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DEDICATED TO THE PROGRESS
OF CUMMING AND FORSYTH COUNTY
CUMMING, GEORGIA
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Miss Donna Brown was named Lanier Junior Miss in a
recent pageant sponsored by the Forsyth County Jaycettes.
Miss Brown, seated at center, is a student at Forsyth County
High. Other girls who took honors in the pageant are (1-
Two Killed In Traffic
Two persons died in traffic mishaps
late last week—a Forsyth County man
who was struck while walking across
Fire Dept. Show
Tickets On Sale
Tickets to the Country And Gospel
Music Show Dec. 1 for the Forsyth
County Volunteer Fire Department can
now be purchased at four locations.
Mrs. Jimmy Freeman of the Fire
Department’s Ladies Auxilliary said
tickets are available at Hurt and
Moore’s Store and Lester’s Sawnee
Mountain General Store in the Matt
Community; at Mill’s Fuel Service on
U.S. 19, and at Wilson and Co. in Cum
ming.
Hugh Jarrett, from the Country Music
Park and the Rise and Shine T.V. Show,
will be singing and emceeing the show
which to date includes:
The Lanierland Band, Rafael
Picklesimer, Carol Goforth, The
Rhythm Masters, Wanda Freeman, The
Little Dancing Wonders, The
Gospelettes Quartet, The Bennett
Sisters, The Gospel Echoes of
Alpharetta, The Pruitt Family and
Butch Evans.
Proceeds for the show will go toward
the purchase of a new fire engine.
Almost Every Family Had A Milch Cow
By ROY BOTTOMS
Editor’s Note: Historian Roy Bottoms
is a native of Forsyth County who now
resides in Rome, Ga. His brother is
Forsyth’s Dr. Ralph Bottoms.
Forsyth County, Georgia, was created by an
act of December 3, 1832, from the original
Cherokee and named after the Honorable John
Forsyth, a native of Virginia, who came with
his father to Georgia at four years of age and
rose to prominence while a very young man.
He became attorney-general of Georgia, a
representative in Congress, a Senator, then
minister of the United States to Spain. He was
again elected representative in Congress, next
Governor of Georgia, then a second time its
Senator in Washington, and finally a Secretary
of State of the United States.
BOUNDARIES
This county is bounded by the following
counties: Dawson on the north, Hall on the
east, and Hall and Gwinnett on the southeast,
Fulton on the south (formerly Milton until
1932), and Cherokee on the West. The county
ranked 83rd in the order of creation and it
contains 223 square miles in its total area. The
county seat is Cumming, who served with
distinction in a number of positions in Georgia.
RIVERS
The Etowah River flows through its nor
thwestern corner, while the Chattahoochee and
one of its branches borders the county on the
east and southeast. Tributaries of these rivers
water the western and northern sections of the
county. There are many creeks and branches
that eventually flow either to the Chat
tahoochee or the Etowah Rivers.
THE LAND IN 1901
The bottom lands of the rivers were very
fertile and the valley lands produced good
mvvn FORSYTH RTfIUTg
1 fill COUNTY lICIVvS
LXVI
LANIER JUNIOR MISS
U.S. 19 and an Atlanta woman who was
killed in a collision in Pilgrim Mill Road.
James Marcus Key, 23, of Route 6,
Spot Road, Cumming, suffered
massive head injuries when he was hit
by a 1968 Dodge on U.S. 19 2.5-miles
north of Cumming about 6:30 p.m.
Friday.
The car was driven by Byron Wright
Goodson, 21, of Route 2, Dawsonville.
State Patrol Cpl. J.D. Spurgeon
reported Key was pronounced dead at
Ingram Funeral home in Cumming.
An Atlanta civic and church leader
was killed Thursday in an automobile
accident in Cumming as she was en
route with her husband to the couple’s
vacation cabin at Lake Lanier.
Mrs. Monica Bell, 70, wife of retired
Coca-Cola Co. executive Hunter Bell Sr.,
was killed in a collision with another
vehicle, which police said occurred
inside the Cumming city limits on
Pilgirm Mill Road.
A former president of the Atlanta
Junior league, Mrs. Bell was a member
of the Cathedral of St. Philip. Her home
was at 4253 Wickersham Drive. NW.
Bell, who is also a former city editor of
The Atlanta Journal, was listed in good
condition Thursday night at Piedmont
Hospital.
Mrs. Bell also is survived by two sons,
crops of cotton, corn, wheat, rye, oats, tobacco,
fruits, and vegetables. The average produc
tion to the acre of the lands of the county under
improved methods was about 25 bushels of
corn, 25 of oats, 15 of wheat, 15 of barley, 10 of
rye, 200 bushels each of Irish and sweet
potatoes, 10 to 15 bushes of field-peas, 50
bushels of ground-peas, 500 pounds of seed
cotton, 400 pounds of crab-grass hay, 1,000 to
1,500 pounds of Bermuda grass hay, 600 pounds
of clover, 500 pounds of corn fodder, and 100
pounds of sorghum syrup.
The best hay made in the county at the time
was pea-vine mixed with sorghum and crab
grass. Vegetables of every kind, apples,
peaches, plum, and other fruits matured well
and were in great profusion. There were no
fruit farms in 1901, but nearly all farmers had
orchards, and sometimes a wagon load would
be carried to the Atlanta market. There were
no diary farms in the county at this time, but
almost every family had one, and some two or
more, milch cows. The Jersey was regarded as
the best milker, and the Durham and Devon
were preferred for beef.
CENSUS OF 1890
This census showed that cattle numbered
4,985, of which 403 were working oxen and 2,133
were milch cows. These cows yielded 602,371
gallons of milk, from which were made 210,081
pounds of butter, and 75 pounds of cheese. The
domestic fowls of all varities aggregated
98,297, and produced 107,427 dozen eggs. The
honey collected amounted to 20,187 pounds.
There were 820 horses, 1,460 mules, 8 donkeys,
and 7,683 swine. The sheep numbered 1,006 and
yielded 1,293 pounds of wool.
For summer pasturage, Bermuda, crab
grass, and broom sedge grasses were used; for
winter, it was chiefly rye. The feed for cattle
was pea-vine hay forage, fodder, shucks,
cotton seed meal, and corn meal brand.
The forest growth was chiefly second growth
pine, hickory, and the varities of oak. In 1890
there were nine steam sawmills, and two mills
run by water. Most of the sawmills were
r)Kathy Lee Martin, winner of the talent contest and
congeneality awards; Karen Watson, third runner up; Sandra
Hamby, second runner up; Becky Pinson, first runner up; and
Judy Thompson, winner of the scholastic award.
Hunter Bell Jr. of Atlanta and Reginald
Bell of Albany; sister, Mrs. C. Lee
Bowen of Maitland, Fla., and brother,
Noel Ripley, who resides in England.
Funeral arrangements are in
complete, but the family has requested
that in lieu of flowers contributions be
sent to the Atlanta Speech School.
Three Forsyth County men and a
juvenile face multiple charges in con
nection with a series of recent thefts and
burglaries.
Forsyth County Sheriff Donald Pirkle
said the young men are charged in
connection with several soft drink
machine burglaries, a burglary at the
high school two weekends ago and the
theft of a car.
Jimmy Hester, 19, of Tribble Gap
Road, has had bond set at $70,000 on
charges of theft by taking, theft by
receiving, burglary and auto theft. Bond
for Bobby Jones, 19, of Canton Road,
Cumming, is set at $55,000 for like
charges.
A property bond of $55,000 was posted
FORSYTH COUNTY’S HISTORY
Four Young Local Men
Held In Theft Charges
portable and could be moved to a farm where
the surrounding neighbors would cut their
trees and bring them to be sawed into lumber.
There were nine flour and grist mills and
twelve corn mills in the county, along with one
tannery.
CLIMATE AND SCHOOLS
The climate was considered to have been
healthful, the water was clear and pure, and
the people were considered to be kind and
hospitable. There were public and private
schools, with the Hightower Institute, a Baptist
school, and the Hopewell Academy belonging
to the Methodists. There were churches for the
Methodists and Baptists, with the latter being
the more numerous.
REPORT FOR 1900
The county contained 152,981 acres of im
proved land, averaged at $4.03 per acre and
2,280 acres of wild land, with an average value
of $.66 per acre; city property listed at $31,515;
money as $156,092; merchandise at $46,294;
household furniture at $57,100; farm animals
at $141,237; plantation and mechanical tools at
$36,545; watches, jewelry, etc., at $1,863. The
value of all other property was $24,846; real
estate, $772,715; personal estate at $461,654.
The aggregate of all property was $1,244,369.
Property returned by the black people was
1,991 acres of land valued at $6,320; money as
$285; city property as $275; household fur
niture, $1,469; watches and silver, at $22; farm
animals $3,482; plantation and mechanical
tools, $554; value of all other property was
$102.00. The aggregate value of all property
was $12,509. The tax returns of 1901 had a gain
of $70,509 in the value of all property over the
returns of 1900.
The population of the county in 1900, by color,
was made up of 5,161 white males and 5,306 c
white females, for a total white population of
10,467. The total black population was 1,083,
composed of 544 black males, and 539 black
females.
According to the United States Census of
1900, Forsyth County ginned 7,449 bales of
WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 21, 1973
'Rumors' Checked
As Insurance Paid
State agents and a fire marshall’s
investigator continued to press their
probe this week into the suspected in
tentional burning of the Forsyth County
Courthouse.
“We’re running down a lot of rumors,”
Food Program Starts
For Forsyth Elderly
The Georgia Mountains Planning and
Development Commission announced the
implementation of the nutritional
program for the aged in Forsyth County.
The program includes two meals per
week for as many as 50 people 60-year
old or older. The program has no income
guidelines but is aimed at the older
person who is socially isolated.
The program includes recreation,
social activities, educational programs
and plans for projects to help senior
citizens remain active and useful
members of the community.
In connection with this program, two
home-maker home health (HHH) aides
have been hired in Forsyth County. They
are under the supervision of the Forsyth
County Health Department and are
available to go into the homes of shut-ins
and do many small chores.
In many instances this makes the
difference between an elderly person
being able to remain in their own home
for Davie Hubbard, 17, of Route One,
Cumming in the same case.
A hearing to try to bind the youth who
is a juvenile over to the Superior Court
for trial has been set for Monday, the
sheriff said.
The quartet is charged in connection
with various heists earlier this month
including thefts at Calvin Thompson’s
Grocery Store, the home of Liverette
Heard and the school, the sheriff said.
Auto theft charges stem from the theft
of a car Nov. 12 or 13 from Jimmy
Youngblood, the sheriff reported. The
car and miscellaneous items including a
projector and camera have been
recovered.
said Agent Ray Pinyan of the Georgia
Division of Investigation (DOI).
Pinyan said he and other agents are
seeking suspects in the case. Larry
Cornett of the State Fire Marshalls
Office is handling the physical evidence
or being institutionalized. Our HHH
aides are Reba Payne and Mildred
Fowler.
Another part of the program is the
social services component. Shirley Saine
has been hired as Human Service
Worker for Forsyth and Dawson
Counties. She will be visiting par
ticipants in the program in their homes
with information on health, social
security, consumer buying and many
areas which concern people.
A van has been purchased and will be
available for transporting people to and
from the site and for special trips.
The meals will be served in the
fellowship hall of the Cumming United
Methodist Church on Mondays and
Fridays beginning Dec. 3.
Lara Martin has been hired as the Site
coordinator for Forsyth and Dawson
counties and will be coordinating the
nutritional programs in these counties.
Charles Ingram, chairman on the
County Resources Committee of the
newly established program has
arranged for members of the Georgia
Mountains Planning and Development
Commission to conduct an orientation
meeting at the Forsyth County Bank
next Wednesday, at 2:00 p.m. Anyone
interested in the program is invited to
attend this meeting.
Persons interested in the program as a
participant or as a volunteer worker
should contact Lara Martin, the Site-
Coordinator at 887-6255. They may also
secure more information from the
Health Dept, or the Dept, of Family and
Children Services.
Matching funds with the federal
government have already been
arranged. The funding is secured from
the federal government for the first
three years on an 80 per cent basis
however volunteer labor can be con
sidered as our part of the matching
funds.
upland cotton. Most of the county products
were marketed at Buford and Duluth, on the
Southern Railway, and some in Atlanta. The
county has never had a railroad within its
boundaries.
.« ~ "* - -790?
In 1900, the old bridge crossing Settendown Creek near the millhouse, was washed away in a
“flash flood”. B.L. Fowler, the miller, hired John Wofford, a millwright, to build a new bridge.
Fowler sawed the lumber from the heartwood of poplar trees, and William Wright “turned” the
round pegs for the latticed framework. However, Wofford failed to carry through with the
contract, after discovering that the peg holes had been bored in the wrong places, and “Bud”
Gentry completed construction of the covered bridge in 1901, Forsyth Co., Ga. (Illustration by
Raine McGary)
ISSUE 47
CUMMING IN 1900
There was beautiful scenery around Cum
ming and the town population was 239, with the
Cumming district having 1,808. The public
Continued On Page 5
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at the scene of the courthouse which was
gutted by fire Nov. 5.
No arrests have been made in con
nection with the burning but authorities
still regard it as a case of arson.
Meanwhile County Commissioners
received the first of at least two checks
from the insurers of the courthouse.
Charles Welch of Cumming Develop
ment Co., agents for Commercial Union
Insurance Co., of Atlanta, presented the
commission with a check for $165,000.
The amount covers insurance on the
building.
County Commission Chairman Her
man Hamby said department heads
have been asked to provide an inventory
of goods on hand when the fire took
place. Afterward the county will be paid
for damages to contents according to the
terms of the policy.
Hamby said the $165,000 has been
placed in a savings account to accrue
interest until the county decides on a
plan to replace the courthouse.
Wreckers went to work levelling the
ruins of the courthouse last week. The
two story courthouse with clock tower
was down to a ten foot pile and expected
to be cleared soon to make way for the
temporary placement of trailers on the
courthouse grounds.
The three trailers are expected to be
installed an in operation by Monday.
They cost the county just under SII,OOO
and will probably serve as a court for
two years or more.
County Commissioners have posted a
$2,500 reward for information leading to
the arrest and conviction of suspects in
the case. Hie governor’s office kicked in
an additional $250.00.
Community
Thanksgiving
Service Set
A community Thanksgiving Day
worship service will be held at the
Cumming United Methodist Church
at 10 a.m. Thursday.
Rev. Bob Bowling of the Methodist
Church said the special service is
being sponsored by his church, the
First Baptist Church of Cumming
and the Deer Creek Shores
Presbyterian Church. Everyone is
invited to attend.
The service will also be broadcast
on Cumming radio station WSNE.