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THE MADISON COUNTY (GA) JOURNAL THURSDAY. AUGUST 27. 2009 — PAGE 5A Old fort - new By Margie Richards margie@mainstreetnews.com Though Ft. Lamar in northern Madison County has long been touted as Madison County’s sole Revolution era Indian fort, it will now have to share that distinction with another such structure. Once lost to Georgia history. Fort McCluskey, a fort now believed to have been located somewhere along a six-mile stretch of “the waters of Bluestone Creek,” near the Broad River in Madison County (taken from an area for merly a part of Wilkes County) provided protection to several early settlers whose descendents still live here. Among those men were David McCluskey, Solomon Strickland and Thomas Mackie. Milas Bruce Maney, State Historian for tire Georgia Society of the American Revolution, pre sented a program Sunday after noon, hosted by the Madison County Heritage Foundation, on his research into the existence of the fort. Maney said until his research, the only documentation that such a fort existed was a June 1778 dis patch from Georgia Militia leader Elijah Clarke to then Georgia gov ernor Handley, which speaks of several Indian raids and then says "the same evening several horses were stolen from McClesskeys (sic) Fort on Broad River.” An avid historian, Maney, whose wife Charlotte Strickland Maney is a direct descendent of Bluestone resident Solomon Strickland, is also Historical Preservation Chairman of the William Day Chapter Daughters of the American Revolution. Maney stumbled on the fort docu mentation while doing genealogy research on his wife’s family. Fascinated, Maney began to research “Indian Depradation Claims” ordered by Governor Handley to reimburse citizens who lost property in Indian raids. It was the responsibility of each citizen to report their Indian Depradation Claims to their county court, who in turn were to report to the gov ernor's office and the governor's office was then to forward these claims to the Commissioner of Indian Affairs, who was to relay the need for Congress to provide funding for these claims. Strickland made his first claim of loss in this (then) Wilkes County courtroom on Aug. 24, 1789, saying that on June 8,1788, his horses were stolen by the Indians. Receiving no payment for his loss, Strickland appeared in what discovery for Madison County If the Creeks don’t rise... Madison County Heritage Foundation guest speaker, Milus Bruce Maney, dressed in the “Citizen-Soldier” attire of the American Revolution, addresses the crowd gathered Sunday at the Madison County Library to hear about the discovery of Fort McCluskey. Maney said an old Colonial Georgia saying “if the Lord is will ing and the Creeks don’t rise” originated over worry of Creek Indian raids, not water-flowing creeks, as is commonly thought. Margie Richards/Staff had then become Elbert County court to file a second claim that stated "In the month of June 1788, the loss of one horse and one mare, which was taken from him on the waters of Blew(sic) Stone Creek in the county of Wilkes, now Elbert.” David McCleskey filed a report, also in 1802, that in September 1788, he "lost one sorrel horse which was taken off Blew Stone Creake (sic) in the county of Wilks (sic)...” When Congress still had not appropriated the funds for Indian Depradation by 1821, Maney said more claims were filed. Samuel Mackie, then living in Jackson County, stated in open court that “in the year 1788 David McCluskey and he lived at a fort in Wilkes County and that to the best of his recollection (McCluskey) had four horse creatures stolen from him...” Yet another claim, tins time by Samuel Mackie, records that he had three horses stolen from him at tire fort in 1788, followed by tire theft of a mare in 1789. During tire 1789 theft, he stated that he and others pursued tire Indians, and engaged them in battle, with two men killed and another wounded. Mackie went on to state that his brother, John, was able to secure tire return of one of his horses from a Creek Indian by giving him “a keg or two of whiskey.” Maney uses these and other claims, including a final one from Strickland’s son, Ezekiel Strickland, to place the fort “near tire waters of Bluestone Creek and tire Broad River in then Wilkes, now Madison County.” Maney said according to Georgia Archives (specifically documents found in ‘File II’), file state received numerous let ters and documents between 1789 and 1835 that reported early Wilkes County (now Madison County) settlers. In addition to the McCluskey, Strickland and Mackie families who were attached to Fort McCluskey, Maney also found the following names: Thomas Barron, Nathaniel Bridges, Wiseman Bridges, Robin Cammel, Robert Campbell, William Daniel, William Davis, John Griffin, Benjamin Knox, Thomas Lofton, Sam Nelson, David Robinson and Samuel Wilson. “Since little is known about Fort McCluskey, I assumed that tire fort rotted to tire ground or was destroyed centuries ago by other actions,” Maney said. “In tire 1780s, it was strategic to locate forts on high ground. No record was found at the Georgia Archives that related to what happened to tire fort on the Broad River and Bluestone Creek.” Maney added that he hopes his research will inspire others to dig deeper into the fort's history. “I’ve only touched the surface ... research leads to discovery, dis covery leads to communication and communication inspires oth ers," he said. ACTION receives $5.1 million for weatherization projects The Area Committee to Improve Opportunities Now Inc. (ACTION Inc.) recently announced the launch of the Georgia Weatherization Assistance Program after receiv ing a $5.1 million grant from the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE). Funding will provide weatheriza tion services, free of charge, for eli gible applicants currently living in residential and multi-family homes in a ten-county area of northeast Georgia, which includes Madison County, until March 2012. "With the funding we have received, we expect to complete approximately 750 weatheriza tion projects for those living in the designated counties," said John Scoggins, executive director of ACTION. “In addition, the grant will create many sub-contracting jobs in our area over the next two and a half years.” Scoggins said last week that ACTION plans to use local con tractors and local suppliers for the work in each of the counties. Funding for the weatherization project has been allocated by the Georgia Environmental Facilities Authority (GEFA) for Madison, Clarke, Barrow, Elbert, Greene, Jackson, Morgan, Oconee, Oglethorpe and Walton counties. The Georgia Weatherization Assistance Program's mission is to reduce tire consumption of energy and the cost of utility bills while providing a safe, improved envi ronment and enhanced quality of life for area residents, according to a press release. Funding will pro vide eligible applicants with repairs and housing improvement services that include: attic, sidewall and sub- floor insulation; air leakage and convection; duct work; attic and crawlspace ventilation; appliance assessment and replacement and health and safety repairs. Madison County has been allot ted $343,849 for weatherization projects. For more information about the Geoigia Weatherization Assistance Program, contact ACTION Inc. at 706-546-8293, ext. 22 or visit the website at www.actionincorpo- rated.org. 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Visit wowbootcamp.net to learn more about our programs in Athens, Jefferson, Oconee County and Madison County. 706-338-4454 Register online today! j aam-6:30am Monday, Tuesday & Thursday John Scoggins, (L) executive director of ACTION, and Madison County ACTION coor dinator Bobbie Rooker (R) are pictured at the Madison County Chamber of Commerce coffee Thursday. Margie Richards/ Staff Come See Our Design Center At Our New Location Downtown Comer, GA Best price per sq/ft Build A Custom Home On Your Land With Little Or No Money. R A Custom Home Builder For Northeast Georgia • Affordable monthly payments • Finance site improvements (Land may not have to be paid for.) •Get energy saving features • Have your home move-in ready/turn key Tomorrow’s Homes, Inc. Since 1969 1960 Main Street • (Downtown) • Comer, GA 706-783-0011 TomorrowsHomes.com T I N G 4 0 Y E A R 5