Newspaper Page Text
Dade County’s Only Newspaper.
VOLUME LV
DALLYIN’ IN DADE
Charles Bible Reminisces. . .
After the Indians were
out cf this part of the
the state of Georgia held
drawing in Matherville in
•to deter mine how the
would be divided.
One cf the homesteads
ed in Dade County went to
latin Stephens of
County, who was Mr.
Bible’s great,
The property, which now
eludes 226 acres o f
and cultivated land, has
in the family through five
erations.
Indian Mill ..... on. Farm c,
An old Indian mill, built
proximately in 1819, w r as
on the farm when Mr.
came to the county. It w,as
only one of its kind
twenty-five miles, s o
came in wagons to get
com ground into meal,
times camping for weeks
the work was done.
During the Civil War,
ern troops camping in Clover-
dale tore down the mill. It
repaired after the war and
e r a t e d by Guy and
Stephens until the flood of
completely destroyed it.
ous .arrowheads and other In-
dian relics have been plowed
on the farm since it has
cultivated, and Mr. Bible
has a tomahawk and a
used for grinding corn
his pcxssessions.
Born im 1884
An interesting fact about
Stephens and Bibles is
through each generation
oldest child has been a
Mr. Charles Bible was the
son born to Phillip Gallatin
Louisa Jane Forester Bible
1884 cn the Murphy place
Head River. Although his
.ents lived at Cloverdale,
were staying with the
Foresters at the time of
birth.
His first year in school
spent at the Cloverdale
as a pupil of his father. He
members that the only
pings he ever got in school
these his father gave him.
attended the state line
for some time. It was a
school, unusual in those
since the other county
were taught cn a
basis, but since the school
built exactly on the state
Alabama paid half the
while Dade County paid
other half. His last year
school was spent at
Tenn.
Mr. Bible recalls the
school teachers he had
the years: Mr. George
Cole History Began With Successful Test tor Coal
Before the turn of the centu¬
ry and a few years afterwards,
Dade County went through a
period which old-timers cal'
“the boom”.
Two major industries were
in operation in the county and
businesses flourished. Trade was
centered at Rising Fawn, where
the iron furnace was located,
and at the coal mines on Sand
Mountain.
The Dade County Times will
attempt to give its readers a
stcry of the county as it was
from the years before the Civil
War up to 1907, beginning with
the stcckade a t Cole City, or
Coal City as it was originally
called. With the help of the
county’s older r e s i dents, we
were able t o begin compiling
facts which eventually will be
written into a history of Dade
County.
We are indebted to the follow¬
ing who assisted cur first efforts
to gather a history cf Cole City:
Mrs. W. G. Morrison. Sr., Mrs.
Janie A. Blevins, and Messrs.
Charles Prince, W. P Cole, W.
H. Dugan and Virgil Stewart.
Coal Mines Worked By ConFicts
Following a successful test
.
for coal on Sand Mountain at
a place which is new known as
Cole City, it is believed that a
company headed b y Gov. Joe
Brown, called the Dade Coal
wli
Devoted to the Best Interests of Dade County and Georgia.
TIIE DADE COUNTY TIMES, TRENTON, GEORGIA, THURSDAY JULY 28. 1.955
By Myrna McMahan
the same time Mr. p. g. Bible
a Mr. Massey and Misses
Bonnie Blevins, Effie street,
Pace and McGuffy.
; Worked 7 l'ears in Michigan
j From 1907 to 1914, Mr. Bible
worked in Michigan, first at a
wagon and furniture factory,
t-hen a.s a sawmiller on Lake
Boisblough. During this time, he
owned a small passenger boat
an d was licensed as a captain,
He was a goed swimmer, too, sc
the years he spent on the lake
were very pleasant,
I It was i n Michigan that he
met Miss Edith L. Warren who
was to . , become . his . wife ... m ... 1914, .
j us j. before Christmas. The
COU p] e journed to Cloverdale on
£be j r wedding trip and upon
their return to Michigan, found
the Mackinaw Straits com-
pietely frozen up. The remain-
der 0 | their honeymoon was
S p erd traveling by train, dory
and s ] ed hack to Boisblough.
The place was too isolated to
raise a family> so t he Bibles
moved to cloverdale at the end
f. be year. Mr. Bible was in
m health and wan ted his son
|_ 0 ^ ake c harge of the farm, they
settled in a house Mr. Charles
Bible bad he i psd to build when
be was sU11 a boy .
Nine children were bern to
them. The third child drowned
at the age o£ twenty-two
mon ths in a half-barrel of wat-
er in the frunt yard . M r. Bible
feels it is ironical that he has
saved four persons from drown-
during his life.
Operates Sawmill on Farm
1925, he bought a sawmall
an 'd has operated it ever sinle
cn f arm -
The community has changer
considerably since Mi. Bib e
came back to the faim. The
change has been all f o i the
,
J better, he thinks, with the farms,
roads and churches all sioAint,
marked improvement.
He and Mrs. Bible try to do
their part in the community,
and art members of the Clover-
dale Baptist Church. Both have
served as Sunday School sup¬
erintendents and a s teachers.
He was trustee of the Clover-
dale school before it was dis¬
continued. He w as a charter
member of the Farmer’s Co-op,
serving as director .for three
years. He has been a Farm Bu¬
reau member since its organi¬
zation, and his opinions- and
advice o n farming have long
been respected.
With The Armed Forces
Pvt. James A. Price has com¬
pleted basic training at Fcrt
Leonard Wood, Mo., and is now
stationed as a panel bridge in¬
at Fort Bragg, N. C.
Co., was the first to begin min
ing for coal. Gov. Brown was
an cld man at the time and ai
so owned the Rising Fawn fur¬
nace, and it is said that before
his rise in politics, his career
began with the raising of col-
lards.
Otjier compani^ which oper¬
ated the mines were Southern
Steel, owners of the furnace, the
Gordons of Atlanta, who intro¬
duced slave labor to the mines,
apd the Georgia Minerals Co.
The Gordons operated the camp
before the Civil War, closing
down during the skirmish to re¬
open after the war. The Miner¬
als Co. was the last outfit to
cwn property before the coal
supply ran out.
The mines were worked by
white and colored convicts, the
majority of the latter race. They
were leased from the state of
Georgia along with a few color¬
ed women prisoners who sewed
the traditional striped prison
garb and performed household
and maid duties for the wives
of company officials.
Stockade On Bluff
The prisoners numbered from
500 to 1,000 and were housed
in a stockade built of pine
planks and located near a bluff.
The encircling wood fence was
of vertical 2 inch boards sharp¬
. ■ v*,.----- " - Wyjr*
. (FCDA Photo)
‘CALAMITY JANE,’ the Federal Civil Defense when disaster strikes, and people must be dug
Administration’s rescue truck, packs a wallop from debris. The $ 9,000 truck contains 300 pieces
more potent than its namesake’s six-shooters of rescue equipment of 99 different types.
Blevins Youth Self
Rosroe Blevins,
sen of Mr. and Mrs. Noah
ins of Rt. 1, Rising Fawn,
cidentally hanged himself Fri-
day afternoon in the
woodshed. He died from
cation after being knocked
conscious by the sudden
of a leather noose against
jawbone.
It was believed that he
been swinging on a
hitching rein which was tied
Farm Week 24 Thru 30
This week has been pro-
claimed as National Safety
Week, 1955, by the President
the United States o f America.
This is the twelfth year that a
week has been pracla.med . . , as
Farm Safety Week.
Ycur Safety is in your hands:
In your Community, in
home, on your farm and on the
highway. 1
In the home, accidents should
not happen. Fatal falls are ‘ ■ 3 ®t
by broken steps, slippery
floors, weak ladders, by toys and
cther objects left on stairs and
other I* Place* where „ ;horp they thpv should , hn „i d
not be. Burns and scalds are
caused b y carelessness w i t h
stoves, burning trash, cigarettes
kerosene, gasoline cleaning
fluids and by leaving matches
cr hot water in reach of child-
ren. More fatal home accidents
to farm children under 5
ened at the top to form points, . 1
The:e were barely enough
guards tc keep order and enough
company officers to get the
out when the prisoners were
first brought to the
Each day they were marched .
down the buff ° ^
wearing leg shackles Trenches
were worn through the
on the limestone steps
mine entrances b y the heavy
legs and waists and fastened
together The trustys were al-
low'cd to walk about freely. One
lrUSty l a
a janitor at the , school
years ’
daily , ,, marches, .
During the
heavily-armed guards • s ^ :r ° an
ded the men who were further
watched by guards in
hacks around the mine
trances.
Among the Dade
guards still living today
Charles Prince, oldest
member of the group, W.
Cole, Joe Dcyle, W. H. Dugan
and Chris Avery. Mrs. W.
Cole’s father, William
was a convict boss for several
years.
Given Tasks For Day
Each prisoner was given
“task” for the day. Most of the
a rafter of the woodshed.
noose had been fashioned
; cne end of the rein and
jonly a few feet from
ground, indicating that the
could have freed himself
he been conscious.
Mr. and Mrs. Blevins*
awa y from home at the time
jthe ac cident, which took
about 4:30 p. m. They
| around five-thirty to find
boy dead. Me was found by
years ci age that occur to other
faim residents in the combined
group to 45 years,
How does this apply to you and
your loved ones?
Your hands on the farm?
^ ^ accl(Jents? Tralnlng
j n j; rac tor operation and super-
vision of work with machinery
save the lives of youths and
provide future protection.
on the highway, safety is in
many hands. Drivers of automo-
biles, busses, trucks, tractors
and 0 n ier farm equipment, as
wed cs pedestrians are respons-
j b j e j- or £ beb . own uvv “ safety “““ and
that of others . speed driving on
be wrong side of the road, fail-
ure ^ observe driving rules at
and weather con-
db j ons have accounted for most
0 j, {- be highway accidents,
Always be alert Avoid farm
Accidents.___
wardens . . . .1 were lenient with f the
men, but Ed Cox, who all the
old-timers remember to be the
vicious, was inclined to
beat the men for shirking or
not completing tasks.
| He harbored grudges against
gQme Qf ^ men and would
I beat them without reason. On
cCcadon he had a pri50ner
he]d while he drowned him by
pouring water down his mouth
; jnite dates of th ® *
™>t been completed at this time, ..
| but among those we know work-
We’i at
^ ^ ^
The first camp doctor was Dr.
i Jlm Brock w ho practiced at
Co i e CJty at the same time his
. brotherj Duke> was warden,
Mrs. Janie T „„ io DUoi Blevins „ e recalls ^ a ii s t that
when she attended Sunday
School at Cole City, a coloi'ed
woman prisoner always came
with Dr. Davis’ wife to help her
witn her wraps and overshoes.
On Sundays the convicts ga¬
thered to hear cne of the foil
wing ministers: Bro. Quarles, a
Baptist, Bro. Campbell, who al¬
so preached a t Trenton, and
Brothers Leslie and McCracken.
All conducted baptisings on oc¬
casion which were watched by
I the small fry of the encamp¬
Published Weekly — Since 1901
cider sister, Allie, and was still
aiive when she brought him in
the house. She said he had been
■gone from the house only about
ten o r fifteen minutes after
listening to the radio with the
other Blevins children, Cleo,
Bobby and Winnie Marie. They
were in the house at the time
cf the accident, and none re¬
ported hearing any outcry.
Funeral services were held at
the Deer Head Cove Baptist
Church Sunday morning.
Progresses
On Dial System
Work is progressing © n the
new dial system which is being
installed in the county by the
Trenton Telephone Co., laccord-
ing to reports by W. R. Tatum.
Cable has been strung about
three and a half miles south of
Trenton and holes are being
dug toward Rising Fawn. A
few poles have already been set
in the community. The found¬
ation for the exchange there
was poured last week, but fur¬
ther work will cease until bricks
for the walls are delivered.
Right of way in Piney has
been cleared, a few holes dug,
and nnp one pole nnlp set , pt at thP the intPr inter .
section of the Lookout Moun-
tain-Piney Grove road.
Practically all the poles on
Sand M untain have been set,
with the construction company
expecting to wind up the entire
job at one time this fall.
There 'T' H o r n uro was o o a r*r\r\\r
graveyard where the deceased if j
prisoners were buried some
relative did not claim them.
The non-denominaticnal com-!
pdny church was built by con¬
victs, who also tended an enor¬
mous garden behind the stock¬
ade. Occasionally farmers from
the valley would peddle fruit,
vegetables and beef inside the
stockade as well as to the free
laber. Small boys were often
hired by the convicts as a past¬
time to pick butterflies off the
cabbage in the garden for a
cent each.
There was a sick bay inside
the stockade for treatment of
prisoners and a pest house out¬
side the walls for those who
had smallpox, a common dis¬
ease a t that time, and other
communicable diseases. They
were never allowed to stay near
the other prisoners.
Convicts Often Tried
To Escape
i There were many attempted
and .successful escapes, hence
the heavy irons that the men
jwore. The company kept blood¬
hounds which were .used to
track the escapees down. Many
tried to get away by digging out
of the mines where ever they
felt an air current.
Those who succeeded in losing
NUMBER 28
Adams, E.J. Bibles
Attend TVA
Test Meeting
With confidence born of ex¬
perience, and enthusiasm gene¬
rated by success, 500 leaders of
test-demonstration work in 90
counties of seven states at the
second annual meeting of their
Tenessee Valley Association of
Test-iDemonstration Pami Mes
took action to strengthen the
work in the Valley and go to
bat for its continued service to
the nation.
Attending the meeting from
Dade County were: County
Agent L. C. Adams and Mr. and
Mrs. E. J. Bible of Cloverdale.
They represent 30 active and
inactive test-demonstration
families who serve and have
served the county in this capa¬
city
The Association passed a res¬
olution reaffirming “our whole¬
hearted support for the pro¬
gram of the Tennessee Valley
Authority,” .and recommending
that “TVA, the Congress, and
the people concerned diligently
work to see that s u f f 1 c i ent
funds be made available for its
operation and expansion as re¬
quired for the best interest of
the Tennessee Valley and the
nation as a whole.” The resolu¬
tion pointed out the progressive
usefulness of test-demonstration
work as a “tool for abundant
rural living as a result o f the
knowledge and skills gained
through 20 years’ experience in
the program,” and directed that
“county and state chapters of
the Association work diligently
to strengthen and keep It an
effective educational program.”
Describing the effectiveness
of test - demonstration work in
using TVA-produced soil nutri¬
ents and combined Extension
and farm family know-how to
spark complete farm-home
planning for soil building for
better living were farmers and
their wives from several states.
A panel of 11 test - demonstra¬
tion men and women from
Washington County, Tennessee,
described the operation of the
pregram in that county through
their county test-remonstratlon
association. The county grouip
selects the demonstration fam¬
ilies, impresses upon them their
1 responsibility for service to their
communities and county, guides
special research projects and
studies carried on by these fam¬
ilies, helps conduct some 50
meetings and tours per year to
spread proved p r a c tices, and
| stimulates effective work by se¬
lecting a "Demonstration Fam¬
ily of the Year” on the basis of
I the excellence of their work.
on
the shortest route down the
mountain. This road led to
what is now the Raulston home
in New England. W. G. Morri¬
son, Sr. built the house for his
bride, and the family had many
experiences with escaped pris¬
oners who usually wound up at
their back door asking for some¬
thing to eat.
Once, Mr. Morrison was awak¬
ened by dogs and sensed a pris¬
on break. When he tried to find
his trousers he found that the
run-away had been in the
house, stolen h i s watch and
pants and had also taken his
horse.
Several Killed In Major Break
Prisoners George Warden and
Wilson Palmer were responsible
for a major break which began
at dawn one summer day. There
was a lot of shooting with sev¬
eral killed and wounded. The
men got as far as Slygo when
they were tracked down by the
bloodhounds.
Another escapee kidnapped a
young girl, but it is uncertain
just what his fate was. Lee
Treece, who was an accomplice
of D. F. Walker who was hang¬
ed for murder i n 1883 served
out a prison sentence in the
coal mines.
By Myrna McMahan
(NEXT WEEK: The Mines)