|
|
Georgia Genealogy Trails "Where your Journey Begins" |
|
Lamar County, Georgia  HISTORY OF LAMAR COUNTY GEORGIA
Lucius Quintus Cincinnatus Lamar, for whom Lamar County was named, was born in Putman County, Georgia, September 17, 1825 Lamar County Lamar County is a
little north of the geographic center of Georgia. It is seventeen and
one-half miles long at its eastern border and has an average width of
about twelve miles. It is bounded on the north by Spalding and Butts
Counties; on the east by Monroe; on the south by Monroe and Upson; on
the west by Pike and Spalding.
The general surface relief is rolling and drainage is good. The streams of the western side empty into Flint River and those of the eastern portion into the Ocmulgee. The climate is characterized by short open winters and long summers with an abundance of rainfall. Low temperature occurs at intervals but rarely lasts more than three days. Agriculture has always been the chief occupation. The farm census of 1925 gave the total number of farms as 756, of which 431 were operated by white farmers and 325 by colored. Both soil and climate are suitable for the cultivation of any plant life adaptable to a lower temperate zone but cotton has from the beginning been the chief product. Recent years show a tendency to a diversification of crops with increased efforts in dairying and growing peaches and pecans for market. Three highways enter Barnesville, one of which, the Dixie Highway, is paved eleven and one-half miles across the county. Public roads extend to all parts of Lamar. Good transportation facilities are supplied by the main line of the Central of Georgia Railway and by the Thomaston branch of the same system. The Fort Valley branch of the Southern Railway serves the southwestern part of the county, with Piedmont as the chief stop. Telephones connect the main trading points which are Patillo. Unionville, Liberty Hill, Goggans, Johnstonville, Piedmont, Milner. and Barnesville. Rural mail service covers the entire county. The census of 1930 shows a total population of 9,745. The whites are of Anglo Saxon blood, descendants of early English settlers along the Atlantic Coast. Love for the land is so strongly characteristic that in many instances farms are still in the possession of families who have owned them for three generations. Historic Background for Lamar
County Original data: History of Lamar
County. Barnesville, Ga.: Barnesville News-Gazette, 1932.
Under Act of May 15. 1821, a large section of middle Georgia was organized under the name of Monroe County. During the succeeding century by recurring legislative acts the entire county of Pike and parts of Bibb, Upson. Butts and Spalding were carved from Monroe. Their last division of this
territory was made in 1920, when by the bill was passed by the Senate
July 14. and by the House August 10, a new county was authorized, to
consist of such land from the eastern part of Pike and the western purl
of Monroe, as is designated by the bill. The name Lamar was chosen for
the county in honor of one of Georgia's distinguished sons, Lucius
Quintus Curtius Lamar. The early history of Lamar, therefore, forms a
part of the records of the two counties from which its territory was
secured.
This region was included in the land ceded to the United States by the Lower Creek Indian when the treaty was signed by Chief Williams Mclnlosh at Indian Spring, January 8, 1821. Settlers from Virginia, North Carolina, and South Carolina, as well as from the older Georgia counties, had already crossed the Ocmulger River to make homes in the territory to be organised into new county Long after all Indian titles to
land east of the Chattahoochee had been "extinguished" and the Creeks
moved to their new lands west of the Mississippi, small groups of red
men still remained in this vicinity.
The is no record of such depredations as were committed in other parts of Georgia and in Alabama by the Creeks upon the while settlers: but arrowheads have been found in such quantities as to prove thai at some lime in their history fighting tribe occupied this hunting ground. One hundred and forty-three Indian arrowhead were found by young Arthur Baggarly upon the farm of his father. W. A. Baggarly. near Barncsvillr. They vary in sixe from two lo eight inches in length. The flint out of which these arrowheads were cut U wholly different from any now to be found in this locality. Where they were made and why they chanced to be placed all pointing in the same direction will always remain a mystery Trusting the red man's keen sense of direction, roads through-oul the region followed the trails beaten by the footsteps of Indians through long years of ownership of land which now became the possession of white men. By the Lottery Acta of 1821 and 1823, tracts of fertile Isnd wen drawn by pioneer settlers, who made homes for their families or sold the lots thus secured to others in order to move in adventurous spirit farther west. Among the men who made homes in east Pike and west Monroe, one class brought slaves with them or gradually acquired them by purchase. As a result, here and there large colonial homes were built in groves of splendid oaks. Formal gardens with box-bordered beds of blooming plants and orchards of many varieties of fruit gave an added charm to what has passed into history as the typical Southern home, white, with green blinds and fitted for winter comfort with huge fireplaces; for summer with broad, tall pillared, rose-wreathed verandas. By far the larger class, however, lived in less pretentious homes. The one-story, unpainted frame dwelling consisting of two large rooms with chimney and windows at each end, separated by a broad hall and finished with shed rooms front and rear housed a populacs of hard-working. God-fearing men and women from whom descended many who have been a credit to Georgia. Families were generally large in both classes. Social life dif-fered. The owners of many slaves had more ease and luxury, but they could claim no monopoly of genuine joy. Fox hunting, horse racing, dancing, and like amusements gave no more enjoyable recreation to one class than did log-rolling, corn shucking, house raising, quilting parties and "frolics" to the other. The hospitality of this section was not confined to the few who in Colonial homes with a retinue of slaves entertained with the elegance pictured in song and story. By the open-house and bountiful board that attended the monthly meetings at rural churches, genuine hospitality was displayed long after the old South had given way to the new. With each church having its first, second, third, or fourth Sunday appointment, worshipers and visitors assembled from miles in every direction. With the handshaking and greeting at the close' of the service invitations wholesale were extended for dinner and afternoon social pleasure. It was no unusual occurrence for from 12 to 30 horses to be turned into a lot to be fed and from 24 to 60 guests to be seated at a succession of tables. Previous preparation and hot dishes from a busy kitchen force supplied the bountiful and palatable southern dinner. No house-keeper spared time, strength or ingredients, for it was her ambition to make her feast equal to any that she had enjoyed when some other church was the scene of a monthly meeting. The rolling land in common with
all of Middle Georgia was heavily timbered. Great forests of long leaf
pines, poplar, maple, hickory, beech, black gum, sweet gum, and oak of
every variety covered the hills and valleys. Their store of nuts with
each recurring autumn and the air of spring time was sweet with the
odor of the crab apple, yellow jasmine, and honeysuckle as they mingled
their beauty with the white glory of the dog wood. From almost every
hillside a spring of cold water bubbled to the surface and found its
way to some sea-bound stream. Nature's hand had been lavish, but man,
thinking the forest inexhaustible, laid low the growth of centuries to
get new ground for fields of cotton.
Georgians have ever been keenly alive to the excitement of politics. In the early years of the nineteenth century the Democratic Republican party of Thomas Jefferson, as opposed to the Federalist party of Adams, claimed the loyalty of Georgia votes in a quiet way. It took the excitement of the campaigns led by Andrew Jackson, who shortened the name of his party to the simple Democrat, to arouse enthusiasm to the highest pitch. However, when Henry Clay, the great Whig leader, outlined his principles he found many followers in every county. An exciting political incident is recalled when the Whigs, with a strong candidate, whose name has been lost in the passing of time, found himself opposed by one of Pike County's loyal Democrats, Lloyd Head, whose colonial home, in the possession of one of his descendants, still stands some four miles from Barnesville, party spirit ran so high that supporters of each candidate forsook home and business to sweep the county for his leader. Herbert Elder, a merchant of Barnesville, was one of the most enthusiastic followers of Head. When the Democrats won a decided victory over the Whigs, he prepared and served eggnog from tables by the wall of his store to all loyal Democrats who would partake of his hospitality. Barnesville was undoubtedly democratic on that occasion. With the decline of the Whig party, Democratic principles prevailed with no interruption save a sharp but temporary falling away when Tom Watson made his strenuous attempt to launch the Populist party on the waves of political favor. The years from pioneer days of east Pike and west Monroe in ihe first half of the nineteenth century to the first quarter of the twentieth, brought changes which will appear in turn, but none so welcome as the organization of the new county. The New County Barnesville, the largest town in Pike, was situated in the ex-treme southeastern corner of the county and near the line of Monroe. Tn this region lived many splendid farmers who found themselves at an uncomfortable distance from Zebulon and Forsyth, the county seats of Pike and Monroe. For many years there had been a desire on the part of the citizens of this section for a new county. Many attempts had been made to secure such legislation, three in recent years with success almost in sight. Conditions in 1920. seemed favorable for renewing the effort. At a meeting in June at the Carnegie Library, Mayor Jackson E. Bush was authorized to appoint an executive committee with him-self as chairman to lead the movement. The following citizens composed the committee: J. E. Bush, chairman, C. 0. Summers, special chairman, W. B. Smith, B. M. Turner, C. H. Humphrey, J. C. Collier, B. H. Hardy, W. C. Jordan. Joseph D. Smith was selected to be in full charge of the cam-paign in Atlanta during the session of the legislature. He was ably assisted by many citizens as well as by the committee. Mayor Bush shared with J. D. Smith the responsibility of the effort before the legislature. When J. E. Bush was elected the first representative, and J. D. Smith the second from Lamar County, these two men received de-served recognition for their splendid work. The interest in the new county movement was general. To record the names of all who gave thought, enthusiasm, time and assistance to the cause would be to call the roll of the entire citizenship. United, wholesouled, concentrated effort brought the victory. Creation Of Lamar County Reproduced from THE NEWS-GAZETTE Barnesville, Georgia, Thursday, August 26, 1920 B. H. Hardy, Editor Hon. Thomas W. Cochran, Judge W.
Wallace Lambdin, Mr. Charles Hugh Humphrey, Mr. Frank M. Stafford. The
names of these four men are affectionately and sacredly recalled as we
rejoice over the passage of the bill creating Lamar County, because of
the earnestness and devotion with which they labored in their life time
in behalf of a new county here.
The people of Barnesville and of east Pike and west Monroe for years have had the new county in their system and had made up their minds to have a county of their own some day, with Barnesville as the county site. They had made three efforts in recent years, and although they had failed, they had been watching for their opportunity. For some months they had received suggestions that this year was the opportune time to make the fight again. There were several conditions which were strongly in our favor and in a general way the matter received the attention of the citizens without much progress being made. Some investigations were finally made which indicated pretty clearly that it was possible to win the county and it was agreed that if the fight was not made this year it would be futile to undertake it for some years to come. One evening early in June a meeting of citizens was called at Carnegie Library, when about 100 leading men of the city assembled. The discussion of the situation was participated in by nearly all of them, varied opinions being expressed and many suggestions being made. As a result of this meeting it was decided unanimously by those present that the effort should be made and Mayor J. E. Bush was authorized to appoint an executive committee, with himself as general chairman, who should have entire direction and supervision of the campaign, with the authority to appoint all the committees needed and to do whatever else they thought necessary to secure the creation of the new county. Mayor Bush named as the executive committee the following gentlemen: C. 0. Summers, who was made special chairman; W. B. Smith, B. M.. Turner, C. H. Humphrey, J. C. Collier and B. H. Hardy, Mayor Bush and Alderman W. C. Jordan representing the city council on the committee. At the meeting of the citizens at
the Carnegie Library, Prof. Joseph D. Smith wag unanimously and
enthusiastically selected as the one man above all others who should be
in full charge of the campaign, representing the citizens here, in
Atlanta during the session of the legislature.
Thus the campaign was opened and from that day the fight was on. The executive committee held meetings almost daily for some time, at which every phase of the campaign was considered and at which all the problems, many of them of the most delicate and important character, were threshed out and definite plans worked out and set in motion. From time to time other citizens were called into conference, among them Messrs. A. H. English, D. L. Anderson, L. A. Collier, R. A. Stafford, T. J. Berry, T. 0. Galloway, Dr. E. T. Holmes, all of whom cheerfully gave the committee the benefit of their interest and wisdom. Nobody will ever know how earnestly and faithfully this committee worked and how hard and difficult many of the problems were to solve which frequently confronted them. As was natural, particularly when there was such deep interest felt, almost every citizen had suggestions to make, which he thought just had to be adopted to make success certain, and out of these varied ideas and plans harmony had to be worked and one definite line of procedure fixed for the entire campaign. The work was soon well under way and with as little friction as possible the march toward success was on its way. Among the first things to be done was the raising of funds, as it was well known that a campaign like that for a new county involved tremendous expense. The citizens here responded most cheerfully and liberally and soon the fight was largely transferred to Atlanta, where the legislature had begun its sessions. On another page is published the names of all the contributors, as nearly as we could get the list at the present time, and if there should be any omission we would be glad to correct it, as these names are im-mortal, and will be handed down to future generations as participants in the creation of a new county in Georgia. Among those who worked patriotically in helping to raise the necessary funds, securing petitions and doing other necessary work here at home, are Messrs. L. A. Collier, E. G. Home, E. F. Maddox, C. M. Dunn, Gibbs Ponder, William T. Summers, T. J. Berry, J. A. Wellmaker, R. L. Swatts, J. W. Bush, E. Langford, J. T. Butler, R. P. Cotter, H. H. Holmes, W. D. Collins, N. A. Peacock, A. H. English, D. C. Collier, Riley Summers, T. J. Franklin, Z. T. Maxwell, L. C. Tyus, C. E. Stocks, Harvey Kennedy, E. L. Coleman, M. A. Bush, W. H. Crowder, J. W. Stocks, A. L. Jones, J. W. Garland, Joe H. Smith, C. H. Willis, A. L. Mills, Clark Bush, E. W. Brazier, nearly of these living in the city, and F. F. Haygood, Mel Bush, Luther Butler, H. E. Bankston, Frank Askin, C. C. Sykes, Jim Sappington, Jack Childers, J. C. Martin, and perhaps others in the territory of the new county. Mr. Edgar L. Cook, city clerk and treasurer, was elected treasurer to handle all new county funds. With the assembling of the legislature the contest was transferred very largely to Atlanta. Rooms had been reserved at the Kimball House, the center of practically all activities of this kind. Prof. J. D. Smith was on the job from the start, and in the meantime Dr. R. C. Woodard, of Adel, had been secured to direct our campaign, all our workers being instructed to place themselves absolutely under the direction of Dr. Woodard. Dr. Woodard and Prof. Smith, therefore, were our chiefs and their directions were followed and instructions obeyed by all our workers as completely as possible throughout the entire time. From the first day more and more it became necessary for our citizens to be in Atlanta to present our cause to the nearly 250 senators and representatives. Dr. Holmes, in another column, gives a splendid account of the work of a number of our leaders, particularly of our friends in the senate and house, which will be read with keen interest. This is only part of the story, however, for probably a hundred of our citizens were called there from time to time to do the work necessary to be done. Mayor J. E. Bush was among the
first to go to Atlanta and the last to leave, after the fifty-day
session was over, but he brought Lamar county back with him. No man was
ever more faithful or more consecrated to a task than he was to this
one and he proved to be an ideal man for the position which he
occupied. Everybody gives him the highest possible credit and he made
hundreds of friends among the legislators and those outside throughout
the state, which greatly aided our cause. The citizens here appreciate
him more than ever for the magnificent work he has done and the
wonderful results obtained. In addition to the superb work done by
Prof. Smith, there are several who stand out prominently for their
splendid efforts and results in behalf of Lamar. Among these Dr. E. T.
Holmes is con-spicuous, for he devoted his time and energy and ability
with telling results, as all are willing to freely admit, to the great
cause. He did a work which perhaps no one else could have done as well,
and no man of us was more perfectly consecrated to the task in hand.
Of course, what is said of Dr. Holmes can be said of almost every other person who labored at that end of the line. It is generally agreed that the new county could not have been won with the work of any one citizen left undone and everybody is anxious that the glory of victory be shared freely, fully and unselfishly among the whole bunch who so patriotically and devotedly laid themselves cut in the noble cause. Mr. J. C. Collier, for example, gave up his business for the time being, giving himself absolutely to the task, staying in Atlanta almost every day, directing himself to certain phases of the huge task which it was necessary to be done. Then there was Mr. A. J. Eley, who always responded definitely and promptly, doing the very thing assigned him, and getting results which entitle him a special praise, all agreeing that he was one of the most useful men engaged in the job. There was Col. Curtis Barrett, who rendered splendid service, and Dr. C. E. Suggs, who established such a record as has already made him an alderman of the city. There were also Messrs. B. M. Turner, Edward Elder, Joe H. Smith, Riley Summers, D. C. Collier, C. M. Dunn, Gibbs Ponder, all of whom were in Atlanta much of the time and always ready to do whatever came to hand. Special consideration and praise are due to Messrs. Luther Butler and Mel J. Bush for the fine work they did and it is fully appreciated. All these bore the brunt of the fight, having to meet the opposition at all times and at every turn. Perhaps a hundred different men from the city were in Atlanta during the session on some special errand, each of whom deserves praise but we can not undertake to name each of them, because we do not happen to recall each one. but nevertheless they are entitled to due credit and it would be a pleasure to publish the names of each individual. In this connection, the heart of every one familiar with the campaign is filled with gratitude for the special and very valuable services of two other men not directly included among our own citizens, namely, Col. Dorsey Blalock, of Waycross, who left his home and law practice to spend days and days in Atlanta zealously working with our forces, and Mr. Sam Jones, of Rome, who became equally interested, and who left no stone unturned which would aid our cause in any way. Both these gentlemen endeared themselves to our people by what they did during the contest. It took it all to win but we won and that is the supreme satis-faction which comes home to everybody in Lamar territory. The Lamar bill was introduced the first day of the session and it passed the house next to the last day of the fifty-day session. The untimely and sad death of Mr. C. H. Humphrey, who was vitally concerned in the movement and whose heart was fully in it, occurred the week the bill was set for hearing before a joint meeting of the senate and house committees, so that the hearing had to be postponed for a week. This unfortunate event cast a gloom over all our people and greatly depressed all our workers. This was a blow to the cause, which it took weeks to overcome. So wonderful and strong was the machine which was behind tha creation of Lamar County that its manipulators carried out their, plan to the letter, and although it was a tremendously hard fight they accomplished just what they started out to accomplish and just in the way they planned it from the beginning. The bill passed the senate early in the session by a vote of 34 to 8 and it passed the house August 10, 1920, by a vote of 134 to 48. Governor Hugh M. Dorsey signed the bill Tuesday, August 17, 1920, in the presence of Messrs. Joseph D. Smith, J. C. Collier and B. H. Hardy, the First National Bank of Barnesville furnishing the gold pen with which the bill was signed. The pen has been on display in the bank show window and will be permanently kept on display in the Carnegie Library. The Atlanta End Of The Game By E. T. Holmes The work done in Atlanta for the
creation of Lamar County was directed by Dr. R. C. Woodard, a
practicing physician of Adel, Georgia. Dr. Woodard was selected for
this important post because of the splendid work he had done in a
similar capacity in the contest to create Cook County.
That his right hand had lost none of its cunning was soon apparent to each of us who was sent to Atlanta to work under his direction. Who is Dr. Woodard? What manner of man is he and from whence does he come? These and similar questions have been asked all of us. As stated, he is a physician who enjoys a large town and country practice in and around Adel, Georgia. He is a typical country doctor in the best sense of this term. Easy to approach; quiet and pleasant in manner; sympathetic and patient; dignified and with just enough reserve to inspire and invite con-fidence; a close observer; an interesting talker and an excellent listener. He is alert and resourceful; a shrewd and accurate judge of men; a hard and fair fighter; keenly sensitive of every opportunity to press home an advantage and prompt and wise to make this advantage count for the most possible in the furtherance of his cause. He is a gentleman to the manner born, of clean habits, refined speech, elegant manners and attractive personality. Every man who was associated with him came back to Barnesville after several weeks of intimate daily contact, loving and respecting Dr. Woodard. He is as full of "pep" and energy as an egg is of meat and the words, "fail"' and "discouragement," are not in his vocabulary. He was our leader and director. We followed his lead and heeded his direction and we won. Dr. Woodard was ably assisted by such men as Representatives Zack Arnold, of Clay, A. S. Anderson, of Jenkins, Ed Wohlwender, of Muscogee, Robert W. Haynie, of Oconee, and John P. Knight, of Berrien. These men will be recognized at once as leaders both in the House of Representatives and in their respective communities. No higher compliment can be paid Dr. Woodard as a man and as a leader than the fact that such men listened to his counsel and followed to a successful issue in the line of his direction. The fiery eloquence and the impetuous and enthusiastic manner of Zack Arnold; the sledge hammer of logic and persuasive oratory of John Knight; the quiet, confidence-inspiring methods of Anderson; the cultured and dignified arguments of Haynie and the stormlike attacks of Wohlwender were not to be denied and next to the last day of the session when all hope for Lamar County had gone from the hearts of the folk back home, 134 members of the Georgia legislature were convinced of the justice of our cause and yielded to the mighty influence that had been thrown around them through private interviews, sincere importuning, impartial and fair presentations of lacts, eloquent and logical persuasion to cast their votes in favor of creating Lamar County. Let it be understood first of all, that we were peculiarly for-tunate in having Hon. J. P. Nichols, Jr., of Spalding County, to introduce the bill. Mr. Nichols' reputation and standing in the state commanded at once favorable attention to our cause and gave the bill friends and active supporters from the very first day. It was a glorious and hard earned victory, fought for every inch of the way against the most determined, unrelenting opposition that has ever been offered a similar piece of legislation in our state. Our citizens owe much to the gentlemen mentioned as well as to Senator H. H. Elders of the Second District and Senator R. C. Le-Sueur of the Twenty-third District. The opposition had not crystal-ized in the Senate but these men were alert and would have fought to the last ditch as our friends in the House fought, if our opponents had raised their hands against us. It was a long, hard fight and our victory, therefore, carries just a little more sweetness and satisfaction. What was the secret? First of all, confidence in our leader; second, perfect organization of our forces; third, enthusiastic, whole-hearted cooperation, the unwavering loyalty of our friends; last and above them all—the undisputed merit of the proposition and the powerful appeal it made to practically every one to whom it was presented.. Our organization extended to every detail and functioned daily. Each member of it was assigned his task and reported each evening on just what portion of this he had accomplished and on what portion he had failed. He usually added to his report the statement that if given a little more time, he would put the job across. Al-though our nightly counsels grew to the point where there were fifty men in attendance, no word of jealousy or bickering was heard. There was harmony of purpose and cooperation of effort every minute of the time. Such a spirit will create new counties and new almost anything else. We are profoundly grateful to our friends for their loyal and staunch support at a moment when we were all discouraged except that prince of good fellows, that wise leader, that never-say-die fighter, Dr. Woodard. Here's to them all and long may
they wave!!! (Reproduced from The
Barnesville News-Gazette, August 26, 1920)
Victory! The enthusiasm with which the victory was greeted is shown by the following article, reproduced from The News-Gazette, August 12, 1920: The Georgia Legislature Tuesday passed the Constitutional amendment creating the new county of Lamar from portions of Pike and Monroe Counties. Thus ended a fight for a new county which began more than fifty years ago, and which has been carried on with vigor during the past few years. When the result was realized by the new county advocates in Atlanta who were following the vote and when the news of the victory reached Barnesville a demonstration was begun, the like of which has never perhaps been witnessed in the Capitol and never known before in Barnesville. It is stated the legislative session was temporarily broken up by demonstrations in the gallery and halls of the Capitol and inside the House by Legislators who were appar-ently about as keenly interested as the Lamar people themselves. Barnesville itself broke loose in pandemonium when the wires brought the message that the bill had passed. The fire bell, steam whistles, automobile horns, fire arms and the voices of human beings, with almost everything else that would make a noise, all broke loose into noisy demonstration. Men, women and children ran here and ihere literally wild with enthusiasm and excitement. The scene can not be pictured—it had to be witnessed to be ap-preciated. It showed how deeply the people were concerned in the outcome of the great battle which they had been waging against such overwhelming odds. It was a great event, a great day, the consummation of a task to which the people had set their lives and they had a right to their jubilee.
|
