Читать книгу Atlanta And Its Builders, Vol. 1 - A Comprehensive History Of The Gate City Of The South - Thomas H. Martin - Страница 8

The hamlet went by the name of Terminus scarcely two years. In the spring of 1843 somebody, who probably found time hanging heavy on his hands, began an agitation to change the name of the burg. Through most of the summer the proposed change of name was the principal topic of discussion among the ten or a dozen families who inhabited the place. Ex-Governor Lumpkin had been a tireless worker for the railroad development of Georgia and was regarded as an especial friend of Terminus. Efforts were being made to get him to make or influence others to make some investments there, and somebody who believed with Shakespeare that there was nothing in a name, suggested that Terminus be re-christened Marthasville, in honor of Governor Lumpkin's daughter Martha. The handful of denizens, with unanimous bad taste, fell in with the idea, and the meaningless but quaint name of Marthasville was adopted by common consent. When the legislature convened in the winter it was petitioned for a charter under the new name, and on the 23rd of December the village was formally incorporated as Marthasville. The name Terminus, which at least meant something, fell into desuetude. In speaking of this action on the part of the Terminusites, the well-known early historian, E. Y. Clarke, says: "This may appear to have been quite fast for a community of ten families at most; but it should be regarded rather as the evidence, or first manifestation, of that spirit of enterprise which afterwards became so distinctive an element of progress."

It may prove interesting, at this distant day, to give excerpts from the act of incorporation and to dwell somewhat upon the first year or two's political organization. Few of the village records have been preserved, and already the history of Marthasville as a municipality is little more than tradition. The preamble of the act of incorporation follows:

"Be it enacted, etc., that from and after the passage of this act, L. V. Gannon, John Bailey, Willis Carlisle, John Kile, sr., and Patrick Quinn, be, and they are hereby, appointed commissioners of the town of Marthasville, in the county of DeKalb, situated at the southeast terminus of the Western and Atlantic railroad; and they, or a majority of them and their successors in office, shall have power and authority to pass all by-laws and ordinances which they or a majority of them may deem expedient and necessary for the improvement and benefit of the internal police of the said town; provided, nevertheless, that said by-laws be not repugnant to the constitution of the United States, nor to the constitution and laws of this state.''

The first commissioners were to hold their office until the first Monday in March, 1845, when, and on the same day in each subsequent year, a town election was to be held to elect five commissioners. Under the provisions of the charter these officials were empowered to convene at such time and place within the corporate limits of the town as they might elect, and proceed to select a clerk of the board and transact such business as might properly come before them. They were given corporate jurisdiction to the extent of the boundary lines of the town, with the provision that their jurisdiction should be extended as the boundary lines of the town were extended.

The first year of the history of Marthasville, from all accounts of the surviving pioneers, was a good deal in the nature of a "kangaroo" government. A few ordinances of the most rudimentary kind were passed with due solemnity, but they were not respected by the citizenry, nor was much effort made to enforce them. The spasmodic weak attempts to try offenders only brought ridicule upon the grave and reverend law-makers and the officers entrusted with the enforcement of their laws. The people continued to live as though they were squatter sovereigns in the back woods, and their bucolic ways were undisturbed by superfluous metropolitan frills. The attempt to collect corporation taxes resulted in a "water haul," and the town was utterly without financial resources. As a consequence, the ordinances for the laying out and improvement of streets were dead letters. The most ambitions "avenues" remained mere cow trails, and citizens had to jump across a "deer lick" to walk across the "business center." The riff-raff railroad element of the population, by this time considerably augmented, grew more turbulent and refractory as the impotence of the local authorities was realized. As is frequently the case in small communities, political antipathies and jealousies seem to have divided the population into factions, and the "administration," on the whole, was very unpopular.

In 1845 there was a "new deal" at the town election, but one of the five commissioners, Willis Carlisle, the merchant, being returned to the board. The commissioners elected in March of that year were as follows: Ambrose B. Forsyth, Willis Carlisle, Stephen Terry, James Loyd, sr., and James A. Collins. Among the above names will be recognized some that were later prominent in the public spirit and enterprise of the growing town.

The year 1845 was an eventful one in the history of Marthasville. The Georgia Railroad, which for several years had been toilsomely creeping from Augusta up the Piedmont slope, was completed to Marthasville in the latter part of the summer of that year, and on September 15 the first train came through from the seaboard. As may well be believed, this marked a great epoch in the progress of the little city on the hills, and was made the occasion for a jollification that eclipsed the demonstration celebrating the arrival of the Western and Atlantic a little less than three years before. The old State line had not proven of much practical benefit to Marthasville, because, as the natives expressed it, it "didn't go nowhere." At the time of the arrival of the Georgia Railroad the western connecting line was a rickety sort of "jerkwater railroad," operated but a little way the other side of Marietta. The coming of the Georgia was hailed by Marthasville as the real beginning of her career as a railroad center. It was after nightfall when the first train rolled heavily to a stop in the center of the village, having aboard the president of the road. Judge John P. King, his associate officials, and a distinguished party of citizens from Augusta and intermediate points. Bonfires leapt high in air and hoarse cheers from hundreds of throats greeted the pioneer train and its occupants. Arrangements had been made for a grand reception to the lowlanders, and the following day was spent in feasting and drinking by the thousands of people gathered to welcome the Georgia Railroad to Marthasville. As was usual in political campaigns and on gala occasions, the big crowd resorted to Walton Spring, just at the edge of the townsite, where speech-making was indulged in by the railroad visitors and the local orators. In these speeches, which were cheered to the echo, great things were predicted for Marthasville.

An incident which cost one man his life, and another of the same nature, which was narrowly averted by Judge King, were exciting incidents of the day. Near the rude depot was a deep well which had been carelessly left uncovered. Stepping off the train in the darkness, the president of the new railroad, after being taken in charge by a local committee, proceeded a few paces toward the hotel, and as he was responding to the hearty greetings on every hand, he tottered upon the brink of the dangerous hole, the existence of which was evidently forgotten in the excitement. A dozen hands were outstretched to save him, and he was drawn back to safety in the nick of time. The incident shocked Judge King greatly, and he received hundreds of congratulations on his escape. His death at that time would have been nothing short of a public calamity, being, as he was, the railroad genius of Georgia. As if Judge King's close call were not warning enough to cause the town authorities to close the hole forthwith, another man fell into the well a few hours later and was drowned.

With the coming of the second railroad, Marthasville had a newspaper, founded the same summer. The tiny, crudely printed sheet called The Luminary, was owned and edited by Rev. Joseph Baker, a Baptist minister of the old school, and its contents were more religious than secular, though to keep up with the local happenings was not calculated to tax its diminutive space. Editor Baker was a good man and had a wide circle of friends, but his journal eked out a precarious existence of a few months and was forgotten. There existed ample occasion for a moral reform sheet in Marthasville at the time the Luminary entered the journalistic wilderness, and the reverend editor seems to have taken such a policy as a large part of his mission.

By this time, the sore need of a building in which to hold religious services and school had resulted in the erection by the citizens of a non-denominational church and schoolhouse combined. The structure, a small, weather-boarded one-story house with old fashioned chimneys at each end, was built by popular subscription and occupied a little clearing to one side of the Decatur road, upon the present Scofield lot, between Peachtree and Houston streets, diagonally across from the First Methodist church. Preaching even at this date was irregular and there seems to have been no resident pastor. It is said that the first sermon was delivered in the new church by Rev. Dr. J. S. Wilson, who afterwards became the pastor of the First Presbyterian church of Atlanta. The various denominations were all represented in a small way, and when a clergyman of a particular sect came to town, he "held forth" to those of his church in the little schoolhouse. In this manner the different religious organizations "took turns" in using the structure as a place of worship until they were able to build separate houses of worship. During the week, a public school was conducted in the building.

Some men of sterling qualities and strongly imbued with the town-building spirit had cast their lot in Marthasville. Jonathan Norcross, notable among these, began his business career as the owner and operator of what was literally a one-horse sawmill. This rude manufactory was located in the lower end of the town, on the spot occupied by the old Atlanta and West Point depot. The locality was known as Slabtown, in consequence of so many huts in the vicinity being built of the slabs turned out at the mill. The motive power was an old blind horse. About the time of the arrival of the Georgia Railroad, Mr. Norcross opened a general merchandise store. John Thrasher, the pioneer merchant, having heard that Marthasville was forging rapidly to the front, returned from Griffin, and having accumulated a little money invested it in town lots. By this time, a number of business branches were represented. Collins & Loyd and A. B. Forsyth conducted general stores, and a man named Kile a small grocery. There was a bonnet and hat store run by a man by the name of Dunn, and Stephen Terry had a real estate office. In addition there were several "eating houses," one of which affected the dignity of a hotel. Dr. George G. Smith was a physician. Hardy Ivy still resided in the neighborhood, and a son, Socrates Ivy, born to him on November 2, 1844, was the first male child born on the townsite. T. G. Crusselle was a prominent and active citizen, having come with the entry of the State road as a contractor. He built a log shanty for the accommodation of railroad hands on the site of the Kimball block, the only building at Terminus at the time, excepting Thrasher's store and another hut. The next year after the State road reached Terminus, Mr. Crusselle superintended the moving of a story-and-a-half house by rail from Bolton. The structure was supported in an upright position upon two freight cars, Crusselle and his men riding upon the roof some twenty feet above the track. The house narrowly missed toppling over into the Chattahoochee as it was being hauled across the bridge. It was this building that boasted of being Marthasville's first hotel. F. C. Orme was the postmaster, with Lewis H. Clarke as his assistant. Among the other well-remembered residents of this period were Painter Smith, Hack & Bryant, Joseph Thompson, William Crawford, and Mrs. Oslin, the inn landlady.

The fall that witnessed the running of trains between Augusta and Marthasville saw the western terminal point a straggling hamlet of a score of houses. With the exception of the residences of James A. Collins and Stephen Terry, which were constructed of lumber, the dwellings were built of logs or slabs from the sawmill. No man of any considerable means lived in the place, and those who had acquired a foothold on the townsite had done so with a trifling cash outlay. Land could be bought not far from the center of the village for from $3 to $4 an acre, and a good business lot was slow sale at $50. The Ivy farm embraced much of what was later the fashionable Peachtree district, and the tract of about one hundred acres was sold by the old pioneer for a few hundred dollars. Had he held it he would have been a millionaire. The Mitchell property constituted the cream of the townsite, and repeated efforts to sell lots from it at auction met with indifferent success. Probably in all there was not over a dozen acres of land cleared, exclusive of five acres donated by Mitchell for a public square and railroad purposes. The hamlet was unsightly, and after a hard rain the muddy crossroads where the four or five stores clustered were well-nigh impassable. The countrymen who came to the place to exchange their products for merchandise were generally a poverty-stricken lot, uncouth in looks and manners, and given to an inordinate consumption of a very crude species of corn whiskey. On Saturday, the chief trading day, it is said the "sagers" were wont to "take the town," and, to carry the colloquialism further, "paint it red." There was no little disorder, to which the railroad "rowdies" largely contributed, and with which the local authorities were unable to cope. When Marthasville began to grow in earnest, after the Georgia road came, it presented the lively and picturesque appearance of a frontier town, particularly on the busiest market days and public occasions. Canvas-topped mountain wagons with curved, scow-like beds, rolled in by the score, long-barreled squirrel rifles leaning against the front seat beside the husky driver and a troop of hounds and nondescript curs following behind. These rural visitors from a long distance usually camped in the public square and stayed several days. As they sought the railroad only at long intervals, they were heavy purchasers and the merchants exhibited enterprise in endeavoring to attract and hold their trade. There was much rivalry between the new town and Decatur, which up to this time had not been materially affected by her rival's struggling existence. Thenceforth, however, the county-seat realized that Marthasville was a very serious factor to reckon with, and began to lose ground. Cotton, wheat, and other staple country products came to the railroad point in steadily increasing quantity, and the town grew apace.

Before closing this fragmentary record of the first year or two of the corporate existence of Marthasville, it will interest our readers to supplement this chapter with an extract from a paper on the early history of the place which was printed in the Atlanta Journal, under date of December 15, 1883. The paper in question describes the hamlet just before the completion of the Georgia Railroad and the celebration of that event, as follows:

"The completion of the first railroad was a great epoch in the history of the town, which was called at that time Marthasville. Before this, however, the Western and Atlantic was slowly working its way to the town, and at that time was in working condition about as far as Marietta, maybe a little further. This, however, was not sufficient for carrying on the commerce of the town, small as it was. In 1845 Marthasville was too small to be called a village. The four, now principal, streets of the city were then straggling country roads, and the only clearing of any importance was right at their junction. Only about twelve or fourteen families resided here, and the entire population was estimated to be about one hundred souls. The dwellings were mostly log cabins, such as today may be seen on the frontier in the West. On the southwest corner of Marietta and Peachtree streets stood a small grocery story, owned by Jonathan Norcross. Fronting this stood Kile's grocery store, and down near where the Markham House now stands was a grocery store kept by Collins & Loyd. In the rear of the Republic block, on Pryor street, stood a two-story frame building which was used by the officers of the Western and Atlantic railroad. On Peachtree street, near the site of the First Methodist church, stood a small wooden building used as a schoolhouse, church and public hall. These were the most notable features of that time. On the 15th of September, 1845, tne Georgia Railroad was completed to Augusta, and the first through train came to Marthasville, bearing Judge John P. King, the president of the road, and several other railway magnates and distinguished persons. The scene in the neighborhood of the depot can be better imagined than described. Almost the whole population were present, and the wildest excitement prevailed. Farmers in the country, for forty miles around, had heard of the advent of the iron horse for days, and when die time arrived they were on hand in force. Some came in one-ox carts, with their families, and from the supply of provisions which they brought it was evident that they intended to have a jubilee. Atlanta has had bigger crowds, but never one so wild and delirious with excitement. The locomotive was eagerly inspected, the cars were examined inside and out, the engineer and fireman were interviewed, the conductor was looked upon as a hero, the president of the road and the other distinguished gentlemen were heartily welcomed. The enthusiasm of. the people knew no bounds, and in accordance with the times, a mass meeting was held. The place chosen was about a half mile northwest of the depot, Walton Spring. The names of the speakers have not been handed down to this generation, but among them was Colonel John M. Clarke, the father of our well-known fellow citizen. Colonel E. Y. Clarke. An old gentleman who was present at this meeting informed the writer that the address was a masterpiece of eloquence and created tremendous enthusiasm. The speaker pictured, in a prophetic way, the future of Atlanta, dwelt upon the importance of commercial facilities, and speaking of the Georgia road, said that its completion had 'tied the ocean to the hills.'

"With a railroad to Augusta, Marthasville began to grow rapidly. Such men as Jonathan Norcross, James Collins, Dr. George G. Smith, A. P. Forsyth, Joseph Thompson, Thomas Kile, William Kile, the Joys, David Dougherty, Wash. Collier, 'Cousin' John Thrasher, the McDaniels, Colonel L. P. Grant, Judge Hayden, and others, began to put forth their best efforts to build up the town and raise it to a condition of law and order. The attention of capitalists and speculators was drawn to the place, and many made investments which laid the foundation of subsequent fortunes. About this time John C. Calhoun, while journeying to another point, stopped in the town, and with his far-seeing sagacity, predicted that the place would one day be the most important inland city in the South. Business naturally improved under these conditions. Merchants enlarged their stores, and also built new ones, and a better class of dwellings sprang up. The citizens were so full of their dreams of future greatness and prosperity that a general desire was felt to shake off the name of Marthasville. They wanted a name with a bigger sound, and Atlanta was suggested by J. Edgar Thompson, chief engineer of the Georgia Railroad. The name struck the popular fancy, and it was unanimously agreed that it filled a long-felt want. There was no charter, no regularly organized government, but by common consent the name of Atlanta was adopted and recognized by the railroad authorities and everybody. The minister who preached the first sermon in Atlanta, the Rev. F. M. Haygood, recently passed away at his home in this city, having reached the patriarchal limit of four score years. Mr. Haygood, in one of his trips, reached here in 1846. Meeting Mr. Jonathan Norcross, he soon learned that Marthasville was no more, and that Atlanta was the newly adopted name. The next day Mr. Haygood held service in the schoolhouse, and preached from the first chapter of John, 29th verse, 'Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world.' This was the first sermon ever preached in Atlanta. Before dismissing this matter of the naming of the place, it is proper to state, however, that the name of Atlanta was not duly recognized and legalized by the legislature until more than a year later — some time in December, 1847.

"Probably a year after the first railroad reached Atlanta, the population did not number more than four hundred persons, but that was considered rapid progress, under the circumstances. In our early days there was very little law in the place. Every man stood ready to resent an insult, and to defend his person and property with a shot gun or pistol. A population consisting of dangerous and bad characters annoyed the citizens not a little, and it took the most determined measures to keep peace and order."