Houston County Researchers: For the past 3 years, I have been compiling a book entitled: EYEWITNESS ACCOUNTS OF HOUSTON COUNTY, GEORGIA 1821-1871: Copyright 2000 by William A. Mills. I thought I had this book finished last year, but I keep finding more interesting items to include in it. By the time that I actually print this book, it may be too large to contain in one volume. But, there is no need to keep all of this good info hidden away. I stumbled across an original story written by a man who was born in 1826, and resided in Perry, GA for several decades. This story was supposed to be published right after the Civil War, but I cannot find any evidence that it ever was. I've checked everywhere that I can, and no one has ever heard of it before. ================>>> Portions from Chapter 1: With the exception of a short time that he resided in the city of Macon, Perry has been the home of the writer since the twenty-eighth day of September 1826, and he proposes to recall some reminiscences of the early days of Houston. The place was named for Commodore Oliver Hazard Perry, and was made the capital of Houston County, which was named in honor of John Houstoun, one of the first Governors of Georgia. Perry was settled in 1823. The original survey or plan of the town embraced one square of land only. It is said that the site was selected by the Commissioners chiefly for two reasons, namely that it was level, and that the Big Indian was or would be navigable. Without any knowledge of those constituting the Board of Commissioners or their opportunities for ascertaining whether the site was level or not, we discredit the first, and if the latter reason influenced them at all, they certainly thought of some smaller craft than steam, pole or sail boats. In 1826, there were not exceeding twenty houses in the place, all of which except the court house, academy and three others were built of round poles and hewed logs covered and sealed with boards or chinked with clay, and having stick and dirt chimneys. Perry was literally in the woods. Paths and roads, instead of streets and side walks crossing at right angles, led through thickets of tall pines, waving saplings and undergrowth of red oak, from house to house and across the embryo town. Big Indian Creek and Fanny Gresham Branch, at low water and within their banks, skirted with an almost impenetrable marsh and swamp, thickly covered with bamboo, cane, hazel and other swamp growth from the streams to the foot of the hills on either side, were narrow and deep. The former has been made shallow and wider, and in several places, forced from its original bed by washes from the neighboring cleared hillsides. Fanny Gresham Branch, which originally washed the eastern side of its swamp, has since been forced to and now runs along its western side, and through and over heavy sand washed from the town, and now empties into the creek nearly one hundred yards above their original confluence. The first crossings, which were by fords and corduroy roads, were often unpleasant and difficult, and sometimes impassable. That over Big Indian was below the present crossing and on a line with Main Street. Fish in these streams were abundant and large. I remember that a couple of citizens, after a half-day's fishing in the creek near town, brought home the fish they had caught, strung on a pole about as long as a fence rail and carried on their shoulders. Among the fish were several trout weighing ten or twelve pounds. Wild game in and around the town was also abundant. As late as 1833, the writer saw squirrels killed between the court house and where the Methodist Church now stands. He saw 127 blackbirds killed at one shot, just in front of Dr. Havis's residence. This was done by Augustus Russell, with Uncle Theodore Guerry's single-barreled shotgun, familiarly known as "Sweet-lips". Gus said he put half a teacup full of mustard seed shot in, and very likely, for it was well-known that the gun would carry that quantity; and on this occasion, its back-action kicked Russell heels over head. Who did carry that gun to the Creek Indian War? In those days, large plantations were not known, and the surrounding country was dotted with small settlements or farms, from which were daily sent to town: potatoes, meal, hominy, corn, pork, butter, eggs, poultry, venison, fruit, etc., which were sold or bartered at prices within the reach of all. For several years, the writer saw no cotton except in very small patches, and used to protect eggs brought to market in baskets and boxes, or by the ladies young and old, who were familiar with the card, spinning wheel, reel, loom and shuttle. The cotton seeds first introduced into Houston, in regular order, and used until about the year 1840 were: the Green, Mexican or White, Petit Gulf, Texan Bur, Royal Gulf, Hickory Nut and Okra. The recollection of the plain manners and domestic habits of the people who were happier than we are; the abundance of supplies and their superiority to those we are now forced to use, compel us to denominate those the "good old times", and often we find ourselves desiring their return, or that we could lapse back to them. ~~TO BE CONTINUED~~ _______________________________________ William A. Mills Perry, GA [email protected] Houston Co., GA Publications & Research Webpage: http://www.geocities.com/ResearchTriangle/Forum/8795 ________________________________________________________________ YOU'RE PAYING TOO MUCH FOR THE INTERNET! Juno now offers FREE Internet Access! Try it today - there's no risk! For your FREE software, visit: http://dl.www.juno.com/get/tagj.