The Mules of War

In July, 1917 mentions can be found in The Constitution regarding Great Britain's need for mules and how Atlanta was leading the way in supplying them.

Due to the business acumen of men such as Captain John Miller and I.N. Ragsdale, Miller Union Stockyards (located along today's Howell Mill Road between 14th and 10th Streets) Atlanta, at the turn-of-the-century was known as the largest mule market in the United States until well into the 20th century.

Through my research I located an article in The Constitution dated July 27, 1917 advising the government of Great Britain had designated Atlanta as the assembling point for thousands of mules to be shipped to Europe for war purposes.

The Brits were calling for one hundred mules per day for an indefinite period of time, and were dispatching two representatives to Atlanta to inspect and formally take charge of the stock.

Guidelines were fairly clear. Mules had to meet strict British requirements to help in the war effort. They had to be fifteen hands in height and of dark color with no blemishes. Later on, the inspectors did relent and began to accept iron grey mules.

Let's pause a moment to do the math. The Brits were paying $160 per head for the mules. If they bought one hundred per day as planned mule dealers would be collectively making $16,000 cash money daily, and over the course of a month as much as half a million dollars could be made.

So, what does this have to do with Douglas County?

I'm sure one name is already on your lips.

Abercrombie, right?

Since Douglasville's earliest days there has been one mule barn or another located at different spots around town under the control of one Abercrombie or another.

The Constitution article goes on to mention Mr. Ragsdale had recently purchased twenty-eight mules from Douglasville advising, "At Douglasville...one of the local bankers who sold several big lots of mules in Douglasville and adjacent counties stated that the farmers were selling their mules they no longer needed and were applying the proceeds on account. This situation, [the banker-mule dealer] stated, was certain to mean a great improvement in business conditions in the smaller as well as the larger towns and would aid the farmers in carrying over certain accounts until their crops are gathered."

The banker-mule dealer who would have sold the mules to Ragsdale and in turn to the British government would be Joe S. Abercrombie whose brother W. Claude Abercrombie was the president of the Farmers and Merchant's Bank and dabbled in mules while a third brother, Walter A. Abercrombie dabbled (sarcasm) in mules as well. In fact, sources state they each had a mule barn.

The Douglas County Sentinel advised in 1916 that Joe S. Abercrombie "annually handled approximately 250 head of mules and did a business of $50,000.  That's $50,000 in 1916 dollars, folks!

The paper also advised, "You could write success in capitals at the end of each one of the three [Abercrombie] brother's names. They are the most spirited men in Douglas County!"

Well, I'd be a bit spirited, too, if I had a passel of mules and was selling them for $160 a head, wouldn't you?

Still, it's nice to know that Douglas County not only sent their men off to The Great War, we bravely sent our mules as well.

Douglasville's Own Mule Whisperer

The Sheriff's Department page at CelebrateDouglas.com has a wonderful listing of every sheriff who has served the county with a small amount of biographical information compiled by Joe Baggett.

With regards to Sheriff Mac Claude Abercrombie, Sr. the site states he served as sheriff from 1933-1952 defeating Seawright Baggett in the 1932 election by 24 votes.  Abercrombie started business in 1923 with a grocery store on Broad Street, later moving to Church Street near his father's barn and blacksmith shop.   At the time of his election, he operated a dairy on Fairburn Road on Dura Lee Lane.  

Abercrombie retired to operate a stable at the corner of Church Street and Club Drive, now the county jail parking lot, and later owned Timber Ridge Stables.

Early on in his life Mr. Mac, as many around Douglas County remember him, worked with his father trading mules.   In 1918, his family moved to Phoenix, Arizona where they remained for three years trading mules and delivering them all over the area.  

In the video I've posted below... filmed in 1986.... Mr. Mac tells about his father having a contract with the Harvey Company while they were living in Arizona. 

Now the Harvey Company.....or the Fred Harvey Company to be exact.....had been granted the concession contact with the Grand Canyon in 1922.  The Harvey Company had started operating many of the restaurants found along the rail lines throughout the western section of the United States.  They were basically the first restaurant chain established in this country, and early in the 20th century they saw an opportunity with the Grand Canyon.

Now mules had been used since the 1840s  to carry men and materials down into the canyon when prospectors were thinking there was treasure to be found, but early on folks realized the real gold mine at the Grand Canyon wasn't from prospecting, but from tourism.  When Theodore Roosevelt rode down into the canyon in 1913 he made the trails even more appealing to tourists.

In order to fulfill the contract with the Harvey Company, Mr. Mac's father had to travel to Texas and bought 30 mules. The animals were then broken and trained before delivering them to the Grand Canyon.  

In the video Mr. Mac tells about staying on at the canyon with the mules stating that they were a bit short-handed.  My research indicates that during 1920 the Phantom Ranch was being built at the bottom of the canyon, so more than likely the mules the Abercrombies delivered to the canyon were....for a  time....involved with transporting the building materials down to the bottom of the canyon...as well as tourists.  

In the video Mr. Mac mentioned the numerous young people that hung around the barns and helped him through the years.   He referred to them as " barn rats", and they called him "Mr. Mac". If you watched the video you saw the part where he mentioned giving the kids a quarter back when you could actually go to a movie and get some form of refreshment for such a small amount. 

Mr. Mac also mentions the decline of the mule business as gradually more and more farmers stopped depending on them to pull the plows and began using tractors.  As a result he began to get more and more involved with horses at that point....during the 1950s. 

The video below shows many of the different locations of Mr. Mac's various mule barns which in the beginning were were located in downtown Douglasville.

This last video is a tribute to Mr. Mac with lots of different pictures and newspaper clippings

Of course, I haven't even begun to touch Mr. Mac's long career as our sheriff which was filled with interesting events as well including a few stills that were tracked down and destroyed.  I'm on the research trail and hope to bring that installment soon!

Mr. Mac passed away at the age of 90 in 1994.   An article published in the Douglas County Sentinel states, "At 'the barn' one could find an honest horse trader, gifted storyteller and a real man of integrity in Mr. Mac."

A very nice tribute website to Mr. Mac can be found here. 

I have a feeling I would have loved to have known Mr. Mac!