A Few News Snippets from the 1880s

Over the last few months I've periodically buried myself in newspaper research mainly with Atlanta's Constitution to see what was said about Douglas County and Douglasville during our earliest days.

We are mentioned fairly frequently, and it's fair to say by reading these snippets we can get a good picture of what our own paper at the time - The Weekly Star - was publishing since the text of their articles is what was published in the Atlanta paper.

Here are a few entries in chronological order printed in italics along with my reactions and explanations.

September 10, 1882 - The first new bale of cotton was sold [in Douglasville] today at auction by Dr. G.W. McLarty and was bought by Mr. M.B. Watson, one of the first merchants of the place. It will be shipped to J.M. Watson, Atlanta, and sold at Cumming's exchange next Wednesday at two o'clock at the First Bale of Douglas County for 1882, and the first new bale for the year shipped over the Georgia Pacific Railroad.

G.W. McLarty was George Wilson McLarty and M.B. Watson would be Mathias Bates Watson.  Watson was born in 1855 and married Lillie J. Vansant. Her father, Young Vansant was the man who donated land that would become Douglasville. The picture below shows M.B. Watson and Lilly on their honeymoon.  Sadly, Lillie would be dead a year later.

Once the railroad was operational Douglas County cotton would be loaded on the train and sent to Atlanta for auction. "Cumming's" mentioned in the above article was J.F. Cummings & Company located at 37 Broad Street in Atlanta. The company dealt in cotton, grain and meat futures.

Along with several others J.F. Cummings was one of the men who incorporated the International Cotton Exposition. It was similar to a world's fair and was held in Atlanta from October through December, 1881.

December 6, 1883 - From an article titled "Newspaper Change" - Dorsett & McElreath have disposed of the "Star", to W.A. Breckenridge, who will continue its publication. Mr. Breckenridge is the proprietor of the "Fairburn News - Letter" and the "Dallas News Era", which with the "Star", makes him proprietor of three of the best weeklies in west Georgia.

Dorsett & McElreath would be Samuel N. Dorsett and Samuel A. McElreath. Unfortunately, I've not been able to find out more about W.A. Breckenridge, yet. It is interesting that ownership of the paper ended up in hands outside of Douglasville though. I'm sure the editors continued to be local citizens.

June 15, 1884 - From an article titled "Newspoints From Douglasville" - Tom Edwards showed a blue sparrow [in Douglasville] this morning that he had caught. Dr. T.R. Whitley, who has lived in Atlanta the past five years, has moved [to Douglasville] to practice his profession. Mr. T.J. Smith of Gadsden, Alabama passed here today in pursuit of Joe Blalock who had stolen his horse. W.J. Camp of this county has a field of cotton that will average two feet high.

Catching a bird, the height of cotton, and a move from Atlanta to Douglasville seems like rather mundane news to us today, but the pursuit of a horse thief is rather interesting. Note that Mr. Smith is pursuing the thief himself. No mention of the police is made.

Those were the days, huh?

Once he moved to Douglasville, Dr. T.R. Whitley was very involved with various things including the establishment of Douglasville College which was located approximately where the armory is located on Church Street today.

October 1, 1884 - The crop outlook in Douglas County is above average. The small grain crop is good, while there is an abundant yield of corn. The indications are that, while the cotton crop is late it will be much better than was anticipated.

With a population of one thousand inhabitants it has about thirty stores, the proprietors of which [have] a thriving business. All of the merchants are classified as gilt-edged.

Within the past year many improvements have been made. Notably among them being the three...brick store houses by S.A. McElreath and Brother, J.M. and M.B. Watson and Selman, Smith & Co.

The cotton receipts of the past year were 5,000 bales and this year they will probably reach 7,500 bales.

There has been much immigration to this county of the smaller farmers from the "stock law" counties.

The taxable value of the property in the county has increased over two hundred thousand dollars as shown by the tax books during the past year.

In Douglasville there is no ad valorem tax and there is now source to ascertain the increase of the town. The entire revenue of the town is derived from the licenses exacted from bar-rooms. This is placed at such a high figure that it runs the entire expense of the municipal authorities. They now have under advisement and it will  soon be a certainty, of establishing a complete system of water works that will furnish water for the whole town.

Douglas is a new county and has many resources that the completion of the Georgia Pacific will develop.

The most interesting part of the above article that jumped out at me was this particular sentence, "The entire revenue of the town is derived from the licenses exacted from bar-rooms."

Seriously?!?

What an interesting bit of history!  In the early days the City of Douglasville was funded almost exclusively by liquor licenses during the saloon era.

You might also be wondering what was meant by a "stock law county". Basically, it has something to do with fences and folks who might allow their cattle and other livestock to roam freely. A section of the law provided that land owners could keep any livestock that might wander onto their land if you were in a "stock law district." Apparently, Douglas County was NOT a stock law county in 1884.

December 5, 1884 - In Douglas County, West Summerlin is charged with the offense of committing an assault with intent to murder on the person of Tom Williams. Both are negroes. Summerlin only has one arm. Yet the evidence shows that he made Williams "tote the fast mail".

I've done some checking but have been unable to discover what "tote the fast mail" might mean, but considering Williams was assaulted Summerlin must have had the "upper hand", even if he only had one.

He most certainly had the matter "in hand".

April 15, 1885 - Real estate is being rapidly improved in [Douglasville], and is held at good prices. The population is being increased at the rate of about four per week - with new babies. The farmers are staying severely at home, planting, hence trade is dull. The merchants, however, say they had rather see them preparing for the fall payments than loafing around town now.

In October, 1884 the population hovered at one thousand and six months later four babies a week are being born. Well, it would be easy to surmise what the folks were doing in their free time, right? They were most certainly planting seeds of various kinds.

October 3, 1885 - Douglasville, with a population of one thousand, has but one foreigner and two citizens born above the Mason and Dixon line. All are lawyers, merchants and physicians and were raised in this and the adjoining counties. We have an emphatically Georgia town.

Oh my! Two Yankees.  I think my research has identified them, but that's a story for another time, but seriously...a foreigner?  I will keep my eye out for an identify.

April 18, 1886 - From an article titled improvements in Douglasville - The spring improvements have begun. A.W. McLarty has let out contract for the erection of two fine brick two-storied stores, while S.N. Dorsett will match them with one similar to them. This will give Douglasville a block of fine brick stores. Besides these there are five new dwelling houses in process of erection.

Samuel N. Dorsett was one of Douglasville's first merchants and was a co-owner of Dorsett, Price an McElreath. He also co-owned The Weekly Star before it sold, was the city's second postmaster and was on the City Council in 1889. We also need to add Superior Court Clerk, County Treasurer, and he served on the committee to secure a bank.

February 10, 1887 - From an article titled "Douglasville's New Council" - The new municipal officers were installed last night. J.C. Wright was elected mayor pro tem, S.M. Cash, marshall; W.T. Roberts, city attorney; and W.M. McElreath, treasurer.  Messers. E.H. Camp, J.J. Haynes, A.R. Bomar and W.J. Camp are attending the state agricultural convention at Americus. There are two flourishing agricultural clubs in [Douglas County].

September 28, 1887 - Can you imagine checking into an Atlanta hotel and it making the paper? Well, apparently in the 1880s The Constitution regularly published the names of people who were in town and staying at the local hotels. A blurb from September 28th indicates S.N. Dorsett was staying at The Markham. Apparently Markham House was a very nice hotel in the 1880s located close to Atlanta's Union Station. The hotel had 107 rooms and central heat. The building was lost in a fire in 1896.

August 10, 1889 - The headline read Farmers Alliance Day - Today is a great one at Piedmont Chautauqua. The Piedmont Chautauqua in Lithia Springs was in full swing. The article goes on to advise the 8 p.m. address for that day would be given by Colonel J. G. Camp on "Women and Her Influence". Mr. Camp is one of the most gifted orators in Georgia.

Joseph G. Camp was known as the orator of the south.

The advertisement states, "His splendid graceful periods are interspersed with enough humor to prevent a surfeit of beauty." Maybe so, but somehow I think Mr. Camp and I would have differing opinions on the subject of women and their influence.

Well that's some of the local news from the 1880s - I hope you enjoyed it!

Contentious Politics

I’ve been looking through several old newspaper clippings this week concerning Douglasville and one thing is clear…..interesting political seasons are nothing new….no matter the office involved.

The following article titled Gartrell at Douglasville…The doughty general refuses to divide time with a political opponent appeared in The Atlanta Constitution on September 21, 1882.   This article or one similar to it would have appeared in the local paper…..The Weekly Star and would then be submitted to the Atlanta paper similar to the way news stories are handed off via the Associated Press today. 

The Atlanta Constitution regularly carried items involving Douglas County and Douglasville back then.   Yes, I know it’s hard to believe since we aren’t mentioned nowadays unless the situation involves scandal, murder, floods,  mayoral vetoes, fires or some other sensationalized story.  

We must remember, however, back in the 1880s the leading movers and shakers in Douglasville were fast friends with Henry W. Grady, the editor of The Atlanta Constitution, and many of Douglasville’s families had close ties to the business elite in Atlanta.   For this very reason alone Douglasville was mentioned…..and mentioned often. 

I’m presenting the contents of the clipping below in italics with my notes of explanation as well to help set the context of the event. 

Yesterday was a lively time in this usually quiet town [Douglasville].  It had been announced for several days that General Gartrell would speak here on his claims to the governorship, and it was also well known that D. Pike Hill, of Atlanta, would be present to reply to him.

The Georgia governor’s race in1882 was an interesting one pitting two former Confederates against one another.

General Lucious Gartrell

What’s interesting regarding this article is the fact that General Gartrell’s actual opponent was not present to counter his remarks.   D. Pike Hill was not running for governor.   He was a well known Atlanta lawyer who was very active in Democratic politics.   I assume he was in Douglasville to represent the Georgia Democratic Party, and to speak for the actual candidate….Alexander H. Stephens, the very well known vice president of the Confederacy.

The newspaper article continues:

The prospect of hearing a lively discussion brought a good crowd to the town, and by 11 o’clock there must have been nearly four hundred people in and around the courthouse.

Those people would have been gathered on the same grounds where the Old Courthouse Museum sits in downtown Douglasville today.   To date I have not located any pictures of the building that would have existed in 1882.   It was constructed in 1880 and is described as a two-story brick courthouse.   The building was abandoned in 1884 and taken down due to faulty bricks and mortar.  Apparently the building was literally crumbling and was a danger to citizens.

The fact that approximately four hundred people had gathered to listen to General Gartrell is interesting since a ride to town wasn’t as easy as it is now.  Even if the majority of the people who had gathered lived in the downtown area this would mean nearly half the town turn out since the population of Douglasville hovered around one thousand people during the 1880s.

 General Gartrell refused to divide time with Mr. Hill, saying he would discuss in this campaign with Mr. Stephens only.  Mr. Hill then demanded that the general should tell the people he meant to speak.  This General Gartrell did, and then proceeded to make his regulation stump speech.  He met with little encouragement, and was rewarded with little applause. 

At first read General Gartrell really comes off as a rude individual, however, I’m sure it was frustrating for him to campaign against a man who decided to run his campaign in what is described by historians as “casual.”

Stephens only spoke in larger cities such as Macon, Columbus, Augusta, and of course…..Atlanta.  He was well known and well liked.   Stephens had served the state of Georgia as a United States Representative prior to the war, and served the citizens of Georgia in Congress during Reconstruction as well.

Alexander H. Stephens

However, for all his frailty Alexander Stephens was considered one of the strongest men in the South mainly due to his intelligence, judgment, and eloquence. 

General Gartrell wa no slouch either…..Prior to the war Lucious Gartrell had served in the Georgia House of Representatives.   He spent his time during the war bouncing between the battlefields and serving in the Confederate Congress.

He helped formed the Seventh Regiment of the Georgia Volunteer Infantry where he saw action at First Manassas.   He was approached as early as 1863 to run for governor, but declined.   After the war….in 1870….Gartrell had his sights on the U.S. Senate, but when he found out Alexander Stephens planned to run for the seat he stepped aside.  Even then he knew Stephens would be a formidable candidate to run against.

When he had finished Mr. Hill arose and said he would say some very plain things about General Gartrell, and was sorry he could not stay to hear them.  The general went outside the courthouse, ….where he lingered about…..  He then came in and heard all Mr. Hill’s speech, which may be termed a “rattler.”  He frequently brought a hearty cheer showing that he had the sentiment of the people with him.  

After he concluded R.A. Massey made a few remarks in reply, but Mr. Hill corrected some of his statements in a very amusing way, and threw in another good stroke. 

R.A. Massey would be Judge Robert A. Massey.   He was involved in politics and business here in Douglasville as an attorney.   By 1888, he was also serving as postmaster.

The crowd then dispersed to discuss the events of the day and the probable majority for Stephens in Douglas.   General Gartrell had some personal friends here, but the mass of the people prefer Mr. Stephens for governor, and will so express themselves on the fourth of October at the polls.

In fact, General Gartrell only carried eleven of Georgia’s one hundred and thirty seven counties that October.   Thomas A. Martin who wrote the book Atlanta and Its Builders:  A Comprehensive History of the Gate City explains, “…Though [Gartrell] felt that  he had little hope of success at the polls, it was an evidence of [a] fidelity to principle that he was willing to oppose such an idol of the people as [Stephens], and he accepted his defeat with heroic  magnanimity, knowing that it was to an appropriate sense of fitness on the part of the people of Georgia that the career of Mr. Stephens should be closed with gubernatorial honors.”

As for Governor Alexander H. Stephens…..he finally succumbed to his frail health and died after being in office for fourth months.

I’ll end with a little interesting fact I picked up from Atlanta and Its Environs……Gartrell had lived since the 1850s in a grand home in Atlanta on Decatur Street between Jackson and Yonge Streets.  In 1893 following Gartrell’s death the home was sold……the new owner was none other than Douglasville’s own Dr. T.R. Whitley who I have written about here and here.

General Gartrell is one of a handful of Confederate generals buried at Atlanta's Oakland Cemetery.

Chatauqua Grounds - Site of the Barbecue Fiasco

I woke up Saturday morning with history on my mind - Lithia Springs history to be exact. I realize there is more than enough history in Douglasville proper to keep me on topic for quite some time with this column, but a factoid I had uncovered  during my research had pushed my interest button. The item I had come across advised during the summer of 1888 close to 30,000 people were pouring into Douglas County  from Atlanta and from points unknown via the railroad.

Think about that for a moment because 30,000 people were a large group coming in and out of our county every day with a purpose other than aiming to take up permanent residence.

30,000.

Daily.

Wow! Was Douglas County hosting the Olympics?

Well, it was something similar for the time period. They were here for the Piedmont Chautauqua.

Now when I first began my general research a few weeks ago I kept running across the word "Chautauqua" and figured it had something to do with Native Americans because the texts would refer to the Chautauqua Grounds. I assumed the texts were referring to hunting grounds or fighting grounds between the Cherokees and Creeks. Once resource I accessed had to do with Camp Hobson. I wrote about it here. The source stated: The Chautauqua grounds were about 1 1/4 miles west of the springs after which the town was named. This is approximately the intersection of Bankhead Highway and Baker Drive. The Chautauqua Grounds were west of Marsh Avenue.

Have you ever heard the old adage about assuming? I was wrong.

The Chautauqua had nothing to do with Native Americans or fighting. The purpose was education on a grand scale.

During the late 19th and early 20th centuries people were hungry for cultural and educational opportunities. The Chautauqua caught on because the events included a mixture of instruction with play. Take the atmosphere of the fair and mix in speakers, teachers, musicians, entertainers and preachers for a period lasting three to seven days mix it in with a few fireworks and you get the idea.

It's so easy today for us to hop on the Internet and visit the website for the Smithsonian or the National Gallery of Art. We can hop in the car and travel to Atlanta to see Cirque de Soleil at Atlantic Station or see a Broadway show at the Fox Theater. Here in Douglasville we have the Cultural Arts Center and the Old Courthouse Museum.  We can learn anything we want by accessing it on the Internet including college courses or by purchasing software.

For folks who lived in rural America there just wasn't an opportunity for them until the Chautauqua movement took hold across our country. The main focus was education for adults. The first Chautauqua was organized by a Methodist minister in 1874 in upstate New York as a way to provide educational training for Sunday school teachers. Other enterprising people latched onto his idea because he mixed in an outdoor setting as his venue, and put a new twist on learning. He made it fun.

The idea was copied over and over as daughter Chautauquas sprang up all over the United States. Each Chautauqua lasted for three to seven days, and each day a different headliner would perform or speak. A whole industry sprang up around the Chautauquas in order to provide the entertainment and speakers for such events similar to today's talent agencies or speaker's bureaus. President Theodore Roosevelt said, "The most American thing in America was the Chautauqua."

Several years later during World War I, President Woodrow Wilson advised the Chautauqua was "an integral part of national defense." The Chautauqua movement had its heyday in the 1920s and had tapered off by the late 1940s with the widespread use of radio and with television soon hitting the scene.

The Piedmont Chautauqua held in Lithia Springs, Georgia was the brainchild of Henry W. Grady, editor of the Atlanta Constitution and promoter of the New South following Reconstruction. Some Chautauquas across the county were on a circuit. They would breeze into small towns, set up tents, educate and entertain the people and then move on to the next town. Grady wanted the Piedmont Chautauqua to be different. He wanted it large and lavish. He wanted it permanent. He even wanted people to be able to buy or rent cottages on the grounds, so a few would have a permanent Chautauqua lodging spot though there were several large hotels in the area. I have been told that the streets behind today’s Wyatt Pharmacy in downtown Lithia Springs–Marsh Avenue, Miller Way and Kiser Avenue –are all streets that led to the area where lots were sold for cottages.

Grady chose the location of Salt Springs, Georgia because it had railroad access, it wasn’t too far from Atlanta, and the area was already established as a resort town with the magnificent Sweetwater Park Hotel. You can view the magnificent structure here or here.

It’s amazing to think such a place was right here in Douglas County–in little Lithia Springs–being visited by the likes of Presidents McKinley, Taft and Theodore Roosevelt. Members of the Astor, Vanderbilt, and Whitney families visited the hotel for the curative waters and spa treatments. They would travel in their own rail cars and then use the hotel's dummy line to reach the springs.

The Sweetwater Park Hotel property was the perfect spot for Henry W. Grady’s Chautauqua plans because if his “New South” ideals. Douglasville was a fine example of a postbellum “New South” town leaving old ways behind and attempting to embrace industry and commercial business.  Douglasville’s businessmen, professionals and politicians all adhered to Grady’s “New South” ideals.

Henry W. Grady was already friends with several of the movers and shakers in Douglasville and worked with them directly to get the project off the ground including Thomas R. Whitley, John B. Duncan, and Charles O. Peavey (see article here), editor of the Weekly Star, Douglasville’s newspaper at the time.   Joseph S. James, Douglasville’s first mayor among many other positions he held over his lifetime, was an investor along with Grady’s partner, Marion C. Kiser, a Fulton County Commissioner. Grady hired an architect and landscaper–L.B. Wheeler and Joseph Forsyth Johnston respectively–to get busy designing and building the Chautauqua grounds.

Take a look at what they came up with here.   What a wonderful structure for education and entertainment and right here in Douglas County!  The Lithia water site advises:The  Chautauqua buildings were built after the Moorish style, with plain wings and towers and minarets clustering to the center.  The Tabernacle seated seven thousand people and was located in an immense grove with exquisite gardens and lawns, rose mounds, and a reflecting lake.

In the days leading up the Piedmont Chautauqua the papers heightened anticipation regarding the Chautauqua by giving a daily progress update. Fannie Mae Davis recounted in her book, Douglas County, Georgia: from Indian Trail to I-20, a June 15 headline read, “ONLY 25,032 MINUTES REMAINING INCLUDING NIGHTS.” To celebrate some of the progress made by the end of June Chautauqua organizers decided to sell tickets to a barbeque meal where the proceeds would benefit the Confederate Veterans Home. The event was advertised far and wide and even made the Atlanta paper. The food was prepared including 30 kids, 10 young calves, 12 sheep, 300 pounds of butter, 50 dozen lemons, 200 ears of corn and 20 bushels of tomatoes. What the promoters didn’t anticipate was the timing it took to have that amount of food cooked when people showed up. They also forgot  the fence surrounding the grounds had not been finished.  It was estimated approximately 3,000 non-ticket holders managed to get on the grounds. Chaos ensued when there wasn’t enough food to serve everyone. The newspapers advised the Piedmont Chautauqua had its first and its last barbeque!

The barbeque fiasco was just a little set back. The Piedmont Chautauqua opened in fine style.  The Lithia Springs Mineral Water site advises:  [Henry W. Grady] went to great lengths to secure twenty-one eminent professors from such schools as Yale, Harvard, Princeton, John Hopkins, Vanderbilt, and the University of Virginia. The Summer College offered courses in English Language and Literature, German Language and Literature, French Language and Literature, …Latin and Greek, Physics, Botany, Chemistry, History and Pedagogies, New Testament, Arabic, Assyrian, and Hebrew Language and Literature.  The Assembly Schools included Physical Culture, Decorative Arts, Fine Arts, Elocution and Music.  In keeping with the Chautauqua program, a two-day program offered “Sunday school days” for workers and children.

Grady had intended to hire several well known writers of the time including Atlanta’s own Joel Chandler Harris aka Uncle Remus to perform readings of their works at the Chautauqua, but from a list of six famous authors he was only able to secure one–Thomas Nelson Page. The Atlanta Constitution for August 2, 1888 stated: Mr. Thomas Nelson Page, the famous southern author, arrived in Atlanta yesterday morning.  He spent the day in visiting points of interest about the city with Mr. Clarence Knowles [an Atlanta politician], and last evening went to Chautauqua.  Tonight he will give readings from his works. Page ended up reading from his "Unc' Edinburg's Drowndin" to the delight of those in attendance.

The Lithia Springs Water site further advises:  The Piedmont Chautauqua formally opened on Sunday, July 8, 1888, with sermons by three famous preachers and an illumination by ten thousand colored lights.The Eighth Calvary Regiment Band of the Republic of Mexico, proved to be such a sensation, the trains from Atlanta to the Chautauqua were packed at every scheduled run. After a rendition of “Dixie and the Star Spangled Banner” at each performance, the Band received “vociferous applause.”
Indeed, Grady’s Chautauqua had exceeded all expectations.

Sadly, Henry W. Grady would be dead with the year, but his grand Piedmont Chautauqua lives on in the history books even if the grand hotel and magnificent Chautauqua buildings are a distant Douglas County memory.