Macon beacon. [volume] (Macon, Miss.) 1859-1995, 1922-05-05

five miles south OF OWL An etueA
brother came IN the Spring bringing
several negro families with him n
farmed the place that year. tatner
came at time mentioned to loon over
the property and arrange for moving
the rest of the family over that FAN.
l, a lad OF a boy came with hlm, put
recalled distinctly making the trip
Macon was quite a small place at
that far away time. | don't sup
pose there was more than eight hun
dred people living inside the corpor-
ate limits.
The Bryson Hotel on the lot where
the gin plant stands now 1--WE called
public houses taverns in those days.
was the only one in the town at the
time. Opposite and across the street
on the old Sheppard corner there was
a long frame building that was run
at the time as a grocery and bowing
allev. Places of this kind where they
sold liquors were not dignlfied by the
name "saloon" in those pioneer days.
It was plain grocery. There were no
pilt frame mirrors, marble top coun-
ters or trass rail foCt-rest; they.
dispensed wet goods across pine board
counters at five and ten cents per, the
price depending or whether you took
it straight or with sugar in yours IN
the house where Mollie 0otton's res
taurant is at present is n OF the old
land marks of the town. 1t was stand
mo there at that PARKWAY time.
When / first knew it I think the Gam
let Bros. had a store there. A short
time after this John Massengale and
John Cochran dad Cochran as we
knew him had a cabinet shop ard un-
dertaking business: there they made
furniture and coffins. This before
the day of metallic easkets. The
principal business of town was done
in this blodk and the next above
There was a two-story brick building
that stood about where Maury's store
is now; the Beacor Office was on the
second floor. The paper was ownee
and conducted by Edmond and Henri!
Ferris: Edmond and the writer Of
this served in the same camp in the
C. S. A. He was killed in the battle
of Perryville, Kentucky. A good maj
and brave soldier. The Beacon ma
been making it's weekly visits sine
it's foundation in the forties. Severa
other newspapers at different tine
have been launched here, lived AM
flourished for a few short years AM
died. but the old Beacon. like Tenny
sons brook runs on forever.
think at this time Peter Misso an
Andrew Manafco ran a grocery on tn
ground floor Of the building the mos
ostert atious resort in the town. !
short time after this Manarco wa
killed by John Lyle. brother OF ID
W. D. Lyle. They had a difficult
earlier in the day and about oar
thew met in the street between tn
Brvson house and the grocery acros
the street, renewed the difficulty an
LYLE killed him. The Odd Fellows
Cemetery had just been laid out an
Marnaco was n of the Commute
that did this and was the first perso
buried there.
Some of the p~erchants' name2 th'
ea \ s ~ o,,. $50 f,esdaa
r a grocery store how. fused tJtfthl.
his ginger cakes were the best eve
On the corner across the street whe,
Richardson's office is at present VIZ
old man John l.. Purdy's rlace.
keft liquor and a grocery store ais
1t was in the years preceding tn;
time in the days of the Wild ca
banks when the country was floode
with ~shinplasters and money was q
thick as leaves in Vallombrosa,
the kind however that could nc
look the world in the face and say
81 know that my Redeemer liveth
The old man went about with tn
crown of his hat and pockets stuffe
full and was considered one of tn
financial magnets of the town.
On the corner where Chancello
store is now there was a grocery stor
| don't recollect the name of the par
ties carrying on there at the time
About this time, perhaps a year O
so later in the building next to tn
Nicholson store now, Roby, Cavet
Buck had a dry goods business. TIL
firm Col. Buck Roby, father of Mrs
A. H. Bush, Mrs. DR.. Holman Mrs
Will Selleck; MI. Dick Cavett, fathe,
of Emmett and Dan, and Mr. Joe Bucl
unmarried at that time. The stor,
was considered the emporium of fash
ion: they catered to the best trad,
and did a large business. Alone
where Shelby Jackson keeps store
stood the Odd Fellow building
Tt was brick, three story: Of
fees and lodge rooms on the upper
floors and store room on the grounc
floor. In front of this store DR.
Clements was killed in a pistol due
with a man named Stanback. DR.
Clements was the father of Jim Gle.
ments who died here a few years ago
The old Bowling residence was on
the lot where the Mullins Hardware
Co. is at this time. AS the town grew
in this direction the house was re-
modelled and turned into a Hotel and
was the main hotel of the town I'M
til long after the war. It was burned
in the great fire of 1878 that swept
the business part of the town clean
orIy one store bouse left.
In the year 1851 the firm of Beas-
lev. Boyle Saddle Co. opened a large
dry goods store about where Joe
Shelton is at present. This firm was
composed of Henry o. Beasley, the
father of Mrs. Durant Owens. He
was a prominent man in the county
end had been Sheriff of the county