The Savannah morning news., 1902-12-21
By J. H. ESTILL.

Thomas is a South Georgia county
and its southern boundary is the state
of Florida. 1t was laid off from De-
catur and Irwin in 1925 and was added
~ form Lowndes County the follow
ing wear. Its area is 71S square miles
and its population according to the
census of 1900 shows an increase In ~
years Of is per cent. Its first settlers
were mostly people that immigrated
from Bulloch and counties adjacent
thereto. they travelled through the
wiregrass country in wagons and on
horseback. A considerable number of
North Carolinians also found their
way to Thomas County in its early
days Owing, however, to its isolation
the population increased very slowly
until 1861. when the Atlantic & Gulf
Railroad reached Townsville. The
Confederate War also somewhat re-
tarded the growth of the country.
The Atlantic & Gulf Railroad was
extended to cambridge in 1857, and
in 1869 and 1870 the South Georgia and
Florida Railroad, part of the present
Atlantic Coast Line system was built
and upon the completion of the bridge
across the Flint river trains entered
Albany on the 18th January, 1871, thus
giving Thomasville a connection with
North and West Georgia by the South
Western Railroad to Macon, Atlanta
and Columbus, as well as to Savannah.
The impetus given by the building of
railroads at once placed Thomas Coun-
ty among the most progressive in
Georgia
In my story of Triton and the lifts"
/ gave a brief history of the scheme
TO build a railroad from Savannah to
the Gulf of Mexico. via Albany. In
f1uences inimical to a railroad which
would interfere with the business of
the Southwestern Railroad, prevailed
and at a meeting of citizens held in
Savannah it was resolved "to build
a railroad from Savannah to the south
ern or western boundary between
Georgia and Florida, with view to a
continuation of the same through
Florida to Pensacola" 1t was this reso-
luton that gave Townsville it's first
railroad. and deprived Savannah of
that direct rail line to the Gulf which
would have made her to-day the rival
of Baltimore as a great seaport, and
instead of her $4,000 population she
would have 100000, with the eastern
city limits at Thunderbolt
The Atlantic & Gulf, as related, was
followed by the building of the South
Georgia a. Florida Railroad from
Thomasville TO Albany and later
railroad was built to Monticello, Fla.
Those railroads are now parts of the
Atlantic Coast Line System. To them
were added more recently the Triton,
Thomasville and Gulf Railroad.
Before the advent of the railroads
the trade of Thomas county was car
ried on through the port of St Marks
on the Gulf by wagons. There was
also roundabout connection with Sa-
vannah by way of Traders Hill, on the
St. Mary's river.
The surface of the county is gener-
ally undulating and in places quite
billy. The soil is almost without ex-
ception good, the greater part being a
sandy loan with clay subsoil The
Ochlockonee river flows from the north
east to the southwest and empties
through Ochlockonee Bay into the Gulf
of Mexico A branch of the Ocilla
river, called the Aucilla in Florida,
drains the eastern part of the county
The principal crops are long and
short staple cotton. and sugar cane,
but corn, potatoes, sweet and white;
peas. hay and oats, vegetables and
fruits of all kinds are produced in
abundance.
1t may not be out of place to say
just here that this description of the
products of Thomas county will apply
to all the counties of South Georgia.
The energy and thrift of the people
prove that a warm climate is no draw
back to the successful pursuit of agri-
culture, or success in any line of bus
mess. A large portion of the county is
still uncleared of its forests of pine.
oak, hickory and other trees, and there
is, therefore, a plenty of room for set
tiers.
Thomas county by the census of 1900
had 1872 farms, the improved average
of which was 150,124, the value of land,
improvements and buildings thereon,
$2,1S5,3lO; values of farm implements
and machinery, $751; 400; value of live
stock, S4SS,Sl4; gross farm products,
not feed to stock, 81, 1273 42.
The census also shows that 1925
bales of upland and 1850 bales of sea
island cotton were made in that year.
1t is not in this generation only that
1t is Illustrated that honor and fame
AIOilA no COIuIllOn TlSSt 90 well your
part and there all the honor lies" He
whose honored name is borne by Thorn
as county was a self-educated man, a
carpenter by trade, who by his energy
and industry at his calling made q
fortune, and by bravery on the field OF
battle made a name.
Gen. Jett Thomas was born in Gull
pepper county Virginia, the year OF
the Declaration of Independence, anc
was brought to Oglethorpe county BY
his father in 1884. The son grew vi
under the usual conditions of life il
the backwoods, and in his youth wa.
noted for his manliness Of charactel
and his fondness for mechanics. H,
learned the trade of a carpenter, anC
became contractor. He built well anC
strong, and among the monuments K
his skill that still stand, are the oil,
capitol at Milledgeville and Franklin
College, Athens. While engaged as ;
contractor in the latter city, he de
voted his nights to studying the highe
branches under DR.. Meigs and thu
improved his education.
The war of 1S12-15 coming on, h
raised company of artillery in Mid
die Georgia and served under Gen
Charles Floyd. He was compliments
for his gallantry at the Battle of Au
tossee, and also for bravery in the en-
gagement at Camp Defiance. The off
cial report of the latter states tina
1.-THE steady firmness and incessant fir
OF Capt. Thomas artillery. and Capt
Adams rifiemen. preserved our from
line"
On his return from the campaign
against his wishes, he was made a ma
general of the state militia