The Savannah morning news., 1902-03-02
4 TRIP THROUGH FORSYTH.
ONE OF THE COUNTIES OF GEORGIA
WITHOUT A RAILROAD.

ONE OF THE COUNTIES OF GEORGIA
WITHOUT RAILROAD.
xamed in Honor of John Forsyth,
twice Representative I'm Congress,
Txice United states Senator, Cow
ernOr and Minister to Spain, and
from whom SAVANNAH Beauti-
fuI Forsyth Place Is Named-The
County One of the Most Prosper
ous in Upper GeOrgia-Cumming
the County Site, n Delightful
Tovn-some of the Men Who Lead
in the County's Affairs.
There are a number of counties in
Georgia that are still without rail-
rosds: among them is Forsyth county.
cumming is the county site to reach
which necessitates ride or drive over
the foot hills of the Blue Ridge Noun
+ains. 1 was at Gainesville and started
from that city, which is twenty-three
miles distant. for my destination. 1t
had been showing in Upper Georgia,
and the roads were not in the best
cred highways, hills, and valleys. In the
distance were to be seen the snow
capped Blue Ridge fairly glistening as
4 reluctant winter sun cast it's furtive
rays upon the rocky eminence. Well
U.raDped and in a well made Gaines
VILE buggy, behind a pair of North
Georgia bred horses, with Col. w. +.
FindIey Of Gainesville, holding the
reins, it was not an unpleasant drive
of four and one-half hours at the end
of which time, we found ourselves in
Cumming under the shadow of Sawnee
chief of that name.
A part of our route lay over the
Federal Military road, constructed in
the first quarter of the last century by
the government at the suggestion of
Gen. Andrew Jackson. The highway
began at Augusta and ended at Nash
vile, thus connecting the Savannah,
Tennessee and Cumberland rivers, and
providing a somewhat easy route, for
those days, for movement of
troops. AS late as the 40s of the last
century, this road way was an i'm
portant factor in the development of
Upper Georgia.
The gentleman who kindly took me
to my destination in his buggy, point
ed out many places of interest among
them, the home of Col. Jim Greene,
one of those able men whom Gov Joe
Brown discovered" and transferred
from farm life in the mountains to
the political arena. The Governor, of
whom he was a staunch supporter, APP
pointed him keeper of the peniten-
tiary, and Col. Greene was an eff
cient official We passed several places
where men who are now or were
prominent in the business and finan-
cial world were born, and who left
these red clay hills to make a name.
l could mention names, but some peo-
pie are not always proud of their
modest birthplaces and honest ances-
tors. We put up at the Sawnee House,
kept by Mr.. and Mrs. Puett 1t is a
pleasant hotel, where great old-time
oak fire warmed the room and made
us soon forget the cold drive.
Judge George F. Gober of the Blue
Ridge Circuit was holding Forsyth
superior Court. and the town was
crowded with people, lawyers,
jurymen, defendants and plain
tiffs The excitement of the day
was the arrest of a witness while in
the Court House by deputy United
States marshal. The judge resented
the outrage upon the dignity of the
state and had the witness released,
but he was re-arrested soon after
leaving the court. This further Vio-
lation of the law, which forbids the
arrest of witness on his way to or
from court, will doubtless lead to the
arrest and punishment of the United
States official, unless the prisoner is
released.
Judge Gober is noted as a jurist who
believes in enforcing the laws and
maintaining the dignity of the state
Inc Judge was student in the law
ONCE OF Jackson, LaWton & Basinger,
and in the seventies was admitted to
the bar at Savannah. He is not only
lawyer, but he is horticulturalist
OF state repute, and has the largest
and finest peach orchard and vineyard
IN Northeast Georgia. He also owns
the Marietta Box and Basket Factory,
ana the Marietta Ice Factory. The
Judge cleared the docket in three days
and adjourned court for the term.
Cumming is an old town, having been
incorporated in 1884, and was named
IN honor of Col. William Cumming of
Augusta. AS 1 stated before it has
no railroad; the nearest station, Bu-
ford, on the Southern Railway,
thirteen miles distant. There
are no railroads in the county,
out IN this it is not alone; there are
eleven counties, seven of which are in
bunch, that have no railroads, and
forsyth is one of them; namely, Lump
KIN Dawson, Union, Towns, White and
forsyth. Rabun and Milton virtually
nave none, there being only few hum
cred yards of railroad tracks within
their limits.
1t would pay the state to give some
OF It's convicts, free of charge, to any
company that would build railroads to
IsoIated towns like Cumming. The
state aided the Marietta and North
Georgia Railroad, now the Atlanta,
knoxville and Northern Railway, by
giving 1t the use of it's convicts, and
Today Georgia marble, the result of
the building of that railroad is a
Wofld-known product, not to mention
uhe Improvement in agriculture and in
crease in taxable values.
ii is true that the convict lessees af-
rewards made the state pay them for
me labor of the convicts so used but
uIat was nothing as compared with the
sIeat development that has followed.
VI course, it would not do to trespass
upon the rights of the present lessees
vi the states conVicts, but when their
ledSeS are out and a new lease is to