The Savannah morning news., 1901-12-10

VIZ - =
of steamers piled between Charleston
and Savannah and the st. Johns river,
nearly all of which made a landing at
Darien. The building of lines to connect
the railroad system of Florida with
those farther North put an end to the
steamboat lines, and to some extent
deprived Darien of prompt communi-
cation with other places. This, however,
was remedied few years since by the
building of the Darien and Western
Railroad, which connects with the Sea-
board Air Line at Theo, or Darien
Junction. Mr.. #. II. Mcfarland, a son
of the late DIR. j. r. Mcfarland of Sa-
vannah, is the general manager of the
railroad, 1t seems to me that if the
Darien and Western Railroad would
extend it's rails into The middle of the
state, crossing as the line would en-
route, L several great railroad systems,
1t would be of immense benefit to Da-
rien. The city has it's mills and fleets
of timber ladened vessels; it's counting
rooms, and stores are managed by
trained business men and all the 9TH.
er adjuncts to trade and traffic. 1t has
more of the making of a big city than
others of greater pretensions. With the
growth of the state there is no reason
why great prosperity should not some
day come to Darien.
The populating of the immense tracts
Of cleared land controlled by Darien
interests, in itself. should build up a
city, and If a railroad could be built
to make such lands of easy access,
emigrants would be constant
ly coming in, and that and the general
development of agriculture, stock rails
ing, dairying, etc, by reason of such
a population, would be beneficial TO
Darien.
Arriving at Theo, or Darien Junction,
by the Seaboard Air Line, / had to
wait about an hour for the train from
and for Darien. 1t was a cold, damp
morning, and l thankfully accepted the
invitation of Mr. j. r. Jones, who
keeps the only store there, to warm by
his stove. / arrived at my destina-
tion in due time. There is no grander
depot than that at Darien. 1t is ma
ture's canopy, a grove of magnificent
live oaks. and the train runs in be-
tween the trees.
met my old friends, Capt. James
L. Foster. Capt James Lachlison and
Capt. Joseph Hilton, as soon as l left
the car. The last-named gentleman is
a former Savannahian and Darienite,
but now living in New York, where
the headquarters of the Hilton & Dodge
Lumber Company, of which he is pres
ident. are located. Capt. Foster is an
ex-Oglethorpe Company b, and was
with that command when captured at
the surrender Of Fort Pulaski After
his return from prison he received an
appointment in the Confederate navy,
and served with distinction to the close
of the contest. Since the war he was
captain of the Mcintosh Light Dra-
goons Capt. Lachlison was captain of
the Oglethorpe Light Infantry Com
pany b. He was also a Fort Pulaski
prisoner and afterwards participated
in the fighting around Charleston and
the campaigns in Georgia and Tennes-
see. He is a son of that noble old
Roman, the late Robert Lachlson of
Savannah, whose enterprise and indus
try have q monument in the buildings
now occupied by the Savannah Brew
ing Company They We're his foundry
and machine shops. On the capture of
Savannah the Federals stole all the
machinery and material and turned
the buildings into a hospital. This out
rage virtually ruined Mr.. Lachlison,
and he removed to Darien, where he
had an interest in saw mill property,
and died there some years since at a
ripe old age. Capt Joe Hilton and
also Capt. Foster are Hephews of the
"a c
adjutant general of Evans Brigade, A.
N. V. and surrendered at Appomattox.
Speaking OF those times he gave me a
vivid description of the march from
the lines at Petersburg to the clos
ing scenes. Six days of marching,
starvation and fighting; thin lines Of
gray against 9solid bodies of blue; a
fight, a retreat a stand and a fight
again, or 50 on to the end.
These gentlemen kindly introduced
me to those of their fellow citizens
whom 1 WAS not acquainted with, and
among other gentlemen l met several
old schoolmates. OF course. called
at the Gazette office and saw my old
friend, Hon. r. w. Grubb, an editor
who is known by every newspaper
man in the country, faithful worker
for Darien and Georgia. There is
only one "Dick" Grubb. and he lives
in Darien, and may he live long.
Darien has a solid financial instf-
tuition, "The Darien Bank" of which
II. w. Strain, Esq. is president, and
]. A. Space, Esq, cashier In olden
times, Darien not only had banks,
but had branches of them in Savan-
nah, and their bills were considered
as good as the best. In those days
some bank notes were subject to dis
counts of from to rs per cent. as soon
as you were out of sight OF the bank.
Dariens bank bills, however, were all
ways good for their face.
was the guest of Capt Foster and
his good wife. In the afternoon he
drove me behind his span of fine
horses to "rhe Ridge" to call on mu-
tual friends. "The Ridge" is a beau
tiful suburb of Darien, and three
miles distant and is reached by a
we'll built shell road, the building of
which was largely due to Capt. Fos-
ters efforts. The residences at THE
Ridge" are large and handsome and
surrounded by extensive and we'll
kept grounds. At Capt. James Lach-
Iison's ! met his wife, whom ] had
not seen for years, and also members
OF the family, among them their young
est daughter. who was married the fol-
lowing Monday TO the Rev Thomas
Thomson, the pastor Of the Methodist
Church, and a son of our County Tax