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■ VOL. 1—NO. TIIOMASVIL LE, GEORGIA, WEDNESDAY MOItNTNO, MAY 7, 185)0, $5.00 PERf^CTNOM to H T \ * to H o o il f) p* to <+ 8 % © 3 © © © © © © Cti © © P'T ©~ '-F — © 8 - © M—: «d e • ^ w? rs © P © H—‘ — • ?c h-*» c - c - © M a-* gc P uC pr p © SC p © PL A >-<• PL e© P" 35 d 0) a si H 0 H H <1 H t) ! HIGH WAYS AND BT-WAYS OF THOMAS COUNTY' Tis, INDEED, A GOODLY LAND. Homes of Plenty, and Plenty of Homes for all. Mrtenlfo Touched Up. I regret tliat an interval lias come between the letters commenced, three weeks ago, under the above bead, waa made necessary, however, by cir cumstane.es over which I had no con trol, and if I be allowed to control the future, it shall not occur again. I shall take my readers this week that part of the county contiguous to Metcalfe, before the Thomasville Monticcllo railroad was built, and consequently before the flottrishin: village was dreamed of, this section was covered with large plantations. Prior to 18(51, I use this term advi sedly, because I have grown tired of hearing the expression ‘‘Before the War,” there was no more prosperous section of the county, or indeed of Southern Georgia than this holt of country. Its fertile lands had made its owners rich • Such men as Dr. Isaac Mitchell father of T. C. Mitcldl. Wni. Ponder. Sagnr Foirest, John Montgomery Richard Thomas, Robert Iloddenbmy Elijah Neel, .Sheldon Swift, John I Parker, Wm Hof aril, had grown rich from the products of the soil, and their hoims wore fine types ot wlia the homes of the south were before tli dreadful scourge of war had passed over our fair southland. This may not lie the place nor th time to pay a t'ihuto to the men and women of the old south, but i cannot restrain the desire that wells up with in me, to say that they, the pioneers, in giving the world a type of civifiz; tion which, while il had its faults, wi as far superior to the shoddy tendency of the present age, as gold to the baser metals, Of these men it may truly said, they were all brave and hum hie, of the women, they were all fair and noble. When the days of railroads come after the war, and the country conti uous to them had begun to lake on t new life, it was hut natural that tricts remote from great arteries along which ebb nnd liow the tide of modern travel and trafiie, should fall in to the background. This was true of the section of which I am writing. In 18N8, however, a new day beam ed and it was the prccursorof a pcrioi that will bring a more substantial and abiding prosperity than this section has ever before known. August 27th of that year, the Thomasville & Mon ticcllo railroad was completed to Met calfc, and a month later it was opened to Monticello. It was my good for tune to be one of the first party from Thomasville that went down to .Met calfe, the young village among the pines ; Hon. S. G. McLendon chaper oned the party, and he did it, as lie does all such things, gracefully and well. The place had been so-called in com pliment to Dr. John T. Metcalfe oi New York, who has been and still re mains such a staunch Iriend to our county and people. When the village was located, T. C. Mitchell, who owned the lands of the west side ot the road, nnd James 8. Lilly, who owned those on the cast side ot the road, gave n half interest in one hundred acres ot land to the S. F. aDd W. RyC'o., and under the impe tus of this far seeing policy the growth of the village was rapid. W. D. Stegall had begun th* erec tion of a store house, even before the railroad was completed, and with J. II. Davidson, who had a contract on the road, opened a stock of goods a few days after the first train run to the place. A few weeks afterwards, Mitchell & McIntyre, of Thomasville, built and opened a branch store here, which they put in charge of J. 15. Thomas and Homer Young. R. II. Manning moved here from the neighborhood of lake Iamonia, and opened a business. Then T. J. Moutfort and C. C, Wheeler, hotli living across the Flori da line, opened a store in the thrifty young village. J. M, Ruskiii it .Son opened a mer cantile business from which the elder Mr. Ruskin retired a few months af terwards, his interest having been bought by F. A. Richter, of Cairo. In January, 188!), Dr. W. A. Mon roe and Mr. C. C. Wheeler opened a drug store next to Stegall it David son’s and they are still doing business at the same place. Dr. Monroe lias a fine practice, ex tending several miles in each direc tion Mr. E. N. Connell had been a partner with Mr. R. H. Manning when the latter first began business in Metcalfe, hut later, lie formed a co partnership with his father, Mr. W. T. Connell, nnd they are still doing business together. Both these gen tlemen are Floridians, and indeed quite a number of the citizens of Metcalfe claim the Land of Flowers as their birth place. In February of the present year, Messrs. Crenshaw it Crenshaw moved to Metcalfe from Centerville, Leon county, and opened n store imme diately ia fruit “f the depot. Hancock Brothers Ir.d operate.! a aw ill'll a ftw mi'es from Metcalfe, before the building of lie- railroad, which th :v moved to the place soon after the road was opened These nllemeii were unfortunate enough to lose their mill bv fire a few weeks ago, bti« they ere re building and in a few weeks its merry tune will again he The same gi-nlleinen started a steam gin here las*, fall and they -red oui many hales of the fleecy q.V. In the spring of 1889 Reynolds & Wilkes opened a blacksmith and wood shop in Metcalfe, and they are doing ood business. Mr. Reynolds is one of the best known citizens of the county; Mr. ' ilkes moved here from Columbus. N T . S. Eaves the well-known Thom asville contractor and builder put up the first houses 111 Metcalfe; after.'ards Mr. \. S. White built sever"! stores and residences. W. J. F. Hinson has a!-o consltuc ted a number ol houses here, among them the Methodist and Baptist churches. Mr. Hinscn is a na'ive of North Carolina though he Ins been a citizen of Thomas county for a num ber of years. L. V. Rackley, another worthy son of the Old North State has beer, in Metcalfe about 18 months, and his ork as a contractor and builder is to be seen on every hand. W. H. Sanders has recently opened livery stable in the village, and he is prepared to furnish the public with teams. J rectinn. The building has not been finished as yet, lmt the necessary money has been subscribed and work will begun in a few days and contin tied until the church is ready for oc- citpancy. Tito Friendship congrega tion still use their old church, but as soon as the new one is finished it will lie occupied, Rev. T. A. White is the devoted pastor, and his eloquence in tile cause of his Master, and his zeal for the welfare of his congrega tion hears abundant fruit. In the fall of 18811 Mr. T. C. Mitch- ell, with his usual liberality, gave the ground on the hill on the west side of the railroad as a site for a Methodist church, and work was begun on the building soon afterwards, When the church building is finished it will he one of the charges of the Thomas county circuit. W. (to he i'oxtixceh) Close up that railroad subscription. E. J. Freeman, of Camilla, was in the city yesterday. Dr. E. 1’. Rose, of Fayetteville, N. C., is registered at the Gulf. Touch elbows on the railroad ques tion, and close up the subscription. Mr. J. \V. Malone, wife and daugh ter ol Quincy, Fla., were guests of the Gulf yesterday. One and it half incites of rain fell on Monday; and every drop of it was needed. Mr. R. W. Dialling left yesterday for .1 tr p to Savannah, Jacksonville, and ti er points. Conductor Palmer is running the ■ Ibany passenger ia the absence of Conductor I.ike, v;lm with his family have been visiting in Savannah. Rev. C. I. I,a Roche left yesterday morning for Milledgcville to attend a meeting ot ministers of the Episcopal church, which is mnv in session there. SIGNAL SERVICE BUREAU AT li. Thomas Jr's' 126 Broad Street. G-S-Bondurant Volunteer Observer Weather Itiilletin for the 21 hours ending nt 7 o’clock I*. M., Slav 4 1890. Tkmi’Eiiatuii-:. 7 a. in OH 2 p. in C 5 7 p. 70 Maximum for 24 hours 77 Minimum '• " " 0.7 Ruin-fall 00 Continued rains, stntionuly temperature. Three of a Kind. That was an unusual spectacle seen on Madison street yesterday, when three runaway teams were seen dash ing down the street at the same time. And nary a driver held the lines. A long eared mule, attached to a wagon a horse and buggy, and a pair of grays minus tiro vehicle formed the proccs sion ; and it .moved rapidly. They cleared the street of pedestrians in short order. They all brought up in the neighborhood of Mr. Clifton's car riage repository. Quite a large crowd gathered to sec what damage had been done. With the exception of a broken tongue, tin uncoupled wagon and some damage to harness, but lit tle harm was done. Mess. Henry Hoffman, of New York, and f.eo Frank, d Savannah, were among the commercial men at the Gulf yesterday. lion. Isaac Alderman was in town yesterday, lie reports au unusually heavy rain over the river on Monday. It was a regular ligluwood knot floater. CHURCHES AXI) SCHOOLS. Friendship Baptist churchy was or ganized many years ago, nnd it is, perhaps, one of the oldest churches organized in the county. The church building is about two miles from the illagc, and is surrounded by one of the finest oak groves in the state. Near the church is a cemetery, in which sleep many of the earliest settlers of this part of the country, men and women that made their impress on the day in which they lived, and now sleep peacefully neatli the shadows of the oaks. Soon alter the completion the railroad a move was make to build a better church for the Friend ship congregation in Metcalfe. Mr. Lilly gave the land on which the butld- I'he L. A N. Ry. has placed adver tising matter in the Mcnon Route oif’. a here, and Mr. Glading will lie pleased to give any information in his power. The English sparrow ought, if possi ble, to be exterminated in Thomasville, before they get so numerous that it will he- impossible to do anything with them. The monthly meeting ot the Gene ral Benevolent, Society will he held to day, Wednesday, at -1 o’clock, p. m, at the Public Library. A full at- eiidance is earnestly requested. Mrs. E‘ M. Smith, Pros. Miss Jn.tA Stark, See. The spring fights opened in Thom asville ,'yesterday on .Jackson street, lit the neighborhood of the express office was the scene of the conflict. A piece af a puling tigured in the me lee, and a wa r nnt for an assault will lurthcr figure in the early spring drama. They are Just the Same Here. The Marietta Journal pays the fol lowing pretty tribute to the pretty women of Marietta: There is no question about it, Marietta is full of pretty women. They are here in budding girlhood and blooming womanhood—single and married—bright and charming, pure and true, lovely and lovable.” There is a certain young man here wlio, since the meeting of the Sunday School Convention, will endorse the extract; at least in so far as one young lady in Marietta is concerned. Here Arc the Premiums. The to'al amount ot premiums that will be paid at the coming stale fair at Macon is $10,000. The prizes for best individual agricultural display are as follows: First, $300; second, 200; third, $150, and fourth, $100. All articles in individual displays can go to make up the county displays, giving counties a chance at $4,000 in premi ums. The highest agricultural premi um will ho for the best county display, Si,200, In all $3,000 will given to counties. There will be three other prizes, giving all a show. Second, 8900; third, $500; lourtli, $300. In all departments an increase of 10 to 50 per cent, lias been made in premi ums, running up the grand total to 810,000. We hope Thomas county will reach out for some of these rich plums. The many friends of Mr. Anton P. Wright j r., will he pleased to learn that he has won a champion debaters place tit the coining commencement of the State University, at Athens. This will he the more gratifying when it is known that lie will he the young est debater in titc contest, and that, alhougli in tlie Junior class, he won the place over a number of brilliant young men in the Senior class. A New Industry for Whigham. Wiiihiiam, G.v., May •">.— Dirt was ing and the public spirited citizens of broken here to day for a cotton seed the village and the surrounding eoiin-I oil mill and fertilizer factory. The try gave liberally of their substance, I orders for lumber and other material and the neat edifice that points hcav- j have been placed, and the building onward with unerring finger is a ■ and equipments will lie pushed to monument to their efforts in this <li- 1 completion, Savannah was struck by a forty mile an hour gale on Monday. No great damage was done. Atlanta is, already, doing some good blowing for her exposition this tall. They always "get there” in At lanta. The Washington correspondents have relumed to Washington from Au gusta. They were delighted with their trip and reception. An army ot drummers have invad ed Atlanta. They will he right roy ally entertained in the Gate City. It is Atlanta’s way of doing things. A small cyclone struck Camilla and vicinity on Monday morning. Sev eral houses were unroofed. No lives lost. The blow was quite severe at Albany, considerable damage being done ill that city also. Mrs. Ann Hyde, the widow of a veteran of 1812, is the oldest pensioner in the United States. Just wait about a iiuncred years i and you'll hear lots of fellows telling how they run the rebels at Bull Run, when they step up to draw their pen sions. They should not forget to state that they worked in the lead on that Sunday in July, iS6t. Call and see our New Challies, New Drapery Nets,New Fans and many other New Goods. LE YY’S HOUSE! MITCH KM. HOCBfi CORNER.)