Lake Hartwell... Great Lake of the South

ROADSIDE HISTORICAL MARKERS

 FRANKLIN COUNTY

Franklin County
This County, created by Act. of the Legislature Feb. 25, 1784, is named for Benjamin Franklin, Revolutionary patriot and statesman. It was formed from lands obtained from the Indians by the Treaty of Augusta, 1783. Capt. James Terrell Of the Revolution was an early settler. Volunteers from Franklin Co. under Capt. Morris distinguished themselves at the Battle of Pea River Swamp, Mar. 25, 1837, in the Creek Indian War. The present County Site was established by Act of November 29, 1806, at Carnesville named for Thomas B. Carnes, member of the Third Congress, 1793-97.  Marker is at the Courthouse in Carnesville.

Franklin Methodist Church
This, the Franklin Methodist Church, erected in 1831, is one of the earliest permanent church buildings in this area. Constructed of 12x12 hand-hewn pine beams, the church has been extensively remodeled through the years except the steeple, which stands as first built. The slave balcony originally in this church, unlike most, was at the front behind the pulpit. Early members have told of Indians worshiping in this building in the days when the Indian population of this section was large. Among the leaders of the church 100 years ago were the Lane, Daniel, Hammond, McCutchen and Lipford families. Marker is in Franklin at the Church (Heard County).

Dr. Stewart D. Brown, Sr.
Dr. Brown (1881-1952), Royston native, after years of the best training, returned home to practice surgery, bringing modern techniques and ingenious methods. He served his townspeople unfailingly for 40 years, performing 35,000 operations. With no hospital facilities, he pioneered, traveling from house to house, accompanied by his trained help, for 14 years. His territory stretched to seventy-five miles or more. He then opened a small hospital of his own, soon outgrown. Also active in educational and civic affairs, he rendered a lasting service to his hometown.  Marker is on U.S. 29 in Royston west of the business district.

Carroll's Methodist Church
Instituted in 1797, this church was named for the William Carroll family, among its first members. The present building, erected about 1835, was restored in 1951-52 under the leadership of Bishop John H. Baker. Rev. Nelson Osborn (1797-1873) was a life-long member and minister for many years. The renowned Bishop Francis Asbury wrote in his diary: "Friday, Nov. 21, 1799, we drove 16 miles to Carroll's Meeting House, a New Log Cabin in the Woods. Some of the People of the Congregation are from the East and West Parts of Maryland. I felt the Lord was with them. We have the Kitchen, House and Chamber all in one and no closet but the woods".  Marker is 2.5 miles northwest (air line) of Canon.

Poplar Springs Methodist Camp Ground
Camp meetings have been held here each year, from 1832, except four years during the War Between the States. The 50-acre plot, "extending one-half mile in every direction from the preacher's stand", was purchased from Daniel and Jacob Groover for $25 by William Hammons, John F. Wilson, George Shell, John B. Wade, Dennis Phillips, Thomas King and Rev. Nelson Osborne, Trustees. The first meeting, August 1832, was held under a brush arbor with 30 tents on the ground. Women were seated on one side of the arbor: men on the other. John W. Osborne, appointed usher, served at every meeting until his death in 1914.  Marker is about 2.5 miles south of preceding marker on the same road.

Hebron Presbyterian Church

Reverend John Newton, a native of Pennsylvania organized the Hebron Presbyterian Church was organized in 1796. Rev. Thomas Newton, a younger brother, was the first pastor. First elders were John McEntire and Samuel Makie, natives of Ireland, and Thomas Mayes and William Fleming, from Pennsylvania. Churches organized out of Hebron were: Carnell (Homer), Mount Hermon (Ila), Harmony, Hartwell, Carnesville, Mayesville, Commerce, Cornelia and Hopewell. Nine ministers have gone out from this church. The work of the church is still carried on by the descendents of its founders. The present building was erected in 1884. Marker is on GA 59 near the Banks County Line - 2 miles from the church.

Double Branches Baptist Church
Constituted in 1801, this church has 19 charter members. First a member of the Sarepta Association, it was one of 13 churches to form the Tugalo Association in 1818. Some members came many miles in wagons and buggies to attend its services. Among the early pastors were John Sandridge, Francis Calloway, John A. Davis, Samuel B. Sanders, John G. York, and W. F. Bowers. Davis and Bowers "departed the Association because of ladies wearing jewelry and Free Masonry" to form the "Reformation Church", a short-lived group of churches in this area. This building was erected in 1911. Marker is about one mile northeast of preceding marker on the same road.

Poplar Springs Baptist Church
Established in 1805, Poplar Springs Baptist Church, "Mother Church" of the Tugalo Baptist Assn., began in May of that year. Some of the first members were Joseph Chandler, Thomas Wilkins, John Nail, John Mullins, and James Jackson. John Cleveland, Thomas Gilbert, Francis Calloway, Jr., were early pastors. Many landowners and slaves were members. The slave cemetery is to the right of the church on the Yow estate. On Sept. 12, 1818, delegates from 13 churches met here to form the Tugalo Baptist Assn. of the Southern Baptist Convention. The present auditorium was erected in 1873. The educational building was built in 1955. Marker is about 5 miles north of Lavonia on a road leading off Ga 59 one mile from Lavonia.

 HART COUNTY

Parkertown-1832
Joseph A. Parker founded Parkertown in 1832 in what was then Franklin County but now Hart County, by Joseph A. Parker.  Parker was born in Virginia in 1774 and moved to Elbert County, Georgia in 1796. He later moved to Big Shoal Creek where Jacob Parker & Co. founded by his sons built what is said to have been the first woolen mill in Georgia on the upper shoal. At the lower shoal they constructed a dam and a flour and gristmill together with a cotton gin and a thresher.  Marker is in the north part of Hart County between GA 59 and Shoal Creek.

Redwine Church
Redwine Church was apparently founded prior to 1800 & named after Jacob R. Redwine, Revolutionary soldier born in Pa. who moved here from N. C. This is the 4th church, built in 1906. The first was a log cabin several hundred yards west near the old cemetery in which lies Maj. Nathaniel Durkee, hero of the Revolutionary Battle of Kettle Creek. Lorenzo Dow, noted Methodist preacher, once spoke here. Laid in & about this church are many scenes in "The Circuit Rider's Wife" by Cora Harris, wife of Rev. Lundy Harris who was preacher here in 1887 when he married.  Marker is on a country road northeast of Royston.

"Center of the World"
This was Ah-Yeh-Li A-Lo-Hee, the Center of the World, to the Cherokee Indians. To this assembly ground, from which trails radiate in many directions, they came to hold their councils, to dance and worship which were to them related functions, and to barter their hides, furs and blankets for the trade goods of the white men from Augusta and other settlements. At one time there was a move to establish here the Hart County seat. This site was also a noted roost in the days when the now extinct passenger pigeons migrated here in the autumn in such numbers that "their weight broke the tree limbs."  Marker is on U.S. 29, 2.9 miles from the Courthouse in Hartwell.

Hart County
Hart County was created by the Legislature on Dec. 7, 1853 out of portions of Franklin and Elbert Counties. It is the only county in Georgia named for a woman- Nancy Hart.  Nancy Hart and her husband, Benjamin Hart, obtained a 400-acre grant 25 miles SE from Hartwell in Colonial days and erected a log cabin home. During the Revolutionary War six Tories forced their way into the Hart home and demanded that Nancy cook a meal for them. She started cooking an old turkey, meanwhile sending her daughter to the spring to blow a conch shell for help. Detected slipping the third Tory rifle through a crack in the wall, Nancy killed one of the Tories and wounded another. Hart and several neighbors, coming to her rescue, wanted to shoot the five surviving Tories but Nancy insisted that they be hanged, and they were. Tradition has it that Nancy Hart served as a spy for Gen. Elijah Clarke, sometimes disguised as a man. The Indians respectfully called Nancy Hart, "War Woman," giving that name to a creek adjacent to her cabin, which is memorialized in a State Park on State Highway Route 17.  Hart County's first officers elected in Feb. 1854 were Inferior Court Justices Henry F. Chandler, Micajah Carter, Clayton S. Webb, Daniel M. Johnson, James V. Richardson; Inferior Court Clerk Frederick C. Stephenson, Ordinary James T. Jones, Superior Court Clerk Burrell Mitchell, Sheriff William Myers, Tax Receiver W. C. Davis, Tax Collector Richard Shirley, Surveyor John A. Cameron, Coroner Richard Skelton and Treasurer Samuel White. Marker is at the Courthouse in Hartwell.

 STEPHENS COUNTY

Stepehens County
This County, created by Act of the Legislature August 18, 1905, is named for Alexander Hamilton Stephens, Vice President of the Confederacy. A state legislator and Senator, he was elected to Congress at 31, serving from 1843 to 1859. Elected to the Senate in 1866 he was refused his seat but again served in Congress from 1873 to 1882 when he became Governor. He died March 4, 1883. Among the first County Officers were: Sheriff W. A. Stow, Clerk of Superior Court W. O. Bailey, Ordinary B. P. Brown, Jr., Tax Receiver M. C. Jouett, Tax Collector C. L. Mize, Treasurer C. M. Dance, Coroner Sidney Williams and Surveyor M. B. Collier.  Marker Number 127-1 is located at the Courthouse in Toccoa.

Traveler's Rest- Old Tugaloo Town
Historic Traveler's Rest was built upon land granted to Major Jesse Walton in 1785.  Indian killed Walton, a Revolutionary soldier and political leader, near here in 1789. The Walton family sold the land to James Rutherford Wyly who built the main part of the house between 1816 and 1825. Devereaux Jarrett bought the house on August 21, 1838. Jarrett added to the original structure and opened it to the public. Due to the growing population and increased through traffic the structure served as an inn, trading post, and post office. While the ten-room house was open to the public it entertained many illustrious travelers. The Jarrett account books, which doubled as hotel registers, contain the name of the English scientist and author, G. W. Featherstonehaugh, who stayed the night and ate breakfast for "a quarter of a dollar". While the Jarrett family owned the house that they called Jarrett Manor, Mrs. Mary Jarrett White, the last family owner, made history. She was the first woman in Georgia to vote. Historic Traveler's Rest is on the National Register of Historic Places and is a Georgia Historical Commission Site. Marker Number 127-5 is located on U.S. 23 near S.C. line.