Savannah morning news. [volume] (Savannah) 1868-1887, 1884-08-06
SOUTHEASTERN GEoRGIA.
Some of the Advantages of that Region
for Business and immigrants.

Some of the Advantages of that Region
for Business and Immigrants.
Correspondence of the Morning Eeaos.
FoLKsToN, Aug. 5.-In the whole of
Southeastern Georgia there is no place
that has made more progress in so short
a space of time than Folkston, Charlton
county. 1t certainly cannot compete with
those mushroom towns of Colorado or
the great Northwest, for as far as our
knowledge goes no large silver or gold
mines have been found in its vicinity, and
though we meet men bearded and tanned
they certainly are not miners, for they
have no top boots on, neither do they
carry dirks or pistols in their belts as the
regulation miner does.
On making inquiries into this evident
prosperity we found the causes were IN
ternal, for though Folkston was not in
existence until the Savannah, Florida
and Western Railway made station here,
this led the energetic men OF the
district from Charlton, Camden and from
Nassau. Fla. to FOlkst0n, for they at
once saw this was to be the business CEN
tire of this part of the country. In conse-
quence of this knowledge we lind that
Centre Village, which was one OF the
most important settlements, having a
stage pass through it daily and having a
fiourishing mountaineering in fact, the
place where the foundations OF the for
| tunes were laid of more than one large
mercantile house in Savannah with a
business reputation now worldwide. is
now entirely deserted. Looking over this
village of the DAYS gone by with one OF
the sold inhabitants" who points out to
us the stores once occupied by men who
now stand in the foremost rank in COM
,lc fNysa h Of
| Gibbons "Decline and Fall of the
Roman Empire,o on a small scale.
Centre Village has seen its day, the
Roman Empire has seen its day, both are
now things OF the past, and though to the
general reader the history OF Rome is OF
far more Importance than the history OF
place that was not thought of long after
Rome had passed the zenith of its glory,
vet the sold inhabitants" love to dwell on
its history, surrounding it with all the
halo of a sacred past.
In this ageof progress, this never ceas-
| ing struggle for existence, we have very
little time for sentiment-tOO hard and too
real is our battle with the wOrld-sO we
must s'let the dead past bury its Dead"
and act in the living present.
On our last visit to Folkston we found
many improvements and many more being
talked about. Men of capital and bust
ness standing have taken up their resi-
| dence there. We were asked to
go over and see large house,
| built very similar to the houses we have
seen in our Northern towns, and we
were not surprised to hear that Mr..
| Frank Chase was the architect and
| builder, a young man from Boston, Mass.
| This house was erected for Mr.. J.. l..
Bedell and it certainly is the finest house
anywhere around. 1t was our good for
| tune to see the energetic proprietor, who
took great pleasure in showing us over
| his recent acquisition, pointing out all
| the cOnyeniences of his establishment.
| We were on the point of sympathizng
with Mr.. Bedell on having no bird to Oc-
/ cupy so elegant a cage, when he told us
| how much he reckoned it would cost him
| to furnish his house, which he intended to
| be in keeping with the rest, for, said he.
| 'Ea bridal suite must be a nice one. We
| agreed with the gentleman, who said he
| expected to go to Savannah soon, and we
guess he will be looking round some of
| the furniture stores. Mr.. Bedell values
| be a ball, got up as pre-
! liminary house warming, by the young
| men of Folkston, to which we had cor
| dial invitation, but unfortunately we felt
unable to stay. On leaving Mr.. Bedell
| the first place we came to was the mill
owned by the Chase Bros. These ener-
| getic young men have lately started their
mill and they assure us they are prosper
! ing beyond their expectation. Their
mill is for small work. At the time we
were there they were making fruit crates,
| of which they have made over one thou
| sand this season, some of which they
| have shipped, but the greater part has
! been used by the local fruit-growers. We
| had a long talk with the "boys," who it
| appears came from the North in 1881, and
never intend to live there again, so salts
| fed are they with the South.
! They take great interest in FOlkstOn,
| and in fact the whole of Georgia. We
| learn from them that Mr.. Newton ROden-
| berry had brought some new corn to their
mill to be ground on July 70. This is the
| first we have heard OF. Their grist mill
| is great convenience to the district, for
| they grind any day, and the farmers can
| have their grist as fine or as coarse as
| they like. Mr.. ID. G. Chase, the father of
the ''boys," is a joyial old gentleman,
with whom we had long talk. He in
| formed us he prefers farming, but until
his boys get a fair start, he intends to
help them.
The new mill of Upton & Dial at Span
| ish creek is great convenience to them,
for they can have their lumber sawed to
a convenient size for handling, and then
dress it themselves. By this means they
| can get out anything in the way of lum-
| Der for building, they having a very good
Single machine on which they have got
| out good stock of shingles.
| We went across the track at this point
| to Mr.. j. w. Leigh's store. This store
has not been built long, but Mr.. Leigh
| finds his business increasing so fast that
| he has engaged the "Chase boys" to en-
| large it for him. This gentleman, besides
I Il, g.
| the st. Mary's river, but so energetic is
he that he is about to clear a track in
FO,kstOn for a truck farm.
He says after the experience he has had
this season of supplying the Jacksonville
market, he knows truck farming will pay.
This gentleman has been taking all the
peaches he could get in these parts and
shipping them to Savannah and Jackson
vile. This has proved good thing for
the farmers who last year scarcely could
sell any. There are four other gentlemen
besides Mr.. Leigh engaged in the fruit
shipping business. Messrs. John Bach
lott, John Boynton, Brown and L. W.
Hobbs. We learned from Mr.. Brown, the
obliging agent of the Southern Express
Company, that 932 fruit crates had been
shipped up to that date, July 26.
We read every week in the Savannah
WEEKLY NEWS of the many inducements
offered to men of energy and sense in our
sister State, Florida; but we will venture
to say that in no part of Florida are there
better chances for this type of men, all
things being equal, than in Southeastern
Georgia. Our country farms and fields
respond gladly and bring forth abundantly
when proper care is taken of them. And
where, we would ask, can YOU find a
country more healthy? We are not able
to bring oranges to the same perfection as
they can south, but there are other things
we can beat them in, and the healthiness
of our climate to a man who expects to
rear a family is not the least. There are
plenty of avenues open for men of capital,
and men of small capital and large fami-
lies might do much worse and not much
better than come to Charlton county,