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TRADE EDITION.
HE ATITF-N" BANNER.
THE MAGNIFICENT PROGRESS OF
VERY ABLE WORK OF THE
aARKE
COUNTY
TRADE EDITION.
COUNTY;
COMMISSION.
The Road Improvement in This County Effected During the Past Few Years Has Given This County Fifty Two Miles of
Splendid Roaduay. Next Year the Work of Macadamizing Leading Country Roads Will be Begun. The New Bridges
Now Under Construction. The Improvements at the County Farm Have Been Many. Tax Rate Has Been Kept
Down to Very Low Figures and a Neat Surplus is in the Treasury. The New County Jail.
No county in the state hi* n more
thorough or competent body of mm in
charge of its business affairs than the
county of Olarke.
The actiye management of the busi
ness affairs of the county formerly was
in l lie hands of the ordinary, but by leg
islative aot in 1SSI7. the Board of Com
missioners of Koads and Hevenues was
established, Bince whii h time they have
been in charge of all these departments
of county busiuess.
The commission was organ'zed in
April 1838 and the first board was as fol
lows: Uessrs. W. W. Thomas, chair
man, T. F. Vincent and W H. Morton,
With G. H. Yanoey as clerk.
Capt. Thomas served only a few
monilis, resigning in July, 1868 and be
lug succeeded by Mr. J. M. Hodgson
Mr, Vincent was ohosen as chairman
and has held that position since that
date.
The commission as it now stands,
Messrs. Thomas P. Vincent, chairman,
W. H. Morton and S. M. Herrington,
with Mr. Howell 0. Erwin, clerk.
“ At first there was some donbt ex
pressed as to whether or not the ohange
in the manner of conducting the bust
ness of the connty would be successful.
The passing years have demonstrated
that this body ;has systematized the
business of the county in a wonderful
manner and that the affairs of the
oonnty were never in a better condition (
than at present.
Probably the best work done by the
connty commissioners has been the lm
provement of thooountry roadg through
out the oonnty. A year or two Defore
the organisation of the oonnty commis
sion there was an investigation made on
thissnbjeot and some effective work
done, bnt practically all of the perma
nent road Improvement has been done
since the commission was organized.
The commissioners have purchased road
machinery, stook and other equipment
r,t a cost of several thonsand dollars,
and thus equipped they have had muob
good work done upon the connty roads.
The worst roads in the connty were se
lected by the superintendent, Mr. Thom,
as P. Stanley, and the moat scientific
work was done upon these roads. They
were first brought to the proper grade
and[then put in a most serviceable con
dition.
In a number of Instances it was neo
cssary to oonstTuct entirely new roads in
order to ent oot the steep hills. In
every lnstanoe the new roads have
proved to be most satisfactory and the
heavy grades that had a tendency to
seriously retard trafflo were overcome
The farmers have appreciated these
changes and they have profiled very
mnoh thereby.
In 1800 the county commenced work
ing oonviota upon the publio roads and
the experiment has proved to be a suc
cess. It has cheapened the oost of road
construction materially and has been a
very economical step on the part of the
oonnty.
In order to facilitate the working of
I
MR W. H MORION.
the convictB on the public roiuls, u num
ber of tents are provided und they an
moved from section to section of tin
county wherever the roads may need
work upon them. From fifteen to thirty
convicts are kept busy on this road im
provement daring a largo portion of
each year.
The splendid road improvement work
has been earned on so successfully that
there are now fifty-two miles of Im
proved roadway in this oonnty and of
that there is n considerable portion in
new roads.
It has from the first been the inten
tion of the commissioners to ultimately
macadamize the roads throughout the
oounty, especially those roads leading
into the adjoining counties. The idea
was to get the roads in perfect shape be
fore the beginning of this work of mac
adamizing.
It i« believed now that such a con
dition of affairs will be obtained
by next year and that the work of
macadamizing will begin at that time
A strip of the roadway about sixteen
feet wide will be macadamized, and
that will afford ample passage room for
teams going in an opposite direction.
The commission has made thorough
investigation of this work by visiting
Mecklenburg county, North Carolina,
whore the best work of this kind has
been done. The details as to the mac
adamizing will be workod out before the
improvement is started. The work of
the commission in this particular de
partment of county work has been such
as to win the hearty commendation of
all tax payers.
Daring the past few years under the
direction of the commission a number
of needed public improvements have
beer made. A new jail has been con
strue' -i at a cost of about #ll 000. It t«
one of the model jails of the country,
both from the standpoint of safety and
he standpoint of sanitary arrangi non ts
The entire interior is of steel and ce
merit. It is well-ventilated and the
plumbing ai.rl health arrangements are
the best. On account of the fact that
t ederal prisoners are now xincaicprat^
here, the commissioners w ll take steps
at once to complete a portion of the
second story in order to provide more
room.
The vault ill the ofli :e of the Olerk o»
the Superior Court, fire proof in evert
respect and equipped with in tal repos
itories for the records, is one of tin
splendid improvements made in reoeni
years at a cost of about #1500. There is
now no county in the state where the
records are mou safely or more conven
iently kept. \
The court home has been thoroughly
repaired and an iron stairway has been
placed In the rear of the building at a
coat of SHveral huurin d dollars.
The bridges of -he county have been
kept In splendid condition and thr>e
new bridges have been constructed
The iron bridge over Cedar Creek
was coustruoted at a cost of #700. Th
Sandy Creek and Epps bridges over
Sandy Creek and Middle River respect
ively will oost when ootnpleted about
#-1,000 When this work is fiuished the
bridges of Olarke county will be in ex
oellent condition.
The improvement at the county farm
has been marked and deserves special
mention. A large new barn has been
erected to take the place of the burn
destroyed by fire, the convlot stockade
has been built and other necessary build
ings h tve been constructed.
The farm has for several years
been superintended by Mr. W. D.
Kelly who has been romarkably suc
cessful in the cultivation of vegetables
and grain crops, whioh have been used
in the support of the county paupers,
the convicts and the stock at the county
farm. In this way the oost of main
taining the poor and the couviots, us
well as the prosecution of the road im
provement work has been greatlv re
duced. At the farm there are now being
raised a number of fine Herkshire pigs,
the Idea being to tell them at reasonable
figures to the people of Clarke county
and thereby lnduoe them to raise more
hogs in this county. At n later date a
number of floe cows will be placed at
at the county farm with a similar end
in view.
During the past few years $8,500 has
been paid on the bouded indebtedness of
t le county and the only d bt owed by
the county now is $88,000 of 4 per cent
bonds, which will be told in a few
weeks to refund the old bonds to that
aninuui which were bearing 6 per cent
All this splendid work has been done
without increasing the tux ra'e In
fact, when the commiss'on fork charge
of the sll'airs of the county th - r„x rate
was #3 73 on the #1.000 and now it is
only #3 80. List year it rmnh d the
low figures of #3 0(1 In addnmii. the
county has in its treasury a neat surplus,
and it is also to be taken into considera
tion that the p-rfits coming to the
county from the dispensary now go to
the rural schools and not into the general
funds of the county
The commission is made np of three
of the most prominent rit<z-ns r f Ath
ens. Chairman Thomas I* Vincent is a
native Athenian and has riming his life
achieved much success. He has fur
years b.eu a -ucoesstni merchant, being
a pirtner in the large mercu tde estab
lishment nf ,1 icksnn & Vincent. He hss
served as c i>y alderman w i ft splendid
effect, has been president ,,t the Athene
Savings Hank and is now pre-ideut o,
the Athens Manufacturing Conipiny
No better man onuld he found In Olarke
connty for the position he holds.
Mr William II Morton is a leading
planter in this connty. a man who lias
nude an eminent success at. farming.
'-'"Util J IHI.U I1
during that time was the author of a
number of valuable improvements in
the methods of conducting the schools.
To him un re than to any other one man
is (lire the sple did school buildings now
owned by the connty. He is also the
ifriginator of the idea of using the die-
peusai v prt fi s entiling to the connty for
the development of the rural schools.
Judges. M. Herrington has long been
one of ilie leaiirs in this comity. For
twelve years he was the efficient ordi
nary of this county nod his thorough
knowledge of the conduct of the
comity’s business, gained while in that
office, as well as his natural ability.
serve to make him a most valuable mem
ber of the board.
Mr. Howell O. Erwin, clerk of the
commission, is a prominent young at
torney and is a most admirable and com
petent officer in his position.
Mr. Thomas 1*. Stanley, superinten
dent of road construction and bridge
work, is one of the best civil engineers
io the state, having had a great dell of
experience in all lines of his profession.
The condition if sff.trs in Clarke
connty is soch as to cause mnch con
gratulation. Herd.lit is on It #33 000
and could be paid t ff in a few years
with ease if such was desiri d She has
the sixth lowest tux rate in the state and
umong the counties doing perm met t
road improvement her n x rate is the
lowest. No county In Georgia has bet
ter facilities in every department of
publio work. Her school system, her
roads, her bridges, her connty farm, her
publio builtliugs are all up to the high
est standard.
It is a source of congratulation that
the affairs of Clarke county are in suoh
able bauds, and the furore welrare of
the county it thoroughly assured
AN IMPROVED COUNTRY ROAD.
ROAD SOENE.IN OLARKE COUNTY.