man they called "Flash," the fastest man on the field.