Augusta, Georgia - History (part 12 of 17)

By act of December 21, 1866, the charter was again amended so as to provide for the election of nine trustees instead of seven, three for one year, three for two, and three for three years, so as to elect but three each year to hold three years ; those who had filled one term not to be re- eligible till the expiration of one year. In 1870 it was enacted that the trustees should elect three persons to be pew-owners and residents of Richmond county, for terms of one, two, and three years respectively as an endowment committee, to receive and hold all church property with power to invest same, holding proceeds to use of the trustees, and to make annual reports, but in 1876 this act was repealed and the management of the church property left with the trustees as beore.

By an act passed in 1825, Timothy Edwards, M. M. Payne, Joseph Hutchinson, Robert Thomas, and James Primrose were incorporated as "the trustees of the Harrisburoh Presbyterian Church in the village of Harrisburgh and county of Richmond." The act provides that the succeeding trustees were to be elected annually on the first Saturday in March " by the worshipers in the church," and then proceeded to define that language by saying "those shall be considered worshipers who attend divine service there twelve Sabbaths during the year."

The Baptist denomination is numerically the most powerful in Georgia, and in and about Augusta its history extends back over one hundred years. As far back as 1789 an act of the Legislature states that " a religious society has for many years past been established on the Kioka, in the county of Richmond, called and known by the name of the Anabaptist Church, on the Kioka," and incorporates Abraham Marshall, William Willingham, Edmund Cartledge, John Landers, James Simms, Joseph Ray, and Lewis Gardner as "the trustees of the Anabaptist Church on the Kioka." This church was originally established in 1773 by Rev. Daniel Marshall.

The name Anabaptist was subsequently changed to Baptist and for many years after 1789, this old-time congregation met and worshiped in a church building on the side of the road leading from Augusta to Appling, the county seat of Columbia county, after that was cut oft" from Richmond county. The building has long since disappeared but a venerable tree on the left hand side of the road within some hundred yards of the court-house at Appling is still pointed out as having shaded the old church. Rev. Daniel Marshall, said by tradition to have been the first Baptist preacher in Georgia, for many years ministered in the Kioka Church, and just across the road from the site of the edifice his grave is still to be seen, a square mound of rock being his monument. The act incorporating the church provided that the trustees should hold office for three years, and that on the third Saturday in November in every third year " the supporters of the Gospel in said church should convene at the meeting-house, and there between the hours of ten and four should elect from among such supporters seven discreet persons to be trustees." An act of 1 801 provided that the trustees should fill any vacancy in their ranks, and that the congregation might fix the time of the general election at their pleasure.

A few years after another church was established by act of December 5, 1806 at Red's Creek, and Loveless Savage, James Simms, Archibald Odom, David Walker, and John Collier were granted a charter as " The Incorporated Red's Creek Baptist Church."

By act of December 2, 1809, the trustees of Richmond county academy were directed " to lay off a lot of ground between Telfair and Walker streets, not exceeding half a square, for the purpose of building a Baptist Church thereon, and to convey the same to the general committee of Georgia Baptists or to such persons in trust, for the purpose aforesaid, as they have or may nominate, to receive titles as aforesaid." It does not appear that the scheme of this act was carried into effect, but in 1817, and evidently through the untiring exertions of Rev. Abraham Marshall, an act was passed on December 19, " to incorporate the Baptist Church in the city of Augusta and county of Richmond, and to authorize the trustees of the Richmond Academy to convey a lot of land in the city of Augusta to said Baptist Society." By this act Abraham Marshall, John McKinne, James H. Randolph, Woodson Ligon, and Jesse D. Green were incorporated as " The Trustees of the Baptist Society in the city of Augusta and county of Richmond," and empowered to have and to hold real and personal property for the purpose of erecting a house of worship for said society in the city of Augusta and maintaining a minister of the Gospel for the same. To provide a site, the trustees of the academy were directed to lay off and convey to said trustees a one-acre lot in the city, where they might deem proper. In 18 18 all the church societies in Augusta were authorized to sell such parts of their lots as they might deem proper, the proceeds to be devoted to church purposes.

In 1819 the First Baptist Church was organized in Augusta and located on the corner of Greene and Jackson streets, where it still stands. The building cost $22,000, and the funds for its erection were mainly secured by the efforts of Rev. Dr. William T. Brantly, the first pastor, who at the time of the organization was rector of the Richmond Academy. The congregation at that time did not number over twenty all told, and but few of those were able to contribute anything towards the erection of the building, but their brother Baptists throughout the State, with their proverbial zeal and liberality, came to the rescue. By 1826 the church had increased and prospered to an extent which allowed it to give a ministerial stipend of $1,200. Rev. James Shand became Dr. Brantly's successor in the pastorate and served three years, when he resigned to accept the chair of ancient languages in the University of Georgia. Rev. Charles D. Mallary then became pastor and remained five years, the church in his time numbering one hundred and twenty-five members. Rev. W. J. Hard, at one time professor in Mercer University and for many years a well-known teacher in Augusta, was the next pastor, and was succeeded by Rev. W. T. Brantly, jr., son of the founder of the church who min istered for seven years, resigning to become professor of belle-lettres in the State University. The other pastors have been Rev. N. G. Foster, Rev. Mr. Gillette, Rev. Dr. J. G. Binney, who was twice in charge and subsequently became president of the Missionary College at Rangoon, Rurmah ; Rev. Dr. Ryerson succeeded, and then came Rev. A. J. Huntington, D D., who removed to become professor in Columbia College, District of Columbia. Rev. J. H. Cuthbert, D.D., who subsequently became pastor of the first Baptist Church in Washington, D. C, and Rev. Drs. James Dixon and M. B. Wharton succeeded. Then came Rev. William Warren Landrum, who was succeeded by the present able and eloquent pastor Dr. Lansing Burrows. The church now numbers over four hundred members. The building has been remodeled and is now an exceedingly handsome edifice and has a magnificent organ. A new lecture room, the finest in the city, has been built on Jackson street just in rear of the church at a cost of $10,000.

Just before the outbreak of the war the denomination had increased in Augusta to an extent which called for another church, and by act of December 8, i860, Henry J. Sibley, Samuel A. Verdery, Daniel B. Plumb, James Hill, David R. Wright, and Richard Timmerman were incorporated as the Second Baptist Church, Kollock street, Augusta, Georgia, and made trustees for life of the church. Since then three other Baptist Churches have been erected, the First Ward or Calvary Baptist Church, on Lower Greene street, Curtis Baptist Church on Upper Broad, and the Berean Church in Harrisburgh.

In 1830 an act "to incorporate the Baptist Convention of the State of Georgia " was passed which provided that Jesse Mercer, m.oderator ; Abiel Sherwood, clerk; J. P. Marshall, assistant clerk; James Armstrong, B. M. Sanders, Jonathan Danis, and Thomas Stocks, the then executive committee of the convention, and their successors in office, should be a body corporate as " the Executive Committee of the Baptist Convention of the State of Georgia," with power to hold all property of the convention and receive donations and bequests made thereto. In 1837 this act was so am.ended as to withdraw any taxing power from the committee or convention, if such it had under the act of 1830, legislation which seems rather anomalous and obscure. The same act authorized the committee to establish the now famous Mercer University.

The Methodist Church found difficulty in establishing itself in other portions of Georgia, but its early ministers met encouragement and support in and around Augusta. In 1786 in the Virginia Conference mention was made of Georgia as a missionary ground and several zealous clergymen volunteered to plant the faith there. Two of them. Rev. Thomas Humphries and John Major were accepted and soon formed a circuit about Augusta, extending up the Savannah as far as Little River and in the interior to Washington, in Wilkes county. Several churches were formed in a short time with an aggregate membersliip of four luiiulrcd. Mr. M;ijor was particularly active, and frcjni his plaintive style of preaching received the name of " the Weeping Prophet." It is a notable fact that in the early stages of Methodism it encountered much opposition in the towns and it was not until 1799, or some thirteen years after the advent of the first clergymen of this denomination in Georgia that a Methodist Church was formed in Augusta under the leadership of Stith Mead. In the same year Rev. John Garvin, of Augusta, entered the ministry and sought to establish a Methodist Church in Savannah, the third attempt in this direction. In 1790 Rev. Mope Hull visited that place but met opposition and was even threatened with mob violence. In 1796 Rev. Jonathan Jackson and Josiah Randle attempted to make converts but failed. Then Mr. Garvin essayed the task in 1800 and made some slight progress, but the difficulty of holding together his small society was so great that he also abandoned the attempt and it was not until 1807 th.it Methodism obtained a footing in Savannah. On his return from that stubborn field Rev. Mr. Garvin became pastor of the Augusta congregation and in 1801 the meeting house was built on the site of the present St. John's Church. Owing to the rule; of the Methodist discipline which changes pastors at frequent intervals, it is impracticable to give a full list ot all the clergymen who in the lapse of some ninety years have officiated in St. John's. Suffice it to say that many of the most-illustrious names in the history of Georgia Methodism have at one time or another had this venerable church in charge. Among them may be mentioned in addition to the pioneers Rev. John Garvin and Ilo[)e I lull, Lovick Pierce, Dunwoody, Bishop Andrew, and Bishop Pierce. In 1844 when the latter, then Rev. George F. Pierce, was in charge the present brick building was erected. F'rom St. John's as a center went out many other congregations so that the old church is affectionately known in the denomination as the mother of churches.

In 1859 Asbury Church was established and since then four others have been organized, the Broad Street Church, Jones' Chapel, St. Luke's Church, and Wesleyan Chapel.

Up to 1849 ^t. John's had a large colored membership which in that year was formed into Trinity Church, and since then four other colored Methodist congregations have been organized, namely Bethel Church, St. Mark's Church, Mount Zion Church, and Ilolsey Chapel.

Scotch and Irish names betray their Erse and Celtic origin, and inferentially their CathoHc faith. In 1770 Daniel M'Murphey appears as a resident of Augusta and one of the board of town commissioners. In 179 1 James Toole is a commissioner, but it is not until about the close of the eighteenth century that any considerable number of Catholics were found in the city. At that time the rising of '98 in Ireland and the contemporaneous insurrection of the blacks, in San Domingo drove many Irish and French refugees, particularly the latter, to Augusta and Savannah. Tradition reports that as early as 1 800 they established a place of worship, but it was not until 181 1 that a regular church was erected. In that year James Toole, Bernard Bignon, James Bertrand Lafitte, Francis Bouyer, and John Cormack were incorporated as " the trustees of the Roman Catholic Society in the city of Augusta and county of Richmond," and the trustees of Richmond Academy were directed to convey to them that lot of land in Augusta, bounded on the north by Telfair street, on the east by Mcintosh street, on the south by Walker street, and on the west by Jackson street, for church purposes. The trustees of the church were empowered to fill vacancies happening in their board, and no non-resident of the county was eligible to a seat. By an act of 1820 the Roman Catholic Society was to elect trustees annually, the board to fill intervening vacancies.

On the passage of the act of 181 1 a small church in the form of a cross was erected in the center of the lot, and for half a century was the only Catholic Church in the city. In this building such distinguished prelates as Bishop England and Bishop Barry preached, and in the next quarter of a century the congregation largely increased. The building of the Georgia Railroad begun about 1835 brought a large number of Irish laborers to the city and vicinity, most of whom settled in Augusta after the work of construction was complete. The presence of the French colony attracted others of that nationality, and their slaves, a number of whom followed their masters from San Domingo and professed the Catholic faith, helped to swell the congregation. For a number of years before the present church was built the old building was inadequate to accommodate all the worshipers, and at ma-s many could be seen kneeling outside the door and following the services from afar off as in European countries.

Up to the year 1850 Georgia was included in the South Carolina diocese and presided over by the Bishop of Charleston, but in that year Right Reverend Francis Xavier Gartland, of PhiladelpluH, was appointed bishop of the new diocese of Savannah, which comprised the State of Georgia. In 1853, under the administration of this prelate, the Sisters of the Order of Our Lady of Mercy established a convent and academy known as St. Mary's Academy, on the northeast corner of the church lot, and by act of February 7, 1854, were incorporated under the above name "for the advancement of the cause of education and charity, and the performance of acts of mercy and benevolence."

The original incorporators were Elizabeth Mahoney, Catharine McRena, and Rose Ann Reilly. By order of the Superior Court of Richmond county of May 9, 1 88 1, the sisters were given the right to confer diplomas, honors, degrees, and other like marks of scholastic distinction in their academy.

Scarcely bad the academy been instituted and Bishop Gartland began his administration before Augusta was devastated with the jellow fever epidemic of 1854. The old Catholic parsonage, which was situate in the rear of the old church was converted into a hospital, and here among the sick and dying Bishop Gartland, and Fathers Barry and Duggan, pastor and assistant pastor of the church, aided by the sisters, labored until the pestilence ceased. To his zeal the good bishop fell a victim, dying of the plague. Many were the orphans left by the dread malady. The sisters cared for the little girls and Father Barry adopted the boys, some of whom still live as honored citizens to bless and revere his name.

For three years the see was vacant, but in 1857 Father Barry was appointed bishop. He died in 1859, while on a visit to Rome, whence his remains were brought back and interred under the church. On Bishop Barry's demise. Dr. Verot, a professor at St. Mary's College, Baltimore, Md.. and a scholar of profound erudition, was appointed bishop, and continued such until 1870, when he was translated to the new diocese of St. Augustine, which covers the State of Flori<!a. During Bishop Verot's administration the present St. Patrick's Church was built. The old church had grown entirely too small for the congregation, and early in his incumbency he resolved upon a new and more capacious edifice. The congregation subscribed liberally, and many of the poorer members contributed so many days labor on the building. In 1862 it was completed, and consecrated by Bishop Verot, Bishop Ouinlan of Mobile delivering the sermon. Upon the translation of Bishop Verot to the new see of St. Augustine, the Right Reverend Ignatius Persico, bishop of Agra, in the East Indies, was made bishop of Savannah. His labors in the torrid clim.ate of Hindostan had injuriously affected his health, and it was expected that a change to a more genial air would restore him. This expectation was not realized, and in 1872 his resignation was accepted and he returned to his native Italy, where he was made bishop of Naples, formerly the see of St. Thomas, the Angelic Doctor. Since then he has been made archbishop of Damietta, and it is thought will shortly be named cardinal.

Bishop Gross was succeeded on March 26, 1886, by Right Reverend Thomas A. Becker, the first bishop of Wilmington, Del, which see he had filled since 1868. Bishop Becker is one of the most learned men in the church, speaking several modern languages and deeply versed in the ancient tongues, theology, and philosophy. He is moreover a man of remarkable executive abil- ity, and under his administration the CathoHc Church has prospered wonderfully throughout the State. Particular exertions are made in behalf of the colored population, and there are priests, sisters, churches, schools, and an asylum specially for them.

Of Bishop Barry's exertions while pastor of St. Patrick's, we have already spoken. Father Duggan, the next pastor, was a man of saintly life. With missionary zeal he labored incessantly for others, and himself led the life of an anchorite. By the most extreme and unvarying economy and self-denial he gathered up a fund of some eight or ten thousand ^dollars, which he left to build a school for youths, and St. Patrick's Commercial Institute, a very fine academy conducted by the Christian Brothers on the site of the old church is the realization of the good father's life long exertions. Father Duggan was succeeded by Father Kirby, whose monument is the new church. To build this was his hope and aspiration. The next pastor was Father Hamilton, a clergyman of imposing presence and most persuasive eloquence, who after some years faithful service removed to the diocese of Mobile and there died, lamented by all. Father O'Hara, the next pastor, died shortly after Father Hamilton's removal, and was succeeded by Father Prendergast, a clergyman of very great erudition. His knowledge of the history, traditions, and councils of the church was something wonderful, and many were the converts he made. He still labors with unabated zeal in other parts of the diocese. Fathers Quinlan and McNally followed, and the latter was in turn succeeded by the present pastor. Rev. James M. O'Brien, for many years the head of the famous boy's school at Washington, Ga., which has fitted so many homeless lads for lives of usefulness and honor.

In 1873 additional church facilities were needed by the Catholics of Augusta, and in October, 1874, the Jesuit fathers completed the Church of the Sacred Heart, in the upper part of the city. In 1876 a second convent and academy was established by the Sisters of the Order of Our Lady of Mercy under the name of the Sacred Heart Convent and Academy, near the Sacred Heart Church.

At a little later period another order known as the Franciscan Sisters established a school near Augusta for little colored girls and are doing an excellent work of charity. In addition to their care of the orphans under their charge, and the management of their academies, the sisters attend the City Hospital as nurses to the sick and injured.

The Christian Church, or Church of the Disciples of Christ, was organized in Augusta in 1835. At that time there were few members and the services were conducted in private parlors or rented room.s, but in 1842 Mrs. Emily H. Tubman, a wealthy and devoted member of the congregation, erected a church on Reynolds street now used as a young ladies' seminary as the Tubman High School. The first pastor was Dr. Hook whose faithful service for several years gave the congregation an impetus which carried it along steadily for a quarter of a century or more of progress until in 1873 the original building had become too sm.ill for proper accommodation. Mrs. Tubman again came forward and erected at her own expense a new and exceedingly handsome church, on the corner of Greene and Mcintosh streets, which was finished and occupied by the congregation on January, 1876. The second Christian church in the upper part of the city is of recent establishment.

The Lutheran Church is one of the oldest in Georgia. As early as 1733 a congregation of some one hundred sailed from Germany for Georgia under the charge of two pastors, Rev. Messrs. Bolzuis and Gronau, and though encountering many vicissitudes which for years caused the faith to remain almost stationary, it never died out and of late years has greatly increased. In 1859 a church was erected on Walker street, in which services are still held, and in 1887 a second church was erected on Greene street opposite the City Hall. The Walker street church is styled the German Evangelic Lutheran Church, and services are conducted in the German tongue. In the second church the services are in English, and the church owes its origin to the desire of the younger members to have their religious exercises in a language more familiar to them and better calculated to reach the general public than the tongue of the fatherland. The same difference of opinion on the subject of the language in which services should be conducted was one of the decadence of the Lutheran faith in the earlier days of its settlement in Georgia, but happily a revival of the discussion in later days in Augusta has had the effect of really increasing the denomination, its membership being quite strong enough to support both kinds of congregation.

The faith of Israel was early planted in Georgia. The second ship which sailed from London for the new province in 1733 brought forty Hebrews, men, women, and children who settled in Savannah, and very shortly after their arrival rented a house in that city where the exercises of their religion were held until about 1 741, when the congregation was temporarily broken up by the removal of many of its members to Charleston. In 1774 it was revived again largely owing to the efforts of Mr. Mordecai Sheftall, son of Mr. Benjamin Sheftall, one of the original settlers, but was again dissolved by the Revolution. Mr. Mordecai Sheftall took a prominent part in this struggle and was commissary-general of the Georgia Brigade in the Continental Army, Sheftall Sheftall, another member of the family, being deputy commissary.

After the Revolution the congregation, which we should state was called Mickva Israel, was re-established in 1786, and for a number of years service was regularly performed. Then another suspension occurred and lasted till 1820 when a synagogue was constructed which was used till accidentally burned in 1829. Dr. Moses Sheftall, the president of the congregation, was very active in rebuilding the edifice. Subscriptions were liberally made not

In 1854 Lewis Levy, Isaac Mayer, and Henry Myers were incorporated as " trustees of the permanent fund of the Children of Israel, a Jewish congregation in the city of Augusta." The fund at that time consisted chiefly of ten shares of the capital stock of the Franklin Building and Loan Association, and the trustees were directed to manage and increase the same for the improvement of the cemetery of the congregation and ultimately for the erection of a synagogue. At this time and for many years thereafter the congregation, which is known as B'nai Israel, or Children of Israel, occupied a building on the corner of Greene and Jackson streets, known afterwards as Douglass Hall, and now the site of the new Opera House.

In 1872 a handsome synagogue was erected on Telfair street, in rear of the City Hall. The design is that of a Grecian temple and the interior presents a singularly bright and cheerful appearance. Above the entrance is in large gold characters the Hebrew inscription B'nai Israel. This synagogue cost $12,000. The present officers are Joseph Myers, president; S. Lesser, vicepresident ; and A. Asher, I. C. Levy, and H. Brooks, trustees. One of the original trustees, Mr. Henry Myers, still survives, full of years and rich in the public respect and esteem. The confidence of his fellow- citizens has made him president of the Richmond County Reformatory Institute, a benevolent institution intended for the reformation of juvenile offenders.

Many years ago, in 1826, Alexander Cunningham, Gilbert Longstreet, Thomas S. Metcalf, William Sims, and Philip Crane were incorporated as the Unitarian Society in Augusta, Georgia, but it has been long since the organization has had an active existence.

The colored churches of Augusta are quite numerous and are of the Baptist, Methodist, and Presbyterian denominations. The colored Baptist churches are eleven in number, namely : Antioch, Central African, Friendship, Hale street. Harmony, Hosannah, Macedonia, Mount Olive, Springfield, Thankful, and Union Church. The colored Methodist churches are five in number, namely : Bethel, St. Mark's, Mount Zion, and Trinity Church, and Holsey chapel. There is one colored Presbyterian congregation called Christ Church.

Of these churches Springfield and Thankful have a very respectable antiquity, the former particularly. As early as 1805 the village of Springfield was spoken of as being a cluster of houses and a house of worship for the colored people of that day. The location of this village, now long absorbed into the corporate limits of Augusta, was at the intersection of Broad and Marbury streets, and within a few hundred feet of this point the present Springfield Church is situate. At the other extremity of the city is Thankful Church, much the junior of Springfield, but still of good age, having been built some fifty years ago. These churches were originally designed for the use of the slave popu- lation, and on the emancipation of their congregations have remained in their hands and been the fruitful centers of new congregations and new churches. Connected with them are some quaint, time-honored observances. At stated intervals there is a baptizing. There starts from the church towards the river a procession with the pastor, in a long white robe and leaning upon a long staff, at its head ; at his right hand and left are assistants similarly clad and equipped ; behind these comes the choir ; then the persons to be baptized, the men in long white gowns and tlie women in white dresses, each applicant supported on either hand by friends of his or her sex. Then came the congregation two and two. The pastor "lines out" a hymn and the choir and congregation respond, and thus the procession wends its waj' to the river where the immersion takes place.

Another curious custom is in connection with the burial of the dead. Connected with the older churches are benevolent societies, each with a distinctive uniform, which turn out en masse to the funeral of a deceased member. The feature of the uniform of the females is a cape, in some societies black with purple bands, in others white with black bands. Those with the black capes wear black dresses and black straw hats, those with white capes, white dresses and plain straw hats. These long processions moving along in perfect order and silence not infrequently present a weird appearance. The custom is of unknown antiquity.

The Young Men's Ciiristian Association of Augusta has been in operation for a number of years and is now on a solid and prosperous basis, with attractive rooms and a large and growing membership. Attached to it is a fine gymnasium, comfortably furnished reading-room and parlor, and a spacious lecture-room.

The Ministerial Association of Augusta is of recent date, but a body of great dignity and moral weight. It is composed of divines of nearly all denominations and is intended to make common cause in the interests of morality and religion.

In closing this sketch of the churches and religious institutions of Augusta it is pleasant to refer to the spirit of charity which prevails among all. Bigotry and polemic asperity are all but unknown, and as a consequence the religious sentiment of Augusta is as mild and tolerant as it is decided, zealous, and sincere.

Eli Whitney and his Cotton Gin - Cotton Forthwith Becomes a Staple - The Inventor's Troubles - Law Suits, Infringements, and Hostile Legislation - Protest Against Extension of the Patent - Whitney's Later Inventions - His Death in 1825 - Rapid Increase in Cotton Exports - Price Current of 1802 - The Embargo Blunder - British Cotton - Heavy Customs Duties - Georgia Long Staple - Total Cotton Export in 1810 - A Cotton Factory Chartered in 1798 - Europe and the North Manufacture, While the South only Produces - Deterrent Causes - Another Factory Chartered in 1810 - The Pioneer Southern Mill - Judge Shly's Factory - " The Live Spindle " - Bagging and Yarn the First Products - " The Dead Spindle " - Osnaburgs - The Mill Removed to Richmond County and Named Bellville - " Georgia Plains " - Checks and Denims Made - Bellville Factory Twice Burned - Impetus Given Southern Manufactures - Richmond Factory - Profuse and Omnipresent Water Power of Richmond County - Early Factories, Mills and Gins - McBean Factory - The Georgia Silk Manufacturing Company - The Augusta Sugar Manufacturing Company - The Savannah River Utilized - Augusta Canal Projected - Early History of this Great Work - The Original Ordinance - The Original Route Named - The Ratifying Act of the Legislature - How the Money was Raised - The Engineer's Report - Anti-Canal Litigation - The Canal Wins - The Enlargement in 1872-5 - Dimensions and Cost - Relative Cotton Manufacturing Advantages of North and South - Expert Testimony - The Augusta Manufacturing Company - The McBean Factory Charter - The Augusta Factory - Its Phenomenal Success - The Enterprise Factory - The Sibley Manufacturing Company - The John P. King Manufacturing Company The Riverside Mills - The Warwick Mills - The Algernon Mills - The Globe Mills - Work of the Augusta Factory from 1873 to 1878 - The Adjacent South Carolina Mills at Graniteville and Vancluse - The Southern and Western Manufacturers Association - The Lock Out of 1886 - Other Manufacturing Interests - Georgia Chemical Works - The Guano Interest - The Augusta Ice Company of 1832 - The Jackson Street Ice Company of i837--The Ice Factory of 1864 - The Augusta Ice Company - The Polar Ice Company - The Augusta Machine Works - Pendleton Machine Works - Augusta Flouring Mills - Excelsior Flouring Mills - The Lumber Interest - Brick Yards - Augusta as a Cotton Town - The Best Inland Center in the United States - Cotton Futures.

TO speak of the manufactures of Augusta is to speak of cotton, and to speak of cotton is to recall Eli Whitney and his cotton-gin. Elsewhere in this work we have made some mention of this great inventor and benefactor of mankind, but may here speak more fully of his biography, particularly as we shall find that the idea of cotton manufacturing in the South was coeval with the invention of the cotton gin.

In 1793 Eli Whitney, a native of Massachusetts, and then resident in Georgia, invented the cotton-gin, /. e., the saw-gin. the roller-gin having been known in Hindostan under the name of " Churka," from a remote antiquity. The principle of the " Churka " is two rollers revolving in opposite directions, one drawing and the other repelling the seed cotton, whereby the lint or fibre passes one way and the seed the other. This device, while answering fairly enough for the ginning of long staple, which parts with no great difficulty from the seed, has two drawbacks; one that is but a tedious process at best, and the other that the principle does not work with the ordinary upland variety where the fibre adheres closely to the seed. Celerity and power were the great desiderata to make cotton of any great commercial value, and these Whitney supplies with his saw-gin, the principle of which may be roughly stated as a set of teeth working between bars, whereby the lint is drawn through to one side while the seeds drop upon the other.

Mr. Whitney constructed his model and made his first experiments therewith in Richmond county on the waters of Rocky Creek, about two miles south of Augusta. The line of the Central Railroad now crosses the stream within view of the spot, and the dam built by the inventor to obtain a water supply by which to run the machine is still in existence and use, a modern improved gin now being operated where the original gin stood.

Up to Whitney's invention, cotton was more a curious than valuable product, but as soon as the new discovery became known the staple rose almost at a bound into prominence. As early as 1796 the General Assembly of Georgia passed " an act for the inspection of cotton," a sure proof that the article even at that early day was extensively grown, the existence of inspection laws, whatever their utility in themselves, being evidence of a general production or use of the article inspected. By act of 1797 the inspection act of 1796 was repealed as having " been found in its operation not competent to the objects proposed, by no means beneficial to the interest of the State, and an unnecessary burden on the planters of that article." The next year we find a still further evidence of the rise of the staple into industrial prominence in the shape of an act of 1798 to encourage cotton manufactures, as follows:

" Whereas, the manufactory of cotton will be attended with public utility, and William McClure and James Thompson have proposed to erect machines for that purpose.

" Be it therefore enacted, That it shall and may be lawful for the commissioners hereinafter named to establish a lottery within six months from and after the passing of this act, to raise the sum of two thousand dollars, under such schemes and regulations as may by them be deemed necessary, the said money to be applied to the use and benefit of the said William McClure and James Thompson for the purpose of erecting and carrying on the machinery aforesaid.

" And be it further enacted, That Benajah Smith, Joel Abbot, and John Matthews be, and they are hereby appointed commissioners to carry said lottery into effect."

speaking on the then vexed question of Georgia's southern boundary, says that the lands in that part of the State " answer very well for cotton, an article that is rapidly advancing to the head of American exports, and which (Georgia cotton) is taking the lead and preference of that staple in most foreign markets, a staple which deserves the fostering hand of the Union, and merits its attention and encouragement."

In another part of the same message he says : " Having, in a former part of my message touched on the article of cotton, I beg permission to call your attention to the complaint of foreign merchants as to the deception in the package of it. To preserve the character and reputation of that highly important staple is worthy of the most minute attention of the Legislature of Georgia, that State which at first exclusively brought it into notice as an export of the United States, and which from its almost universal encouragement of its culture since, bids fair to yield the United States a larger source of revenue than any other State in the Union. An inspection law was passed in 1796, but repealed in 1797 ; whether it may be proper to revive it, I leave to your superior judgment. But it is known that almost all of the valuable articles of export from the different States are found to stand in need of inspections, and cotton is certainly as valuable as any of them. Should this base practice continue unchecked by some guards, the mind of the merchant will be filled with distrust; the reputation of our cotton will diminish, and the loss will ultimately return on ourselves by a failure of price. But this is not all; such infamous practices tend to stamp on our character as a people a total want of honor, justice, and morality, which I feel convinced you will deem it your duty to prevent."

About this time, however, we regret to say, we find evidence of a disposition to deny Mr. Whitney the just reward of his genius. Infringements on and violations of, his patent, litigation, and hostile State action combined to harass and annoy him, and while he fought his battle with great spirit in the courts for a number of years, and won several important causes, it is doubtful if, upon the whole, he reaped much emolument from his invention.

" Notice to all concerned. - All persons wishing to use the Patent Gins for cleansing cotton are hereby informed that they can be supplied with licenses therefor by applying to the subscriber on or at any time before the 20th of January next. Those who neglect to furnish themselves by that time, will have none to blame but themselves should they afterwards be attended to in a way however necessary, by no means pleasing to

In his message to the Legislature of the same year Governor Jackson says: " I request your attention to the patent gin nionoply, under the laws of the United States, entitled ' an act to extend the privileges of obtaining patents for useful discoveries and inventions to certain persons therein mentioned, and to enlarge and define the penalties for violating the right of patentees.' The operation of this law is a prevention and cramping of genius as respects cotton machines, and a manifest injury to the community, and in many respect a-cruel extortion on the gin holders. The two important States of Georgia and South Carolina, where this article appears to be becoming the principal staple, are made tributary to two persons who have obtained the patent, and who demand, as I am informed, two hundred dollars for the mere liberty of using a ginning machine, in the creation of which the patentees do not expend one farthing, and which sum, as they now think their right secured, it is in their power in future licenses to raise to treble that amount; from the information given me by a respectable citizen of this town (Louisville) when Miller and Whitney, the patentees, first distributed the machines of their construction, they reserved the right of property in it, as also two-thirds of the net proceeds arising from the gin, tlie expenses of working to be joint between the patentee and the ginner. Finding, however, a defect in the law under which their patent was obtained, they determined to sell the machine, together with the right vested in them for five hundred dollars, and for a license to authorize a person to build and work one at his own expense, four hundred; but finding, as I suppose, that the defect of the law was generally understood, and that they could get no redress in the courts, they lowered the demand to the present rate of two hundred dollars- That they may raise it to the former rates is certain, and that they will do it unless public interfeience is had, there can be little doubt. I have been informed from other sources that gins have been erected by other persons who have not taken Miller & Whitney's machines for a model, but which in some small degree resembles it, and in improvement far surpass it, for it has been asserted that Miller & Whitney's gin did not on trial answer the intended purpose. The right of those improvements are, however, it appears, by the present act, merged in the right of the patentees, who it is supposed, on the lowest calculation, will make by it in the two States over two hundred thousand dollars.

" Monopolies are odious in all countries, but more particularly so in a government like ours. The great law meteor, Coke, declared them contrary to the common and fundamental law of England. Their tendency certainly is to raise the price of the article from the exclusive privilege; to render the machine or article worse from the prevention of competition and improvement, and to impoverish poor artificers and planters who are forbidden from making, vending, or using it without license from the patentees, or in case of so doing are made liable to penalties in a court of law. The Federal Circuit Court docket, it is said, is filled with those actions.

"I do not doubt the power of Congress to grant those exclusive privileges, for the Constitution has vested them with it; but in all cases where they become injurious to the community they ought to be suppressed, or the patentees be paid a moderate compensation for the discovery from the government granting the patent. The celebrated Dr. Adam Smith observes that monopolies are supported by cruel and oppressive laws. Such is the operation at present of the law on this subject ; its weight lay on the poor industrious mechanic and planter. Congress, however, did not intend it so, for when the first law on this head was passed in February, 1793, a few individuals only cultivated cotton, and it was not dreamed of as about to become the great staple of the two Southern States, a staple, too, which, if properly encouraged, must take the decided lead of any other, bread kind excepted, in the United States. The steps proper to be taken to remedy this public grievance you will judge of, but I should suppose that our sister Sta^e of South Carolina, being so much interested, would cheerfully join Georgia in any proper application to Congress on the subject. I am likewise of the opinion that the States of North Carolina and Tennessee must be so far interested as to support such application. If you think with me, I recommend communications with all of them."

The General Assembly took no action at this time on the foregoing recommendation, but the agitation was not abandoned, and in 1807, when the patent was about expiring, the following joint resolution was adopted:

" Whereas, the period for which Miller & Whitney obtained an exclusive privilege for making and vending a gin for separating the seed from the cotton has now expired ; and, whereas, it is understood that themselves, or others in their behalf, are about to apply to Congress for a renewal of such exclusive privilege, and being convinced that such renewal would be highly injurious to the interest of the people of Georgia, and retard many improvements which might be made in the important business of ginning and cleaning of cotton.

Now, be it resolved by the Senate and House of Representatives of the State of Georgia in General Assembly met, and by the authority of the same : That our senators be instructed and our representatives be directed to use every means in their power to oppose the renewel of such exclusive privilege."

In South Carolina, also, trouble arose on the same subject. The original agreement was that the State was to pay Whitney $50,000 as follows : Cash, $20,000, and the residue in three equal payments - on September i, 1802, September i, 1803, and October i, 1804. By act of 1803 the comptroller was directed to withhold all future payments " until the event of existing disputes between the State and the said Miller & Whitney is concluded." Litigation ensued, which resulted in favor of the patentees, who thereupon received the stipulated payments. In Tennessee it is stated that $35,000 agreed on was not paid ; but North Carolina, which had contracted for a five years' royalty, punctually discharged the same. The Augusta Herald man-

" Since the formation of our government no invention has been more interesting and important to the Southern States than that of patent gins; and, we regret to add, that no invention has been more ungratefully rewarded."

We may here add that at a later period of his life Mr. Whitney made some improvements in fire-arms, which brought him in a handsome revenue from the United States government in his declining years. He was born at Westborough, Mass., on December 8, 1765, and died at New Haven, Conn., on January 8, 1825. He was educated at Yale, removed to Georgia with a view of becoming a lawyer, and is said to have had his attention directed to the subject of his great invention by the widow of General Greene, of Revolutionary fame, at whose house he resided, and who evinced a great interest in th^ young student's success in life.

In the files of the Chronicle and other Augusta papers, much interesting information is to be had as to the state of the cotton market since the invenion of the saw-gin.

Tho total export of the United States in 1791 was but 379 bales, while fo the year ending October i, 1800, it was 6,889 from Georgia alone. For the same period, the export from Charleston was 6,425,863 pounds, about 12,851 bales.

"Cotton - Georgia Sea Island, 26 to 35d ; upland, i4Ytoi5; New Orleans, II to 152"! fine Sea Island has become very scarce and is in brisk demand; good, bright upland becomes scarce and is inquired for; New Orleans very heavy."

July 23, 1808, at Augusta, 12 to 13 dents; October 13, same year, it is said that England has only taken American cotton within the last ten or fifteen years, which would practically date the American cotton trade from the invention of the cotton gin. It is also said that in 1808 Bengal and Bombay sent 134,000 bales to Great Britain ; also,. that prior to the rise of the American trade, England received her supply from the West Indies, and that since 1793 she has added not only America, but Trinidad, Surinam and Demerara to her sources of supply.

It will be remembered that by an act of Congress of December 22, 1807, commonly called the Embargo, commercial intercourse between the United

States and foreign countries was interdicted, which interdiction was not raised until March, 1809. The suicidal effect of this policy on American interests was soon made manifest, and its results are in some sort traceable to the present day - so terribly destructive is legislative interference with the natural course of trade. England was even at that time putting forth strenuous efforts to stimulate the production of cotton in her colonies and dependencies, and with what result is shown by the fact that whereas the import into England from all other than American ports in 1806 was 49,996 bales, in 1807 i^ -'ose to 72,443, an increase of nearly fifty per cent, in a single season. Just at this inopportune time came the embargo. England was thus cut off entirely from her American sources of supply, and at once redoubled her efforts in other cotton producing countries. The result is almost incredible. Up to 1808 Bengal, Bombay, the V/est Indies, Trinidad and Surinam were her non- American sources of supply, but in 1809 we find a Liverpool price current of August 25, which mentions that she has added some fifteen or sixteen more. The embargo was then raised, but the damage was done, as the non-American sources of supply show:

A further item to like effect is that for the first six months of 1 808 the import into Great Britain "from Brazil and Lisbon" was 4,980 bales; for the same period in 1809 it was 49,260 bales.

In October, i8iO, Napoleon puts a duty of 300 francs on "Brazil, Cayenne, Surinam, Demarara and Georgia long staple," and an explanatory note by the editor says all Southern Sea Island cotton was then called " Georgia long staple" in European marts.

In 1 8 10 the total export of the United States was 188,000 bales. From this time out the growth oi the export, rate of the markets, etc., are readily traceable, and further quotations would not be of any special interest. Suffice it to say that in 1825 when Whitney died, the annual export had risen to 400,000 bales as against the 379 painfully picked out by hand in 1791.

We have said that the idea of cotton manufacturing at the South was coeval with the invention of the cotton gin. As we have seen, a cotton-mill was incorporated in Georgia in 1798, but five years after Whitney had received his patent. By 1800 the export from Georgia had risen to 6,889 bales, as against 379 in 1 791 ; and in 1825 had risen to 400,000. 1 his rapid increase in the raw material would have forced a corresponding development of manufactures in this State, but for the fact that Europe and the North were clamoring for supplies, and it was evidently a serious question in those days whether the South could compete with the greater capital and mechanical resources of such rivals. For instance, as early as 1808, the state of manufactures in New England was so flourishing as to attract special attention in the Southern press. As one instance, it was tlien noted that there was one mill in Rhode Island 211 feet long and with 10,000 spindles, pretentious figures at that time. Another trouble in the southern path was the labor question. A slave was worth more to produce cotton than to manufacture cotton. The South had a practical monoply of production, but many competitors in the arena of manufactures. These considerations seem to have had a most depressing influence on the original conception that cotton should be grown at the mill- door, and it was not until a number of years after Whitney's death that Southern cotton manufacturing began to show signs of life. After the incorporation of the cotton factory of 1798, heretofore mentioned, we find no other like establishments chartered until the year 18 10, when it appears one was incorporated in Wilkes county. The act gives as the reason of its passage that " Matthew Talbot, Boiling Anthony, Benjamin Sherrod, John Bolton, Frederick Ball, Gilbert Hay, and Joel Abbott, as managers of the company established in Wilkes county in this State, have by their memorial represented that a company has been formed for the purpose of manufacturing cotton and woolen goods (by machinery to be erected in Wilkes county) with a capital stock of ten thousand dollars, to be increased conformably to the articles of association of said company to any sum not exceeding fifty thousand dollars ; and the said managers have petitioned the Legislature for a charter of incorporation to enable them more effectually to accomplish the laudable and patriotic objects of the company." The company was therefore chartered as "the Wilkes Man- ufacturing Company." The act gives no light as to the methods of manufacturing then in vogue, nor does aught of the further history of this early mill appear. It is stated, and it seems on good authority, that no organization under the charter was ever had.

It was not until about twenty years later that cotton manufacturing in the South began to assume practical shape. From all the evidence we have been able to obtain it seems clear that Mr. John Shly (for many years judge of the Superior Court at Augusta and whose biography will be found in the chapters of this work on the judicial establishment) is entitled to the honor of successfully operating the first cotton factory in the Southern States.

In 1828 Mr. Shly went to Philadelphia and bought from Alfred Jenks, of Bridesburg, Penn., the first machinery for making cotton bagging and spinning yarns ever brought to Georgia. The machines were shipped to Savannah and thence wagoned two hundred miles to the interior, in Jefierson county, on Reedy Creek, and there Mr. Shly established his factory. The machinery was the best then known, termed " the live spindle." It was an English invention, and spun yarns of from fours to twelves. The bagging was number one thread. The journey to Philadelphia from Louisville, in Jefferson county, took Mr. Shly six weeks of constant travel in what was then known as the Alligator line of stage coaches. In his factory he ran four looms on cotton bagging, making from 300 to 400 yards per day. Of yarns he spun about 200 to 300 pounds per day, the quantity varying according as fine or coarse yarns were turned out. For this he received from $i to $1.50 per pound, the market being among the country people who worked it up into homespuns, jeans, etc. The bagging was sold to the planters to pack cotton in, the staple at that time being packed only in round bales. To make the bales, the planter would cut off" a piece of bagging about ten feet long. The edges were then joined and sewed together, and one end also sewed up. This made a bag ten feet long and from twenty- two to twenty-three inches wide. Into this the cotton was tightly packed and rammed. When full, the mouth of the bag was closed. At each of the four corners an ear or lug, commonly filled with cotton seed, was made. The round bale ordinarily weighed 200 pounds, sometimes running to 300.

After running some years, the price of cotton rose so high that the making of bagging out of it became unprofitable, and Mr. Shly discarded his bagging machinery and replaced it with spinning machinery, called " the dead spindle," an improvement on the live spindle, and devoted himself entirely to spinning yarns. The new spindle ran faster than the old and increased his production materially. The yarns were put up in five pound bunches, and found ready sale in the neighborhood, as has been stated.

In the "live spindle" the spindle itself revolved, as well as the flyer. If the speed exceeded a certain moderate velocity the wings of the flyer expanded, causing them to catch one on the other and break. Moreover, in order to insert a new bobbin it was necessary to unscrew the flyer.

In the "dead spindle," the spindle was stationary, and only the flyer revolved. The flyer was secured top and bottom to the whirl, thus preventing expansion and allowing a much greater rate of speed, and consequent increased yield of yarn.

After obtaining the dead spindle Mr. Shiy put in six power looms, and wove osnaburgs, weighing about eight ounces to tlie yard, which he sold to the planters to clothe their slaves. These goods were about thirty inches wide, and sold readily at half a dollar per yard. Some fifty hands were employed in this primitive factory, about half being whites, and the rest slaves hired for the purpose. The white hands made from $6.50 to $10 per month, according to skill. Mr. Shly furnished his operatives houses, fire wood, garden patches, etc., free. While the number ol hands looks large for works no more extensive than this early factory, it must be remembered that in the then infancy of machinery more manual labor was required than at the present day. Mr. Shly also required his sons to work in the factory, for the purpose of acquiring a practical knowledge of the business. This was the first cotton manufactory in Georgia. It was called indifferently Shly's Mills, Reedy Creek Factory, and Jefferson Bath Mills

About 1834 Mr. Shly removed his factory from Jefferson county to Richmond. The cause of the removal was the unhealthiness of the Jefferson site, caused by the rotting of the timber in the mill pond. At this time Mr. Valentine Walker had a saw-mill on Butler's Creek, seven miles from Augusta, which Mr. Shly purchased and named Bellville. This site he converted into a cotton-mill. Having more power, he put in double the quantity of machinery used at the Ready Creek mill. In addition to cotton machinery, he put in machinery for the manufacture of woolen goods. The woolen goods were known as " Georgia plains;" it was made of all wool filling and cotton warp; was thirty inches wide and weighed ten ounces to the yard. These goods were sold to the planters for dresses for the female slaves. In addition there was made a twill of wool and cotton mixed, which weighed twelve or fourteen ounces to the yard, two grades being manufactured. This was used by the planters for overcoats, trousers, and jackets for their men slaves. It w^as exceedingly popular among the planters in Georjj;ia and Carolina, particularly on the rice plantations, and superseded " British plains," being much more dura ble, warmer, and only costing half the price, the British plains being eighty cents per yard and ihe Georgia article forty cents.

This mill also manufactured the first striped or checked cotton goods made in Georgia. A dye house was put in, and a variety of stripes and plaids were turned out. Blue and brown denims were also made, and had a large sale for workingmen's suits. It may here be added that during the war the mill made the first cotton duck made in Georgia. It was manufactured largely for tents and caisson covers for the Confederate government. Messengers came from many factories to Bellville to learn how to make this class of goods.

Mr. Shly invented the first picker for picking the burrs out of wool and received a patent for it. In the destruction of the patent ofifice by fire in 1830 the patent was destroyed. Mr. Shly then being on the bench and attaching httle importance to his invention suffered his rights to lapse. Subsequently other parties patented the idea, and it is now indispensable. Mr. Shly's invention was a corrugated roller running in front of the burring cylinder.

The outfit of the Hellville factory was 5,000 cotton spindles and 1,200 wool spindles. There were 100 looms working on wool and cotton goods. There were eighty hands, the improvements in machinery allowing a material reduction of force. The production was 800 to 1,000 yards per day of woolen goods, the quantity varying with the weight of the goods produced, and 3,000 yards of cotton goods, osnaburgs, stripes, plaids, and denims. Shortly before the war the Bellville factory was burned, a spark falling in the lint-room. With considerable effort it was rebuilt and refitted, and, as before stated, did much work for the Confederate government. There was a considerable production of duck used for caisson covers, and this new development was the cause of the second and final destruction of the time honored mill. In order to make the caisson covers more efficient they were enameled, and in this process a number of inflamable ingredients, oil, turpentine, etc., accumulated about the factory. One night, shortly after the operations of the mill for the day were over, fire was discovered in the paint or enameling room. The superintendent and his hands rushed to the rescue, but on bursting open the door of the room were driven back by overpowering fumes of sulphur; the flames instantly darted out into the other portions of the mill and the building was soon in ashes. One of the hands who had been employed a short time before and whose antecedents were unknown, had disappeared and was never seen thereafter. It was then called to mind that he had predicted the destruction of the factory on the ground of its rendering such efficient aid to the Southern artillery, and the conclusion was not far off that he had been sent to do the work of destruction. The use of sulphur to drive off the rescuers until too late to save the property was considered a pregnant proof of fell design.

A few years after Mr. Shly had demonstrated that cotton manufacturing in Georgia could be made a success quite a number of factory companies were incorporated, some of which still survive, as the Princeton factory at Athens, Shoal Creek, Roswell, and Montour factories, at Parker Store ; Roswell and Sparta, not forgetting Richmond factory, on the waters of Spirit Creek, in Richmond county, about ten miles from Augusta. Of this latter mill, still in active operation, we will give some sketch.

In 1834 William Schley, Daniel Hook, Philip Thomas Schley, and George Schley, jr., were incorporated under the name and style of " the Richmond Factory, for the purpose of manufacturing cotton and wool, and making the machinery necessary and proper for the manufacture of those articles." The charter does not state the amount of the capital stock, simply saying that " a large sum of money has been invested by the company in the purchase of machinery and a water power on the banks of Spirit Creek." In 1849 the capital stock was $35,000, the number of spindles 1,500, and of looms forty. The operatives were seventy in number, mostly whites, and their wages from ten cents to one dollar per day. The annual consumption of cotton was 450 bales, the daily production 1,000 yards of cloth and 150 pounds of yarn. The product was equal in quality to any then produced in the United States, and was mostly sold in the United States. From its commencement up to 1849 ^^is mill had paid a regular annual dividend of sixteen per cent. At present 2,200 spindles are operated in this venerable mill, the pioneer in Richmond county.

Prior to the incorporation of the Richmond Factory, namely in 1832, Moses Rofif, jr.. John P. King, Green B. Marshall, Daniel Hook, and Amory Sibley were made commissioners to receive subscriptions for a cotton and woolen manufacturing company in Richmond county to be called "the Richmond Manufacturing Company." The capital stock was to be $50,000, in shares of $50 each, and increasable to $100,000. The charter is quite long, and makes many minute provisions as to the management of the corporate business, but throws no light upon the subject of manufacturing itself, and does not appear to have been put in operation.

An inspection of the map of Richmond county will show that it seems marked out by nature for a manufacturing center from the abundance of water-power to be found within its limits. Leaving out of view for the present the Savannah River, which forms the northern and northeastern boundary of the county, we find seven different streams traversing the county in various directions, each of them studded at intervals with lakes or ponds. The value of the water-power thus profusely scattered about the county seems to have been recognized from the earliest settlement of the county, and to have been, from a very early date made available for grist-mills, and at a later period, cotton-gins. Some of the sites have been in use for over half a century, and one for ninety years. Taking the county at its northernmost point and coming southward, we first find Rae's Creek, flowing in a northeasterly direction and emptying into the Savannah River a little to the north of Augusta. This stream has two ponds, Thomas' pond and Skinner's pond, each with an ancient mill site, and just before it reaches the river debouches into a handsome sheet of water called Lake Rae. Next below, and running parallel with the Savannah River, at a distance of about three miles south of the city and emptying into the river we find Rocky Creek which has six ponds, three of them - Wyld's, Kendrick's, and Phinizy's having mills. The latter site is one of the oldest if not the oldest in the county, and has an historical interest from the fact that it was here that E\\ Whitney first operated his cotton-gin. The traveler, journeying from Augusta to Savannah, can see from the car windows, as he speeds along the Central Railway, this historic spot.

Next below Rocky Creek comes Butler's Creek, a bold stream which also runs parallel to the river and empties into it. This stream has eight ponds upon it, among others Wynne's, Crawford's, Tabb's, Belleville Factory, Duval's and Carmichael's. Below Butler's Creek, and running parallel to it and emptying into the Savannah River, comes Spirit Creek which, like Butler's, traverses the county from side to side. This has on the main stream and its tributaries, South Prong of Spirit Creek, Grindstone Creek, and Little Spirit Creek, eleven ponds, among them Richmond Factory pond, McDade's, Hancock's Hack's, and Walker's. South of Spirit Creek, and forming the southern boundary of Richmond county, is Briar Creek, famous as the scene of a battle in the Revolutionary War. This has four ponds, Fulcher's, Story's, Dickinson's, and Bennoch's. All these streams run in a southeasterly direction across the county, dividing it into four water tiers, so to speak, but even this abundant supply does not exhaust the water-power. In the southwestern corner of the county, known as Pinetucky, two more streams furnish mill sites. One is Sandy Run, which runs almost due south, and has upon it five ponds, among them Merry's, McNair's, Palmer's, Savage's, and Bradshaw's. To the west of this, and also running due south, comes the classic Boggy Gut with two ponds. On these streams are to be found two factories, Richmond Factory, on Spirit Creek, and Belleville Factory on Butler's Creek ; the building of the latter, however, being now in ruins. The number of neighborhood mills is legion. Among them may be mentioned Skinner's, Thomas's, Wyld's, Kendrick's. Phinizy's, Wynn's, Crawford's, Rowley's, Tabb's, Duval's, Carmichael's, McNair's, Rhode's, McDade's, Dove's, Walker's, Bennoch's, Dickinson's, Hancock's, Fulcher's, Bradshaw's, Palmer's, Merry's, and Mercer's. Some exist only in name now, others grind the neighborhood corn and gin' the neighborhood cotton as blithely as of yore. Pleasant is the recollection of the many streams which intersect Richmond county and of the many mill sites which dot their banks. Happy are the hours we have spent in their cool shades watching the clouds flit by, hearing the pine trees rustle their wholesome foliage, breathing in the balsamic air, and ever and anon landing one of the fine game fish, bream or trout, that lurk in their dark pools. The abundant power we have mentioned as existing throughout Richmond county was early utilized for manufacturing purposes.

In 1834 Richmond Factory was built on the waters of Spirit Creek, and in 1850 the McBean Manufacturing Company was chartered to operate on the waters of the stream of that name. In 1854 the pioneer, Belleville Factory, on the waters of Butler's Creek, was incorporated. Of the McBean Factory we will have more to say hereafter. Sufiice it here to say that at a later date the locality of its franchise was transferred to the city of Augusta and its name changed to the Augusta Factory.

Robert Schley were incorporated as the Belleville Factory, and empowered not only to operate Belleville Factory proper, " a manufacturing establishment in operation, located on Butler's Creek in Richmond county, seven miles south of the city of Augusta, for tlie manufacture of wool and cotton cloth," but to erect and operate other mills " for the manufacturing of wool and cotton cloth or other things" with like privileges. For many years this factory was in successful operation, as before noted.

The abundant water-power of Richmond county inspired the organization of some manufacturing companies other than for the making of cotton goods. As early as 1839 ^^ ^""^ ^hat Jonathan Meigs, John M. Dow, Joseph K. KUburn, Jesse Clark, Cesain Blome, Jesse Walton John Ambler, William H. Gordon, Thomas Chafifin, and Leon P. Dugas were incorporated as " the Georgia Silk Manufacturing Company, to be located in Richmond county for the purpose of raising mulberry trees, growing and manufacturing silk, manufacturing machinery for reeling and spinning silk, and for carrying on the different branches of business necessarily connected with the operations above mentioned." The capital was fixed at $500,000, and John Ambler, John M. Dow, and Jesse Walton were to direct the affairs of the company until it was formally organized. The company was incorporated for thirty years, and given power to establish branches of the business in other counties of the State. These were the days of the morns nmlticaiilus, of the great silk- worm craze which swept over the country a half century ago, and sanguine were the expectations of the projectors of this novel enterprise. In the collapse of the silk fever it went down, and yet it may be said it was not a visionary scheme but only premature. It cannot be denied that that portion of Georgia in which Augusta is situated is admirably adapted to silk culture, and if the economic conditions can ever be made as favorable as the natural the dream of the early founders of the State that it should become a silk- producing country will be realized. So firmly persuaded were the founders of Georgia being a silk country that, as will be remembered, the colonial seal bore the impress of a figure representing the genius of the province presenting a skein of silk to the king.

In the same year, 1839, a company was formed for the production of beetsugar. J. K. Kilburn, William Jones, William Gordon, John Ambler, and John W. Dunn were incorporated as the Augusta Sugar Manufacturing Company, with a capital of $450,000, increasable to $480,000, with power to establish branches of the business in other counties. The objects of the company were "the raising of the beet, and manufacturing sugar from the same, and for purifying and manufacturing sugar in its various branches." The charter ran to 1870, but, like the silk company, this corporation came to naught.

The use made of the water-power found so abundantly in the interior of Richmond county finally attracted attention to the Savannah River as having more than all the interior streams combined, and only needing adaptation to manufacturing needs. The existence of the Richmond Factory on Spirit Creek in so flourishing a condition as to pay a dividend of sixteen per cent, from the moment of its first operation was a standing incentive. If so much could be done on a country stream, what might not be done with the power of the Savannah River? This agitation led to the Augusta Canal and the history of this famous work of internal improvement we now trace. To the energy and foresight of Nicholas De Laigle, James Fraser, John P. King, Andrew J. Miller, and Henry H. Cumming, old and honored citizens of Augusta, and to the liberality of the Bank of Augusta, the Augusta Insurance and Banking Company, the Bank of Brunswick, afterwards the Union Bank, and the Georgia Railroad Banking Company, the canal owes its existence. The original ordinance providing for the canal is seldom now seen, and we here reproduce it as adopted on March 15, 1845. It reads as follows:

"An ordinance to provide for the construction of a canal for manufacturing purposes, and for the better securing an abundant supply of water for the city.

" Whereas, certain banking institutions, with the view of facilitating the construction of a canal for the purposes indicated in the title of this ordinance, have proposed, upon certain conditions, to advance to the city council certain sums of money, and from time to time, as may be needful, to cash such bonds (not exceeding in the aggregate the sum of one hundred thousand dollars) as may be issued by the authority, and on the credit of said city, for the prosecution of said work ; and, whereas, the citizens of Augusta, at a late public meeting, with great unanimity, resolved that the proposals of said institutions should be acceeded to, and the plan suggested carried into effect, and the city council concurring in opinion with said meeting:

" Section i. Be it ordained by the city council of Augusta, that his honor the mayor be, and he is hereby authorized and required, in the name and in behalf of the city council of Augusta, to enter into a contract with the following banking institutions, to wit: The president, directors and company of the Bank of Augusta, the Augusta Insurance and Banking Company, the Bank of Brunswick, and the Georgia Railroad and Banking Company, by which said contract, in consideration of certain things hereinafter specified to be done by the said banking institutions, the city council of Augusta shall bind itself to impose and collect such yearly amount of tax on real estate within the city, as will be sufficient to raise, within ten years, the amount requisite to pay the bonds hereinafter provided for, and issue the certificates, and make the transfer hereinafter specified ; in consideration whereof, the said several banking institutions shall, in and by the said contract, respectively bind themselves to advance to said city council of Augusta, the sum of one thousand dollars each, and to cash the bonds hereinafter specified, whenever required so to do, in conformity with the terms of said contract.

conformity to the terms of the said proposed contract, there be assessed and collected for the current year, and there is hereby assessed for said year, on all the real estate in the city of Augusta, subject to taxation, a tax of one- fourth of one per cent, on the present valuation thereof, and that the clerk of council forthwith make out and deliver to the collector and treasurer of said city, a digest of all the taxable real estate in the city of Augusta ; and that the said collector and treasurer immediately thereafter proceed to collect the said tax, and upon the receipt thereof deliver to each taxpayer a transferable scrip or certificate of such payment, securing to such tax-payer and his or her assigns, an nterest in the said canal proportionate to the amount of tax so by l>im or her paid ; and the said collector and treasurer shall, in like manner to each of the banking institutions in the first section of this ordinance named, and to such other voluntary contributors (whose contributions he may have been by the city council authorized to receive), issue and deliver similar certificates ; and it shall be the duty of the said officer, and of the clerk of council, in all books accounts, and statements kept or made by them, respectively, to keep the account of the said tax separate and distinct from all other accounts of the city council, distinguishing the same as ' the canal tax,' and the said tax shall be devoted and applied exclusively to the payment of the bonds hereinafter mentioned, and such interest as may accrue thereon.

" Section 3. And be it further ordained by the authority aforesaid, that the city council, immediately after the passage of this ordinance, shall elect nine canal commissioners, whose duty it shall be to make all necessary contract for the construction of the proposed canal, and other works therewith connected ; to receive all moneys raised for that purpose and to disburse such parts thereof as may be required in the construction of the same, to employ engineers and others, whose services may be required for that purpose; locate the line of said canal along the high ground between Jackson and Washington streets, south of the Beaver Dam, and provide for the discharge of the same into the river at or near the northern extremity of East Boundary street ; and generally to superintend the entire construction of the said canal, necessary aqueducts, wasteways, bridges, and other works therewith connected. And it shall be the duty of said commissioneis immediately on the receipt of any moneys applicable to the construction of the said canal and other works, to deposit the same in one of the banks in this city, to be thence withdrawn only for the purposes of said work, upon checks signed by at least three of their number, and countersigned by their secretary and bookkeeper, and make regular monthly reports to the city council of all their actings and doings, accompanied by an account of all moneys by them received or disbursed for the purposes aforesaid. And the said commissioners shall have the power to fill all vacancies occurring in their body by death, resignation, removal or otherwise; and any commissioner may for misfeasance or neglect of duty, be removed by the city council, at a meet- ing called for that purpose, by a vote of three-fourths of the members present, and upon such removal it shall be the duty of the remaining commissioners immediately to fill the vacancy thereby produced.

" Section 4. And be it further ordained by the authority aforesaid, that the said board of commissioners shall, before transacting any other business, proceed to elect a secretary and bookkeeper, with a reasonable salary, and removable at their pleasure, whose duty it shall be to attend all meetings of the commissioners, keep minutes of their proceedings, and full and regular accounts of all moneys received and expended by them, and perform all other duties which may be required of him by the said commissioners.

"Section 5. And be it further ordained by the authority aforesaid, that so soon as the mayor for the time being, shall be notified by the said commissioners that the}^ are fully organized and prepared for the transaction of business, it shall be his duty, and he is hereby required, to make and issue, in the name and behalf of the city council of Augusta, bonds of convenient amounts, not exceeding in the aggregate the sum of one hundred thousand dollars, signed by him in his official capacity, countersigned by the clerk of the council, and sealed, with the corporate seal, payable in ten equal annual portions, so that the first portion of the said bonds shall be payable one year after date, and the last portion ten years after the date thereof, with interest at the rate of eight per cent, per annum, payable semi-annually, to be calculated from the days on which said bonds shall be respectively cashed by the banking institutions aforesaid in conformity to their proposed contract, which days shall be inserted by said commissioners in a blank to be left for that purpose in said bonds ; which said bonds with such contributions to be applied to said work as may be received by him, the said mayor, or the city council of Augusta, or any of its officers, shall be turned over to the said commissioners, who, or a majority of them, shall receipt for the same.

"Section 6. And be it ordained by the authority aforesaid, that so sopn as the said canal, with works therewith connected, shall have been completed, and scrips or certificates, as provided in the second section of this ordinance, shall have been issued for two-thirds of the tax imposed in and by the said section, it shall be the duty of the mayor for the time being to issue his proclamation inviting the holder of. said scrip, in person or by their agents, attorneys or proxies, on a day to be therein named (and at least ten days after the issuing of such proclamation), to assemble at such place in said city as he may designate, to adopt such rules and regulations and appoint such officers as they deem expedient for their own government in the future management of the said canal and the works therewith connected, at which said meeting and at all future meetings, until the holders of the major part of the aggregate amount of said scrips shall have otherwise directed, each scrip holder shall be entitled to one vote at the least, and to an additional vote for every dollar over one, for which he or she may hold scrips.

"Section 7. And be it further ordained by the authority aforesaid, that so soon as the mayor, for the time being, shall duly be notified that the said scrip holders are fully organized by the adoption of rules and regulations and the appointment of officers, as provided in the preceding section, he shall give notice thereof to the canal commissioners, whose duty it shall be thereupon to furnish to the proper officer or officers of the said scrip holders, a full statement of the situation of said canal and the works therewith connected, and in due form surrender and transfer the same to the said officers, with all the rights and privileges acquired by them as commissioners, and pay over and deliver to them all moneys and city bonds then remaining in their hands, provided the same do not exceed the sum of five thousand dollars, over and above what may be then due upon unsettled accounts against the said commissioners, and the residue, if any, to the treasurer of the city, to be applied exclusively to the payment of outstanding bonds issued under the provisions of this ordinance ; upon the completion of which surrender and transfer the duties and office of said commissioners shall cease.

" Section 8. And be it further ordained by the authority aforesaid, that the mayor be, and he is hereby authorized and required to execute and deliver to Nicholas Delaigle, James Frazer, John P. King, Andrew J. Miller, and Henry H. Gumming, in trust, for the ultimate proprietors of said canal, a deed, granting the right of way for the same over and through all lands belonging to the city council, upon the following terms, that is to say, that the managers and proprietors of the said canal, for the purpose of insuring an adequate supply of water for the use of the city, shall at all times keep in said canal, within the corporate limits, a stream of water at least four feet in depth, and permit the city council to withdraw from the same at any point below Centre street extended, or at such other point or points as may be agreed on, such quantity of water as may be required for the use of the city, not reducing the volume of water in said canal below what is necessary for manufacturing purposes, and upon the further condition that no water shall, without the consent of the city council, be withdrawn from said canal for the purpose of propelling machinery, at any point above West Boundary street, except in those cases in which the proprietors granting the right of way for said canal have reserved the right to use the same.

By ordinance of July 7, 1845, the foregoing was amended so as to make the point of discharge for the canal into the river at or near Hawk's Gully instead of at the northern extremity of East Boundary street, or in other words at the western instead of the eastern end of the city.

tion was made to the General Assembly for a charter for the proprietors of the canal under the original scheme, and in December, 1845, ^^^^^ body passed the following act, which with the ordinances of March 17 and July 17, 1845, form the organic law, so to speak, of the canal. The act is as follows :

" An act to incorporate the proprietors of the Augusta Canal, and to confirm certain ordinances of the city council of Augusta, therein mentioned, and to punish those who may injure their property.

" Whereas, the city council of Augusta, by an ordinance passed on the fifteenth day of March, eighteen hundred and forty-five, amended by an ordinance passed on the seventh day of July, of the same year, provided for the construction of a canal for manufacturing and other purposes, which is now in process of construction from Bull Sluice, on Savannah River, in Columbia county, into the city of Augusta, by which said ordinance the payers of certain taxes therein specified, and others contributing to the expense of constructing the said canal, and their assigns, are to become the proprietors thereof, in proportion to the amount of scrip issued to, or held by them, under the provisions of said ordinance ; and whereas, it is necessary for the proper management of said canal that the proprietors thereof should be incorporated.

" Section i. Be it therefore enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the State of Georgia, in general assembly met, and it is hereby enacted by the authority of the same, that all persons now holding, or who may hereafter hold such scrip as has been or may be issued by authority of, and in conformity to the provisions of an ordinance of the city council of Augusta, passed on the fifteenth day of March, in the year of our Lord eighteen hundred and forty-five, entitled an ordinance ' to provide for the construction of a canal, for manufacturing purposes, and for the better securing an abundant supply of water for the city,' be, and they are hereby made and declared to be a body corporate and politic, under the name and style of the Augusta Canal Company, and by that name and style shall have perpetual succession of ofificers and members, and be capable in law to have, purchase, receive, possess, enjoy and retain, to themselves and their successors, lands, tenements, hereditaments, goods, chattels and effects, of what kind, nature or quality soever the same may be, and the same to sell, grant, demise, alien, or otherwise dispose of; to sue and be sued, plead and, be impleaded, answer and be answered unto, in any court of law or equity of competent jurisdiction, in this State or elsewhere; also to adopt and use a common seal, and to ordain, establish, and execute such by-laws, rules and regulations, as they shall deem necessary for their government, and the proper management of said canal. Provided the same be not repugnant to the constitution and laws of this State, or of the United States.

" Section 2. And be it further enacted by the authority aforesaid, that for the well ordering of the affairs of said company, there shall be a board of five managers, who shall be elected so soon as said canal shall be completed by the commissioners now charged with the construction of the same, or before that time, if a majority of the scripholders, or stockholders voting as hereinafter provided, shall, at a meeting to be called for that purpose, after ten days' notice in any two gazettes published in Augusta, so determine; which said managers shall hold their offices for one year from the time of their election, and until their successors shall be duly elected; at which elections, and in all meetings of the scripholders or stockholders, each scripholder or stockholder shall have one vote at least, and an additional vote for every dollar over one for which he or she may hold scrip. And the said board of managers shall, at the first meeting after their election, elect a president, and such other officers as may be necessary for the convenient management of the affairs of the said company. Provided that such election of managers and officers shall not supersede the commissioners now charged with the construction of said canal and works, before the completion of the same.

" Section 3. And be it further enacted by the authority aforesaid, that it shall be lawful for the said managers, at any time hereafter, to increase the volume of water in said canal, by deepening or widening the same, or both, and extending and raising the dam now being constructed at the upper end of said canal ; and any damage sustained by individuals from the construction of such works, or any of them, shall be ascertained and recovered in the manner hereinafter specified for the ascertainment and recovery of other damages.

" Section 4. And be it further enacted by the authority aforesaid, that the said managers for the time being shall have full power, in the name and behalf of the said company, to make all contracts for the construction, extension, repair and improvement of said canal and its appurtenances, and for the use of the water of the s.ime for manufacturing or other purposes, and to impose and collect such proportionate assessments upon the individual stockholders of said company as may be required for such construction, extension, repair or improvement, or for the payment of any damage sustained by manufacturers or others from a failure to supply them with water, according to such contracts as may be made by virtue of the authority hereinbefore granted, or to meet any other legal liability of the com|)any; and upon the failure of any stockholder to pay such assessment within thirty days of the time appointed for the payment of the same, (of which ten days notice shall be given through any two of the gazettes then published in the city of Augusta), the entire interest of such defaulting stockholder in said canal and its appurtenances, and all other property, rights and franchises held by the company, shall be forfeited to said company.

" Section 5. And be it further enacted by the authority aforesaid, that in case the line of said canrd, or the race-ways, waste-ways, or towpath therewith connected, shall pass through the lands of any person or persons with whom the present commissioners, or their successors, or the future managers of said canal, hereafter to be elected, as provided in the second section of this act, have not made or cannot make a satisfactory agreement as to the terms upon which the same may be extended over or through such lands, the said commissioners, or their successors, or the said managers, as the case may be, shall nevertheless have the right to establish, open and construct the said canal, raceways, water-ways, (waste-ways) and towpaths through and over the same, and that the damages, if any, sustained by the proprietor or proprietors of such land-j shall be ascertained and assessed by five appraisers, of whom two shall be nominated by said commissioners or managers, two by such proprietor or proprietors, and the fifth by the four so nominated, whose award, or that of a majority of them, certified in writing under their hands and seals, in duplicate, one part for each of the parties in interest, shall be recorded in the office of the clerk of the Superior Court of the county in which such lands are situated ; and if not appealed from, as hereinafter provided, shall operate as, and have the force and effect of a judgment, vesting in said company the right of way over and through such lands; upon which award, so recorded, and not appealed from, if any sum is thereby awarded as damages to said proprietor or proprietors, the said clerk shall, after the expiration of thirty days from the time of the record thereof, issue execution for the same, under the usual form of executions founded upon judgment of the court, returnable to the next Superior Court of said county, which execution may be levied on any property of the company, real or personal. But in case either of the parties should be dissatisfied with the decision or award of the said appraisers, such dissatisfied party or parties may, within ten days after the recording of the same, exercise his, her or their right of appeal, by making known his, her or their intention, by a written notice served upon the adverse party, and upon the said clerk, whose duty it shall be thereupon to suspend the issue of execution, and enter a memorandum of such appeal on the appeal docket of his court, to be tried by a special jury at the next term, which trial shall be final, vesting in the company the said right of way, and in case of damages entitling the person for whom they are found to a judgment and execution therefor: Provided, that the appraisers hereinbefore mentioned, before entering upon the discharge of their duties as such [shall] severally take and subscribe an oath, before some judicial officer of the State, well and truly and impartially to determine and award in the premises. .

" Section 6. And be it further enacted by the authority aforesaid, that in case it should be necessary, in the further construction or future extension, deepening or widening of said canal, or its race-ways, waste-ways, or other improvements or works therewith connected, to use any earth, clay, stone, gravel or other materials, on or near the line of said canal, or other works, and the said commissioners or managers, and the proprietor or proprietors of the land from which such eartli, clay, stone, gravel or other materials are to be taken cannot agree upon the terms on which the same may be procured for the purposes aforesaid, it shall nevertheless, be lawful for said commissioners or managers to take and use the same, and the damages, if any, shall be assessed, the right of appeal it desired exercised, and the ultimate award or judgment shall be enforced, as provided in the preceding section of this act in relation to the right of way, and assessment and collection of damages awarded by the appraisers, or found by special jury on appeal : Provided, that no difference or disagreement between the said compan\' and any landholders shall be a ground f^r injunction against said commissioners, managers or company, or otherwise suspend or impede any of the works contemplated in this or the pre ceding section of this act, which shall proceed without delay or interruption, upon the said commissioners, managers or company tendering to such landholders sufiRcient security for the payment of such damages as may be so assessed or found for him as aforesaid ; upon the sufficiency of which said security the judge to whom application may be made shall decide, and who if he deems the same insufficient, shall require other or additional security to be offered within three days; on failure or refusal to give which an injunction may issue ; but any injunction granted against said commissioners, managers or company shall be dissolved so soon as such security as the judge of the Superior Court of the middle district of this State may deem sufficient shall have been given by said commissioners, managers or company.