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V V I' > -mi ( w i ■ 1 K, * ■ 3 — ... 9 i«> rebate \ —\ : ’W -4-.. a. * < J T ► ► / VOL. XVI. HARRIS COUNTY. Something of its Geography, History, Soil, Climate, Products, Etc. Stretching from the Savannah riv¬ er to the Chattahoochee, entirely across the state of Georgia, is a belt of red land. This belt varies in width, but is clearly marked from one side of the state to the other. When the state was settled this belt, upland and lowland,was covered with a dense forest composed mainly of oak and hickory. It runs centrally through Hairis county, and in such high es¬ teem was this land held by the early settlers that not a foot of it was left unoccupied as soon as it was open to settlement. Thus as soon as western Georgia was open to settlement by the removal of the Indians to the east bank of the Chattahoochee, the coun¬ try was settled as if by magic. Hun¬ dreds of well-to-do farmers in the old¬ er counties of Putnam, Hancock,Mon¬ roe, Henry and the adjoining counties came into the new territory and gave it at once a population noted for thrift, intelligence and enterprise. These first families of Harris can be pointed to with as much pride as the first families of any country of the globe. The country was rich and it was settled by the thrift and enter¬ prise of the country contiguous. LOCATION. Harris county lies south of Troup, corners with Meriwether on the north east, has Talbot on the east, Muscogee on the south and Alabama on the west, from which it is divided by the Chattahoochee river, It is a little over twenty miles square, being some¬ what broader than it is long, and was laid off in 1828, from territory taken from Troup and Muscogee counties. The Indians left the country about a year before it was laid out. OUR MOUNTAINS. < £/ v . On the north-east corner o£ tfce county the Pine mountains enter its border and in a south-westerly direc¬ tion continue across it to the river, the chain being cut more and more frequently with gaps, until near the river it loq^s more like a succession of high hjlls.. South of the Pine mountains are tKe Oak mountains, 4 JOSEPH L.DENNIS, PROPRIETOR. running almost parallel to them, from one to five miles distant, the chain breaking off at Hamilton, which is near the centre of the county. The average height of the summit of these mountains is about 1500 feet above the sea level, the more lofty peaks rising two or three hundred feet above their neighbors. Their sides are cov¬ ered with forests of oak, pine and hickory, with an occasional grove of chestnut or growth of other hard wood. SOIL AND climate. The soil of the county has an un derlying red clay, which is frequently quite near enough to the surface to give its color to the soil. In localities however this clay is covered with a light gravelly soil, which gets to be sandy in places. Indeed it would be hard to tell which soil predominates, the red clay or the light gravelly, and it would be equally hard to deter mine which has the strongest friends, For certain crops one is the superior of the ' other, root crops gen erally succeeding better on the gray lands, while grain crops are supposed to mature better on the red lands. Cotton does well on both, maturing HAMILTON, GA., NOVEMBER 16,1888. -« o o Breathes there the man with soul so dead, Who never to himself hath said, This is my own my native land. Whose heart within him ne’er hath burned, As home his footsteps he hath turned, From wandering on a foreign strand. If such there be, go mark him well; For him no minstrel’s lays shall swell, High though his title, proud his name, Boundless his wealth as wish can claim Despite those titles, power and pelf, The wretch concentered all in self, Living shall forfeit fair renown, And doubly dying shall go down To that vile dust from whence he sprung, Unwept, unhonored and.unsung. A V —«•( ! O • » - — better on the gray, but being less sub ject to rust on the red. On many farms both soils are to be found. census of 1880. According to the census of 1880, Harris county has a population of 15,- 780. By districts the population is as follows: No. 672, Hamilton 1,703 “ 679, Whitaker's.... 2,204 “ 695, Ellerslie 1,352 u 696, Cataula 948 “ 703, Goodman’s.... 734 707, Lower 19th... 1,209 « 717, Blue Spring... 1,624 “ 781, Davidson’s... .1,004 u ^82, Milner 8 ...... 772 u 920 > ’ Whites^n©* 8 * *^769 « 934 VTaverly Hall 1,038 “ 1186, Upper 19 th.. . 887 “ 1247, Smith’s......1,200 manufactures. According to the census of 1880, there were in the county 29 manufac taring establishments, with $152,210 of capital, employing 66 males, above 16 years, 25 females above 15 years, and 25 children and youths. The wages paid during the year amounted to $20,625, the raw material rsed to $139,613, and the products to $193,- 480. But thirty-six counties in the ONE DOLLAR A YEAR, STRICTLY IN ADVANCE. state have a greater annual product of manufactured goods and only 23 have more capital invested. PRODUCTS OF THK COUNTY* By the census of 1880, we find the annual products to be: Barley, 1,551 bushels; corn, 238,452 bushels; oats, 48,220 bushels; rye, 230 bushels, wheat, 32,563 bushels; value of orchard pro¬ ducts $6,926; molasses, 10,998 gallons; rice, 1,505 pounds; cotton, 12,677 bales; Irish potatoes, 1,617 bushels; sweet potatoes, 51,603 bushels; tobac¬ co, 1,108 pounds. There are but ten counties in Geor¬ gia credited with producing more cot¬ ton annually than Harris. COMPARATIVE STATEMENT. The below shows the comparative product of a group of five neighbor¬ ing counties: Corn ill? nr*" *38.4^ Talbot *34.545 Marion I *4*.*45 16/800 * 3 ,« 3 * 6,169 Chattahoochee Muscogee . £9,059 75.441 VV 22,649 *5.019 2,485 4,460 3,*68 *,577 EDUCATION. 0 Never before in the history of the county has the interest in education been manifested that is now. There has been a public school in every neighborhood during the past sum¬ mer, and these have been unusually well taught and well attended. In several districts the public school fund has been supplemented by pri¬ vate subscriptions to secure better teachers and to secure a longer term than three months—the public schocl term. In some districts schooht are maintained for ten months in the year. Principal among these is THE WEST GEORGIA A. & M. COLLEGE. This institution is located in Hamii ton ’ It was established as a branch college of the State University by an Act of the General Assembly approved Sept. 28th, 1881, and at the Oct A *1 if! r term of Harris Superior courdK incorporate!^* ^ same year it was ith all the rights, privileges and imraum ties known to a college of this charac ter, and a local board of trustees or ganized, who manage and eontroPthe same, subject to the approval of the trustees of the University of Georgia, At the July session of the trustees of the University in 1882, the college was duly tendered ami accepted by NO. 45.