--part1_79.15ad026.25d48a5c_boundary Content-Type: text/plain; charset="US-ASCII" Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit --part1_79.15ad026.25d48a5c_boundary Content-Type: message/rfc822 Content-Disposition: inline Return-Path: <GAJONES-L-request@rootsweb.com> Received: from rly-yc05.mx.aol.com (rly-yc05.mail.aol.com [172.18.149.37]) by air-yc03.mail.aol.com (v67_b1.24) with ESMTP; Wed, 09 Feb 2000 21:56:38 -0500 Received: from bl-11.rootsweb.com (bl-11.rootsweb.com [204.212.38.27]) by rly-yc05.mx.aol.com (v67_b1.24) with ESMTP; Wed, 09 Feb 2000 21:56:18 -0500 Received: (from slist@localhost) by bl-11.rootsweb.com (8.9.3/8.9.3) id SAA25677; Wed, 9 Feb 2000 18:55:05 -0800 (PST) Resent-Date: Wed, 9 Feb 2000 18:55:05 -0800 (PST) Message-Id: <3.0.6.32.20000209204354.007d4100@216.178.132.10> X-Sender: crilley@216.178.132.10 X-Mailer: QUALCOMM Windows Eudora Light Version 3.0.6 (32) Date: Wed, 09 Feb 2000 20:43:54 -0600 Old-To: GAJONES-L@rootsweb.com From: Crilley <crilley@eramp.net> Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" Subject: [GAJONES] Round Oak Resent-Message-ID: <ljH07D.A.SQG.Hiio4@bl-11.rootsweb.com> To: GAJONES-L@rootsweb.com Resent-From: GAJONES-L@rootsweb.com X-Mailing-List: <GAJONES-L@rootsweb.com> archive/latest/463 X-Loop: GAJONES-L@rootsweb.com Precedence: list Resent-Sender: GAJONES-L-request@rootsweb.com Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable X-MIME-Autoconverted: from 8bit to quoted-printable by bl-11.rootsweb.com id SAA25677 Copied with permission from =93History of Jones Co., GA, by Carolyn White Williams Typed by Barbara Shore ROUND OAK Round Oak community is located in northern central Jones County in Military=20 District 360 and is on the line between Whites=92 and Barrons=92 districts.=20= It is five=20 miles from the Jasper County line on the north and ten miles from the courthouse=20 in Gray on the south. Tradition says the village was named first Sylvania, later Round Oak, for a huge=20 oak tree under which the Indians held their powwows and which was over 100=20 years old. About 1810-1815 the Indian children were at play on the west side of=20 Falling Creek while the white settlers=92 children were at play on the east. The RR=20 came through in 1885 and a large water tank was built under the old oak whic= h=20 leaked and killed the tree by 1895. The tank was moved to Hillsboro in 1907= . Some of the early families here were: BUTTS, WHITES, HUNTS, BARRONS,=20 DAYS, HASCALLS, COULTERS, MARSHALLS, FUNDERBURKES,=20 GREENS, GORDONS, RICKETTS, OSBURNS, MCBURNEYS, REESE=20 GOODSONS, GRAY and WILBURNS. A half mile south of the old Sunshine Church, a log building (no one know th= e=20 denomination), also used for a field school. The Battle of Sunshine Church took=20 place here. In November 1864, this church was burned by Sherman=92s forces, and=20 in 1875 a church was built on the hill at Round Oak. The charter members hav= e=20 many of the names who had previously belonged to old Sunshine Church and the= y=20 are buried in the nearby cemetery. This church has in recent years been named=20 Sunshine Church II. One of the wounded Federals who had been hospitalized a= t=20 old Sunshine Church in 1864, wrote a letter and sent a newspaper clipping to the=20 HUNTS who befriended him, and which letter is now in their possession from=20 which I quote: =93I preached in the new church at Round Oak, 25 years afte= r I was=20 wounded and prisoner near here at old Sunshine Church. I brought my wife an= d=20 daughter from Shelby, Ohio with me to visit the J.M. HUNTS. After the service I=20 walked around the church looking over the grounds where we did some of the=20 hottest fighting and under the church I found several 50-calibre bullets and minie=20 balls.=94 Signed by Sgt. B. F. MORRIS of Shelby, Ohio. During the skirmishing, a cannon was set up under the historic oak by the=20 confederates. I have one of the shells in my possession, also a Yankee gun and=20 other cannon balls. The Federals shot into the house (later owned by George B.J.=20 WHITE) north of Round Oak thinking that WHEELER had his headquarters=20 there. This ten pound cannon ball I have as it was dug out of a huge sill thirty=20 years later. Children attended the old field school or had private teachers until a small= =20 subscription school was started. Some of the early teachers were: Rev. E.W= .=20 SAMMONS, Rev. T.W. ELLIS, Mr. SEARCY, W.E. PATTERSON (later Chr.=20 Of the GA Prison Com.), B.F. MEEEITT, Claude CHILDS and others. About=20 1880 a school house was built on the church grounds, the school burned in 1910. =20 In 1912 a new two-story building was constructed near the depot. This building=20 had four teachers and 125 pupils. In 1923 this building was considered unsafe=20 and was taken down and the material used for a one-story building and auditorium=20 which served until 1946 when the school was consolidated with the Jones County=20 High School at Gray. The first stores were run by L.O. BENTON & Co. from Monticello and the clerk= s=20 were John MALONE and Milton CAMPBELL. They had large stables where=20 they sold mules, wagons, and farming implements. Other stores here were: J.W.=20 TURK, Dr. Ben BARRON, B. WALKER, E.P. HUNT. W.H. BARRON and=20 George GORDON. George GORDON also had a cotton warehouse and his clerk=20 was George PURSLEY. Early on morning, a fire broke out in the store owned b= y=20 E.P. HUNT which burned the whole town except a store owned by J.T.=20 WILLIAMS. In 1901 BARRON and HENDERSON put up another store. =93Little Rick RICKETTS,=94 lived where later W.H. HENDERSON built his home.= =20 RICKETTS farmed and made shoes. He went to the Army with the Jones Co.=20 Volunteers in the 12th GA Regiment and although he was only five feet and a few=20 inches, he was as brace as could be. The boys in his company said that when Lee=20 invaded Maryland, they had to wade the Potomac River. Long Jim GOOLSBY=20 was six and one-half feet tall and very thin. He plunged into the water which=20 came up to his chin then he looked back to the bank at =93Little Dick=94 and yelled,=20 =93Come on Dick,=94 to which he replied, =93All right, let me roll up my pan= ts,=94 which=20 brought a laugh from his comrades. =93Little Dick=94 went across the Potoma= c on the=20 shoulders of his friend, =93Long Jim GOOLSBY.=94 He made a fine soldier and= =20 could take down anyone twice his size. Henry MARSHALL and his family lived out near the DAY-BARRON place and=20 he was the carpenter who built the church here. One son, Starling MARSHALL=20 was the engineer on the Central passenger train, and to let the folks know who=20 was behind the throttle he would give many fancy toots on the steam whistle as he=20 approached the station. =93Sugar Hill,=94 was west of Round Oak 7 miles and in 1892 they had a great= =20 commencement at the school. Several buggies, surreys with the fringe on top, and=20 young men on horseback went to this affair. The rains poured, the bridges=20 washing out and the night was dark and many attendants from here were days=20 getting home. In 1900 the second Jones Co. Fair was held here. This fair was a red-letter day in=20 this little town and many oldsters still tell of the horse running away and of prizes=20 awarded by the Judges, the drawnwork, the exhibits of farm products and the=20 picnic at =93Smith=92s Park.=94 In 1904 two families from Asbury Park, N.J., Mr. And Mrs. Sam PATTERSON=20 and sons Henry and George, Mr. and Mrs. A.W. DEY and children, Helen and=20 Sam bought lands a mile south of Round Oak and built a large Colonial home.=20= =20 They were friendly and hospitable and beloved in the community. The home wa= s=20 sold to the G.W. JACKSON family about 1914. Early physicians who practiced here were: Dr. Ben HOLLAND, Dr. C. H.=20 RIDLEY, Sr. Dr. J.T. GARLAND (from Hillsboro) and Dr. T.A. WHITE. Out in Hammocks District, G.M.. 377 where New Hope church is located, there=20 were many early families: JACKSONS, JARRELLS, BURNS, HAMMOCKS,=20 PIPPINS, MAYNARDS, CRUTCHFIELDS, RUSSELS, COULTERS,=20 MIDDLEBROOKS, GORDONS, GREENS, GRESHAMS, GLAWSONS AND=20 HUFFS. =20 On out near the Ocmulgee River were: HODGES, DAMES, BEELANDS,=20 GLOVERS, ZELLNERS, VANZANTS, TRIBBLES, HERNDONS, GREENS,=20 and others. Up in the northwest corner of Jones, called Cornucopia or Sugar Hill=20 were: TIDLEYS, MITCHELLS, John KELLY, Mac PATTERSON, Wm.=20 BROOKS, Lane JACOB, Bryan LEE, KING< GARLANDS, Isaiah PACKER,=20 Isham MEADOWS, and others. =93Fiddlers Rest,=94 long since disappeared, was a notorious place for drink= ing and=20 gambling, two miles west of Round Oak. This was a crossroads where men=20 gathered at a store and barroom run by George MANN who held shooting=20 matches, gander pulling, gambling and wrestling. Often under the influence of=20 drink, men cut and fought and some died here. There were five or six houses near=20 here at that time. Round Oak has a population of about 200 (1957) a post office with Mrs. R.L.=20 WHITE as Postmaster, it is on Hwy No. 11, Central RR and is adjacent to the=20 many thousands of acres owned by the U.S. Government called =93Piedmont=20 Wildlife Reserve,=94 on the west and =93Soil Conversation District,=94 on th= e east; also=20 =93The Hitchitee Reserve,=94 on the southeast. Virginia --part1_79.15ad026.25d48a5c_boundary--