The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1899-08-16
CLARK'S HILL AS IT Is.
Post ONCE Department ReetOres Old
Name-Ox Teams that Live In Ira.
ditfOn.

Name-Ox Ie6nns th<at Live III AESs'
ditton.
Many of the older people Of Abbeville coun;;
ty have travelled with loaded wagons the road
past Clark's Hill in Edgeteld county TO Au
gusta, Ca. and heard of the "o4 teams" which
became famous equally with their owner, the
well-known Sage OF Clark's Hill" The
matter was very pleasantly referred at WASH.
ingtnn O few days ago when the Department
was again asked TO give back the Clark's Hill
people the old name to their post office.
Mr.. Hugh e. Middleton, native OF Clark
Hill, writing to Mr.. j. Altheus johnson, III
"Dear Mr.. Johnson: DO you want monu::
ment built TO your name right away Wlthoni
drop in and give the Fourth Assistant Post
Master General strait talk about the name
Of the post Office here, and get him TO change
the name back to "Clarks HILL the people
here will engrave your name on their hearts
even to the second and third generation,
which will be the best kind OF 8 monument T.
drop In and chance sling NJ him. III you
can hit him in the forehead, your name Will
be David, and our tents will be open to you,
Soon after Mr.. Middleton had written this
letter TO Mr.. johnson, the following article on
Clark's Hill appeared in the Washington
TROUBLES OF CLARK's HILL-PoST OF
FICE WAS CHANGED, BUT THE CITIZENS
STICK TO OLD NAME-A year or two ago the
hauling Of post office names throughout the
country with a view to Topping Oh superhu.
ous adiuncts and making the names shorter
and simpler among the places ace dsna snst came
was Clark's Hill, In Edgefield county. 5. G.
When the official pruner for that part o
Uncle Sans domain was Tn, through with ri his
but the word "Clark," by which term the de
partment wished the place to be thereafter
called in the nomenclature OF the postal ser
seem slow to yield allegiance to their new
post.offlce name, and are anxious for resto.
ration in their mail matters TO the name by
which the place is known In everyday speech
A resident OF the place writes concerning
the change af follows:
The complication is really grievous. The
railroad, telegraph, and express name for the
place Is 'Clark's HILL anu this local name, sc
lndelibly fixed in the public mind by the
Sage of Clark's HIP and his pro bono pub
lico' OK teams, will never be changed. The
people were never asked by the department
about the change OF name, which is against
the wishes OF every man, woman, and child
in the region round about, and they have pro
people no rights in name? How about cut
ting up New York and calling II New :?
What sense would there be In It? Is that the
name Of the place? Or why not cut up Pow,
and call it ROCK or Due Vest aud call it
'Duev Clark 10 an ntirely different name
from 'Clark's HILL The department is try
'Drummers come to 'Clark's HIP and sell
goods and the goods are shipped to 'Clark's
HILL Cotton and other farm products here
are are way ybilled 'Clark's HILL and shipped
from 'Clark's HILL and thousands of crates
OF fruit are scot by express every year from
'Clark's HILL The place is called CLARK q
Hill and always will be. People visit Clark q
HIP and buy their tickets and send their tel
egrams to 'Clarks Hill, and twenty years
from now merchants will be sending their
bills Of lading to 'Clarks HILL and nineteen
twentieths Of the mail will still be written
addressed to .Carks Hill : so what's the use use
confusion and causing no telling how much
mail in the meantime TO be sent to the Dead
Letter office or returned to the writers?
in the last ninety days. Correspondents try
to telegraph to CLARK and cannot, and write
in confusion. Some OF my mail has gone 10
Clark, Fla,' and some 10 CLARK, 8. D.
have been forced TO rent q box In Augusta,
and have most of my mail sent there and for.
warded to me here. People write to CLARK s
turned marked, NO such ofice.'"
The matter was then taken home to the
Department In the following letter:
..The Fourth Asslstat Postmaster General:
Ny dear sir--The enclosed article 1 have
clipped from the Washington Post of this
morning, and bring 1t to your attention in
this way because Of the very pleasant knowl-
eagGk Of OF the people IN the
"The Sage Of Clark's HIP is MIR. George D.
Tillman, who has been q well-known charac-
ter in that region for nearly fifty years, and
who represented that district in congress for
fifteen or sixteen years. He ts the Oldest
brother Of the present Senator Tillman.
1.-THE road past George Tillman's house was
the highway OF travel to Augusta, Co., the
chief market town, for a hundred miles up
the Carolina side OF the Savannah, and the
long red hill near Mr.. Tillman's house used 10
get very bad in the winter season. When
teams stuck in the mud the teamsters always
knew they could get at the "Sages' without
price, q yoke or two Of oxen that would pull
them out of the mud. Mr.. Tillmans steers
were famous throughout all that country
among the people who travelled that road. l
was born In Abbeville county, about thirty
miles above Clark's Hill. and knew all about
1.-The railroads that have In vaded that coun-
try since the time speak Of have made some
difference in travel and transportation, but
still you know the tenacity with which peo-
pie hold 10 old names and old ways, and ev-
cry one have seen from that neighborhood
since the change in post Office name was
made has said the people did not like the
change.
your official attention to the matter that
put this Communication on file with you.
put In this article from the Post.
am very truly yours,
j. Altheus Johnson"
We understand the Department, in order
ing II restored, said the old name, CLARK y
HILL" ought never to have been disturbed.
The Department said also, we unde rstand +,
when inquired Of about it, that the recent
printing Of Due West as one word in the
United States Postal Guides was without the