Here is a link to a label a little older than the above ad that was produced in Savannah, Ga in 1874
There were a few bottle images that came up on an image search.
Showing posts with label Georgia. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Georgia. Show all posts
Thursday, June 29, 2017
Lipman's Great German Bitters
We've all read and heard about the tonics and various cure all medicines sold years ago. Below is the logo of Lippman's Great German Bitters, the second image is the list of what it cures or strengthens in the individual taking the medication or in this instance the bitters. These images come from the Charleston daily newspaper.
Here is a link to a label a little older than the above ad that was produced in Savannah, Ga in 1874
There were a few bottle images that came up on an image search.
Here is a link to a label a little older than the above ad that was produced in Savannah, Ga in 1874
There were a few bottle images that came up on an image search.
Tuesday, June 27, 2017
1871 Cruises to Florida
Charleston S.C. was a busy port and in 1871 there were many ships headed to Florida from Charleston. Below is an ad from The Charleston Daily News July 17, 1871. What I find interesting from this ad is it lists when you depart and when you would return give us a great example of the time involved in steam travel on the lower east coast.
Wednesday, November 2, 2016
Sugar cane in Georgia
The information below is from "Georgia, Historical and Industrial" ©1901
Sugar-Cane.—Sugar-cane yields a handsome profit. A steadily increasing demand for sugar and molasses in the United State makes it certain that there will always be a ready sale for the product of the sugar-cane. Over large areas of the United States sugar and various syrups are being extracted from the beet cultivated for that purpose. But no other known plant equals the sugar or ribbon-cane in its capacity for supplying those two articles of universal consumption. When we consider that from 1880 to 1895 the United States produced only onetenth of the sugar consumed in this country, and paid out $1,500,000,000 for imported sugar, it can be readily seen that there is no immediate danger of overstocking the market. The 20,000 acres in Georgia devoted to the sugar-cane in 1890 produced 1,307,625 pounds of sugar and 3,223,194 gallons of molasses. Some of the best yields were: 700 gallons of syrup to the acre in Bulloch county; 695 gallons in Thomas county; 600 gallons in Brooks county, and 480 gallons in Burke county. Of these counties Burke and Bulloch are in the northern part of the Southern Georgia belt, while Brooks and Thomas are in the extreme south on the Florida line. In Rockdale county in Middle Georgia 600 gallons of cane syrup were the product of one acre of the farm of Hon. W. L. Peek. The growing of sugar-cane and manufacture of syrup in South. Georgia has doubled in two years. Twenty-five thousand barrels of syrup have been sold in one year from a small section of the extreme southern part of Georgia. In the fall of 1899 a gentleman in Tennessee sold 150 barrels of Georgia syrup in six days. A great deal of it has been sold to people in Cleveland, Cincinnati and Boston, who, after mixing it with glucose, put the blended article upon the market as Georgia White Syrup.
The planters are finding out every year that no country on the face of the globe can make as good syrup as Southwest Georgia, and are increasing their acreage. Before many years this industry will equal that of cotton. Pittsburg, Pa., is getting to be a strong market for Georgia syrup. The present estimate is that the sales of Georgia syrup in Pittsburg for the year will amount to 10,000 barrels. A sample of Georgia cane tested by Professor Wm. C. Stubbs of New Orleans, in 1899 showed 16£ per cent, sugar content and not quite one per cent, glucose, with a purity coefficient of nearly 90 per cent. Another sample contained 13J per cent, sucrose (cane sugar), and only 1 and four one-hundredths per cent, of glucose, with a purity coefficient of 81 per cent. This means more than 12 per cent, of sugar available in ordinary mills, and upon a 75 per cent, extraction would be equivalent to 180 pounds of C. P. sugar to the ton of cane, or nearly 200 pounds of commercial sugar as usually made in Louisiana sugar-houses from firsts, seconds and thirds. The better grade of lands with ordinary cultivation and fertilization will yield from twenty to twenty-five tons to the acre, and the same land under the best methods will yield from thirty-five to forty tons to the acre.
Professor Stubbs, already mentioned, is authority for the statement that the price per ton of sugar-cane in Louisiana will average about 80 cents for each cent that prime yellow clarified sugar is worth on the New Orleans market.
Hence, if prime yellow clarified sugar is worth five cents a pound, the price for a ton of cane will be five times eighty cents, or four dollars a ton.
The number of gallons of syrup that can be obtained from a ton of Louisiana cane will depend entirely upon the extraction of the mill and density of juice. A mill getting as high as 75 per cent, extraction, or fifteen hundred pounds of juice to a ton of cane, will give from twentyfive to thirty-five gallons of syrup cooked to a density of 34 degrees Baume. The variation is due to the "total solids" contained in the cane juice. The same statement will apply to Georgia cane.
A complete plant for making syrup can be obtained at several places in the United States. But probably the most improved machinery can be better obtained in New Orleans, where every manufacturer is familiar with its practical use. For an up-to-date factory there is needed a first-class mill with filter presses, clarifiers and evaporators. There are also needed settling tanks, juice tanks and syrup tanks.
Any one who contemplatee embarking in the business of syrup-making, should study the question of sterilization of syrup, which can now be easily dona The syrup, after being sterilized, must be put into sterilized vessels, where it will keep indefinitely, if the work has been well performed.
Soils adapted to cane are those naturally rich and fertile, though upon soils of very moderate fertility, well prepared and fertilized, remunerative crops can be grown. In cane culture climate, rainfall and manures are more important factors than soils. In sandy soils without manures the cane is small. Calcareous soils develop a superior cane, rich in saccharine matter. On rich alluvial soils, not properly drained, the canes are poor in sugar produce, and though they yield a large quantity of syrup, it is not a first-class article.
As to whether the entire cane should be planted or only that portion which is the least fitted for making sugar Dr. W. C. Stubbs of Louisiana says: "It can be positively asserted that the upper third of our canes can be profitably used for planting our crop, and we can send the lower two thirds of our entire crop to the sugar-house, thus increasing largely our sugar yields and diminishing our heavy outlay annually for seed."
Before planting all soils should be well-prepared, properly fertilized, and perfectly drained. It is best to break or flush the land, then bed into rows from five to six feet wide; then open the bed and in this furrow plant the cane. The part of the stalk selected for seed should be deposited in an open furrow and well covered. In the fall this covering should be several inches thick. Remove the extra soil in early spring to secure early germination. The cultivation best for corn land is generally good for sugar-cane. Let there be thorough and deep preparation of the soil; then cultivate rapidly and as shallow as the soil will permit, and "lay by" when canes shade the ground.
The fertilizers for cane should contain enough nitrogenous matter to insure a large growth by September 1st Phosphoric acid is very beneficial to cane. Potash may be demanded upon light sandy soils. Experiments have shown that the limits of prifit in the use of fertilizers are between forty and fifty pounds of nitrogen obtained from cottonseed-meal, and from forty to eighty pounds of phosphoric acid.
If under favorable conditions the above formula is used on our best cane lands in South Georgia, we should obtain from twenty to thirty tons of cane to the acre.
It should be remembered that Georgia was the original cane-growing State of the Union. In 1825 she gave to Louisiana the seed of the ribbon-cane, thus bequeathing to that State a mine of wealth. And now the genial soil of Southern and Middle Georgia offers this same source of wealth to her own people or to the stranger seeking a home within her gates.
The establishing of sugar refineries will greatly promote the interests of the cane growers. There will be no scarcity of capital for such enterprises if sufficient quantities of cane are grown. We predict for the near future the establishment of a number of sugar refineries in South Georgia.
Syrup-making in Georgia commences about the last of October or the first of November, and continues until Christmas. At this season the traveler journeying on a country road will see on almost every farm the smoke issuing from the syrup furnace, an invitation to either neighbor or stranger to enter the home and share the hospitalities to which every one is made to feel welcome in cane-grinding time. Here youths and maidens, with those of riper years, engage in the sports of the holiday season, or seated near the cheerful fire regale themselves with the healthful and delightful beverage extracted from the sugar-cane. At this season of cane-grinding and syrup-making, the sick and feeble recuperate and often find their health again. The negroes, too, both young and old, have their part in the good cheer, and even the stock upon the farm share in the general glee.
The stalks of the cane shredded are worth more as forage than cornstalk or cottonseed-hulls. •
The little, old-time sugar mill on each man's farm ought, in this progressive day, to give place to well equipped, up-to-date syrup mills and sugar refineries. This would transfer the syrup-boiling and sugar-making to the mill, just as cotton is taken to the factory, and not spun upon each farm.
If the most improved methods are used, the cost of extracting the juice from the stalks and converting it into syrup is a mere fraction of a cent per gallon.
It has been estimated that the average farmer can count on getting $120 gross to the acre for syrup, at a general average product of 600 gallons to the acre.
In 1890 the area devoted to sugar-cane in Georgia was 20,238 acres, which produced 1,307,625 pounds of sugar and 3,223,194 gallons of molasses.
In 1890 the area devoted to sorghum in Georgia was 22,089 acres, which produced 1,342,803 gallons of molasses.
CASSAVA.
Recent experiments go to prove that cassava will make a profitable I crop for South Georgia. The species of this plant recommended for Georgia, is the sweet cassava, which does not, like the bitter cassava, require boiling to drive out poisonous juices, but can be fed to stock in its natural state without risk of harm. It also makes a very paltable table vegetable. But its chief excellence consists in the fact that it yields abundance of the best starch. One acre of South Georgia land planted in sweet cassava will yield 4,000 pounds of starch, while the best corn or potato lands in Illinois or Michigan can produce only 1,200 pounds of starch from these vegetables.
Cassava is easily propagated by cuttings of the stem and grows rapidly, attaining maturity in six months. The production is at least sixteen times that of wheat.
When the farmers of South Georgia become thoroughly convinced of its worth and embark extensively in its cultivation, starch factories will be started on every hand. It has been estimated that these will pay five dollars a ton on the cars, at any station within one hundred miles of their factory.
With sugar-cane and sugar refineries, cassava and starch factories, South Georgia possesses grand opportunities for profitable farming.
Sugar-Cane.—Sugar-cane yields a handsome profit. A steadily increasing demand for sugar and molasses in the United State makes it certain that there will always be a ready sale for the product of the sugar-cane. Over large areas of the United States sugar and various syrups are being extracted from the beet cultivated for that purpose. But no other known plant equals the sugar or ribbon-cane in its capacity for supplying those two articles of universal consumption. When we consider that from 1880 to 1895 the United States produced only onetenth of the sugar consumed in this country, and paid out $1,500,000,000 for imported sugar, it can be readily seen that there is no immediate danger of overstocking the market. The 20,000 acres in Georgia devoted to the sugar-cane in 1890 produced 1,307,625 pounds of sugar and 3,223,194 gallons of molasses. Some of the best yields were: 700 gallons of syrup to the acre in Bulloch county; 695 gallons in Thomas county; 600 gallons in Brooks county, and 480 gallons in Burke county. Of these counties Burke and Bulloch are in the northern part of the Southern Georgia belt, while Brooks and Thomas are in the extreme south on the Florida line. In Rockdale county in Middle Georgia 600 gallons of cane syrup were the product of one acre of the farm of Hon. W. L. Peek. The growing of sugar-cane and manufacture of syrup in South. Georgia has doubled in two years. Twenty-five thousand barrels of syrup have been sold in one year from a small section of the extreme southern part of Georgia. In the fall of 1899 a gentleman in Tennessee sold 150 barrels of Georgia syrup in six days. A great deal of it has been sold to people in Cleveland, Cincinnati and Boston, who, after mixing it with glucose, put the blended article upon the market as Georgia White Syrup.
The planters are finding out every year that no country on the face of the globe can make as good syrup as Southwest Georgia, and are increasing their acreage. Before many years this industry will equal that of cotton. Pittsburg, Pa., is getting to be a strong market for Georgia syrup. The present estimate is that the sales of Georgia syrup in Pittsburg for the year will amount to 10,000 barrels. A sample of Georgia cane tested by Professor Wm. C. Stubbs of New Orleans, in 1899 showed 16£ per cent, sugar content and not quite one per cent, glucose, with a purity coefficient of nearly 90 per cent. Another sample contained 13J per cent, sucrose (cane sugar), and only 1 and four one-hundredths per cent, of glucose, with a purity coefficient of 81 per cent. This means more than 12 per cent, of sugar available in ordinary mills, and upon a 75 per cent, extraction would be equivalent to 180 pounds of C. P. sugar to the ton of cane, or nearly 200 pounds of commercial sugar as usually made in Louisiana sugar-houses from firsts, seconds and thirds. The better grade of lands with ordinary cultivation and fertilization will yield from twenty to twenty-five tons to the acre, and the same land under the best methods will yield from thirty-five to forty tons to the acre.
Professor Stubbs, already mentioned, is authority for the statement that the price per ton of sugar-cane in Louisiana will average about 80 cents for each cent that prime yellow clarified sugar is worth on the New Orleans market.
Hence, if prime yellow clarified sugar is worth five cents a pound, the price for a ton of cane will be five times eighty cents, or four dollars a ton.
The number of gallons of syrup that can be obtained from a ton of Louisiana cane will depend entirely upon the extraction of the mill and density of juice. A mill getting as high as 75 per cent, extraction, or fifteen hundred pounds of juice to a ton of cane, will give from twentyfive to thirty-five gallons of syrup cooked to a density of 34 degrees Baume. The variation is due to the "total solids" contained in the cane juice. The same statement will apply to Georgia cane.
A complete plant for making syrup can be obtained at several places in the United States. But probably the most improved machinery can be better obtained in New Orleans, where every manufacturer is familiar with its practical use. For an up-to-date factory there is needed a first-class mill with filter presses, clarifiers and evaporators. There are also needed settling tanks, juice tanks and syrup tanks.
Any one who contemplatee embarking in the business of syrup-making, should study the question of sterilization of syrup, which can now be easily dona The syrup, after being sterilized, must be put into sterilized vessels, where it will keep indefinitely, if the work has been well performed.
Soils adapted to cane are those naturally rich and fertile, though upon soils of very moderate fertility, well prepared and fertilized, remunerative crops can be grown. In cane culture climate, rainfall and manures are more important factors than soils. In sandy soils without manures the cane is small. Calcareous soils develop a superior cane, rich in saccharine matter. On rich alluvial soils, not properly drained, the canes are poor in sugar produce, and though they yield a large quantity of syrup, it is not a first-class article.
As to whether the entire cane should be planted or only that portion which is the least fitted for making sugar Dr. W. C. Stubbs of Louisiana says: "It can be positively asserted that the upper third of our canes can be profitably used for planting our crop, and we can send the lower two thirds of our entire crop to the sugar-house, thus increasing largely our sugar yields and diminishing our heavy outlay annually for seed."
Before planting all soils should be well-prepared, properly fertilized, and perfectly drained. It is best to break or flush the land, then bed into rows from five to six feet wide; then open the bed and in this furrow plant the cane. The part of the stalk selected for seed should be deposited in an open furrow and well covered. In the fall this covering should be several inches thick. Remove the extra soil in early spring to secure early germination. The cultivation best for corn land is generally good for sugar-cane. Let there be thorough and deep preparation of the soil; then cultivate rapidly and as shallow as the soil will permit, and "lay by" when canes shade the ground.
The fertilizers for cane should contain enough nitrogenous matter to insure a large growth by September 1st Phosphoric acid is very beneficial to cane. Potash may be demanded upon light sandy soils. Experiments have shown that the limits of prifit in the use of fertilizers are between forty and fifty pounds of nitrogen obtained from cottonseed-meal, and from forty to eighty pounds of phosphoric acid.
If under favorable conditions the above formula is used on our best cane lands in South Georgia, we should obtain from twenty to thirty tons of cane to the acre.
It should be remembered that Georgia was the original cane-growing State of the Union. In 1825 she gave to Louisiana the seed of the ribbon-cane, thus bequeathing to that State a mine of wealth. And now the genial soil of Southern and Middle Georgia offers this same source of wealth to her own people or to the stranger seeking a home within her gates.
The establishing of sugar refineries will greatly promote the interests of the cane growers. There will be no scarcity of capital for such enterprises if sufficient quantities of cane are grown. We predict for the near future the establishment of a number of sugar refineries in South Georgia.
Syrup-making in Georgia commences about the last of October or the first of November, and continues until Christmas. At this season the traveler journeying on a country road will see on almost every farm the smoke issuing from the syrup furnace, an invitation to either neighbor or stranger to enter the home and share the hospitalities to which every one is made to feel welcome in cane-grinding time. Here youths and maidens, with those of riper years, engage in the sports of the holiday season, or seated near the cheerful fire regale themselves with the healthful and delightful beverage extracted from the sugar-cane. At this season of cane-grinding and syrup-making, the sick and feeble recuperate and often find their health again. The negroes, too, both young and old, have their part in the good cheer, and even the stock upon the farm share in the general glee.
The stalks of the cane shredded are worth more as forage than cornstalk or cottonseed-hulls. •
The little, old-time sugar mill on each man's farm ought, in this progressive day, to give place to well equipped, up-to-date syrup mills and sugar refineries. This would transfer the syrup-boiling and sugar-making to the mill, just as cotton is taken to the factory, and not spun upon each farm.
If the most improved methods are used, the cost of extracting the juice from the stalks and converting it into syrup is a mere fraction of a cent per gallon.
It has been estimated that the average farmer can count on getting $120 gross to the acre for syrup, at a general average product of 600 gallons to the acre.
In 1890 the area devoted to sugar-cane in Georgia was 20,238 acres, which produced 1,307,625 pounds of sugar and 3,223,194 gallons of molasses.
In 1890 the area devoted to sorghum in Georgia was 22,089 acres, which produced 1,342,803 gallons of molasses.
CASSAVA.
Recent experiments go to prove that cassava will make a profitable I crop for South Georgia. The species of this plant recommended for Georgia, is the sweet cassava, which does not, like the bitter cassava, require boiling to drive out poisonous juices, but can be fed to stock in its natural state without risk of harm. It also makes a very paltable table vegetable. But its chief excellence consists in the fact that it yields abundance of the best starch. One acre of South Georgia land planted in sweet cassava will yield 4,000 pounds of starch, while the best corn or potato lands in Illinois or Michigan can produce only 1,200 pounds of starch from these vegetables.
Cassava is easily propagated by cuttings of the stem and grows rapidly, attaining maturity in six months. The production is at least sixteen times that of wheat.
When the farmers of South Georgia become thoroughly convinced of its worth and embark extensively in its cultivation, starch factories will be started on every hand. It has been estimated that these will pay five dollars a ton on the cars, at any station within one hundred miles of their factory.
With sugar-cane and sugar refineries, cassava and starch factories, South Georgia possesses grand opportunities for profitable farming.
Tuesday, October 18, 2016
Central Railroad in GA
The information below comes from Hand-book of the state of Georgia: accompanied by a geological map of the state ©1878
CENTRAL RAILROAD
The Georgia also controls and operates the Macon and Augusta Railroad from Macon to Camak, 74 miles.
The cost of Building the Road is $4,253,048 40
Capital Stock 4,200,000 00
Funded Debt 615,500 00
Average Gross Receipts per annum 1,800,000 00
Average Operating Expenses 800,000 00
Annual Dividend 8 per cent.
Hon. John P. King is President. He has filled this office continuously since 1841. S. K. Johnson is Superintendent ; and Carlton Hillyer, Auditor. The principal office is at Augusta.
The Central Railroad Of Georgia.—This important railway was built about the same time as that of the Georgia. It was chartered December 20th, 1833; work commenced November, 1836, and was completed to Macon, October 13th, 1843, nearly 2 years before the Georgia was finished to Atlanta. It is a strong corporation, with extensive connections, and is one of the most important roads in the country.
Its length from Savannah to Macon is 192 miles. This was the original chartered line of road. It also built a branch from Gordon to Milledgeville, 17.25 miles. In 1872, the Macon and Western Railroad, from Macon to Atlanta, 103 miles, including the branch from Barnesville to Thomaston, 16.5 miles, was consolidated with the Central. During the present year (1876), the Savannah, Griffin, and North Alabama Railroad, from Griffin, on the Macon and Western, to Carrollton, Carroll County, 59.29 miles long, has become the property of the Central, thus making a total length of 388.29 miles actually owned by the Company.
In 1852, it leased the road from Milledgeville to Eatonton, 22 miles, and operates and controls it, virtually making a branch of the Central from Gordon, via Milledgeville to Eatonton, 39.25 miles.
In 1862, it leased the Augusta and Savannah Railroad, from Augusta to Millen, on the Central Road, 53 miles, which it controls and operates.
In 1871, it leased the South-western Railroad and branches as follows : Main line, Macon to Albany, 104 miles ; Branch, Fort Valley to Columbus, 71 miles ; Branch, Fort Valley to Perry, 11 miles ; Branch, Smithville to Eufaula, Ala., 61 miles ; Branch, Cuthbert to Fort Gaines, 22 miles ; Branch, Albany to Arlington, 37 miles : making a total of 306 miles.
It also leased the Vicksburg and Clayton Road from Eufaula, Ala., to Clayton, Ala., 21 miles. It also owns a half interest in the Western Railroad of Alabama, from West Point, Ga., to Selma, Ala., 138 miles, with branch from Columbus, Ga., to Opelika, Ala., 28 miles, or 166 miles in all. This road is owned jointly by the Central and the Georgia, obtained by joint purchase at public sale, in April, 1875.
It has also leased the Mobile and Girard Railroad, from Columbus, Ala., to Troy, Ala., 84 miles. It also owns a steamer on the Tombigbee River, plying between Columbus, Mississippi, and Demopolis, Ala.
It also owns a line of steamers on the Chattahoochee River, plying between Columbus, Ga., and Appalachicola, Fla. These boats are worth $97,000.
It also owns 6 steamships plying between New York and Savannah, involving a capital of $800,000.
The income of the road for the year ending September 1st, 1876, was $2,657,096.97, and its operating expenses, $1,635,131.10.
Its President is Wm. M. Wadley, and Superintendent Wm. Rogers ; principal office in Savannah. The principal office of the New York Steamship Line is in New York, Wm. R. Garretson being the Agent.
The Capital Stock of the Central Railroad Company is $7,500,000 ; its Bonded Indebtedness, $3,772,000.
CENTRAL RAILROAD
The Georgia also controls and operates the Macon and Augusta Railroad from Macon to Camak, 74 miles.
The cost of Building the Road is $4,253,048 40
Capital Stock 4,200,000 00
Funded Debt 615,500 00
Average Gross Receipts per annum 1,800,000 00
Average Operating Expenses 800,000 00
Annual Dividend 8 per cent.
Hon. John P. King is President. He has filled this office continuously since 1841. S. K. Johnson is Superintendent ; and Carlton Hillyer, Auditor. The principal office is at Augusta.
The Central Railroad Of Georgia.—This important railway was built about the same time as that of the Georgia. It was chartered December 20th, 1833; work commenced November, 1836, and was completed to Macon, October 13th, 1843, nearly 2 years before the Georgia was finished to Atlanta. It is a strong corporation, with extensive connections, and is one of the most important roads in the country.
Its length from Savannah to Macon is 192 miles. This was the original chartered line of road. It also built a branch from Gordon to Milledgeville, 17.25 miles. In 1872, the Macon and Western Railroad, from Macon to Atlanta, 103 miles, including the branch from Barnesville to Thomaston, 16.5 miles, was consolidated with the Central. During the present year (1876), the Savannah, Griffin, and North Alabama Railroad, from Griffin, on the Macon and Western, to Carrollton, Carroll County, 59.29 miles long, has become the property of the Central, thus making a total length of 388.29 miles actually owned by the Company.
In 1852, it leased the road from Milledgeville to Eatonton, 22 miles, and operates and controls it, virtually making a branch of the Central from Gordon, via Milledgeville to Eatonton, 39.25 miles.
In 1862, it leased the Augusta and Savannah Railroad, from Augusta to Millen, on the Central Road, 53 miles, which it controls and operates.
In 1871, it leased the South-western Railroad and branches as follows : Main line, Macon to Albany, 104 miles ; Branch, Fort Valley to Columbus, 71 miles ; Branch, Fort Valley to Perry, 11 miles ; Branch, Smithville to Eufaula, Ala., 61 miles ; Branch, Cuthbert to Fort Gaines, 22 miles ; Branch, Albany to Arlington, 37 miles : making a total of 306 miles.
It also leased the Vicksburg and Clayton Road from Eufaula, Ala., to Clayton, Ala., 21 miles. It also owns a half interest in the Western Railroad of Alabama, from West Point, Ga., to Selma, Ala., 138 miles, with branch from Columbus, Ga., to Opelika, Ala., 28 miles, or 166 miles in all. This road is owned jointly by the Central and the Georgia, obtained by joint purchase at public sale, in April, 1875.
It has also leased the Mobile and Girard Railroad, from Columbus, Ala., to Troy, Ala., 84 miles. It also owns a steamer on the Tombigbee River, plying between Columbus, Mississippi, and Demopolis, Ala.
It also owns a line of steamers on the Chattahoochee River, plying between Columbus, Ga., and Appalachicola, Fla. These boats are worth $97,000.
It also owns 6 steamships plying between New York and Savannah, involving a capital of $800,000.
The income of the road for the year ending September 1st, 1876, was $2,657,096.97, and its operating expenses, $1,635,131.10.
Its President is Wm. M. Wadley, and Superintendent Wm. Rogers ; principal office in Savannah. The principal office of the New York Steamship Line is in New York, Wm. R. Garretson being the Agent.
The Capital Stock of the Central Railroad Company is $7,500,000 ; its Bonded Indebtedness, $3,772,000.
Central Railroad, GA 1852
CENTRAL RAILROAD,
FROM SAVANNAH TO MACON, GA.,
190.5 Miles
Passenger Trains leave Savannah daily, at 8 00 A. M.
................................... Macon daily at 8 00 A.M.
...........................arrive daily at Savannah at 6 15 P. M.
............................................at Macon, at 6 45 P. M.
This Road in connection with the Macon and Western Road from Macon to Atlanta, and the Western and Atlantic Road from Atlanta to Dalton, now forms a continuous line of 39.5 miles in length from Savannah to Dalton, Murray county, Ga., and with the Memphis Branch Rail Road, and stages, connect with the following places:
Tickets from Savannah to Jacksonville, Ala., $20.00
................................... to Huntsville, Ala., $22.00
........................................Decatur, Ala., $22.00
........................................Tuscumbia, Ala. 22.50
........................................Columbus, Miss. 28.00
........................................Holly Springs, 28.00
........................................Nashville, Tenn. 25.00
........................................Murfreesboro' 25.00
........................................Memphis, Tenn 30.00
An extra Passenger Train leaves Savannah on Saturdays, after the arrival of the steamships from New York,-for Macon, and connects with the Macon and Western Rail Road ; and on Tuesdays, after the arrival of the Macon and Western cars, an extra Passenger Train leaves Macon to connect with the steamships for New York.
Stages for Tallahasse and intermediate places connect with the road at Macon on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays, and with Milledgeville at Gordon daily.
Passengers for Montgomery, Mobile, and New Orleans, take stage for Opelika from Barnesville through Columbus, a distance of 97 miles, or from Griffin through West Point, a distance of 93 miles.
Goods consigned to Thos. S. Wayne, Forwarding Agent, Savannah, will be forwarded free of commission.
Wm. M. WADLEY, Sup't.
Savannah, Ga., 1852.
FROM SAVANNAH TO MACON, GA.,
190.5 Miles
Passenger Trains leave Savannah daily, at 8 00 A. M.
................................... Macon daily at 8 00 A.M.
...........................arrive daily at Savannah at 6 15 P. M.
............................................at Macon, at 6 45 P. M.
This Road in connection with the Macon and Western Road from Macon to Atlanta, and the Western and Atlantic Road from Atlanta to Dalton, now forms a continuous line of 39.5 miles in length from Savannah to Dalton, Murray county, Ga., and with the Memphis Branch Rail Road, and stages, connect with the following places:
Tickets from Savannah to Jacksonville, Ala., $20.00
................................... to Huntsville, Ala., $22.00
........................................Decatur, Ala., $22.00
........................................Tuscumbia, Ala. 22.50
........................................Columbus, Miss. 28.00
........................................Holly Springs, 28.00
........................................Nashville, Tenn. 25.00
........................................Murfreesboro' 25.00
........................................Memphis, Tenn 30.00
An extra Passenger Train leaves Savannah on Saturdays, after the arrival of the steamships from New York,-for Macon, and connects with the Macon and Western Rail Road ; and on Tuesdays, after the arrival of the Macon and Western cars, an extra Passenger Train leaves Macon to connect with the steamships for New York.
Stages for Tallahasse and intermediate places connect with the road at Macon on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays, and with Milledgeville at Gordon daily.
Passengers for Montgomery, Mobile, and New Orleans, take stage for Opelika from Barnesville through Columbus, a distance of 97 miles, or from Griffin through West Point, a distance of 93 miles.
Goods consigned to Thos. S. Wayne, Forwarding Agent, Savannah, will be forwarded free of commission.
Wm. M. WADLEY, Sup't.
Savannah, Ga., 1852.
Saturday, September 10, 2016
Savannah River - Cotton
Below you'll find a list of shipments out of Savannah to various parts of the world. Cotton was the primary export in the 19th Century but it wasn't the only export. The Savannah River was of prime importance for the exporting business. Pole Boats were used to bring the goods from Augusta down to Savannah.
The exports from Savannah:
Sea Island cotton, . 10 722 bales.
Upland ditto, . . 62,698
Rice, . . 15.798 whole tierces.
2,336 half ditto.
Tobacco, . . 1,501 hogsheads.
The quantity of cotton exported from Savannah, from the 1st of October 1815 to the 10th of February 1816, was,
from the 1st of November 1815 to the 27th of April 1816, were as follows:
To England, . 14,552 bales Upland,
Ditto, . . 3,638 ditto Sea Island.
To France, . 4,346 ditto Upland.
Ditto. . . 97 ditto Sea Island.
To Europe, . . 874 ditto Upland.
Ditto, . . 40 ditto Sea Island.
Coastwise, . .10,123 ditto.
Total, 83,670 bales.
After the invention of the steamboats, pole boats were less and less used but they were still used at the time of the writing of
STATISTICAL, POLITICAL, AND HISTORICAL ACCOUNT of THE UNITED STATES OF NORTH AMERICA; FROM THE PERIOD OF THEIR FIRST COLONIZATION TO THE PRESENT DAY. Printed by George Ramsay and Co. Edinburgh, 1819.
Steam-boats have been established on the Savannah river. One, called the Enterprise, made the passage from Savannah to Augusta, with two freight boats dragging, in eight days, and returned with the current in three and a half. The pole boats require fourteen days to ascend the same distance, and from five to seven to descend. Two other steam-boats are now building, by a company, for the purpose of dragging freighted boats to and from Augusta.
The exports from Savannah:
Sea Island cotton, . 10 722 bales.
Upland ditto, . . 62,698
Rice, . . 15.798 whole tierces.
2,336 half ditto.
Tobacco, . . 1,501 hogsheads.
The quantity of cotton exported from Savannah, from the 1st of October 1815 to the 10th of February 1816, was,
from the 1st of November 1815 to the 27th of April 1816, were as follows:
To England, . 14,552 bales Upland,
Ditto, . . 3,638 ditto Sea Island.
To France, . 4,346 ditto Upland.
Ditto. . . 97 ditto Sea Island.
To Europe, . . 874 ditto Upland.
Ditto, . . 40 ditto Sea Island.
Coastwise, . .10,123 ditto.
Total, 83,670 bales.
After the invention of the steamboats, pole boats were less and less used but they were still used at the time of the writing of
STATISTICAL, POLITICAL, AND HISTORICAL ACCOUNT of THE UNITED STATES OF NORTH AMERICA; FROM THE PERIOD OF THEIR FIRST COLONIZATION TO THE PRESENT DAY. Printed by George Ramsay and Co. Edinburgh, 1819.
Steam-boats have been established on the Savannah river. One, called the Enterprise, made the passage from Savannah to Augusta, with two freight boats dragging, in eight days, and returned with the current in three and a half. The pole boats require fourteen days to ascend the same distance, and from five to seven to descend. Two other steam-boats are now building, by a company, for the purpose of dragging freighted boats to and from Augusta.
Saturday, August 13, 2016
Savannah Gray Brick
ne of the items I came across while researching in Savannah, GA. was a rare brick called the "Savannah Gray Brick." Originally called McAlpin's Gray Brick because it was made from gray clay found on Henry McAlpin's Hermitage plantation located on the Savannah River. I'm not exactly sure when the bricks were first made but they played an important part in the rebuilding of Savannah after the fire of 1820. These bricks were made by the slaves who worked on the plantation. No one today, seems to be able to replicate these unusual bricks.
These bricks today are still found through out the city however they are extremely rare to find. I found a current auction online where someone was selling 400 bricks with a starting bid of $800.
One of the reasons these bricks stood out for me was that I grew up on Martha's Vineyard and we had a the remains of an old brickyard. We also had the Gay Head Cliffs that have been photographed over and over again. I'm fortunate to have some old photographs of myself and my family standing at the Gay Head Cliffs when there still was a giant red cliff that looked like the portrait of an Indian. Today that cliff is gone but it is firmly attached in my memory.
The other reason for us as historical fiction writers to consider bricks, brickyards and anything significant about them is that they played an important part in the lives of those living in the 19th century. Many homes were built with brick and if not the entire home, the foundations and the chimneys.
Here's another tidbit concerning bricks, long before our 19th century. In the building of the first Lutheran church built in Ebenezer, GA was built with bricks. The impressions of those early settler's fingers are still in some of the bricks.
Another time I'll go into the making of the bricks.
These bricks today are still found through out the city however they are extremely rare to find. I found a current auction online where someone was selling 400 bricks with a starting bid of $800.
One of the reasons these bricks stood out for me was that I grew up on Martha's Vineyard and we had a the remains of an old brickyard. We also had the Gay Head Cliffs that have been photographed over and over again. I'm fortunate to have some old photographs of myself and my family standing at the Gay Head Cliffs when there still was a giant red cliff that looked like the portrait of an Indian. Today that cliff is gone but it is firmly attached in my memory.
The other reason for us as historical fiction writers to consider bricks, brickyards and anything significant about them is that they played an important part in the lives of those living in the 19th century. Many homes were built with brick and if not the entire home, the foundations and the chimneys.
Here's another tidbit concerning bricks, long before our 19th century. In the building of the first Lutheran church built in Ebenezer, GA was built with bricks. The impressions of those early settler's fingers are still in some of the bricks.
Another time I'll go into the making of the bricks.
Thursday, October 16, 2014
Toccoa Falls
My son attended Toccoa Falls College in Toccoa GA. many years ago. I thought it interesting to find this little article on Toccoa in The New Pictorial Family Magazine ©1846 Then there are two more articles from other perspectives.
The Fall of Toccoa
Narrow passage leads from the roadside to the foot of the fall. Before us appeared the perpendicular face of the rock, resembling a rugged stone wall, and over it "the broke came bubbling down the side of the mountain's side."
The stream had lost most of its fulness from the recent dry weather, and as it became lashed into fury, by its sudden fall, it resembled a silver riband, hung gracefully over the face of the rock, and waving to and fro from the breath of the wind. It remains one of the poetic descriptions, of fairy-land, where we might expect the fays and elves, assemble on a moonlit night to hold their festival on the green bank, while the spray, clothed with all the varied colors of the rainbow, formed a halo of glory around their heads. It is indeed beautiful, surpassingly beautiful: the tall trees reaching but half way up the mountain height, the silver cascade foaming o'er the brow of the hill, the troubled waves of the mimic sea beneath, the lulling sound of the falling water, and the call of the mountain-birds around you—each aud all come with a soothing power upon the heart, which makes you anxious to linger through the long hours of the summer day.
Tearing ourselves away from the enchantment that held us below, we toiled our way up to the top of the fall, using a path that wouud around the mountain. When we reached the summit we trusted ourselves to such support as a small tree, which overhangs the precipice, could give us, and looked over into the basin beneath. Then, growing bolder as our spirits rose with the excitement of the scene, we divested ourselves of our boots and stock inns, and waded into the stream, until we approached within a few feet of the cascade. This can be done with but little danger, as the brook keeps on the even -mil unruffled tenor of its way, until just s it takes its lofty plunge into the abyss below.
I'lie height of the fall is now one hundred and eighty-six feet: formerly it was some ieet higher, but a portion of the rock w.is detached some years ago, by the attrition of the water, and its fall has detracted from the perpendicular descent of Hie stream.
Toceoa forms but one of the beautiful 'ioks in the chain of mountain scenery in the northwestern part of Georgia. There m iy te beheld the grandeur of the lofty V'ou i, the magnificence and terrific splendor oI Tallulah, the quiet and romantic v ie of Nacooche, and the thousand brilliant landscapes that adorn and beautify the f ice of Nature. All these attractions will, doubtless, before another score gf yeiiis has passed away, make Habersham county and its environs the summer retreat of G-orgians from the low country, and help to unite in closer bands the dweller on the seashore and the inhabitant of the mountain.
Toccoa Falls (for route see Clarksville, above), is in the County of Habersham, a few miles from the village of Clarksville.
[graphic]
Falls of Toccoa, Georgia.
The Falls of Toccoa and Tallulah.
The late Judge Charlton, describing this famous scene, says:
Several years have passed away since I last stood at the beautiful Fall of the Toccoa. It was one of the delightful summer days peculiar to the climate of Habersham County. The air had all the elasticity of the high region that surrounded us, and the scenery was of a character to elevate our spirits and enliven our fancy.
A narrow passage led us from the road-side to the foot of the Fall. Before us appeared the perpendicular face of rock, resembling a rugged stone wall, and over it,
" The brook came babbling down the mountain's side."
The stream had lost much of its fulness from the recent dry weather, and as it became lashed into fury, by its sudden fall, it resembled a silver ribbon, hung _ gracefully over the face of the rock, and waving to and fro with the breath of the wind. It reminded me more forcibly than any other scene I had ever beheld, of the poetic descriptions of fairy-land. It is just such a place—as has been often remarked by others—where we might expect the fays and elves to assemble of a moonlight night, to hold their festival on the green bank, whilst the spray, clothed with all the varied colors of the rainbow, formed a halo of glory around their heads. It is, indeed, beautiful, surpassingly beautiful: the tall trees reaching but half way up the mountain height, the silver cascade foaming o'er the brow of the hill, the troubled waves of the mimic sea beneath, the lulling sound of the falling water, and the call of the mountain birds around you, each and all come with a soothing power upon the heart, which makes it anxious to linger through the long hours of the summer day.
Tearing ourselves away from the enchantment that held us below, we toiled our way up to the top of the Fall, using a path that wound around the mountain. When we reached the summit, we trusted ourselves to such support, as a small tree, which overhangs the precipice, could give us, and looked over into the basin beneath. Then, growing bolder as our spirits rose with the excitement of the scene, we divested ourselves of our boots and stockings, and waded into the stream, until we approached within a few feet of the cascade. This can be done with but little danger, as the brook keeps on the even and unruffled tenor of its way, until just as it takes its lofty plunge into the abyss below.
The height of the Fall is now 186 feet; formerly it was some feet higher, but a portion of the rock was detached some years ago by the attrition of the water, and its fall has detracted from the perpendicular descent of the stream.
" Beautiful streamlet! onward glide,
In thy destined course to the ocean's tide!
So youth impetuous, longs to be—
Tossed on the waves of manhood's sea:
But weai*y soon of cloud and blast,
Sighs for the haven its bark hath past;
And though thou rushest now with glee,
By hill and plain to seek the sea—
No lovelier spot again thouFt find,
Than that thou leavest here behind;
Where hill and rock ' rebound the call'
Of clear Toccoa's water-fall."
Source: American Traveler ©1857
found Toccoa a pine town in the pine woods. It has always been there, I believe, but more so since the railroad came. It is eleven hundred feet above the sea, but you do not know it. I slept and ate in a pine hotel, with no lath or plaster or carpet; neither was there any dirt, and the ventilation was perfect, and so were the ham and eggs. The landlord is known to all the country as “Cousin John.” He has another name, I think, but if you go to Toccoa and inquire for “Le Hotel de Cousin Jean,” you will find it. The universal relative knows all about gold, also about amethysts, and also about that curious substance,‘asbestos, which the soil bears abundantly in the county of Habersham and the counties round about.
Lying over night at Toccoa,I made diligent inquiries about the county of Rabun. It is the most perpendicular of Georgia counties. Eighty-one per cent. of its surface is too mountainous for cultivation. It has but one town, Clayton, which has 120 inhabitants; and has produced but one eminent person, Judge Bleckley, of the Georgia Supreme bench, and the Eugene Ware of the same, whose funny decisions appear to afford the Albany Law Journal an endless supply of amusement. Rabun is the corner-stone of Georgia, and possesses the most striking mountain scenery within its borders. It produces gold, asbestos and moonshiners, each indestructible productions.
I learned at Toccoa City that the first object of my quest, Toccoa Falls, was within two miles, but that a sight of Tallula Falls necessitated a journey to the borders of Rabun, sixteen miles away.
This morning the awkward journey was accomplished. The road led over the foot-hills and through the pine and oak forest all the way. We came first to Toccoa Falls. It was in the early, clear morning, before the air had been colored or stained or heated by the advancing day, that I saw this most beautiful of cascades. You leave the team a little way and go up a tiny valley. It is shut in by wooded hills, so narrow that you could toss a stone across it. It is all shade and coolness and seclusion.
You come to a sheer granite wall, black and yellow and brown, and the Toccoa, a small mountain stream of sparkling water, coming from the mountain, arrives at the verge of this wall and drops over it, one hundred and eighty-six feet. There is no roar, no jar, no rising cloud of spray, no Whirlpools, no rushing rapids. All at once the water comes to the wall, springs lightly in a mass into the air, and drops down into a little pool as clear as crystal. First water, then snowy foam, then still water again. A great mass of rock has fallen, and the lower part of the eascade is hidden by it. The fall is slightly parted by a shelving rock at the top, and so seems in two divisions. This is Toccoa Falls. It is within two miles of one of the leading railroads of the South, and is hardly known. I went around and reached the top of the fall, and lay down on the rock where I could almost put my hand in the water after it makes the spring. It was like looking into a cascade of diamonds. Above and below, the Toccoa glides along unnoticed. It is splendid only at one place and for an instant, like a human life illnmined by one great deed. Leaving Toccoa Falls, we went on over the high hills. Monk, the driver, said they were mountains; this one was Walker mountain, and the other, Panther mountain. They did not seem mountains, and are really the foot-hills that finally run into Tallula Ridge, and so on higher and higher to the great Blue Ridge. The country seemed miserably poor, and was well settled, as I think every poor country is. I have ridden ten miles in two of the oldest-settled counties of Kansas within a few years past, over as fertile prairie as ever the sun shone on, without passing near a house; yet on this rough mountain road the cabins were within sight of each other all the way. The houses were all of pine logs and pine boards. The chimneys were either of sand rock or sticks and yellow clay. All the material for the habitations was gathered within afew steps of where they stood. They seemed a part of the mountains and the woods, as a bird’s nest seems part of the tree. If one of these houses burns down, it is only necessary to go out in the woods and get another one. The openness of the sides and the unreliability of the roof would terrify a Kansan, even though he is a resident of the Italy of America. The people who thus humbly lived did not appear to be idlers. At nearly all the houses there was an old-fashioned loom and spinning-wheel on the porch. The doors were all open, and the often solitary room seemed to have known the wisp broom, which was always in sight.
On the road we found one school house, ten miles from Toccoa. It was a little pine log cabin on a hillside, in an old field grown up to scattered pines. The door was fastened with a staple and hasp, with a stick for a lock. I made bold to enter the mountam seminary. It could not have been over twelve feet square; the loose boards which constituted the ceiling were but little over six feet from the floor. There were some pine slab beaches with the bark on, and a pine table for the teacher, and a brush broom. There was a stone fireplace, and in the corner lay an armful of pine knots. I picked up a tattered spelling-book from the floor. A poor place this, I thought, and yet on this humble altar is kindled learning’s sacred flame. This tattered book is the key that unlocks all. This may bring to the mountain child all that is recorded in our English speech of the studies of the wise, the wit of the bright and gay, the valor of the brave. “Stone walls do not a prison make, nor iron bars a cage,” nor can this rude hut shut in or cabin or confine the soul that is inspired of heaven. From this old field the sower may go forth to sow the field which is the world.
Nature has been kind to these hills in one respect. Such a profusion of wild flowers I never saw in any other country. One ravine was lined on both sides with honeysuckles as far as the eye could reach; great patches of violets and a sort of dwarf fieur de lis brightened the ground; and the dogwood reared its head of snow everywhere. The prodigal hand of nature seems to satisfy the natives. I saw, however, a great thicket of yellow roses in front of one cabin, and a shrub with flowers like the fuchsia, which the woman said were called “flower of pear.”
There was among these primitive people some signs of prosperity. The grist mill was about the roughest collection of wooden wheels ever turned by water, but we passed a modern saw mill and several new houses. I hope the country may grow so rich that there will be a change of contour. We did not pass on the road a man, woman, child, horse, cow or dog that was fat.
Source: Southern Letters ©1881
The Fall of Toccoa
Narrow passage leads from the roadside to the foot of the fall. Before us appeared the perpendicular face of the rock, resembling a rugged stone wall, and over it "the broke came bubbling down the side of the mountain's side."
The stream had lost most of its fulness from the recent dry weather, and as it became lashed into fury, by its sudden fall, it resembled a silver riband, hung gracefully over the face of the rock, and waving to and fro from the breath of the wind. It remains one of the poetic descriptions, of fairy-land, where we might expect the fays and elves, assemble on a moonlit night to hold their festival on the green bank, while the spray, clothed with all the varied colors of the rainbow, formed a halo of glory around their heads. It is indeed beautiful, surpassingly beautiful: the tall trees reaching but half way up the mountain height, the silver cascade foaming o'er the brow of the hill, the troubled waves of the mimic sea beneath, the lulling sound of the falling water, and the call of the mountain-birds around you—each aud all come with a soothing power upon the heart, which makes you anxious to linger through the long hours of the summer day.
Tearing ourselves away from the enchantment that held us below, we toiled our way up to the top of the fall, using a path that wouud around the mountain. When we reached the summit we trusted ourselves to such support as a small tree, which overhangs the precipice, could give us, and looked over into the basin beneath. Then, growing bolder as our spirits rose with the excitement of the scene, we divested ourselves of our boots and stock inns, and waded into the stream, until we approached within a few feet of the cascade. This can be done with but little danger, as the brook keeps on the even -mil unruffled tenor of its way, until just s it takes its lofty plunge into the abyss below.
I'lie height of the fall is now one hundred and eighty-six feet: formerly it was some ieet higher, but a portion of the rock w.is detached some years ago, by the attrition of the water, and its fall has detracted from the perpendicular descent of Hie stream.
Toceoa forms but one of the beautiful 'ioks in the chain of mountain scenery in the northwestern part of Georgia. There m iy te beheld the grandeur of the lofty V'ou i, the magnificence and terrific splendor oI Tallulah, the quiet and romantic v ie of Nacooche, and the thousand brilliant landscapes that adorn and beautify the f ice of Nature. All these attractions will, doubtless, before another score gf yeiiis has passed away, make Habersham county and its environs the summer retreat of G-orgians from the low country, and help to unite in closer bands the dweller on the seashore and the inhabitant of the mountain.
Toccoa Falls (for route see Clarksville, above), is in the County of Habersham, a few miles from the village of Clarksville.
[graphic]
Falls of Toccoa, Georgia.
The Falls of Toccoa and Tallulah.
The late Judge Charlton, describing this famous scene, says:
Several years have passed away since I last stood at the beautiful Fall of the Toccoa. It was one of the delightful summer days peculiar to the climate of Habersham County. The air had all the elasticity of the high region that surrounded us, and the scenery was of a character to elevate our spirits and enliven our fancy.
A narrow passage led us from the road-side to the foot of the Fall. Before us appeared the perpendicular face of rock, resembling a rugged stone wall, and over it,
" The brook came babbling down the mountain's side."
The stream had lost much of its fulness from the recent dry weather, and as it became lashed into fury, by its sudden fall, it resembled a silver ribbon, hung _ gracefully over the face of the rock, and waving to and fro with the breath of the wind. It reminded me more forcibly than any other scene I had ever beheld, of the poetic descriptions of fairy-land. It is just such a place—as has been often remarked by others—where we might expect the fays and elves to assemble of a moonlight night, to hold their festival on the green bank, whilst the spray, clothed with all the varied colors of the rainbow, formed a halo of glory around their heads. It is, indeed, beautiful, surpassingly beautiful: the tall trees reaching but half way up the mountain height, the silver cascade foaming o'er the brow of the hill, the troubled waves of the mimic sea beneath, the lulling sound of the falling water, and the call of the mountain birds around you, each and all come with a soothing power upon the heart, which makes it anxious to linger through the long hours of the summer day.
Tearing ourselves away from the enchantment that held us below, we toiled our way up to the top of the Fall, using a path that wound around the mountain. When we reached the summit, we trusted ourselves to such support, as a small tree, which overhangs the precipice, could give us, and looked over into the basin beneath. Then, growing bolder as our spirits rose with the excitement of the scene, we divested ourselves of our boots and stockings, and waded into the stream, until we approached within a few feet of the cascade. This can be done with but little danger, as the brook keeps on the even and unruffled tenor of its way, until just as it takes its lofty plunge into the abyss below.
The height of the Fall is now 186 feet; formerly it was some feet higher, but a portion of the rock was detached some years ago by the attrition of the water, and its fall has detracted from the perpendicular descent of the stream.
" Beautiful streamlet! onward glide,
In thy destined course to the ocean's tide!
So youth impetuous, longs to be—
Tossed on the waves of manhood's sea:
But weai*y soon of cloud and blast,
Sighs for the haven its bark hath past;
And though thou rushest now with glee,
By hill and plain to seek the sea—
No lovelier spot again thouFt find,
Than that thou leavest here behind;
Where hill and rock ' rebound the call'
Of clear Toccoa's water-fall."
Source: American Traveler ©1857
found Toccoa a pine town in the pine woods. It has always been there, I believe, but more so since the railroad came. It is eleven hundred feet above the sea, but you do not know it. I slept and ate in a pine hotel, with no lath or plaster or carpet; neither was there any dirt, and the ventilation was perfect, and so were the ham and eggs. The landlord is known to all the country as “Cousin John.” He has another name, I think, but if you go to Toccoa and inquire for “Le Hotel de Cousin Jean,” you will find it. The universal relative knows all about gold, also about amethysts, and also about that curious substance,‘asbestos, which the soil bears abundantly in the county of Habersham and the counties round about.
Lying over night at Toccoa,I made diligent inquiries about the county of Rabun. It is the most perpendicular of Georgia counties. Eighty-one per cent. of its surface is too mountainous for cultivation. It has but one town, Clayton, which has 120 inhabitants; and has produced but one eminent person, Judge Bleckley, of the Georgia Supreme bench, and the Eugene Ware of the same, whose funny decisions appear to afford the Albany Law Journal an endless supply of amusement. Rabun is the corner-stone of Georgia, and possesses the most striking mountain scenery within its borders. It produces gold, asbestos and moonshiners, each indestructible productions.
I learned at Toccoa City that the first object of my quest, Toccoa Falls, was within two miles, but that a sight of Tallula Falls necessitated a journey to the borders of Rabun, sixteen miles away.
This morning the awkward journey was accomplished. The road led over the foot-hills and through the pine and oak forest all the way. We came first to Toccoa Falls. It was in the early, clear morning, before the air had been colored or stained or heated by the advancing day, that I saw this most beautiful of cascades. You leave the team a little way and go up a tiny valley. It is shut in by wooded hills, so narrow that you could toss a stone across it. It is all shade and coolness and seclusion.
You come to a sheer granite wall, black and yellow and brown, and the Toccoa, a small mountain stream of sparkling water, coming from the mountain, arrives at the verge of this wall and drops over it, one hundred and eighty-six feet. There is no roar, no jar, no rising cloud of spray, no Whirlpools, no rushing rapids. All at once the water comes to the wall, springs lightly in a mass into the air, and drops down into a little pool as clear as crystal. First water, then snowy foam, then still water again. A great mass of rock has fallen, and the lower part of the eascade is hidden by it. The fall is slightly parted by a shelving rock at the top, and so seems in two divisions. This is Toccoa Falls. It is within two miles of one of the leading railroads of the South, and is hardly known. I went around and reached the top of the fall, and lay down on the rock where I could almost put my hand in the water after it makes the spring. It was like looking into a cascade of diamonds. Above and below, the Toccoa glides along unnoticed. It is splendid only at one place and for an instant, like a human life illnmined by one great deed. Leaving Toccoa Falls, we went on over the high hills. Monk, the driver, said they were mountains; this one was Walker mountain, and the other, Panther mountain. They did not seem mountains, and are really the foot-hills that finally run into Tallula Ridge, and so on higher and higher to the great Blue Ridge. The country seemed miserably poor, and was well settled, as I think every poor country is. I have ridden ten miles in two of the oldest-settled counties of Kansas within a few years past, over as fertile prairie as ever the sun shone on, without passing near a house; yet on this rough mountain road the cabins were within sight of each other all the way. The houses were all of pine logs and pine boards. The chimneys were either of sand rock or sticks and yellow clay. All the material for the habitations was gathered within afew steps of where they stood. They seemed a part of the mountains and the woods, as a bird’s nest seems part of the tree. If one of these houses burns down, it is only necessary to go out in the woods and get another one. The openness of the sides and the unreliability of the roof would terrify a Kansan, even though he is a resident of the Italy of America. The people who thus humbly lived did not appear to be idlers. At nearly all the houses there was an old-fashioned loom and spinning-wheel on the porch. The doors were all open, and the often solitary room seemed to have known the wisp broom, which was always in sight.
On the road we found one school house, ten miles from Toccoa. It was a little pine log cabin on a hillside, in an old field grown up to scattered pines. The door was fastened with a staple and hasp, with a stick for a lock. I made bold to enter the mountam seminary. It could not have been over twelve feet square; the loose boards which constituted the ceiling were but little over six feet from the floor. There were some pine slab beaches with the bark on, and a pine table for the teacher, and a brush broom. There was a stone fireplace, and in the corner lay an armful of pine knots. I picked up a tattered spelling-book from the floor. A poor place this, I thought, and yet on this humble altar is kindled learning’s sacred flame. This tattered book is the key that unlocks all. This may bring to the mountain child all that is recorded in our English speech of the studies of the wise, the wit of the bright and gay, the valor of the brave. “Stone walls do not a prison make, nor iron bars a cage,” nor can this rude hut shut in or cabin or confine the soul that is inspired of heaven. From this old field the sower may go forth to sow the field which is the world.
Nature has been kind to these hills in one respect. Such a profusion of wild flowers I never saw in any other country. One ravine was lined on both sides with honeysuckles as far as the eye could reach; great patches of violets and a sort of dwarf fieur de lis brightened the ground; and the dogwood reared its head of snow everywhere. The prodigal hand of nature seems to satisfy the natives. I saw, however, a great thicket of yellow roses in front of one cabin, and a shrub with flowers like the fuchsia, which the woman said were called “flower of pear.”
There was among these primitive people some signs of prosperity. The grist mill was about the roughest collection of wooden wheels ever turned by water, but we passed a modern saw mill and several new houses. I hope the country may grow so rich that there will be a change of contour. We did not pass on the road a man, woman, child, horse, cow or dog that was fat.
Source: Southern Letters ©1881
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