"Dodge Land Troubles" will be the program, presented by Chris Trowell, co-author of a new book by this title by Jane Walker & Chris Trowell. The sets of this study focuses on the Big Bend Region of the Ocmulgee River. During the post-Civil War period wealthy and organized entrepreneurs moved onto the economic and political vacuum existing in the South, William E, Dodge and William Pitt Eastman were the principal figures, which acquired vast tracts of timber, built large sawmills at St. Simons Island and Darien, and extracted the previously unexploited resources. The company encountered resistance from many local landowners; a legal and occasionally violent struggle dragged on for decades. It was a culture war, a struggle between the forces of economic development and progress and forces of "traditional values" that focused on the past, land, kin, and individual independence. Court battles and murders made the news from around 1873 until 1893, and echoes persisted until 1923.

Chris Trowell is an Associate Professor Emeritus of Social Science at South Georgia College in Douglas, Georgia. Before his retirement in 1992, he taught history, geography and anthropology. Trowell has spent 40 years researching the past of South Georgia, especially the history of the Okefenokee Swamp and Kolomoki Mounds State Park. Trowell is a charter member of the Okefenokee Wildlife League www.owlleague.org. He has assisted many writers and film producers. This newest book, which he co-authored, presents the story as told by participants and observers. It includes commentary, maps, and an extensive index.

"Memories from the Marshes of Glynn: World War II" will be the program presented by Sonja Olsen Kinard. German U-boats lurked off the Atlantic coast, torpedoing American supply ships and depositing spies along the eastern seaboard.., blackouts were imposed... sirens alerted citizens that an air raid was eminent. The war was brought to American shores when two oil tankers were torpedoed about 15 miles off St. Simons Island. Olaf Helmer Olsen, resident of St. Simons, father of two young girls Thora and Sonja, was the first to reach the tragedy. He rescued 54 survivors by taking their lifeboats in tow. This event remained vivid in the minds of the Olsen family. As the young girls aged they realized there were many, many others in Glynn County at that time who played vital and heroic roles in winning the war. In 1993, the sisters started collecting the oral history of those who lived in Glynn County during World War II. The result is their book, "Memories from the Marshes of Glynn: World War II".

Sonja, was graduated from Lenoir-Rhyne College, Hickory, NC. She taught in parochial and public schools for 18 years. She directed adult and children’s choirs and was soloist in the Concert Choir in Salisbury, NC. In Atlanta, she was Executive Assistant , Callanwolde Fine Arts Center. She moved back home to Glynn County in 2001. She substitutes in public schools, directs the children’s choir at St. James Lutheran Church, gives talks, and is working on a children’s book about her childhood on St. Simons and spending time on all sorts of adventures on Cumberland. Island.

"Georgia Sea Turtle Center, Jekyll Island" will be the program presented by Elizabeth Shields Hines. In May of 2004 over 70 sea turtles washed up on Georgia’s beaches including the highly endangered Kemp’s Ridley, green and leatherback turtles, as well as the threatened loggerheads. While most were dead , three turtles were forced to be transferred to rehabilitation facilities in other states, with one dying during transport.

The highly anticipated, $2 million Center will be dedicated to the rehabilitation of these mysterious animals, while serving to educate the public about their story. The facility will occupy the 1903 Power Plant within Jekyll’s Historic District. The renovated building will house educational exhibits, surgical and rehabilitation areas, an information center and gift shop.

Elizabeth Shields Hines, CFRE is the Executive Director of Jekyll Island Foundation. She has held this position since May2003. Elizabeth was graduated from Georgia College and State University with a Bachelor of Science and Master of Science. She is a Certified Fund Raising Executive (CFRE), Prior to coming to Jekyll Island, Ms Hines worked at Georgia Military College as Vice President for Institutional Development

Pam donated a Gift Basket of her authored books to LAHS. Included in this beautiful basket was "Hello, Goodbye, I Love You: The Story of Aloha, A Guide Dog for the Blind" and "Neptune’s Honor". Oscar Brinckmann handled the Raffle and awarded the basket at the Christmas Party. Proceeds to LABS.

Betty donated a handmade Ginger Bread Centerpiece for the LAHS Christmas Table. Betty created the detail

and design of this outstanding piece. Oscar Brinckmann auctioned the centerpiece at the party. Proceeds to

Ken came to Darien over 20 years ago as Interpretive Ranger at Fort King George, Georgia Historical Site. A few soldiers graves was all to see at this landmark site. Ken’s leadership as Superintendent of Fort King George has brought many state awards to the Fort including "The Most Outstanding Historic Operation" in the state and "The Most Innovative Programming" awards statewide. In 2002, Akins was named State Parks and Historic Site Manager of the Year.

Lower Altamaha Historical Society, since the inception in 1980, has always supported the Fort. Bessie Lewis, one of the original incorporators of LABS, was a noted historian of McIntosh County. Miss Bessie had thoroughly researched the history and location of the Fort. It is through her efforts that this site was recognized by the state of Georgia. Bill Haynes and Will Dean are other original incorporators of LAHS. They were especially persistence in money raising projects and grants for the Fort. It was a joyous occasion when the Block House was dedicated in 1988.

Ken has always been a supportive member of LABS. He served on the Board of Directors for many years. Ken and Monica Akins will be miss in McIntosh County. Etowah Indian Mounds Historical Site and Cartersville, Bartow, County, Georgia is fortunate to have this outstanding couple.

The land that is now the state of Georgia was once one of the most coveted territories in all of North America Throughout the 1600s and early 1700s, years before General Oglethorpe settled Savannah, three of the world’s mightiest powers, Great Britain, France, and Spain, all vied for a claim to this area’s rich resources of timber, wildlife, animal firs, and bountiful river systems

The British considered the territory to be a part of its southern most colony in North America, South Carolina, established in 1670. The Spanish regarded the settlement of South Carolina as an intrusion upon their empire They had colonized St. Augustine, Florida in 1565 and went on to establish an extensive string of missions throughout the Southeast in efforts to Christianize the Natives These missions extended all the way from St. Augustine, westward around the Apalachicola River region, and as far north as Paris Island in South Carolina.. In addition to Christianity, the Spanish missionaries sought to teach the Indians agricultural methods that would produce surplus grains to furnish the colonists and soldiers of St. Augustine Many of these missions were maintained throughout the 1600s until the Spanish retreat from the area during the 1680s.

In 1698, the French settled Biloxi thus creating the colony of Louisiana Soon they were anxiously colonizing neighboring areas, Mobile in 1702 and New Orleans in 1718. In 1717 they built Fort Toulouse in northern Alabama in an attempt to expand their empire eastward, guard against British encroachments, and establish diplomatic alliances with the area’s Natives, especially the Creek Indians, Also, the French coveted the Altamaha river with waters that stretched for miles across the southeast and emptied into the Atlantic about one hundred miles north of Florida The French valued it for its appeal as a conduit of transportation to the Atlantic. These developments helped launch the French strategy of imperial encirclement, a plan to contain British colonies along the eastern coast and ultimately "choke" them out

Forced to choose sides, the Southeastern Native Americans were drawn into this international power struggle The many tribes were most familiar with the land and its rivers and, in many instances, held the potential to tip the balance of power into one nation’s favor All too aware of this, the Europeans were eager to establish loyalty from the Indians, and they fought to extend their influence and control over various Indian tribes throughout the Southeast.

With the threat of French and Spanish imperialism, and the unpredictability of Indian alliances and loyalty, the British grew anxious over the security of their southern colonies By 1720 South Carolinian colonists and officials, fearing enemy attacks, began clamoring for some sort of protection along their southern borders.

The following year Fort King George was built along the Altamaha River under the direction and leadership of Colonel John "Tuscarora Jack" Barnwell. Given that rivers were the only source of transportation in this remote frontier he chose the location in order to guard access to the river and prevent any foreign intrusions into the area. The fort consisted of a blockhouse, soldiers barracks, officers’ quarters, and a guard house which doubled as a hospital, all made from cypress timbers and planks cut and processed by sawyers Barnwell brought with him.

The garrison that manned the fort was known as His Majesty’s Independent Company of Foot. Most of them were mustered for service from England. Though Colonel Barnwell and Governor Francis Nicholson of South Carolina had requested ‘robust young soldiers to garrison Fort King George, instead they were sent a company of "invalids" from the Royal Hospital at Chelsea in England.

Invalids, as they were referred to then, were products of a system in England devoted toward the welfare of elderly, infirm,

—or maimed soldiers from the British Regular Army. This system dated back to 1681 and provided government subsidized hospital care and pensions for these seasoned veterans, In time, invalids were divided into in-pensioners and out-pensioners By the early seventeen hundreds, as domestic and foreign conflicts once again began to surface in England, the out-pensioner invalids were put back in service. However, these out-pensioner invalids were given lighter duties such as guarding prisoners of war, attending the sick, and securing small forts or towns.

As the British-American colonies expanded in the I 600s, conflicts with neighboring powers and Natives began to increase and, consequently, the need for military provisions and reinforcements were in demand. In 1719, a Regiment of Invalids was created from among the out-pensioners in England and was to be broken up into twenty-five Independent Companies Most of these men were formed into the 41st Regiment of Foot and sent to Portsmouth to serve under Colonel Edmund Fielding However, a small fraction of them, arriving in May, 1721, were ordered sent to Port Royal, South Carolina to render service unto that province. The company consisted of 100 privates and several officers with Governor Nicholson serving as Captain Later, in 1721, Colonel Barnwell was named commander-in-chief of the garrison and Fort King George.

It was a tough ride over to the New World for these soldiers upon the ships Mary and Carolina. On their way about half of them contracted scurvy, most likely as a result of their general debilitation combined with a poor diet. Many of them were heavy drinkers as well. As a result of their condition, the men had to spend a lengthy period recovering in a hospital at Port Royal, South Carolina after their arrival there in Spring of 1721. They did not make it down to Fort King George until nearly a year later in 1722.

Speaker for the evening will be McIntosh County historian Buddy Sullivan, Director Emeritus of LAHS, who will provide insight to members on an unusual topic. Buddy will share some of his research regarding the presence of mosquitoes, and mosquito-related illnesses, in McIntosh County and how these issues have affected local history, from a societal, cultural, and economic standpoint, as well as from the obvious perspective of local health. The subject matter comes from a research paper prepared by Buddy for the Georgia Department of Natural Resources, and covers a time frame from the 1721 establishment of Fort King George until about 1900. Sullivan's research in this regard places the presence of mosquitoes around Darien in historical context and demonstrates that the much-maligned biting insect has always been a "natural fact of life"--and, occasionally, before 1900, even death!

The election of Officers for 2005 –06 and four Board of Directors for 2005 –07 will be held at the LAHS Meeting on April 21. In addition to the slate of Officers and Board of Directors submitted by the 2005 Nominating Committee, additional nominations for these positions may be accepted from the floor. Nominations will be accepted for any LAHS member in good standing that has given their consent for the nomination.

The 2005 Nominating Committee: Ann Baggett, chairman, Howard Klippel, Daneen Brinkmann, Dyson Flanders and Lamar Williamson submit the following slate of persons for LAHS consideration:

A vote of the LAHS membership will be, requested at the April 21 meeting , to amend the By-Laws of LAHS. This amendment will allow for the term of each officer of LAHS to be two years rather than one year.

The Board of Directors of Lower Altamaha Historical Society respectfully submit the following amendment to the current By-Laws of Lower Altamaha Historical Society, Inc.

Section 2: (second sentence)------The term of each officer shall be for two (2) years and until a successor is designated and justified.

The Board of Directors of LAHS announces a financial and membership change in fiscal year from May 1 to January 1. Current dues are renewable at this time. They will be recorded as your 2005 dues. In January 2006 your dues will be renewable for the year 2006.

For several years, LAHS member, Everett Moriarty has honored, remembered and recognized the Confederate Veterans of McIntosh County. Each year on April 26, Confederate Memorial Day, a basket of flowers is placed on the Confederate Monument at the McIntosh County Courthouse, and over 120 Confederate Flags are placed on the graves of McIntosh County Confederate Veterans. Some of the cemeteries where you may observe these flags are: St. Andrews, Ebenezer, Upper Mill, Holland, Plum Orchard, Young Island, McIntosh Family, Baillie Plantation, Reynolds Chapel, Robson Family, and others.

LAHS will award a $1000 scholarship for College to a McIntosh Academy student. Applications will be accepted until April 15, 2004. This scholarship is also available to current College Students from McIntosh County. Applications are available at Ida Hilton Public Library and McIntosh Academy.

Mail Applications by April 15, 2004: Ann Baggett – 95 Belvedere Court – Townsend, Georgia 31331

LAHS needs your continuing support. Projects such as speakers’ honorariums, the Buddy Sullivan Scholarship Fund, Historical Markers, postage and printing, need your financial help in the way of dues. We value your membership.

LAHS now operates on a fiscal year January 1 – Dues for 2005 are due May 1, 2005. A membership envelope is inclosed , for your convenience. Your 2006 renewal will be due in January.

Individual –$15.00 annual, Student – $5.00 annual, Family – $20.00 annual,

"Fort Pulaski , 1862" will be the program, presented by John Breen. In the year 1862, the compelling events at Fort Pulaski, Savannah, affected the course of United States history. This story will be told by John Breen, who for seventeen years was superintendent of Fort Pulaski National Monument.

John Breen, a native of California, served in the US Army , 1966-1968. He was graduated from California State University, Humboldt, with a degree in Wildlife Management. His graduate degree in Wildlife Biology, is from the University of Idaho. John retired in 2005, after thirty four years with the National Park Service.

"Historically Used" Items are being collected for LAHS to sell at Darien Days, November 2005. Vintage Books, Maps, Post Cards, Greeting Cards, Pictures, Newspapers, Magazines, Signs are just a few ideas of items that should draw a crowd to the LAHS Booth. LAHS memberships and publications will also be sold. You are asked to contribute to this money making project.

Living on the Georgia Tidewater – Commerce in Darien and on the Altamaha River in the early nineteenth-century included Flatboats, Poleboats, Steamboat. Below are excerpts from Swamp Water and Wiregrass by George A. Rogers and R. Frank Saunders, Jr.

From the very first English settlement, agriculture, cattle raising, and lumbering were the main economic interests along the Georgia coast. One of the earliest resources harvested was live oak timber. The USS Constitution, famous as Old Ironsides, was built of oak grown on St. Simons.

Similarly, an unexpected windfall of funds from a cattle roundup on St. Simons helped pay for the construction of Fort Barrington on the Altamaha in 1760. In the early nineteenth century sea-island cotton was the leading crop on the coastal islands. First grown by the Scots on St. Simons as early as 1778, sea-island cotton quickly spread to other islands along the coast and replaced indigo as the staple crop. --------

The limited zone marked buy the" ebb and flow" of the tides was the preeminent domain of the great rice plantations ---- an extension of the South Carolina rice plantations culture. Local planters developed an ingenious and extensive hydraulic engineering system of dikes, canals, sluice gates, and dams that controlled the flow of river water into the fields at high tide and drained them at low tide. James Hamilton Couper’s plantation, Hopeton, was one of the most productive in coastal Georgia. At Hopeton, located on the south side of the Altamaha in Glynn County about five miles above Darien, Couper rotated rice, sugar cane, and sea-island cotton on his swamp lands.

For most of the nineteenth century, the Altamaha River system was the main artery of commerce between middle Georgia and the coast; Darien was it seaport. Flatboats were largely used to float cotton down river to Darien. Incapable of returning upstream , these boats would be dismantled and sold for lumber. One of the earliest to drift a flatboat down the Oconee and Altamaha was Freeman Lewis who brought down 5,000 bushels of corn in July 1806. Poleboats, operated by thrusting long poles into the river bed, carried passengers and freight in both directions. By 1806, A. Mills, a poleboat operator, reported that he had made seven round-trips between Milledgeville and Darien. Traveling upstream from Darien to the "Forks" by poleboat sometimes required 15 to 20 days.

Darien prospered and, although its population was never very large, it was designated the county seat of McIntosh County in 1818. That same year its first newspaper was published and the Bank of Darien was chartered with a capitalization of one million dollars. This bank, with branches in seven Georgia cities, was the major financial institution in Georgia for several decades. A new aspect of Darien’s port city function was ushered in when the first steamboat to travel the Altamaha left Darien late in 1818 and arrived in Milledgeville early in 1819. Actually steamboats never completely replaced poleboats because the latter could navigate at low water. The Macon-Atlantic Navigation Company, the last line to operate on the river, continued until the 1930s. On a typical haul, cargo included groceries, hardware, sugar, and fertilizer that was put off at Doctortown and other landings on the Altamaha — at Lumber City, Jacksonville, Hawkinsville, and Macon on the Ocmulgee, and Mount Vernon and Dublin on the Oconee. Cargo downstream was cotton, naval stores, and lumber. During the prohibition era, numerous whiskey stills along the river supported a lively sugar traffic. When the Central of Georgia Railroad reached Macon in 1843, steamboat lines were forced to reduce freight rates to meet this competition. Other rail lines and a network of highways, completed in the early twentieth century, doomed the surviving steamboats. Today the river is used largely by pleasure

It does not seem possible, but another year has passed for the Lower Altamaha Historical Society and attendance at our outstanding programs has rebounded after a slight drop early in the year. Our July 2005 annual picnic is being planned and other great programs are scheduled.

A major development for 2004-2005 was the new website designed and maintained by one of our members, Jim Bruce. If you have not seen this excellent companion to Altamaha Echoes, our premier monthly newsletter edited by Myrtle Newberry, simply copy and paste our URL on your browser: http://www.loweraltamahahistoricalsociety.org

"A Visit to Seabrook" was an exceptional experience for those who were lucky enough to sign up. We are hopeful that we might be able to book a day trip to one of the barrier islands later this year.

A number of our members, volunteering as painters, represented LAHS during the completion of the Tom Chambers Memorial Habitat for Humanity House.

Bill Ramsaur, a member from St. Simons Island is President of the Marshes of Glynn Chapter of the Sons of the Revolution. Bill and Jerry Braddock of Charleston, made a presentation to LAHS: "A Great Day for the Georgia Navy". This exceptional program was the prelude for the dedication ceremony for a historical marker, "The Georgia Navy" solemnized on April 19, 2005 at Fort Frederica National Monument.

The annual Christmas party was an unqualified success. The highlight, as usual, Everett Moriarty's eggnog.

The $1000 Buddy Sullivan Scholarship was awarded to McIntosh County student, Jared Caldwell, who has been accepted at the Georgia Institute of Technology , majoring in Chemical Engineering.

The Bylaws of LAHS were amended establishing the term of office for each officer for two years beginning with the 2006 elections. The financial and membership fiscal year were changed from May 1 to January 1. Dues will be renewable January 1, 2006.

The Society has been served well by our elected officers and the various committees and their chairmen. Without the loyal and creative assistance and work of these exceptional members, my job would be impossible to perform. Thankfully, we have the good fortune of having many gifted and devoted members who have been willing to provide the necessary leadership to make our Society the success it is.

I consider it an honor to have been elected President for a second term of this stellar organization.

President               Peyton Lingle                     BOARD OF DIRECTORS,2005 – 2007
Vice-President     Buddy Sullivan                                    Jim Bruce
Secretary              Betty Cleveland                                   Bob Durden
Treasurer              Kaye Traer                                           Jack Godfrey
Past-President     Dinah Jackson                                    Chris Milner

Scholarship                   Ann Baggett                                Harry Clark
Finance                         Howard Klippel                            Dyson Flanders
Altamaha Echoes        Myrtle Newberry                           Myrtle Newberry
Membership                 Jeanne Klippel                             Lamar Williamson
Programs                     Howard Klippel
Community Relations Dyson Flanders                     Director Emeritus – Buddy Sullivan
Field Trips                   Ed & Joan Meyer
Hospitality                    Harriet Roberson

The Buddy Sullivan Scholarship Award, $1000, is given yearly to a McIntosh County student by Lower Altamaha Historical Society. The recipient this year is Jared Caldwell. He is a well - rounded student who is third in his class. The presentation was made at the McIntosh County Academy Honors Night on May 10, 2005. Jared is the son of James and Sherre Caldwell of McIntosh County. He has been accepted at Georgia Tech. There were five highly qualified students who competed for the scholarship.

The Altamaha River will be the program, presented by James Holland, the Altamaha Riverkeeper. The Altamaha River and its headwaters-the Ocmulgee, Ohoopee and Oconee-make up is Georgia’s largest watershed and it is critical to the states ecological and economic future. The Altamaha River Delta provides food for thousands of migratory birds from around the world. The Nature Conservancy named the Altamaha as one of the "75 Last Great Places in the World".

James Holland was a commercial crabber. He personally observed the decline of the crabbing industry. In February 2005, The Georgia River Network, a statewide nonprofit environmental organization dedicated to the conservation of Georgia’s waters, awarded Holland their highest honor "River Conservationist of the Year"

Fellowship Picnic Supper for LAHS members and guest. Bring a dish that will serve about eight people that does not require a knife for eating. LAHS will furnish Fried Chicken, drinks, paper products. Fellowship and socializing will be the fare for the evening. There is no program planned.

"Fort Stewart Museum–the progress and processes and future" will be the program presented by Walter W. Meeks, III, Museum Director/Curator, Fort Stewart Museum, Fort Stewart, Georgia. Included in this presentation will be an over view of the mission of the museum, its de facto role in the Fort Stewart community and a few "sea stories" from Meeks, twenty three years as a museum professional

Buck Meeks was raised on the Myrtle Grove Plantation in Bryan County. He was graduated from Armstrong State College. His love of history and culture he attributes to his parents and ancestors in this area. Since 1982, Buck has worked in museums for both the state and federal government . Buck was involved in the making of the movies "Glory" and "Ironclads and The General’s Daughter".

Living on the Georgia Tidewater – The following is Chapter One from "St. Catherines An Island in Time" by David Hurst Thomas. Published, 1988.

If some unwitting hands have not pulled them down, if they were not built entirely of wood, if the weather had not beaten too fiercely through the centuries, or if the streams have not inundated them, some fortunate hunter may yet stumble upon the mission remains of Santa Catalina de Guale.....Although at the time of the coming of the English, Santa Catalina was the most important of the Guale missions, the fierceness of the struggle in this region may have led the Yamasees and the English to treat it as the Romans did Carthage.

As luck would have it, that "fortunate hunter" turned out to be me. Three hundred years after Santa Catalina disappeared, our team of talented archaeologists rediscovered Georgia’s most important Spanish mission.

Like historians and archaeologists before us, we felt that the lost Mission Santa Catalina lay on St. Catherines Island, a 14,000-acre tract about fifty miles south of Savannah. Among the so-called Golden Isles, St. Catherines Island is one of the few that have not been subdivided and suburbanized. The Georgia-based, not-for-profit St. Catherines Island Foundation owns the island and strictly regulates a comprehensive program of research and conservation. This enlightened and progressive land management policy insured that Mission Santa Catalina not be destroyed by the crush of condos and fast-food joints which typify too many of the southern barrier islands.

"Harris Neck National Wildlife Refuge – Past and Present" will be the program, presented by Patricia E. Metz and Richard S. Kanaski. The Harris Neck National Wildlife Refuge has operated a most effective program in McIntosh County since 1962. A new office with new programs was dedicated at the Refuge earlier this year. The Harris Neck National Wildlife Refuge contributes a valuable service to this community. The current "Wood Stork Project" will be of special interest .

Richard S. Kanaski, Regional Archaeologist & Historic Preservation Officer , Region 4. Region 4 covers the southeastern quadrant of the United States and the Caribbean and has over 100 refuges and 16 fish hatcheries. As the Regional Archaeologist, Mr. Kanaski is responsible for the historic preservation program and the investigations of potential Archaeological Resources. Both his undergraduate and graduate degrees are from Memphis State University. His doctoral studies were at Boston University.

Patricia E. Metz is Manager of public use programs for Savannah Coastal Refuges. Savannah Coastal Refuges is a complex of seven national wildlife refuges. Harris Neck National Wildlife Refuge is one of these seven. Refuge Ranger Metz administers the refuges’ programs for hunting, fishing, wildlife interpretation, environmental education and other wildlife dependent recreation. In the past , Pat was a volunteer environmental educator for the Savannah Science Museum. She founded the Ogeechee Audubon Society, Savannah.

LAHS Board of Directors Meeting, October 20, 2005, 4:30 P.M.
St. Andrew’s Parish House
LAHS members, are always welcome

LAHS Meeting, October 20, 2005, 7:00 P.M. -- St. Andrew’s Parish House
Dutch Treat Supper, 5:45 P.M. at B & J Pizza

"Darien, Roswell, Marietta and Sackets Harbor, NY - 1842 -- l870" will be the program, presented by Connie Cox and Stephanie Curtis. In 1836, Roswell King, Sr., his son Barrington and other members of his coastal Georgia circle migrated inland to Cobb County where they founded the towns of Roswell and Lebanon, near the Chattahoochee River. George Hull Camp lived in Barrington Hall upon arriving in Roswell, Georgia in 1842. He became President of the Roswell Mill, Camp’s letters and Daguerreotypes were found in the Roswell Archives, most were written or sent to Barrington Hall. His letters tell of "The Colony" who came from the coast into the "upcountry". A power point presentation will tell what became of the coastal people who came to Cobb County.

Connie Cox received the letters of George Camp in1995. This is the tenth year of deciphering, researching and editing the collection which will be published in a book Providence. Connie formerly worked in research for Eugenia Price and co-edited a diary, Journal of a Landlady. Connie’s husband, Dan Cox is founder/CEO of the Marietta Museum of History.

Stephanie Curtis has worked with Connie on the Providence project for the last five years. They have traveled together doing research and interviews in Sackets Harbor, NY, Greensboro, Roswell and Darien. Stephanie and husband Don live in Cobb County. They are parents of five and grandparents of two. Stephanie home schools three of her children.

[Addendum to Newsletter]
The trip to Plum Orchard is set for Sunday, November 13.
It is strongly recommended that participants arrive not later than 11:00 am at the St. Marys dock, allowing for time to find a parking place.

LAHS Meeting, November 17, 2005, 7:00 P.M. — St. Andrew’s Parish House
Dutch Treat Supper, 5:45 P.M. at B & J Pizza

"Five Centuries of Book Arts" will be the program, presented by David W. Miller, Superintendent, Historic Ashantilly Press. The arts of wood cuts, making of lead type, setting of lead type, layout, paper, printing and bindings has been practiced for ages to create a book, In Darien, Georgia, the Ashantilly Press, using these arts, produced Books and ephemera of the highest quality for forty five years. Dave Miller will actively seek environmental, ecological, and historical programs in the arts that contribute to an understanding of the Ashantilly Press and surrounding community, and to produce work consistent with the highly esteemed history of the press itself.

Dave holds a B.A. English Literature - Kennesaw State University; M.F.A. Book Arts - University of Alabama; M. A.. English Literature - Georgia State University; PhD. Candidate - Georgia State University. Recently he has been a Graduate Teaching Assistant at Georgia State University. Prior to that position, he was a Bookbinder (Archive Preservation and Restoration) at Emory University. Dave lives in the Guest House on the Ashantilly Estate in Darien.

Decorated for Christmas, the Belvedere Island Plantation Club House will be the setting for the 2005 LAHS Holiday Celebration. Howard and Jeanne Klippel will be our host for the evening. The entree, table set up and drink will be provided. LAHS members are asked to make reservations and bring a Covered Dish. Maps and a sign up sheet for reservations and Covered Dishes will be available at the October and November meetings.

Living on the Georgia Tidewater - Roswell King is a familiar name in the early history of Tidewater Georgia.. Excerpts below are from "All Under Bank" Roswell King, Jr., and Plantation Management in Tidewater Georgia 1819 – 1854 -- Edited with an Introduction by Buddy Sullivan.

With his son, Barrington, the elder King and other members of his coastal Georgia circle migrated inland to Cobb County where, in 1836, they founded the towns of Roswell and Lebanon, near the Chattahoochee River and present-day Atlanta. King ,assisted by his son, established flour mills at Lebanon and, by 1837, had also begun a thriving textile mill powered by the waters of Viceroy Creek at nearby Roswell. The Roswell Manufacturing Company received its incorporation in 1839 with Barrington King as president. His home, Barrington Hall, was built in Roswell in 1842 and is regarded as one of the outstanding examples of Greek Revival architecture in upper Georgia.

The pioneering Kings laid out the town of Roswell and included an academy and churches for Presbyterian and Methodist congregations. The new town was originally comprised of families from tidewater Georgia, all of whom were closely allied through long friendships. In addition to Roswell King and Barrington King, there were James Stephens Bulloch (1793-1849), John Dunwody (1786-1858), James Smith (1766-1854) and the Rev. Nathaniel Alpheus Pratt (1796-1879), the latter being the Presbyterian pastor of the church in Darien then serving in a similar capacity at the Roswell Presbyterian Church founded in 1839. Roswell King, Sr. died on February 15, 1844 and was buried in the Presbyterian cemetery in the town which bore his name.

Living on the Georgia Tidewater — William G. Haynes, Jr. (1908-2001) of Ashantilly was a guiding force and inspiration to Darien and McIntosh County for more than eighty years. Ashantilly ( THE OLD TABBY) and The Altamaha River have been the driving forces of this man. Below is a sketch of Bill Haynes living, working and contributing on the Georgia Tidewater

Ashantilly was built by Thomas Spalding on the Georgia mainland no later than 1820. Thomas Spalding of Sapelo Island needed Ashantilly as a convenience to his business holdings in Darien and throughout Georgia. Spalding was born in the town of Frederica, on St. Simons Island. He inherited property from his mother, Margery McIntosh, granddaughter of John McIntosh Mohr. Spalding named Ashantilly after an ancestral home in County Perth, Scotland. The house was constructed of tabby, a mixture of lime, sand, shell and water. After Spalding’s death in 1851, his son Charles abandoned Ashantilly because of the expense of repairs and maintenance. It was after the War Between the States when Charles sold some of the property for new home construction. Charles built himself a home just across the road from THE OLD TABBY (This was the name the locals used. Ashantilly referred to the subdivision of homes as it does today. ) The Wilcox family purchased The Old Tabby in 1870. They rebuilt the house and made several changes. A hip roof with wood shingles was added, while the classical columns and marble flagging were removed.

The Haynes family moved to Ashantilly in 1918. The Haynes family, William, Sr. and wife (nee Laura Grant from Atlanta), Frances, Ann Lee and Bill, Jr. were moving from Columbia, S. C. to Darien. The two older girls had attended South Carolina Women’s College in Columbia. Bill was 10 years old. Frances the older sister taught school at Atlanta Girls High , then went on to Florida State College for Women in Tallahassee, where she became a research librarian. Ann Lee taught school in Savannah for several years before going to New York City to pursue a career in Commercial Art. Bill attended school in Darien. After being graduated from Darien High School in 1927 he went to New York City to study Art. He worked at the New York City Public Library, attended Art School and lived with Ann Lee in her apartment. The conservative transportation between Darien and New York in 1927 was by Steamer Ship from Savannah. Bill remembers that first trip to the City. Ann Lee met him at the dock and he was truly "a country boy come to town", Savannah didn’t have this many big, tall buildings.

In 1936, Bill returned to Darien and Ashantilly to contemplate which career in art he could follow that would bring him back to the Georgia Tidewater which he loved so much. That year he designed and painted, in tempura, four panels for back drop in the Darien Chamber of Commerce Exhibit at the Savannah State Fair of 1937. The Chamber of Commerce was awarded a twenty five dollar prize for this Exhibit. One of these panels hangs, today in the Haynes Auditorium of the Ida Hilton Public Library.

A fire gutted the interior of Ashantilly in 1937. The family moved to temporary housing. It was 1939 before restoration began. Bill Haynes located and purchased doors, mantels, and other period pieces in salvage yards and from Antique dealers in Savannah and Charleston. Using a local carpenter ,Bill was able to dry in the house in order for the displaced family to move back in. The Crown molding in the living room was accomplished by Bill Haynes, by pulling a profile stencil over wet plaster. This technique was done at ceiling height. The formal garden to the north of the house was designed and planted by Bill Haynes during this same period. Restoration efforts on Ashantilly were interrupted when Bill Haynes was drafted into the Army in 1941. He served at Fort Stewart, Georgia and in New Guinea. The people and the landscape of New Guinea were recorded by Haynes in many small watercolor paintings.

In 1945, after World War II, Bill returned to New York. He entered Cooper Union Art School. It was here at Cooper Union that he was introduced to the art of typography and the printing press. The art of the printed page with the selection of type, arrangement, color and illustrated with his own wood cuts became the dream of Ashantilly Press in Darien, Georgia. The summer months were free from school and Bill returned home to continue work on Ashantilly. In the summer of 1946, Bill found the little Hand Press in Riceboro on which he would later print his first book, Anchored Yesterdays. He also purchased his first types. When he returned to New York, he acquired more types, new, and second hand in very good condition, hardly used at all. They were sent home for future printing. The Cooper Union course ended in 1948. He met Natalie Erdman. He worked at a small advertising agency in an on the job training experience. He resumed his job at the New York Public Library. In 1951, Bill went to work with the designers and typographers that were publishing the "Frick Catalogue". He was chosen as an inexperience artist who they could train to do this perfection work. The knowledge and techniques learned here for the next three years would only add to the art and perfection of the books and ephermia of Ashantilly Press over the next four decades.

Bill and Natalie married in 1952. In 1955, they moved to Ashantilly and created Ashantilly Press. A Fort King George Map was drawn by Haynes at the request of Miss Bessie Lewis. Bill and Natalie printed the map by silk screen in four colors. This was printed in the south room of Ashantilly. The first book, Anchored Yesterdays was printed on the little hand press , also in the south room in 1956, The large letter press was purchased in 1958 and operated in the south room until the print shop was built.. The weekly Worship Service Program for the First Presbyterian Church was printed on Ashantilly Press for thirty years. Haynes was a successful business man in McIntosh, His contributions to the community are untold. In 1979 he was the primary force in establishing the Lower Altamaha Historical Society.

THE OLD TABBY and THE HISTORIC ASHANTILLY PRESS are managed by Ashantilly Center, Inc.