THE B-52S ARE COMING!

A Promise Unfulfilled

“What if’s” are the things that dreams are made of. Whether mere conjecture or near reality, pondering what might have happened “if” has long been the preoccupation of historians and sociologists alike. Laurens County is not immune from such speculation. In the 1830s, county leaders blocked an effort to run the Central of Georgia Railway through the heart of the county, the effect of which would have been a long lasting economic boom to a decaying and overlooked river port town. The negative impact would have been a total destruction by General William T. Sherman’s right wing as it passed through the area on its “March to the Sea.” In the post World War II years, the Defense Department was surveying sites for the location of the Air Force Academy. Milledgeville congressman, long time supporter of Laurens County, and supplier of Federal monies, Carl Vinson, wanted the new installation to be located in his district and particularly in Dublin. Though Dublin was one of 582 possible sites, Vinson was the most influential congressional Democrat when it came to military affairs. After the project faltered for six years into a government in control of the Republican president and Congress, Vinson failed, but he wasn’t deterred.

As the Cold War continued to heat up after the end of the Korean War, military strategists stepped up their plans for global warfare. In 1946, the Pentagon established the Strategic Air Command, or “SAC” for short. The flagship of the command was the highly dependable and long range bomber dubbed the “B-52.” More than fifty-three years later, these heavy bombers remain as an integral part of the United States Air Force.

These flying fortresses needed places to stay when not in combat or engaging in training missions. Once again enter Carl Vinson. No longer yielding the power he had during World War II as chairman of the House Armed Services Committee, Vinson, the leading minority member, was highly regarded as an expert on military affairs.

Seeing his chance to give his district an eternal economic boost, Congressman Vinson inserted into a joint House-Senate committee resolution a proposal to build a huge base in Dublin as the headquarters for strategic bombing operations.

The 838-acre site of the base would be centered on the former Naval Air Field northwest of Dublin and which is now the Laurens County Airport. With three near mile-long runways already in place and configured in a triangle, the site was much preferable to a secondary site on the Laurens/Johnson County line in the Buckeye District. Built in 1943, the old airport was originally designed to accommodate flights in and out of Dublin for staff and patients of the United States Naval Hospital, the Carl Vinson VA Medical Center.

If the largest base, a bomber wing facility, was built, a total of 5,000 acres would have been necessary. The mid-sized choice, designed for a squadron, was the most likely choice. Even if an emergency landing facility, the smallest of the three options, had been constructed, its runways would have needed to be extended to a distance of 12,000 feet, or more than two miles long.

The conference committee, chaired by Vinson, approved the new base as a part of the government’s plan to decentralize the operations of the B-52 in the event the bombers were necessary to carry out retaliatory strikes against nuclear attacks on the United States - in other words against the Russians.

Local officials were beyond ecstatic. Mayor Felton Pierce proclaimed that the air base would be of such magnitude it would help Dublin considerably. Pierce further stated, “even Macon and other Middle Georgia towns would feel the effect of such a thing.” Initial estimates anticipated the location of 15 to 45 planes manned by 270 officers and 1800 airmen and aided by 1700 to 5200 civilian employees, the latter representing one-sixth of the entire county population.

In June of 1956, Vinson and his colleagues appropriated 6.5 million dollars for the project in which the existing runways would be lengthened and reinforced with stronger concrete. Pierce and others didn’t seem to mind that the community’s private airport would be obliterated, believing instead that the city and county could work together and build another one well away from the flight paths of incoming and outgoing bombers.

The early July deal between the two houses wasn’t a done deal. President Dwight D. Eisenhower wasn’t happy with the projects in the bill. He threatened to veto the measure, and he did. The President stated that Congress had overstepped the constitutional line between the legislative and executive branches because the legislation provided that the Defense Department could have not spent money on missile sites without congressional approval. Remember Georgia was a solid Democratic state and even though he was a hero of World War II, he was a Republican. In that year when racial relations came to the forefront of the legislature, many Georgians simply didn’t “like Ike.” The big problem was that the Air Force hadn’t even requested the base in Dublin as well as two others. In order to get the military spending bill beyond an Eisenhower veto, the conferees dropped the projects at Mitchell, South Dakota, Hobbs Air Force Base, and in Dublin from the compromise bill. A contingent of Air Forces officials came to Dublin on August 1 to determine the propriety of locating the installation in Dublin. Vinson continued to adamantly promise the location of the base, either presently or in the future. He was once quoted as saying that the base would be built, “as sure as Christmas comes.” Many Christmases came, but the base never did.

Though there were promises of future surveys and Vinson’s determination to build some sort of military installation in Dublin, the plans were officially dropped in the winter of 1957, when an Air Force report determined that there was no military need for a base in Dublin.

Carl Vinson had tried. Though the base was never built, the Congressman did give us a Naval Hospital, an Interstate highway, the funds to build the first Federally funded county courthouse in the United States, and one of the first Federally funded county libraries in the country.

Thus begs the inevitable hypothetical questions. What if the government had built the base? What would Dublin and Laurens County have looked like today? Would we have looked like Warner Robins? We probably would. Our athletic teams would have been nearly unbeatable. Our highways would be wider and busier. Our neighborhoods would been denser and more numerous.

But is that what we really wanted? Yes, progress is nice and necessary, especially moderate growth with the ability to expand our infrastructure. But an overnight life-altering and radical changes in our county wouldn’t be right for me or you. I love where we live just the way it is. With our eyes and hearts continuously focused on improving our community,  we have fared much better than if the bombers shook and rattled our lives as they kept the World at peace.

OUR FIRST AIRPORTS

Runways to the Skies

Ever since the first Laurens Countians read about the Wright Brothers they dreamed f flying. In the middle of the second decade of the 20th Century, daredevil pilots barnstormed across the nation, entertaining crowds of people in large cities and small cities like Dublin. This is the story of the first airports in Dublin. They were primitive by today’s standards. Most of them were just long narrow cleared strips of land located at various
locations on the edge of town. It would be 1944 before Dublin would acquire a first class airport. It was in the middle of World War II that the United States Navy constructed the present Laurens County Airport in preparation for the transportation of patients to and from the Naval Hospital in Dublin.

It was in the spring of 1919, just six months after the end of World War I, when the first true aviation activities began in Dublin. Three men from Dublin traveled to Souther Field in Americus to enlist in the Air Service. It should be remembered that it was at Souther Field where Charles Lindbergh made his first flight in an airplane. Sergeant Ruff, the recruiting officer in Macon, flew to Dublin to secure even more recruits. While in the city, Sergeant Ruff found a frenzy of activity surrounding the construction of a city airport, which was being rushed to completion just in time for his visit. Businessmen were anxious to solicit flyers to come to the city and performing aerial circuses. It was suggested that all in the roofs in the business section be painted with the word “Dublin” to make it easier for pilots to know where they were.

Though no official Dublin airport existed in the 1920s, there were flights in and out of the city. The members of the Lions Club met in May 1928 to discuss the location of an airport on “the pulp mill site,” now occupied by Riverview Golf Course. A party of airline officials of the Dixie and Northern airline stopped in Dublin on a tour of the state in 1928.

Beeler Bevins and C.F. Dieter flew into Dublin on July 2, 1929 during their “All Georgia Air Tour,” which was sponsored by Georgia Power Company. The fliers were entertained with a luncheon at the Fred Roberts Hotel. The men urged those in attendance to build an airport.

The flight spurred city officials to construct a first class airport in Dublin.  Negotiations began immediately for an ideal site, one which was near the heart of the city and one which was close to the existing electrical lines serving the city. On July 17, 1929, the Dublin City Council voted to enter into a lease to construct an airport on 42 acres across from the W.T. Phelps place on what would become Claxton Dairy Road. The mayor and council suggested that arrows be painted on top of the city hall, the First National Bank building and the Wrightsville and Tennille Railroad depot indicating the direction to the airport. Mayor T.E. Hightower urged that “Dublin be put on the air map of the United States Aeronautical Association as soon as possible.” “All the world has taken wings and Dublin must take to the air, too, or be left behind,” Hightower added. City officials hoped that Dublin would become a regular stop on the Atlanta to Savannah air mail route, since the city was located at the midpoint of the two cities. The site was an ideal one since the ground was virtually level and only needed slight grading to put it in shape for landings. The work of clearing the field and putting it in compliance with the specifications of the National Aeronautic Association was apparently never fully completed. L.G. Clarke, an experienced airplane builder, came to Dublin in hopes of advancing the building of an airport.

Another landing strip was on the west side of town on the E.T. Barnes place on the Macon Road. This primitive landing strip, probably located near the Dublin Mall, accommodated a Ford Tri Motor plane which carried P.M. Watson, Marshall Chapman, B.J. Daley, Blue Holleman, Lehman Keen, Charles E. Baggett and George T. Morris on a flight to Macon in February 1931. The road was lined with cars filled with spectators hoping to get a glance of the largest plane ever seen in Dublin until that time. It was revealed that George T. Morris was actually afraid to fly, but didn’t want to back out since he sponsored the flight. Morris wrote a letter to his wife informing her of the secret location of a cache of money hidden under a stump - just in case he didn’t make it back home safely. Upon its safe return, the pilot solicited all those who desired to ride in the giant airplane. Five hundred and ten people took him up on the offer, including twenty-five young boys who were the guests of Jim Kendrick. Herbert Moffett took his entire family for a ride and commented that “the plowed fields were the best view.”

The pilot, Ray Loomis, urged Dublin citizens to build a better airport. Loomis said, “the field you have now is very good and should be enlarged and stumped to allow two runways. Engineers from the CWA came to Dublin in the spring of 1934 to survey the site on Highway 80 West as a permanent site for a municipal airport. Morris Motor company continued to sponsor Ford Tri-Motor plane rides through 1935.

The kids of Dublin formed a Junior Birdmen Club in February 1935. Emory Beckham was elected the wing commander, while Jack Baggett was chosen as the club captain. Billy Keith served as the secretary-treasurer. Other members of the club were Earle Beckham, Luther Word, Owen Word and Jimmie Sanders. The club, organized to promote an interest in aviation, was the only club between Macon and Savannah.

The enthusiasm of the Junior Birdmen inspired city officials to begin construction of a municipal airport two miles south of town on the Dublin-Eastman Highway south of  the present site of Mullis’ Junkyard. With the support of Monson Barron, the city’s oldest aviation afficionado, Clafton Barron, and Ellison Pritchett, who had worked for Boeing, Lockheed, and Douglas, a four plane hangar was constructed on the site. Local officials continued to push the Barnes site on Highway 80 West, as well as the Cullens site in East Dublin on Highway 80 East. Neither of the three sites ever attained the status of a first class airport.

By the end of 1930s, aviation fever had reached its peak. Thirteen young pilots had earned their pilot’s license and six more were in training. Though still without adequate landing facilities, these young men landed and took off in pastures on flights no longer than fifty miles. Among the first to obtain licenses were Emory Beckham, Earl Beckham, Emmett Black, L.A. Mitchell, W.H. Barron, Jr., Izzie Lease, Nat Lease, Lenwood Hodges, Ross Moore and Robert Werden. Ed Hobbs, Claxton Edenfield, Bill Sanders, Sterling Lovett, H.C. Coleman and Joe Lord were working diligently in obtaining their licenses.

These men shared two airports, mere pastures, with two Piper Cubs owned by Ross Moore and Izzie Lease and a Avon two-passenger open type plane owned by W.H. “Bud” Barron, Jr.

It would take the political power of Congressman Carl Vinson to bring a permanent and high class aviation facility to Dublin. Built by the U.S. Navy in 1943 in connection with the establishment of the U.S. Naval Hospital, the airport, renamed the W.H. Barron Airport after its greatest promoter, was turned over to Laurens County. The airport continues to maintain one of the longest runways in Georgia.

A HISTORY OF THE WRIGHTSVILLE AND TENNILLE RAILROAD

Without a doubt the single most important factor in Dublin's growth during this period was caused by the confluence of five railroads in Dublin. At the peak of the railroads there was over ninety miles of rail in Laurens County alone. Dublin was only a few hours from the coast and from the state capital. During the 1830's the Central of Georgia Railroad was being laid out from to Savannah. The engineers planned a route along the Ogeechee River through Washington and Wilkinson counties and on into Macon. A new engineer began studying a southern route that would pass through Emanuel and Laurens counties crossing the Oconee near the mouth of Turkey Creek. This southern route ran along a direct line between the two cities. With the flat lands of this area providing an ideal grade, the southern route was estimated to be thirty miles shorter and half a million dollars cheaper than the northern route. The river swamps around Oconee where the northern
route crossed the Oconee River were not conducive to the development as a river port town. Dublin with its navigable river, relatively flat lands, and enormous agricultural resources was a better site for the crossing.

The Central's directors decided to go with the northern route. Their choice was affirmed by the doubts by some Laurens countians. The fear of what the railroads might bring caused opposition from Laurens County. Former Governor George M. Troup, whose plantation would have been near the railroad, led the fight against the construction of the railroad through Laurens County. The railroad's directors prevailed and the railroad was completed to McCall's Mill in Macon in 1844. Had the southern route backers prevailed, Dublin would have been right in the path of the right wing of Gen. Sherman's army in his "March to the Sea" in the fall of 1864.

With the end of the war rail traffic flourished in central Georgia. Merchants and farmers were forced to depend on the less efficient animal drawn and river transportation. Goods were hauled north by wagon or boat to Raoul Station at Oconee where they were loaded on the Central Railroad or they were taken down river to Doctortown on the Altamaha and shipped to Savannah by rail. After the financial panic of 1873 entrepenuers began planning railroads all over Georgia even as river transportation was making a comeback.

Dublin was falling behind other communities. The road was its only hope. The completion of the Macon and Brunswick Railroad in the early 1870's saw the emergence of Cochran, Eastman, McRae, and Mt. Vernon as commerce centers in south central Georgia.  Suddenly Dublin was in the middle of nowhere - no bank, no railroads, no newspapers and with virtually no ties to the outside world. The mercantile trade was dominated by Savannah merchants. River transportation lived and died with the depth of the river.

Capital was not easy to come by and subscriptions from local citizens were necessary to fund the railroads. There was still some sentiment against the railroad and even stronger opposition to any sort of river bridge at Dublin. Finally more businessmen saw that the area around Dublin was filled with vast untapped resources. There was an estimated one billion board feet of pine timber in Laurens County in 1880 or enough lumber to make a four inch board which would reach to the moon and back. Cotton farmers were looking for new land to replace their depleted fields in the main cotton belt. Laurens County is the third largest county in Georgia and the vast lands had the potential of raising record crops.


THE WRIGHTSVILLE AND TENNILLE RAILROAD

The Tennille and Wrightsville Railroad was incorporated by an act of the Georgia Legislature on September 19, 1881. W.C. Matthews, B.D. Smith, G.L. Mason, G.B. Harrison, H.N. Holifield, G.W. Peacock, Z. Peacock of Washington County; A.I. Haines of Laurens County; and W.B. Bales, W.A. Tompkins, W.L. Johnson, J.A. McAfee, T.W. Kent, and W.W. Mixon of Johnson County incorporated the short line road to run from Tennille to Wrightsville. The law provided any disgruntled property owner would have the right to have five free holder citizens decide what damages were due for the condemnation of the right of way limited to no more than one hundred feet. The venture failed and others sought to establish the railroad.

On November 7, 1883 the Wrightsville and Sun Hill Railroad Company was organized. Six weeks later the Secretary of State incorporated the new company authorizing a seventeen-mile railroad line from Wrightsville to the Sun Hill community east of Tennille. The road would give the citizens of Johnson County direct access to the markets of Macon, Savannah, and Augusta. The organizers sought out and acquired sufficient  ubscriptions. Tennille's businessmen were quick to purchase subscriptions and move the terminus of the railroad to Tennille. The Central of Georgia provided most of the financing of the project and controlled the railroad from the beginning. The engines and the rolling stock were well used and could easily be spared by the Central Railroad. A charter amendment was needed to reflect the new terminus of the road and on December 28, 1883 the name was changed to the Wrightsville and Tennille Railroad Company. The board elected its first officers with S.M. Perkins as the president and W.B. Thomas as Vice President and Secretary of the Board. Workers began immediately the task of grading and laying rails from Tennille to Wrightsville. The road was completed to Wrightsville with a minimal indebtedness of $15,000.00. S.M. Perkins resigned in July of 1885 and Capt. W.B. Thomas was elected as the new president.

W.B. Thomas helped to organize Dublin and Laurens County citizens who saw the benefits of the railroad. The initial meeting was held in mid November of 1884. A new railroad was born. The Dublin and Wrightsville Railroad Company was organized for the express purpose of connecting Dublin with the Wrightsville and Tennille Railroad in Wrightsville. The men chose L.C. Beacham, M.L. Jones, W.B. Thomas, B.B. Linder, and W.J. Hightower to sit on the board of directors. W.B. Thomas the newly elected president estimated that the road would cost $36,000 over half of which had already been raised.

The remaining officers chosen were J.E. Hicks, Secretary; M.L. Jones, Treasurer; and B.B. Linder, Collector. Other organizing members included W.W. Robinson, H.B. Donaldson, T.M. Hightower, R.H. Hightower, R.T. Beacham, and L.B. Perry. As the road approached Dublin new communities sprang up. Lovett was established in 1884 and incorporated as a town in 1889. Brewton and Condor soon followed and by November of 1886 the road was completed to the eastern banks of the Oconee River opposite  Dublin. Most of the surveying work was done under the supervision of Arthur Pew, who also surveyed the Macon, Dublin, and Savannah Railroad, the Empire and Dublin Railroad, and the Dublin and Southwestern Railroad. Even as the road was being surveyed, Hawkinsville businessmen were envisioning an extension of the road to their place. The Wrightsville and Tennille Railroad secured from the Central Railroad an investment of half the total cost of $70,000.00 of the Dublin to Wrightsville Railroad. James M. Smith's convict crew of 140 was added to speed up the work. T.L. Griner, replacing the deceased, J.E. Hicks, and W.W. Robinson were elected as Secretary and Associate Collector, respectively. By October of 1885 daily trains were running to Lovett. By the end of the month the workers had pushed ahead to Brewton.

David S. Blackshear, future mayor of Dublin, was hired as warehouse and ticket agent in Wrightsville. T.M. Hightower and W.B. Jones of Dublin were added to the board of directors in December, 1885. Col. W.S. Ramsay was named secretary of the railroad. Passenger traffic on both roads was now averaging over 130 per day. The "Dublin Post" advertised an excursion from Dublin to Savannah to attend the celebration of the Chatam Artillery's Centennial in April of 1886.

As construction of the road neared Dublin, engineers were brought in to study plans for a bridge. The railroad was approaching the banks in the summer of 1886. The engineers figured over one hundred thousand feet of lumber would be necessary to build a bridge. Finally on September 8, 1886 the first passenger train of the Dublin and Wrightsville arrived at the depot on the Oconee River. The railroad soon announced an agreement with the Oconee Steamboat Company that called for the unloading of its freight at Dublin instead of Raoul Station on the Central. In November the stockholders of The

Wrightsville and Tennille and the Dublin and Wrightsville voted to merge the two railroads. The new railroad retained the name of the older railroad, the Wrightsville and Tennille.  W.B. Thomas was elected president and superintendent of the company that had an authorized capital stock of $140,000.00 and a debt of only $35,000.00. W.C. Matthews was elected secretary and treasurer. W.F. Edwards was chosen as auditor. The stockholders elected C.R. Pringle and R.L. Worthen of Sandersville; W.C. Matthews of Tennille; W.S. Ramsay of Dublin; William Rogers of Savannah; L.C. Beacham of Condor; G.B.Harrison of Harrison; and A.F. Daley of Wrightsville as the board of directors. After a short stint with the Central Railroad, L.A. Matthews returned to the road as route agent. Within the year the directors voted to extend the line to Hawkinsville. Due to financial complications the project would not be completed for over a decade.

At the end of the 36-mile railroad the company established a depot and shops. The expansion of the right of way got a little out of hand. The surrounding property owners successfully recovered damages from the railroad for the wrongful taking of their land and timber. For five years freight was unloaded at the depot and then placed on the ferry and carried across the river and then moved by wagon on into Dublin.

With the Macon, Dublin, and Savannah Railroad approaching Dublin from the west the long awaited bridge was completed in 1891. That year was remarkable in that both the railroad and passenger bridges were completed over the river and that both railroads were completed into Dublin. Earlier that year the railroad reorganized. J.S. Wood was elected president and G.W. Perkins was named superintendent. The railroads did not have an immediate impact on the growth of Dublin. For the next five years the growth of Dublin gradually increased with the greatest impact being on the agricultural community in Laurens.

After the railroad was completed into Dublin the traffic department of the road moved here. Frank H. Roberson was appointed as the General Freight and Passenger Agent. He would soon be followed by E.K. Bryan, Jr., M.V. Mahoney, and W.J. Kessler. David S. Blackshear was the first agent of the road here. He was followed by J.M. Wright, A.L. Spicer, J.C. Wyche, and A.J. Toole. The used trains of the past were soon replaced by new Baldwin Locomotives.

No sooner than the M.D. and S. and W. & T. Railroads had joined in Dublin other roads were being planned into Dublin. The Empire Lumber Company built a railroad from Empire to Dublin and from Empire to Hawkinsville. This railroad mainly concentrated on freight traffic and on February 1, 1899 it was purchased by the Wrightsville and Tennille Railroad Company. G.W. Perkins resigned as president and was replaced by Wrightsville attorney, Col. A.F. Daley, who had been the general counsel for the railroad. R.C. Henry, J.E. Smith, Jr. J.M. Finn and Charles Hicks represented Dublin on the Board of Directors during the railroad's peak years. Col. Daley served as president until his death in 1915. H.D. Pollard held the post of president and general manager until he took a position with the Central of Georgia in 1918. He was succeeded by Charles Molony who served until his death in 1930. Bunyan Henry Lord, Sr. was then promoted to General Manager and served until his promotion to president in 1942.

A second profitable shortline out of Dublin sprang up in 1904. The Dublin and Southwestern Railroad ran from Dublin through Rentz, Cadwell, and Plainfield on to Eastman. The railroad was immediately eyed by the W & T 's directors for a connection to Eastman and cities to the south. On July 1, 1906, the Dublin and Southwestern was purchased by the Wrightsville and Tennille after being in operation for slightly over a year.

The first permanent depot was at the southeastern corner of the railroad and South Franklin Street. By the end of the decade the depot was at the southeastern corner of the railroad and South Jefferson Street. As the volume of rail traffic grew, the one story brick structure soon was overwhelmed. The building was enlarged in 1906 by adding on the southern portion of the building and building more room for freight on the rear. Within five years it became necessary to expand again. The contractors utilized the existing structure but made major additions to the building including a second story in the passenger section. The white waiting room space was doubled and another addition was made to the freight warehouse. Exterior improvements were made with the paving the walks around the building with hexangal pavers made at the Georgia Hydraulic Stone Company in East Dublin.

The peak of cotton production coincided with the peak in the railroad traffic. There were four daily passenger trains. A popular route was the short excursion trip to Idlewild, the railroad's recreation area on the Ohoopee River just southwest of Wrightsville. Church groups numbering in the hundreds would board the train for a day of swimming, games, and fellowship. Sen. Tom Watson and other politicians were popular speakers at Idlewild.

There were two scheduled freight trains with extra trains running during harvest time. As the twenties approached rail traffic declined. Many laughed a decade before when L.W. Miller's Cadillac would win every race with the train from Tennille to Dublin. It was a sign of the times to come - the death of the passenger train.

Dublin through an unfortunate turn of fate became the center of the railroad in 1925. A fire had destroyed most of the Tennille shops and 1923. Most of the repair work for area railroads was done in the shops built in Dublin in the years after the fire. The offices of the President and the General Manager were moved to the main depot on South Jefferson Street. All of the Central of Georgia's affiliate lines were now combined with the headquarters in Dublin, making the railroad the largest industry in Laurens County.

The "Crash of '29" signaled the beginning of the end of the W. and T. Railroad. The speedier passenger trains were now carrying freight and were limited to speeds of thirty miles per hour. Automobiles and trucks were becoming a faster and more economical form of transportation. Round trips were limited to one per day. The railroads even hauled much of the road building materials that led to its doom. At the end of the 1930's the railroad began to consider closing its lines running west from Dublin. The initial plan was to close the Eastman line and maintain the Hawkinsville line. An application to close the Eastman line in 1940 was granted by the Interstate Commerce Commission granted mainly due to the lack of support by the citizens of Cadwell and Eastman.


In the mid morning of February 28, 1941 the last train to Eastman pulled out of Dublin with John C. Hamilton conducting, Frank Dukes engineering, and Grafton McDaniel working the flags. Engine No. 40 was polished and outfitted with American flags. There were empty freight cars that would later hold the rails and cross ties when the road was taken up. Mail was exchanged at Rentz and Cadwell and passengers jumped aboard for one last ride. Plainfield citizens who suffered the most from the closure sadly waived good bye as the train came over Petway Hill. The train pulled into Eastman just after lunch. The return passengers unboarded as the train picked up new freight cars and turned around for the journey back to Dublin. Conductor Hamilton and his crew pulled out on the last train ride of the W & T, affectionately known as the "Wiggle and Twist."


Shortly after the Eastman line closed the Hawkinsville line closed neither with any inclination of their need in support in the impending war. By the 1950's passenger service was relegated to a single coach hitched to a freight train. The Public Service Commission allowed the termination of passenger service on August 15, 1958. Concerned citizens began a drive to restore the depot during the 1980's and just when we needed it most, that terrible Sunday afternoon came, and it was gone. Since the March 1989 fire the railroad has continued his operations - limited to a few freight trains per day.

THE BRIDGE AT BALL'S FERRY

The Bridge to Everywhere

It was big, real big! At the time it had more impact on the people of Johnson County, than anything but the War Between the States, the train, the automobile, and electricity. Though it does not lie within the bounds of the county, the bridge over the Oconee River at Ball’s Ferry made a significant and lasting impact on the citizens of Johnson and surrounding counties.

The history of Ball’s Ferry goes back several hundred years. Some historians believe that the Spanish explorer Hernando de Soto came through the area in 1540. The site may be the place where the ancient Upper Uchee Trail crossed the Oconee on its way to the Augusta area. The ferry was established prior to 1816 by John Ball, an early resident of Wilkinson County and a soldier of the American Revolution. In the waning days of November 1864, a small group of local militia, prison guards, military cadets, and some regulars mounted a stand on the east banks of the river at the ferry, which lies about a half mile above the bridge. The stalwart defenders gave way to the sixty thousand men of Gen. William T. Sherman’s right wing.

The conception of a bridge began many years ago. The ferry was adequate, but not always reliable. The final push to build the bridge came in 1931. The road to Irwinton, known as the "Bee-Line Highway" was still just a dirt road. Charles Rountree, editor of "The Wrightsville Headlight," had been leading the effort since World War I. Rountree and others sought the support of Congressman Carl Vinson of Milledgeville. Georgia governor Eugene Talmadge thought the bridge was unnecessary and directed his appointed Highway Board members to deny any requests for funding. Consequently, the Federal government refused to fund the project without state support. A standstill arose in Federal funding of Georgia Highways. The U.S. government finally consented and funded all projects in Georgia, except the Ball’s Ferry Bridge. A new governor, E.D. Rivers, was elected in 1936. Rivers was more sympathetic to the concerns of mid-Oconee valley residents. Rivers’ newly appointed Highway Board members moved quickly to authorize funding of the bridge.

The Ball’s Ferry bridge is actually two bridges. The smaller, or relief, bridge is six hundred feet long and was designed to allow flooding waters to pass around the causeway leading to the river. The relief bridge is bounded by thirty foot high fills. Each fill is about eleven hundred feet along and contains one hundred sixty thousand cubic yards of dirt. The Washington County dirt was placed on the site by workers of W.C. Shepherd. The dirt used would cover a football field up to a height of over thirty one feet. In one month, Shepherd and his crews set a record by placing one hundred twenty thousand cubic yards of fill dirt. Wilkinson Countians filled in their dirt on their side of the bridge with county workers.

The main bridge is 1683.5 feet long. The center of the bridge is twelve feet higher than the ends. The increased height was necessary due to the fact that the river was still considered navigable. The bridge stands an average of fifty five feet above the water at the apex. The span was constructed in such a way as to allow enough horizontal room for boats to pass through. The steel girders weighed two million pounds and took six hundred gallons of varnish, twelve hundred gallons of aluminum bronze powder, fourteen hundred fifty gallons of red lead primer paint to cover. Over eighteen thousand rivets were used in the main span.

The twenty four foot wide bridge was supported by three hundred thousand pounds of reinforcing rods. If placed end to end, these rods would stretch from Macon to Wrightsville - a distance of fifty seven miles. To mix the concrete for the bridge, workers combined fifty train car loads of cement, fifty one hundred tons of sand and gravel, and forty thousand gallons of water, formed with one hundred thousand board feet of lumber. The bridge rests on a foundation of shell mart and stratified fuller’s earth down an average depth of thirteen to twenty three feet below ground level. After one and a half years and two hundred thousand man hours of work, the bridge was complete. Wages varied from thirty cents an hour for unskilled workers up to a whopping seventy five cents an hour for skilled laborers.

The big day for the bridge dedication was set for March 31, 1939. Proud citizens invited President Franklin Roosevelt to take a leisurely ride over from Warm Springs for the big occasion. Gov. E. D. Rivers, who had been so instrumental in the construction of the bridge, was slated to give the main address. Every school child and teacher in the area had the day off and a free meal at the site. Floats from five counties were brought in for a short parade, which began on the west side of the bridge. The Laurens County Marching Band, the G.M.C. Band, and the Y.M.C.A. Band from Macon provided the musical entertainment.

The crowd was estimated to number as many as twenty thousand people. Several hundred hogs were sacrificed to satisfy the appetites of the hungry onlookers. Gov. Rivers was late in arriving and his place was taken by Warren Grice of Macon. Also on hand for the festivities was Congressman Vinson, State Highway Chairman Miller, and Labor Commissioner Hulet.

A special edition of the "Wrightsville Headlight" was published to commemorate the event. Merchants and well wishers sponsored several pages of ads to salute the efforts of the community and the workers. Listed by the "Headlight" as the leading Johnson County families who supported the construction were the Rowlands, Brinsons, Andersons, Claxtons, Kents, Moyes, Veals, Faircloths, Brays, Martins, Lovetts, Parkers, Blounts, Vanlandinghams, Cooks, Pournells, Cullens, Kights, Hatchers, Halls, Outlaws, Vickers, McAfees, Robinsons, Clemmons, Daleys, Johnson, Fulfords, Prices, Powells, Townsends, Jenkins, Millers, Smiths, Jones, Browns, Davises, Tanners, Frosts, Mixons, Tarbuttons, Olivers, Riners, Brantleys, Duggans, Mayos, Flanders, Harrisons, and six or seven dozen more - in other words, the entire county.

An event of this type depends on hard working committees. Charles Rountree, H.F. Tarbutton, and Elizabeth Vickers were the officers of the Bridge Committee. Representing Johnson County on the committee were W.C. Brinson, future Georgia Attorney General, Eugene Cook, and Harlie L. Fulford. Other Johnson Countians serving on committees were Mrs. Clifford Martin, Pauline Lovett, Mrs. B.L. Kight, Mrs. Albert Raley, Mrs. H.T. Johnson, Monroe Cook, L.L. Palmer, E.J. Claxton, C.D. Prescott, J. Tom Davis, Byron Price, W.M. Shurling, L.L. Lovett, B.A. Anderson, Mrs. J. Eugene Cook, Mrs. J. Roy Rowland, and Mrs. M. Daley.

The old ferry which had operated for thirteen decades shut down. The boat and equipment were removed to the Flint River. Lester Brown, the last ferry operator, got a job as a chain gang guard. As it enters its seventh decade of service, the bridge at Ball’s Ferry remains a monument to the dedication of thousands of Johnson, Wilkinson, and Washington county residents, whose unceasing efforts bridged the ancient Oconee and brought the rest of the world a little closer to home.

DUBLIN AND SOUTHWESTERN RAILROAD

Stock certificate of the Dublin and Southwestern

Railroad, forerunner of the Wrightsville &

Tennille Railroad. Ran from Dublin to Eastman.

Train Photos - Vintage - Dublin, GA

M.D. & S. RR Engine, Dublin, GA.



W&T Railroad Engine, East Dublin, GA




M.D. & S. Railroad - Cars - Dublin, GA.

THE FIRST AUTOMOBILES

Dr. E.B. Claxton and daughter Irene, circa. 1921.





On Tuesday, April 29, 1902, an automobile suddenly appeared on the streets of Dublin. It was the first of the horseless carriages that was ever seen in Dublin, it attracted a great deal of attention. Many Dubliners knew of the automobile but had never seen one. The automobile was in the charge of two young men who are traveling about the country advertising a chill and fever cure. The car came from the direction of Macon and darted down Jackson Street at a rapid rate of speed. Nearly every small boy in town and many others who seemed to come from a distance were soon behind the machine. People who were on the street stopped suddenly and gazed at the noiselessly moving vehicle, not quite certain that their eyes were not deceiving them. The doors of the business houses were soon filled with proprietors and employees and all business ceased.

The dray horses, which seldom had anything but the usual to break the monotony of their lives, were taken too much by surprise and performed several tricks unrequested by their drivers. The interest in the automobile was no greater in Dublin than it was in New York when the first one appeared there. Eldrid Simpkins continued his tour of Georgia. On May 1st the engine of the car caught on fire in Millen. The car was a total loss as were six buildings and eleven horses which perished in the fire.

Several years went by before the automobile became a common sight on the streets of Dublin. Obviously, the wealthiest men were the first car owners. In 1906, before there were many cars in Dublin, H.H. Smith led a movement to build a 5 mile speedway starting at the Railroad on Academy Avenue, thence to the Cotton Mill where it turned down Kellam and Roberson Streets. Running across northern Dublin the 60 foot wide track was planned to run into Washington Street, where it made its final turn back to Jackson Street. The $1000.00 track was never completed.

Rause Wright Miller, who came to Dublin in 1895 to open a bicycle shop, opened the first car dealership in Laurens County. He sold his first car, a Cadillac, on February 23, 1907 for $800.00. Frank Corker, President of the First National Bank, is thought to have been the first person in Laurens County to own an automobile. In 1908 Lewis W. Miller, brother of Rause Wright Miller, raced the train of the Wrightsville and Tennille Railroad from Tennille to Dublin. Miller had to go slow in some places over bad roads. Miller in his Cadillac beat the train back to Dublin by ten minutes. Of course, cars needed gasoline to fuel their engines, so the Miller brothers installed the first gasoline tank and thereby established the first service station in Dublin.

The Dublin Auto and Machine Co. was incorporated by T.B. Darley in 1908. Frank F. Scarborough was the manager. A large sale room and repair shop was erected in the building now occupied by Charter Communications on South Jefferson Street near the railroad. By 1910, there were two hundred automobiles in Laurens County, seventy five percent of which were in Dublin.




Homemade Car - 1919 - G.T., Lena and Tom
Daniel


Charles W. Brantley established the Laurens Automobile and Repair Company in 1910. Brantley built a two story - 50 x 100 foot - garage on Lawrence Street. The building is now the home of Allgood Services. The lower floor was an agency for Maxwell, Oakland, and Hupmobiles. Brantley was also an agent for Michelin Tires. Frank F. Scarborough was the manager. The upper floor was the garage, which remained open day and night for repairs. The garage was filled with windows which gave the mechanics better lighting. The garage had a capacity of fifty cars which were lowered and raised by elevator.

The automobile rapidly became a status symbol among Dublin's elite. In the early days purchases of new cars often made the newspaper such as W.B. Rice’s 1909 purchase of a 30 horse power Cadillac, the most powerful car in Dublin. Frank G. Corker and A.W. Garrett made the newspaper when they received their White gasoline cars in 1910. As early as 1909, Dubliners, who had been caught up in the fever of car racing in Savannah, staged races to Atlanta and back.

The emergence of automobile traffic accelerated the need for paved streets in Dublin. The horseless carriage couldn't handle the mud like the tried and true horses and mules. The automobile also forced the location of the Confederate Statue from the intersection of Jefferson Street and Jackson Street to its current location off the street. The first traffic signals were primitive and were placed in the streets. It wasn't until decades later when modern day traffic signals were installed.

In April of 1910, a automobile hill climbing contest was held at the Turkey Creek Hill near Dudley. The cars sped from west side of the creek to top of the hill. The top winners were 1. White Star Car - Charles Eberlein - 35 seconds; 2. White Gasolene - Marshall - 37 seconds; 3. Buick - L.W. Miller - 37 seconds. 4. The Ohio - Izzie Bashinski - 40 seconds.





Haywood Leland Moore, circa. 1914.


Car races were usually held around the holidays. The greatest races were held on Bellevue Avenue. The race began on Bellevue Road at its intersection with Roberson Street at the current location of the Dublin Center. From there the racers would speed down the 1.6 dirt road course back to the finish line at the Carnegie Library, now the Dublin- Laurens Museum. Spectators by the thousands lined the course. The cars were timed, one at a time, by electric timers and telephones and averaged about 65 miles an hour with top speeds at 75 m.p.h. In 1910, the winners were A.M. Kea and F. Dunnel of Dublin, and Herbert Wilson of Hagan. The grand prize was $100.00. Motorcycles were also included with one Indian Motorcycle winning its division by averaging over 85 miles per hour. The enthusiasm lasted long after the race forcing the police chief to assign police officers with stop watches at different intervals to catch speeders. The rest of the story is history. For the last ninety five years, the automobile has been an integral part of our daily lives.

Tom Daniels in his garage.

Photographs from the Vanishing Georgia Collection, Georgia Department of Archives and History, Georgia Secretary of State and Laurens County Historical Society.

BLACKSHEAR'S FERRY

Blackshear's Ferry, ca. 1930s, Rawls Watson,
Ferrykeeper.

Legends and Mysteries

The first of a series of ferries owned by War of 1812 General David Blackshear and his sons came into operation in 1808. Two centuries later, eroded by rushing waters, remnants of this mystical place still remain. Most of the people who ever rode across the rushing waters on the rickety ferry boat are gone now. For those who did, their recollections of their youth have now faded. Like the ancient proverb says, Blackshear’s Ferry never gives its secrets." So, let us take a look at some the ancient mysteries which surround Blackshear’s Ferry, some four crow fly miles north of Dublin on the Oconee River.

One of the most enduring mysteries goes back more than four centuries. English colonists under John White settled on Roanoke Island along the coast of North Carolina in 1587. When White returned three years later, he found the colony completely deserted, except a small sign on which was carved the word "Croatoan." One of the myriads of theories as to what happened to the lost colonists was that they traveled south into what would become Georgia some century and a half later. Legend tellers would swear to you that these wanderers made their way across the Oconee River at the shoals, some quarter of a mile down the river. While the legend sounds good, like many legends do, you decide for yourself, though logically this legend is probably not true.

Even more cryptic is the legend of the "Indian Spring Rock." Julia Thweatt Blackshear saw the rock. She described it as four feet high and seven feet long. One of the sides of the rock, which lies about a mile north of the ferry, has been carved as smooth as if were cut by a marble cutter. Mrs. Blackshear reported that across the face there are written, or carved, mysterious hieroglyphic letters. Likened to Egyptian characters, these letters have been said to form a long line across the entire surface of the rock. This legend is true. What remains a mystery is where the rock is. Did Mrs. Blackshear mean true north, which would put the rock somewhere in the vicinity of Springfield, the home of General David Blackshear. Or did she mean, north along the river near where Blackshear’s original ferry once was located? If so, on which bank did she mean? For all you mystery solvers, this is one you solve. The trouble is, with the ever changing course of the river, the legendary "Indian Spring Rock," may now be submerged waiting for millennia before someone deciphers its ancient message.

John's Photograph Gallery, Crossing at

Blackshear's Ferry, circa. 1890.

Interestingly just down the river from the ferry on the eastern bank of the river is another mysterious rock. Lying on the steep slopes of Carr’s Bluff is a limestone rock similar in size, but not in shape. Lying on its side, the rock resembles half of a perfectly split elongated heart. While there are no markings on this rock, which is similar in size, it is puzzling how this massive rock came to rest some fifty feet up the side of a near cliff. This rock does exist. The question remains, "How did it get there? Was it rolled down the cliff as an anchor by Jarred Trammel and James Beatty, who established their own ferry there at the point where the ancient Lower Uchee Trail crossed the Oconee River on it way from the Creek Indian lands in southern Alabama northeasterly to the area around present day Augusta on the Savannah River?

If you walk down the western bank of the Oconee you will find a ditch which runs parallel with the river and at times sinks to a depth of more than twenty feet from the top of the river bank. The trench, which spans out as wide as a hundred feet, runs in a southwesterly direction from the ferry down to the point where the Lower Uchee Trail intersects with the river bank at a tall near vertical bluff at Carr’s Shoals.

This is a mystery solved. In the early decades of the 20th Century, when river traffic was beginning to wind down, but when electric power needs were begin to swell, some thinkers proposed the idea of a canal from the area around the ferry down to Dublin. The canal would be filled with water. The proponents believed that since water flowed downhill that the resulting drop in elevation along the route could be utilized to generate electricity at the southern end of the canal. They also believed that in times of raging high waters and rocky low waters, flat boats, loaded with cotton and other valuable commodities could be carried by horse and mule teams along a tow path. To increase and diminish the flow of water along the canal, the builders built gates, one of which can still be seen about half way down the path. The project failed for the lack of money and utility.

Dr. Arthur Kelly, esteemed archaeologist of the Smithsonian Institution, called them "the most exciting and wonderful Indian mounds that he had seen on his exploration of the Oconee River." Situated near the river crossing was the ancient Indian village of Ocute. It was here in 1934, where Dr. Kelly and his party found an old Indian burying ground with at least eighty to one hundred graves. Strewn and scattered across the ground were arrowheads and pottery deemed by Kelley as "entirely different from any others found in Indian mounds across the state.

But just where were these mounds? Were they at the crossing site, which to his dying day Kelly, and his colleagues, believed was where the Spanish explorer crossed the Oconee in his journey in 1540. Were they further upstream or downstream nearer the Country Club? Even though Dr. Kelly warned Dubliners about commercial exploitation of the site and challenged them to raise a mere two hundred dollars to help establish a fund to explore and document the site in addition to Federal help with the labor and volunteer help by the ladies of the John Laurens Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution. Alas, Dr. Kelly went off to Macon to survey what became the Ocmulgee National Monument. The legendary village of Ocute, or whatever it may have been called, is still there, just waiting for the time when the next archaeologist comes along to reveal the truth about what was really there.

Julia Blackshear in her article in The History of Laurens County, 1807-1941 names the village as Kitchee, which according to her description would have located just to the north of the Dublin Country Club. She tells the story of the time when the final council of the residents of Kitchee was held. Three aged Indians appeared before the great white chief, General David Blackshear, and asked his permission to allow them to remain on the lands of the ancestors and to guard their graves until their deaths. The General graciously granted their requests and allowed the ancient and honorable scions to live there in peace. When the last of the trio died, the residents of the community buried him along the side the other two. Just where this ancient burial ground lies remains a mystery, perhaps for the remainder of time.

The area around Blackshear’s Ferry remains an ancient and mysterious place. Please remember that the area is privately owned and to ask permission before visitation. Despite the thoughtless efforts of the apathetic, the river, thanks to conscientious sportsmen and river keepers, remains virtually pristine. And keeping it that way along with respecting the remains of a long ago people should always be our goal.