Brooks County, Georgia - History

THE CREATION OF BROOKS COUNTY

Brooks County was created by an Act of the General Assembly approved December 11, 1858. Lowndes County had remained as it originally was until 1850 when the strip east of the Alapaha River was detached to help form the new County of Clinch. Then in 1856, the new-county fever really began and Colquitt was formed out of all of the 9th District of Lowndes west of Little River (which was added to the 8th District taken from Thomas County), and Berrien County was formed out of the territory between Little River and the Alapaha.

The creation of Colquitt and Berrien counties in 1856 served to draw attention to the fact that the most populous and wealthy part of Lowndes was its southwestern portion, and then it was that the citizens west of the "Withlacoochee River began to clamor for a county of their own. The matter came up during the 1857 session of the legislature but no agreement was reached. Before the 1858 session convened, another movement had sprung up in the eastern part of Lowndes, for a new county to be formed out of Lowndes and Clinch. Apparently, no strong opposition to the latter movement developed. One of the main points of contention over creating the other new county was the fact that they were demanding a proportionate part of all funds in the county treasury and of the current year's taxes, whereas, none of the other new counties had asked for such an arrangement.

The movement to create Brooks County appeared to have agitated the county (Lowndes) to no little extent. The Lowndes County Grand Jury, June Term, 1858, took note of the situation in the following paragraph in their General Presentments:

From the peculiar circumstances in reference to the excitement of our citizens on the division question, we feel at a loss what to recommend in reference to our public buildings but would respectfully suggest a general convention of the citizens of this county on the 1st Monday in August, next, and let the Convention appoint delegates from each district to act as commissioners in devising a plan for division; and that petitions be forwarded to the next General Assembly accordingly." The reference to public buildings by the Grand Jury was to the problem of how to re-build the Lowndes County court-house and at the same time divide funds on hand with the proposed new county.

The court-house at Troupville had been burned earlier that same year (1858). The Inferior Court which had charge of county affairs, had three of its five Justices living in the proposed new county of Brooks, and they of course were sympathetic to the new county.

The people in the limits of the new county felt like they were entitled to a new county. The most of Lowndes County's popula-tion, wealth and agriculture was in the new county, and on a clear-cut issue in an election they could outvote the remainder of the county, and could have moved the county-site from Troupville had it already not been located near the center of the county.

The Grand Jury's suggestion was followed, and a county-wide meeting was held at Troupville, August 2, 1858. The following delegates from the various districts in Lowndes County had been elected, and were present: Morven District—Dr. L. Stanley, William A. Lane, Wm. G. Lane, George Folsom. Peacock's District—Dr. Calvin W. Steagall, WUliam F. Speight, James Burnett, Nicholas Reddick, Robt. M. D. Peacock.

15th District—John W. Spain, Thomas E. Hardee, Malachi Jones, WUliam Smith, Charles Davis.

16th District—Mills M. Brinson, Dr. Newsom, J. M. Clyatt, Henry Strickland, D. P. Gibson.

Martin's District—Wm. C. Knight, Reubin Roberts, John Cracker (?), John W. Harrell, Stephen Martin.

Troupville District—Shadrack Griffin, Jordan Tucker, Moses Smith, WU-liam Bradford, Isaiah Tillman.

Capt. Ganos' District—George Carter, Wm. Carter, Benj. C Ganos, George W. Mitchell, Dennis Wetherington.

Capt. Prine's District—Capt. Robert Prine, M. V. Copeland, Duncan Mc Leod, James Copeland, Joseph Copeland.

Col. G. R. Stapler was elected Chairman of the meeting, and M. J. Culpepper was chosen Secretary. Senator James West of Lowndes County (who lived within the proposed new county), was present and explained the dividing line under consideration at the last session of the General Assembly (1857). After a good deal of discussion this line was agreed on. It was also agreed that "after the debts of the county are paid" the new county should have half of the balance on hand, together with one-half of the current year's taxes and its proportionate part of the county school funds on hand. This apparently allowed for the cost of rebuilding the court-house.

Subsequently, it developed that the Grooverville and Okapilco districts of Thomas County wished to go into the new county, and petitioned the legislature to that effect. No objection was made and they were taken in.

William A. Lane who was a member of the Troupville bar but lived near Morven in the proposed new county, was engaged to draw up the bill. When the General Assembly convened three months later the bill as drawn was introduced by Senator West and enacted into law, and thus came about the creation of Brooks County.

The legislative act creating Brooks County was approved December 11th, 1858, and two days later Governor Brown affixed his signature to another act which created Echols County, thus splitting off another large segment of Lowndes County into a new county.

The following is a copy of the Act creating Brooks County:

"An Act to Lay Out and Organize A New County From the Counties of Lowndes and Thomas, and for other purposes therein specified:

"Sec. I: Be It Enacted, that from and immediately after the passage of this Act a new county shall be and the same is hereby laid out from the counties of Lowndes and Thomas to be included within the following limits to-wit: Beginning at the Florida line where the Withlacoochee River enters said State and running up said river to the junction of said Withlacoochee with Little River to the line between Lots of Land Nos. 59 and 60 in the 12th Land District of Lowndes; thence running to the Southwest corner of Lot of Land 35 in the 12th Land District of said County of Lowndes, and then running due North to the county line between Lowndes and Berrien; thence running the line between the Counties of Lowndes and Berrien to the line of Colquitt County; thence running the line between Lowndes and Colquitt and Thomas and Colquitt to the line dividing Lots of Land Nos. 392 and 437 in Thomas; thence due South to the Aucilla River, and thence running down the Aucilla River to the Florida line; and thence running the line between Lowndes and the State of Florida to the entrance of the Withlacoochee River into said State of Florida (the starting point).

Sec. II: And Be It Further Enacted by the authority afore-said, That the new County described in the first section of this Act shall be called and known by the name of Brooks, and shall be attached to the First Congressional District and to the Southern Judicial Circuit and to the 6th Division and Second Brigade, Georgia Militia.

Sec. Ill: And Be It Further Enacted by the authority aforesaid, That the persons included in said new county entitled to vote for the same shall, on the first Monday in January next, elect five Justices of the Inferior Court, an Ordinary, a Clerk of Superior Court, a Sheriff, a Coroner, Tax-collector and Receiver of Tax Returns, a County Surveyor and a County Treasurer for said County; and that said election for offices shall be held at the several places where Justice Courts are now held within the limits of said new county; and the Governor, on the same being certified to him, shall commission the persons re-turned as elected at such election, who shall hold their offices respectively for the terms prescribed by law and until their successors shall be elected and qualified; and said Justices of the Inferior Court, after they shall have been commissioned, shall proceed as soon as possible to lay off said county into Militia Districts and to advertise for the election of two Justices of the Peace in each district in which no Justice now in commission may reside; and in case one Justice in commission shall reside in any one of said districts then the other shall be elected for said district; and the Governor on being duly certified of the election of such Justices, shall commission them according to law; and all officers now in commission within the limits of said new county shall hold their commissions and exercise the duties of their several offices within said new county for the terms respectively for which they were elected, and until their successors shall be commissioned and qualified.

Sec. IV: And Be It Further Enacted by the authority afore-said, That the Justices of the Inferior Court of said county, after they shall have been commissioned and qualified, shall have full power and authority, and shall by the 1st of February, 1859, select and locate a site for the public buildings of said new county, to be called 1 Quitman'; and the said Justices or a majority of them are hereby authorized and invested with full power to purchase a tract of land for the location of the county-site, to divide the same into lots and sell each lot at public sale to the highest bidder for the benefit of said county, or to make such other arrangements or contracts concerning the county-site or the location of the public buildings as they may think proper; provided however, that the said Justices of the Inferior Court shall locate the county-site and the public buildings within four miles of the center of the said new county.

Sec. V: And Be It Further Enacted by the authority afore-said, That so soon as the Justices of the Inferior Court for said County shall have laid off said militia districts, the places of holding Justices' Courts in said districts respectively be and each of them is hereby established an election precinct.

Sec. VI: And Be It Further Enacted by the authority aforesaid, That the papers appertaining to all suits pending in either of said counties out of which this new county is formed, when the defendants shall reside in such new county, shall be transferred to the proper officers of said new county and there tried and disposed of; and that all means process, executions and other final process in the hands of the Sheriffs, Coroners and Constables of the counties of which the new county is formed, and which properly belongs to said new county and may have been levied and in part executed, and such proceedings therein not finally disposed of at the organization of said new county, shall be delivered over to the corresponding officers of said new county; and such officers are hereby authorized and required to proceed with the same and in the same manner as if such pro-cess had been originally in their hands; provided, that costs then due shall be paid before the case shall be removed; and provided, that in all cases publication of the time and place of sale and proceedings of the like character in the new county shall be made for the time now prescribed by law, and all such process which properly belongs to the counties out of which such new county is formed, which may be in the hands of the officers of said new county shall in like manner be delivered over to the officers of said counties, to be executed by them in the manner herein prescribed.

Sec. VII: And Be It Further Enacted by the authority aforesaid, That the Superior Court of said new county shall be held on the third Mondays in May and November, and the Inferior Court on the third Mondays in August and February; and the Court of Ordinary shall be held at the times as prescribed by law for the different counties of this state.

Sec. VIII: And Be It Further Enacted by the authority aforesaid, That all public business of said new county shall be transacted at Thomas Folsom's in said new county until the public site shall be located by the Inferior Court as aforesaid; and said place shall be one of the election precincts for said new county so long as the public business of the new county is transacted there.

Sec. IX: And Be It Further Enacted, that the funds of Lowndes County now in the hands of the Treasurer shall, after the debts of said county are fully paid off and discharged, be equally divided between the said County of Lowndes and the said new County of Brooks hereby laid out; and said Treasurer is hereby authorized and required to pay over the same to the Treasurer of Brooks County; and said new county shall also be entitled to receive its equal share of the net funds raised by county taxation in the present County of Lowndes for the present year, which are now or may hereafter come into the hands of the Tax-Collector.

Sec. X: And Be It Further Enacted, That the funds in the hands of the Ordinary of Lowndes County for poor school purposes at the time of the passing of this Act, shall be equitably divided between the said County of Lowndes and the County of Brooks upon the following basis: That is to say, the Ordinary of Lowndes County shall make out and furnish to the Ordinary of Brooks County a statement of the fund in his hands at the time as aforesaid, and also the number of poor children in the County of Lowndes including that part of the territory of said county cut off into the County of Brooks, and shall pay over to the Ordinary of Brooks County a pro-rata share according to the number of children in that part of the territory of the same which is taken from said County of Lowndes. Assented to, December 11, 1858."

This Act, as will be noted, provided that all officers of the parent counties living within the limits of the new county, should continue in the exercise of their several duties in the new county. This was an unusual provision but was appropriate. Three of the Justices of the Inferior Court of Lowndes lived within the new county, also the Clerk of Court, Tax Collector, State Senator and Surveyor.

The following new officers were elected for the new county on the first Monday in January, 1859:

Ordinary - Angus Morrison Sheriff - Enoch Hall Pike Tax-Collector - George Alderman Receiver - John Delk Treasurer_WiUiam F. Speight Surveyor - Jeremiah Wilson Coroner-John T. Devane State Senator - Shadrack Griffin Representative - John T. Edmondson Inferior Court -Charles E. Groover, James McMullen

These together with the following officers of Lowndes in the new county, constituted the first officers of Brooks County: Justices of Inferior Court, James T. Robeson, John J. Pike and James 0. Mor-ton; Clerk of the Superior and Inferior Courts, D. W. McRae; Tax Collector, George Alderman. The latter though already an elected official holding over from Lowndes, was nevertheless elected without opposition to the same office in Brooks.

The new county began functioning under the most auspicious circumstances. The election of officers, usually an occasion of much strife, was without any rancor. Fortunately, within the new county lived an unusually large number of fine, outstanding citizens who were known as men of good judgment and possessed of a very high sense of honor and patriotism; and their opinions in public matters were generally sought; and some of them were placed in positions of public trust.

There was no doubt that the creation of Brooks County had taken the bulk of the mother county of Lowndes, in population as well as wealth. There was a heavy reduction in taxable property in Lowndes County in the year 1859 as contrasted with 1858, the tax-digest being off over one-half. Thomas County was not seriously affected since only a small part of its territory and taxable property was cut off, but within that small part was some of Thomas' finest families and finest plantations.

The Quitman Banner in an historical article published in its issue of October 30, 1873, had this to say about the first Inferior Court: 11 . . . . The first public sale of lots occurred on the 19th of February, 1859, at which there was a large crowd present and the bidding spirited, and a handsome amount was thus realized to the County under the judicious management of the Inferior Court. The Court then consisted of J. 0. Morton, Chas. E. Groover, James T. Eobeson, John J. Pike and James McMullen, and to their credit be it said they took a lively interest in what-ever was calculated to benefit our county, and devoted much of their time and personal attention to its business. "We don't believe there ever was an Inferior Court that served their county more faithfully than did this of ours. Much of its pros-perity is due to the judicious management and energy of these gentlemen .... "

Three things were uppermost in the minds and hearts of the people of the county in those early days and have remained in the public mind ever since, viz: Religion, education and agriculture, and the latter in due time brought commercial and industrial development; Education brought culture and religion created high ideals. All of which is apparent in the history of Brooks County as will be seen from a study of its history.

The Organization

As already pointed out, the county came into existence with three out of five of its Justices of the Inferior Court already in office, also the Clerk of the Superior and Inferior Courts and the Tax-Collector. These were cut out of Lowndes. The two new Justices were chosen out of the territory cut out of Thomas, and thus the Court was representative of both sections of the new county.

The three Justices, Messrs. Robeson, Pike and Morton, proceeded to meet on January 15, 1859, as soon as the commissions had arrived from the Governor for the two newly-elected Justices; and the first entry on the Minutes of the Court is a short minute in the following language, signed by Justice Pike:

"Brooks Inferior Court. In Chambers, Jan. 15, 1859. Present, their Honors, John J. Pike, James 0. Morton and James T. Robeson. James McMullen and Charles E. Groover appeared in open court and after taking the oath prescribed by law, received their commissions as Justices of said Court. J. J. Pike, J I C."

The next entry also made by Justice Pike and dated January 20, 1859, stated that the Ordinary-elect, Angus Morrison, and the Sheriff-elect, E. H. Pike, appeared and qualified and received their commissions.

The Court's first duty under the act creating the county, was to make selection of the county-site by February 1st—fifteen days after it began functioning. The minutes are silent about this selection but it is known they made choice of the site where Quitman now is.

The land was bought of James E. Young and of M. J. Culpepper. The Court's first sittings were at the home of Thomas Folsom.

The first regular term of the Inferior Court was on the 3rd Monday in February, 1859. The five Justices were present. The following business was transacted: The Tax-receiver, Coroner and Surveyor qualified and received their commissions; W. B. Bennet, W. J. Hicks and D. W. McRae were appointed ''School Commissioners"; militia districts were laid out and defined and election of Justices of Peace ordered; Patrol Commissioners in the various districts were appointed; the sale of town lots in Quitman was fixed for the 1st Tuesday in April; new roads radiating out from Quitman were laid out, there being none before; and several orders on the county treasurer were issued, including some post-dated orders to Messrs. Young and Culpepper for the land bought of them.

The second regular term of the Court was August 15th, (3rd Mon-day in the month), 1859, when not only the usual county matters were attended to but also several judgments were rendered in suits on notes, accounts, etc. The first jury in the Inferior Court wasat this term, and consisted of: Israel Folsom, Edward Bond, William McMullen, Charles Rizer, Hardy M. Johnson, Jesse T. Davis, B. H. Martin, Tarlton B. Joyce, Thos. F. Rogers, W. W. Martin, Solomon W. Howard, Willis A. King; jury bailiff, James H. Burnett.

Laying Out the County-Seat

The deeds to the land bought from Messrs. Young and Culpepper for the town-site, were dated February 19th, 1859, which was also the date of the first auction of town lots though no entry of this fact appears on the Inferior Court minutes.

The Inferior Court instructed Jeremiah Wilson, the County Surveyor, to lay off the town-site into lots and blocks; this is likewise, not on the court minutes, but it appears that the County Treasurer was directed May 3, 1859, to pay Mr. Wilson $136.50 "for survey-ing and laying off the town of Quitman." The auctioning of town lots was committed to James H. Burnett and record is found where he was paid $15.00 for this service, July 5, 1859.

The first sale of town lots was advertised in "The Wiregrass Reporter" published at Troupville in its issue of February 5, 1859, for which the editor was paid $3.00. A month later, on March 5, 1859, another sale was advertised in the Reporter and the editor paid a similar amount. The sales were also advertised in the Thomas-ville papers.

The second sale of town lots took place the 1st Tuesday in April, 1859. Later, further surveying had to be done and the Court paid J. H. Davis $87.00 for this service January 3, 1860. James H. Burnett was paid $6.00 for auctioning the lots. (See Chapter IX, for names of purchasers at these sales).

The Court-house Square had to be "cleaned off" and the con-tract for this job was let to James King. He was paid $66.00 on July 5, 1859, "for cleaning up the first acre of the public square in Quitman, to be credited on his bid for the job''; and on December 14, 1859, he was paid $233.38 in full.

A public well on the court-house grounds was provided. James E. Young was paid $5.00 for some repair work on it, August Term, 1859.

Hamlets, Villages and Towns of Brooks County

Fodie, a post-hamlet of Brooks county, is about six miles north of Quitman. It reported a population of 100 in 1900, has a money order postoffice and is a trading center for that section.
Spain, on the South Georgia & West Coast railroad, is the most convenient station.

[Source: Georgia: Sketches, Counties, Towns, Events, Institutions & People, Vol. 2, Publ. 1906 Transcribed By: Maggie Coleman]

The First Court-House	Early Public Roads
Hon. Preston Smith Brooks	Small-pox Epidemics