The Cordele dispatch. (Cordele, Ga.) 19??-1971, 1917-04-22

Chic, Political, Commercial, Industrial, Edu-
cational and Religious History.
By MRS. {. NJ. EsPY

seen
And those Of grsnder might
To note The onward movement 0; the
age
And trace the trend Of thought"
Lifting The veil and looking down
the dim vista Of the past We behold
The red man in crude attire, Is be
rosms these forests DER in search C
game. and papsing 10 listen. catch the
silyery splash Of his birth bark ca
noe as IT glides down some noble
stream. or turn again 10 be startled by
his weird war whoop as it resounds
throughout this beautiful land.
When the primesYal settlers DR.
parted from cur shores. they If, 20
monuments here commemorative thair
existence. but bequealhed 10 the White
man Of this country an heritage in
her gun-clad hills. beautiful stream
and magnificent forest.
In vain 10 US do old world masters dis
cent on the superior climate OF south
EN- Europe or the superior beauty q
Italian sunsets. Even al the risk Of
being daubed an enthusiast that most
opprobious Of terms in this material
day. we maintain that no sunsets or
earth en- surpags those with which
VIC are blessed right here in south Geor
gll. ana taking our climate the who'll
wear round, We find a golden mean Of
temperature Of which We may well be
boastful. In the most favored part q
this favored land lies Cordele ami
crisp county This section rises mort
inan 400 feet aoYe the sea level, Civ
ing healthy altitude Throughout
the country there runs strata Of so!
unsurpassed for productiveness and
fertility, making this one Of the besi
cotton growing counties in the stat,
Besides cotton she yields richly CT
corn. hay. potatoes, peanuts. velvet
beans. fruits. vegetables. cane, cat
tie and hogs. Her magnificent forests
on her rich soil furnish all the various
woods needed in manufactures.
Formerly all this rich country
belonged to the Creek Indians. But
in 1872 stretch Of land was acquired
from them under the first treaty Of
Indian Spring, reaching from Ira
eIers Rest" near Montezuma, 10 Al
bany and from the Flint river to the
Ocmulgee, and from this acquired ter
ritory, came the county Of Dooly, which
was created by al act Of the legisla-
ture May Is, 1921. Berrien, possibly
the Oldest, and certainly the most pre-
tentious settlement OF the section at
that time, became the county seat q
Dooly. This settlement was built up
on the east side Of the Flint river and
became quite a lourishing little berg,
enjoying z brisk trade with the In
dams whose wigwams dotted The 9th
or side of the Flint. Berrien remained
the county seat Of Do0ly for while,
then for political reasons the name was
changed to that OF Drayton IN hon
or of Col. Drayton OF South Carolina,
In a few years. however, the people
of Dooly as a whole, became dissalis-
fed with Drayton as the county seat.
A movement 10 obtain more desira-
bic location for capital resulted IN
the county seat being moved from
Drayton in 1870. to Vienna which has
remained TO this day the capitol OF
Dooly. Here in the old days the cul-
ture. refinement and proud aristocracy
OF this section was focused. Here lived
tie Browns. MeriWethers, Br.tts, Daw-
sons, Mungers, Rogers and Others on
their princely estates. But in an evil
hour the black cloud Of war burst II
wild fury over the sunny southland
and these lordly masters exchanged
life OF ease for one Of danger and eE-
posure on the battle field.
At the end of the bitter struggle
these same brave souls with the same
dountless spirit which impelled them
10 march TO the front TO defend their
home land returned 10 their devastated
lands and began to rebuild dcsolate
country. The southern part Of Dooly
was mostly q great swamp with hero
and there a large plantation under
cultivation. One of these plantations
was owned by cur war governor, JOS.
Y. Brown, whose family spent much Of
their time in the old log home which
sat in the midst of his rich farm
lands. and which occupied the very
center OF what is now the city OF
Cordeie.
AS the years passed, railroad mag
mates began to cast a wistful eye on
this rich farming section deeming III
a most desira BILE country through
which to plant railroad. According
ly in 1887 the Savannah, Americas and
Montgomery railroad Of which Col
Samuel Hawkins was president, made
its way through this, the choice sec
ton of the great wire grass country
H.