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Appendix J A Historic Context for the Community of McLendon Crossroads

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Page 1: APPENDICES cover pages

Appendix J

A Historic Context for the Community of McLendon Crossroads

Page 2: APPENDICES cover pages

HISTORIC CONTEXT IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE MOA CONCERNING THE MITIGATION FOR WOODBURY TELECOMMUNICATIONS TOWER, HP-100714-005 MCLENDON CROSSROADS MERIWETHER COUNTY, GA

Prepared For Terranext 1106 Mill Hill Road Richmond Hill, GA 31324 Prepared By KCI Technologies, Inc. 5001 Louise Dr., Suite 201 Mechanicsburg, PA 17055 March 2012

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A Historic Context for the Community of

McLendon Crossroads, Meriwether County, Georgia

In accordance with the MOA concerning the Mitigation for Woodbury Telecommunications Tower

HP-100714-005

Prepared For: Terranext

1106 Mill Hill Road Richmond Hill, GA 31324

Prepared By: KCI Technologies, Inc.

5001 Louise Dr., Suite 201 Mechanicsburg, PA 17055

March 2012

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i

Table of Contents

List of Figures................................................................................................................................... ii

List of Tables .................................................................................................................................... ii

Introduction ......................................................................................................................................1

Historic Context................................................................................................................................3

Georgia History ....................................................................................................................3

Meriwether County History ..................................................................................................7

Woodbury .............................................................................................................................9

McLendon Crossroads.......................................................................................................15

Local Family Names ..........................................................................................................21

Historic Resources .............................................................................................................27

Conclusion .........................................................................................................................35

Bibliography .......................................................................................................................36

Appendices

Appendix 1 - Memorandum of Agreement

Appendix 2 - USGS Woodbury Quadrangle Map

Appendix 3 – Building Development over Time

Appendix 4 – Patent by William McLendon

Appendix 5 – 3 Patents by Willis M. McLendon

Appendix 6 - Chain of Title for NAHRGIS Properties

Appendix 7 - NAHRGIS Surveyed Properties Appendix 8 – William McLendon to Antioch Baptist Church Deed and Plat

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ii

List of Figures

Figure 1: Approximate area of McLendon Crossroads Community and Project Area ...................2

Figure 2: A New & Accurate Map of the Provinces of North & South Carolina, Georgia ...............4

Figure 3: The Development of the State of Georgia .......................................................................5

Figure 4: Georgia 1825 Land Lottery Map ......................................................................................8

Figure 5: A Portion of 1827 Land Lottery Map of District 8 ...........................................................10

Figure 6: A Portion of 1827 Land Lottery Map of District 9 ...........................................................11

Figure 7: A portion of the Georgia: Early Roads and Trails Map, circa1730-1850.......................12

Figure 8: A Portion of 1998 GDOT Map of Meriwether County ....................................................13

Figure 9: The Main Street of Woodbury in 1933 ...........................................................................16

Figure 10: “Fortunate Drawers” of Land Lots 41-44 of the 8th District ..........................................18

Figure 11: A Portion of 1910 Plat Map of Meriwether County ......................................................19

Figure 12: Current Parcel Maps of the Immediate McLendon Crossroads Community...............20

Figure 13: Building Development in the McLendon Crossroads over Time .................................21

Figure 14: A 1915 Woodbury Baptist Church photograph ............................................................23

Figure 15: The Old Ware Place .....................................................................................................28

Figure 16: Dwelling at 4976 Cedar Rock Road .............................................................................29

Figure 17: The Antioch Baptist Church .........................................................................................29

Figure 18: An undated historic photograph of the Antioch Baptist Church...................................30

Figure 19: The Antioch Baptist Church Cemetery.........................................................................31

Figure 20: The Ware family cemetery ...........................................................................................31

Figure 21: General Store along Highway 109/18 across from Williamson Circle.........................32

Figure 22: The General Store looking northwest ..........................................................................32

Figure 23: Dwelling at 1966 Owens Road.....................................................................................33

Figure 24: Frame outbuilding located northeast of the dwelling at 1966 Owens Road................33

Figure 25: Dwelling at 14703 Woodbury Highway ........................................................................34

Figure 26: Barn at 14568 Woodbury Highway, across from 14703 Woodbury Highway .............34

List of Tables

Table 1: 1840 Census Veteran Pensioners in Meriwether County .................................................9

Table 2: 1827 Land Lottery Drawers in the McLendon Crossroads, 8th District ...........................17

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1

Introduction This report was prepared to fulfill a portion of the mitigation requirements outlined in the Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) signed February 2011 among the Federal Communications Commission, SOUTHERNLINC, TowerCom III, LLC (“TowerCom”), and the Georgia State Historic Preservation Division, concerning the treatment of historic properties that would be affected by the installation of a 400-foot guyed-wire telecommunications tower. A copy of the MOA is attached as Appendix 1. The area affected by the installation is a rural crossroads community located in Meriwether County, approximately 5.5 miles southeast from Greenville, the county seat, and approximately 2 miles west of Woodbury along Route 109/18 Woodbury Road (Figure 1 and Appendix 2). KCI made a good faith effort to research the small community and its residents within the project’s scope. KCI contacted the Meriwether County Tax Assessors Office and Recorder of Deeds, the Meriwether County Chamber of Commerce, the Meriwether County Library System including the Manchester and Greenville Libraries, the Meriwether County Historical Society, the Meriwether County Georgia Genealogy Web Project, the Georgia State Archives, the Georgia Historical Society, and Antioch Baptist Church members Lee Holloway and Joanne Amerson. The McLendon Crossroads is a rural unincorporated community with little material documentation of the area. Many of the old families are no longer in the area and residents that were contacted do not recall much of the history of the community. The majority of the land was historically used for agricultural purposes and had limited building fabric. Buildings were likely of frame construction and did not withstand time or extreme weather conditions, such as the 1884 cyclone that went through Meriwether County. The Georgia Historical Society noted it did not have any information regarding the community or any of its old residents. The Meriwether County Historical Society and the Genealogy Web Project responded that no one was available to assist in researching the subject and that they did not know much of the community or its residents. The Meriwether County Chamber of Commerce had no knowledge about the community and the Greenville Library collection had one book pertaining to the county’s cemeteries. The Meriwether County Tax Assessors Office and Recorder of Deeds, the Manchester Library, the Georgia State Archives, and church members Lee Holloway and Joanne Amerson were very helpful in providing information on the area of McLendon Crossroads and its surrounding community. The Manchester Library had several books regarding the history of Georgia and Meriwether County. The Tax Assessors Office contained parcel map books and property records cards on file that listed a few previous owners allowing for further research at the Record of Deeds. The State Archives provided information about the land lotteries, census records, and tax information of former Woodbury area residents. Interviews with Mr. Holloway and Ms. Amerson provided oral accounts of what they knew of the McLendon Crossroads community and great thanks are due to them. Project time constraints, as well as the limited number of available properties and residents associated with the crossroads community were factors that limited the amount of information that could be gathered from these sources.

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Greenville

Figure 1. Approximate area of McLendon Crossroads Community and Project Area

Google Maps

McLendon Crossroads, Meriwether County, Georgia

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Williamson CirWilliamson Cir

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Historic Context Georgia History The English Colony of Georgia was established in 1732 through a royal charter, and settlement began with the arrival of colonists on February 12, 1733, led by James Oglethorpe, a Parliamentary member and colony promoter. The first settlement became the city of Savannah. From 1732 through 1752, the colony was governed by a Board of Trustees whose members resided in England. These trustees were neither paid nor held office or land in the colony. Committees of the trustees were formed to accept financial contributions and applicants for the new colony. Georgia received £10,000 in 1733 and smaller amounts in later years. The trustees encouraged the election of delegates for the first representative assembly in 1750.1 Development occurred mainly along the Georgian coast during the eighteenth century (Figure 2). The east coast of Georgia saw the earliest settlement and some of the land was distributed through the headright system. Other colonies had used the system to increase their populations. Georgia used the headright system and gave 100 acres of land to each head of the family and and 50 acres for each dependent. An additional 1,000 acres also could be purchased. The survey and recording of these transactions were paid by the grantee. This “warrant” was then presented to the county land court for the approval of the governor in the signing of the grant. If fees were unpaid for more than a year, the grant lapsed. This system was abused by land speculators who bought and sold land warrants in the 1790s and created inaccurate land surveys totaling to hundreds of thousands of acres of land that were documented to be under their ownership.2 After the Revolutionary War, more land was needed for its inhabitants and Georgia repaid its soldiers and their families with land grants, including land that is now located in Alabama and Mississippi. By 1780, more land was being sold than was available and in 1795, the Yazoo Act was passed, which allowed the sale of 60% of land currently in Alabama and Mississippi to land companies for speculation. This action resulted in bribery and corruption and led to the end of land speculation in Georgia.3 Georgia turned to the land lottery system to induce land ownership within its boundaries. As illustrated in Figure 3, Georgia had nine land lotteries starting in 1805 and lasting through 1832. The lottery was authorized by the state legislature. Participants applied for the land lottery through the state and the state entered the names on pieces of paper which were placed in a drum. Another drum contained pieces of paper with land lot numbers or blanks. Land lots were organized in a grid pattern within a designated district. Each land lot consisted of 202 ½ acres and the grant fee amounted to $18.00 per land lot or $0.089 per acre (approximately $406.00 per land lot in today’s economy according to MeasuringWorth).4 1 Edward J. Cashin, Trustee Georgia, 1732-1752, New Georgia Encyclopedia Online, accessed Sept. 19, 2011, <http://www.georgiaencyclopedia.org/nge/Article.jsp?id=h-816>. 2Mary A. Abbe. Georgia Colonial and Headright Plat Index, 1735-1866, Georgia State Archives Virtual Vault, accessed Sept. 19, 2011, < http://cdm.sos.state.ga.us/cdm4/platindex_info.php>. 3 Jim Gigantino, Land Lottery System, 2006, New Georgia Encyclopedia, accessed Sept. 19, 2011, <http://www.georgiaencyclopedia.org/nge/Article.jsp?id=h-3299>. 4 Williamson, Samuel H. Seven Ways to Compute the Relative Value of a U.S. Dollar Amount, 1774 to present, MeasuringWorth, accessed Sept. 19, 2011 <www.measuringworth.com/uscompare/>.

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Figure 2. A New & Accurate Map of the Provinces of North & South Carolina, Georgia by Emanuel Bowen, 1752. Georgia State Archives.

McLendon Crossroads, Meriwether County, Georgia

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Approximate area of McLendon Crossroads

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Figure 3. The Development of the State of Georgia. Corbin’s Georgia Land History, page 32.

McLendon Crossroads, Meriwether County, Georgia

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“Fortunate drawers” were participants who received a land lot number. Surveyors measured out the lots by using chains of 100 links that measured 66 feet. A compass marked the direction and trees were noted to mark off corners of the lots.5 This method allowed the state to have more yeoman farmers than large landholding aristocrats compared to other states like Virginia. The “drawer” had several choices upon acquiring a land lot number. Some settled on their land and others sold or exchanged their lots with other “drawers” in order to obtain better agricultural land or land adjacent to property they already acquired through previous land lotteries or other transactions. Some lots were never claimed and were later sold off by the state. From research at the State Archives, it appears that many of the “drawers” did not settle the land they had acquired through the land lotteries. Persons that were entitled to draw land lots had to meet the following criteria:

Bachelor, 18 years or older, 3-year residency in Georgia, citizen of United States - 1 draw.

Married man with wife or unmarried and under age children, 3-year residency in Georgia, citizen of United States – 2 draws.

Widow, 3-year residency in Georgia – 1 draw. Wife and/or child, 3-year residency in Georgia, husband and/or father absent from state

for 3 years – 1 draw. Family (one or two) of orphans under 18 years whose father is dead, 3-year residency in

state or since birth – 1 draw. Family (three or more) of orphans under 18 years, 3-year residency in state or since

birth – 2 draws. Widow, husband killed in Revolutionary War, War of 1812, or Indian War, 3-year

residency in Georgia – 2 draws. Orphan, father killed in Revolutionary War, War of 1812 or Indian War - 2 draws. Wounded or disabled veteran of War of 1812 or Indian War, unable to work - 2 draws. Veteran of Revolutionary War – 2 draws. Veteran of Revolutionary War who had been a “fortunate drawer” in any previous Lottery

– 1 draw. Child or children of convict, 3-year residency in Georgia – 1 draw. Male idiots, lunatics or insane, deaf and dumb, or blind, over 10 years and under 18

years, 3-year residency in Georgia – 1 draw. Female idiots, insane or lunatics, deaf and dumb, or blind, over 10 years, 3-year

residency in Georgia – 1 draw Family (one or two) of illegitimates under 18 years, residence since birth in Georgia – 1

draw. Family (three or more) of illegitimates under 18 years, residence since birth in Georgia –

2 draws. Child or children of a convict whose father had not drawn in any of the former land

lotteries – entitled to a draw or draws in the same manner they would be entitled if they were orphans.

Persons that were excluded from the land lottery included: Any person who received lands from a previous Land Lottery. Citizens who volunteered or were legally drafted in the War of 1812 or the Indian War

and who refused to serve a tour of duty in person or by substitute.

5 Charles and Tripp Corbin. Georgia Land History, accessed Sept. 19, 2011 http://www.keckwood.com/files/GIS/GALandHistory.pdf.

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Anyone who may have deserted from military service. Any tax defaulter or absconded for debt. Any convict in the penitentiary.6

The War of 1812 and the land lotteries of 1805, 1807, 1820, 1821, 1827, and 1832 led to the expulsion of the Creek and Cherokee Indians from Georgia. The land acquired by Georgia citizens was largely used to cultivate crops, primarily tobacco and later cotton. Meriwether County History Meriwether County was established with lands from Troup County by an act of the Georgia General Assembly on December 14, 1827. Troup County, among other neighboring counties, was formed from the signed Treaty of Indian Springs of 1825, the second treaty of the same title between the Creek Indians (Chief William McIntosh) and Georgia Governor George Troup. The treaty outlined the remaining land cessions of the Creek Indians in the colony east of the Chattahoochee River which included the Ocmulgee Old Fields, sacred earthworks constructed by Mississippian culture over a thousand years ago. The treaty also arranged the removal of the tribes to unimproved land west of the Mississippi River in exchange for $400,000 to be paid in installments by the colony.7 The ceded land was later divided into five sections and surveyed into districts and land lots to be auctioned off in a land lottery on June 9, 1825. The General Assembly designated the five districts on December 14, 1826 into Lee (13 districts), Muscogee (24 districts), Troup (12 districts), Coweta (16 districts), and Carroll (16 districts) Counties. 8 The eastern Flint River and the western Chattahoochee River defined the east and west boundaries of the land known as the “Land Between the Rivers.”9 Meriwether County was part of the third section of the 1827 land lottery, initially a part of Troup County (Figure 4).10 The original boundaries of Meriwether County were described in Section 2 of the Act of December 24, 1827:

And be it further enacted by the authority aforesaid, That so much of the original county of Troup as is contained in the following boundaries, to wit: beginning at the south east corner of lot number ninety-six, in the third district of Troup, running east to the south east corner of lot number eighty-six, in the third district of Troup, thence a straight line to the south east corner of lot number one hundred and ten, in the second district of Troup, thence east to the south east corner of lot number forty-six, in the first district of Troup, thence a straight line to the north east corner of lot number one hundred and thirty-eight, in first district of Troup, thence north to Flint river, and up said river to the original line between the counties of Coweta and Troup, thence west with said line to the north east corner of lot number five, in the eleventh district of Troup, thence south to the beginning, shall form one other county to be called Merriwether, (in memory of General David Merriwether).11

6 Ibid. 7 Treaty of Indian Springs, February 12, 1825. GeorgiaInfo, Digital Library of Georgia, 2001, accessed Sept. 16, 2011< http://georgiainfo.galileo.usg.edu/indspri2.htm>. 8 Georgia Archives, Land Lottery of 1827, accessed Sept. 19, 2011, <http://www.sos.ga.gov/archives/what_do_we_have/land_lottery/land_lottery_1827.htm>. 9 Sherri M. L. Smith, The Flint River Valley: Shaped by Indians, Agriculture, War, and Industry . Sherpa Guides, accessed Sept.19, 2011 http://www.sherpaguides.com/georgia/flint_river/cultural_history/>. 10Troup County Historical Population Profile, GeorgiaInfo, Digital Library of Georgia, 2011, accessed Sept. 16, 2011< http://georgiainfo.galileo.usg.edu/countypop/trouppop.htm>. 11 Meriwether County’s Original Boundaries, GeorgiaInfo, Digital Library of Georgia, 2011, accessed Sept. 16, 2011 <http://georgiainfo.galileo.usg.edu/courthouses/meriwetherboundaries.htm>.

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Figure 4. Georgia 1825 Land Lottery Map. Redrafted Map of Hall’s 1895 Map of Georgia, Georgia’s Office of Secretary of State (Courtesy of Digital Library of Georgia).

McLendon Crossroads, Meriwether County, Georgia

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The county was named in honor of General David Meriwether, who was born in Charlottesville, Virginia on April 10, 1755 and took part in the Revolutionary War. In 1875, he settled in Wilkes County, Georgia and became a state representative who was involved with the militia and Creek Indian affairs. The county was largely made up of residents who emigrated from neighboring counties including Jasper, Twiggs, Walton, and Wilkes, and purchased land from the land lotteries or subsequent property owners. Meriwether County lies within the Flint River Basin. The town of Greenville serves as the county seat; other towns in the county include Alvaton, Durand, Gay, Harris City, Lone Oak, Luthersville, Oakland, Odessadale, Primrose, Raleigh, Rocky Mount, Saint Marks, Stovall, Warm Springs, White Sulphur Springs, Woodbury, and Wooster. The county courthouse was constructed in Greenville by William Hitchcock in 1832.12 The county had over 4,000 residents in 1830 and by the 1840 Census, the county had 14,000 residents, including the following pensioners from Revolutionary War or military services (Table 1).13 Several of the earliest settlers of the county were war veterans.

Table 1. 1840 Census Veteran Pensioners in Meriwether County Pensioner Age Residing in Head of Household

Alexander Smith 81 Alexander Smith Samuel Brown 83 Samuel Brown Lewis Jenkins 87 Lewis Jenkins John Black 77 John Black Giles Kelley 78 Giles Kelley George Earnest 80 Elisha Earnest

Woodbury The city of Woodbury was developed after the land lottery of 1827. When the post office opened in 1845, the town changed its spelling from Woodberry to Woodbury.14 In 1872, the city received its charter. Originally, the area was known as Sandtown because of its pure white sandy soil. A portion of land lots within Districts 8 and 9 made up the area of Woodbury and the McLendon Crossroads (Figures 5 and 6). Some residents who drew land lots did not accept their draw, so the lots reverted back to the state and were later sold off. Gray’s Ferry, which ran through Woodbury, was authorized by the General Assembly in 1825 and was used by early settlers to cross the Flint River.15 Flat Shoals road ran parallel to Gray’s Ferry, located north of Woodbury and was an early road (Figure 7). The Woodbury Highway (Route109/18) was also an early road known as the Greenville Road. The Woodbury Highway is currently a high top paved main road that runs northwest to southeast from Greenville to Woodbury (Figure 8). The county roads of Cedar Rock Road, Cedar Rock Church Road, Imlac, 12Wilber W. Caldwell, The Courthouse and the Depot: The Architecture of Hope in an Age of Despair , Mercer University Press, 2001, page 366. 13 Pensioners Census 1840, accessed Sept. 19, 2011 <http://files.usgwarchives.net/ga/meriwether/military/revwar/pensions/pensione76nmt.txt>. 14 The Heritage of Meriwether County, Georgia, 1827-2004, page 27. 15 Archibald Gray, Large Land Owner, Deep Southern Roots, accessed Oct 31 2011, <http://deepsouthernroots.familytreeguide.com/getperson.php?personID=I79637&tree=T1&sid=agsearch>.

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Figure 5. A Portion of 1827 Land Lottery Map of District 8

McLendon Crossroads, Meriwether County, Georgia

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Figure 6. A Portion of 1827 Land Lottery Map of District 9

McLendon Crossroads, Meriwether County, Georgia

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Figure 7. A portion of the Georgia: Early Roads and Trails Map, circa 1730-1850. Surveyor General, Georgia Archives.

McLendon Crossroads, Meriwether County, Georgia

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Figure 8. A Portion of 1998 GDOT Map of Meriwether County

McLendon Crossroads, Meriwether County, Georgia

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Road, and Owens Road are covered with bituminous surface material, and Williamson Circle is a gravel covered road. Meriwether County had 1,402 men in 10 companies involved in the Civil War including Willis M. McLendon. Three hundred and eleven men did not return. A Ladies Relief Society was established in 1861 to support the county’s soldiers. Sherman’s Army went through the Meriwether County area after the capture of Fort Tyler in the railroad town of West Point, approximately 40 miles southwest of McLendon Crossroads, on April 16, 1865. It is rumored that the Woodbury area was not raided and destroyed because of the lack of supplies.16 The county witnessed a frenzy of railroad building after 1870. The Macon and Birmingham Railroad was constructed which ran through the town of Woodbury. The Georgia Midland Gulf Line was constructed in 1887 between Columbus and Atlanta and telegraph lines were installed in Greenville. The rise of railroads generated a boom in town development in the 1890s. The track crossed the Columbus and Rome Railroad line south of Greenville in an area later known as Harris City. Farming and lumber remained primary industries of the area along with the business growth of downtown Woodbury. Telephone service came to Woodbury in the late 1890s and individual home service in the 20 th century. The early telephones primarily serviced local businesses located in Woodbury. The early service used the magneto-driven telephone and later was replaced by the rotary dial system and then digital. The magneto-driven telephone was a hand-crank device that used magnets to produce currents that enabled ringing. It was later replaced by the rotary dial telephone, which worked by pulse dialing or sending electrical pulses dependent upon what numbers were selected. Rotary dial telephones can still be used today but largely have been replaced by the digital telephone, which allows for the transmission of voice signals. The town included three banks, a movie theater, and a newspaper titled the Woodbury Hot Blast (later known as the Woodbury Messenger and then the Woodbury Georgian). The Woodbury Banking Company was incorporated in 1891 and continues to operate.17 Its founders were Willis M. McLendon, W.A. Wales, J.F. Sutton, J.A. Gill, Herman Hirsch, F.J. Williams, and J.D. Sutton. Although the railroad spurred some development in Woodbury, the area’s economy was still based on agriculture. Many families had farmland and either lived on the land or in town; some also had businesses in Woodbury. The McLendon family, a prosperous landowning family of the area for which the crossroads community is most likely named, grew peaches and patented various cotton gin improvements for the cotton crop. The town also had a plant operated by the Hill Brothers/Nabisco, which processed peppers, dates, and peanut products. Many residents worked at the “pepper plant” and from 1950 to 1968, Woodbury hosted the Pimiento Festival. The plant later closed in the early 1990s. The Saturday closest to the beginning of the month was known in the area as “Ration Day,” where farm hands and sharecroppers would purchase their monthly supply of necessities from Greenville or Woodbury businesses.18 The Great Depression and the infestation of the boll weevil to southern fields hit the southern farmers and businesses hard during the early 20th century.

16 Ibid. 17 General Assembly of Georgia, Acts Passed by the General Assembly of Georgia, Vol. II, page 412-418. 18 Ibid, page 61.

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The Meriwether Vindicator reported on April 18, 1884 that a cyclone went through the town of Woodbury and its vicinities on April 15.19 The article noted that the cyclone, traveling northeast from the southwest, destroyed approximately 50 to 75 dwellings. Mr. Allen Ware’s homestead, located west of Woodbury was spared, but he lost his outbuildings and orchard. His mules were reported to be uninjured despite the stable collapsing. Another cyclone went through the neighboring northwestern town of Greenville in 1893.20 Figure 9 depicts downtown Woodbury and includes the following buildings on the left and right sides of the street:

The first mention of education in the county was noted in the County Inferior Court minutes; Greenville town lot 86 was earmarked for a school, which was chartered on December 22, 1828.21 Development of other academies located in Greenville and other more populated towns began soon after. The state began providing funding to these academies as early as 1829 contingent upon certain education standards of languages and higher math skills. The first school in Woodbury was established in the 1870s, probably from the result of the passage of the Georgia General Assembly’s first public school law. The law authorized county boards of education to impose a tax to establish a 4 month school term and construction of school buildings. The first public school in Woodbury was built in 1900. Schools had one teacher per 25 to 50 students. Petitions were given to the county in 1925 to request school consolidation within the county. Schools across the county were consolidated over time from 1930 to 1958. By 1958, the county school system contained 12 elementary, junior high, and high schools segregated by race located in Greenville, Lutherville, Manchester, McCrary, Warm Springs, and Woodbury. With the passing of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the county schools were modified to comply with the law of integration.

19 Cyclone Tuesday Morning! Over 50 Houses Swept Away, Many Kil led and Wounded, Meriwether Vindicator, page 1, accessed <http://files.usgwarchives.net/ga/meriwether/history/cyclone84.txt>. 20 Davidson, William H. Brooks of Honey and Butter: plantations and People of Meriwether County, Georgia , pages 300-304. 21 Ibid, page 45.

Carroll Merchandise Store Dixon Drug Company ? ____ Store Building empty Bowden Hardware Company A.A. Sims Barber Shop Pool Room Hamby Grocery Store Low McKenny Garage & Service Station Brown's Meat Market Roy Keith Meat Market Dr. Dixon's House

Woodbury Banking Company. Jones Merchandise Company F.A. Bartee Grocery People's Bank Gene Turner Grocery Mrs. A. Chunn Millinery Shop GA Power Office & Store 10' x 10' Police house Powell Bro's Ford Building A.A. Sim's House

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Figure 9. The Main Street of Woodbury in 1933. The Heritage of Meriwether County 1827 2004.

McLendon Crossroads The McLendon Crossroads community lies largely in the 8th District of Meriwether County along the Woodbury Highway and intersects with Cedar Rock Road/Cedar Rock Church Road/Imlac Road and Williamson Circle. Some eastern lands lie within the 9th District. The majority of the land is rural with small vernacular buildings interspersed. Table 2 depicts the names of the “fortunate drawers” that received land lots in the area and Figure 10 shows the “drawers” and the lot descriptions. The area was likely named after the McLendon family. William McLendon, the family patriarch and his family, owned the majority of the land in the area.

Figure 11 also depicts some of the family names represented in the area in 1910- eighty-three years after land lottery of 1827. Most of the land within the community has been used for lumber or agricultural purposes (Figure 12). The 1884 cyclone may have removed much of the older rural buildings stock that was on the landscape at the time. Smaller parcels contain buildings that are mostly modern homes and small frame residences from the 1940s to the 1960s (see Appendix 3). Three buildings have the earliest date of 1890 to 1900 according to the Meriwether County Tax Assessors (Figure 13). Fifteen parcels within the area do not contain any improvements or buildings. The majority of buildings over 50 years of age were not previously surveyed.

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Table 2. 1827 Land Lottery Drawers in the McLendon Crossroads, 8th District22 Land Lot Name County District 78 Jon N. Williamson Newton Pullins 77 William Robertsons, orphans Wilkes Chunns 76 N/A -- -- 75 Josiah Warren’s orphans Laurens Plummers 54 James H. Couper Chatham Geredons 53 Sally Mills, widow of Rev. soldier Newton Snows 52 N/A -- -- 51 John Wittington, soldier Crawford Moores 46 Nancy Parks, widow Twiggs Chamberlains 45 N/A -- -- 44 Elizabeth Ann Ridon, illegitimate Jackson Rogers 43 Mitchell Nelson Richmond Blacks 22 Daniel Camron Tattnall McDuffies 21 Fanny Barron, widow Washington Warthens 20 Julian A. Bray, widow Warren Hills 19 Caroline, Weldon, Sparta &

Proserp Williams, illegitimate Newton Graves

14 Joshua B. Culver Hancock 108th 13 Malachi Murphy Jones Davis 12 Edward Kent Jackson Allens 11 N/A -- -- 4 Patty Sharp, widow Lincoln Wiggintons 3 N/A -- -- 2 Jeremiah McDaniel, soldier Habersham Bryans 1 Clem Price Washington Whitfields

22 Houston, Martha Lou, Reprint of Official Register of Land Lottery of Georgia, 1827, Easley, SC: Southern Historical Press, 1986.

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Figure 10. “Fortunate Drawers” of Land Lots 41-44 of the 8th District. Georgia Archives.

McLendon Crossroads, Meriwether County, Georgia HP-100714-005

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Figure 11. A Portion of 1910 Plat Map of Meriwether County

McLendon Crossroads, Meriwether County, Georgia

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Figure 12.  Current Parcel Maps of the Immediate McLendon Crossroads Community  

Meriwether County Tax Assessors Office 

McLendon Crossroads, Meriwether County, Georgia 

HP‐100714‐005 

Modern Resource 

Historic Resource 

No Improvements 

LEGEND 

Woodbury Hwy 

Cedar Rock Rd 

Cedar R

ock Ch

urch Rd/Im

lac Rd

 

Middleb

rooks R

Whitehouse Pkwy 

Anoch Bapst Church 

Anoch Bapst Church cemetery 

Old Ware P

lace, 45

5 William

son Cir 

Concord Methodist Cemetery 

General Store 

14568 Woodbury Hwy 

Williamson Cir 

15973 Woodbury Hwy 

16023 W

oodbury H

wy 

16109 Woodbur

y Hwy 

16153 W

oodbury

 Hwy 

16239 Woodbury Hwy 

16810 Woodbury Hwy 

16511 Woodbury Hwy 

15739 Woodbury Hwy 

4976 Cedar Rock Rd 

1966 Owens Rd 

20

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Figure 13. The pie chart shows the number of buildings constructed over the decades between 1890 and 2011 and the portion of the total number of parcels within the crossroads community.

Local Family Names Local family names were identified using land records for properties within the area and information on headstones in the local cemeteries. The McLendon family, for whom the crossroads community is named, owned much of the land in the area. McLendon family members are buried at the Antioch Baptist Church and the Woodbury Church cemeteries. Other families noted below also may have owned land or lived in the crossroads area and may be buried in the local cemeteries. Information on these families was limited. McLendon Family William McLendon was born in 1807 in Wilkes County, Georgia to Lewis McLendon. William married Judith Burford Fuller (b. 1811, Greene County, GA) on December 8, 1826. William had several siblings and it appears from census records that his brother Willis McLendon followed him to Meriwether County to acquire farmland. William had two draws in the 1805 land lottery. The McLendon family purchased and sold several tracts of land between the 1830s and the mid-1900s. William’s brother and his son’s namesake, Willis McLendon also settled near Woodbury. Willis was born in 1809 in Wilkes County and married Martha Hay on February 7, 1828. They had 12 children. Willis later drowned in a mill pond in the third district of Carroll County at the age of 76 years.23

23 Willis McLendon Obituary, Meriwether Vindicator, May 29, 1885.

1890-1900 5% 1910-1930

5% 1930s

2%

1940s 13%

1950s 2%

1960s 5% 1970s

8% 1980s 10%

1990s 15%

2000s 10%

No Improvements

25%

Building Development in the McLendon Crossroads over Time

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By 1850, William was reported to be a farmer with a property worth $5,400 (approximately $156,000 today according to MeasuringWorth).24 He is listed with his wife Judith, and children Lina (b. 1830), Elijah W. (b. 1834, farmer), Lucinda M. (b. 1836), Isaac T. M. (b. 1837), Sarah J.C. (b. 1839), Willis M. (b. 1843), and Louisa (b. 1848). William donated the land for the construction of the Antioch Baptist Church in 1835. He received the land in 1834 from John McCarty, the attorney for the William McCarty estate.25 Elizabeth Ann Ridon, an illegitimate child from the Rogers Militia District of Jackson County was the original “fortunate drawer” and received lot 44 from the 1827 land lottery. 26

It appears from the 1850 Census Slave Schedule that a William McLendon owned 13 slaves in Meriwether County.27 The slaves are recorded by age and gender, but names were not specified. William McLendon was a farmer and an inventor. In 1859, he patented an improvement to the cotton gin (see Appendix 4). His patent outlined that the roll-box of the cotton gin be beveled, allowing the saw to pass through, which limited the machine clogging with seeds and created more cotton with less pieces. By the 1860 Census, McLendon’s family is noted to be in the Greenville area and his property is valued at $4,000 (today: $108,000) and personal property valued at $13,000 (today: $352,000). He was the head of household with his wife Judith, and the following dependents: Elizabeth (24), Sarah (18), Willis (16), Louisa (11), Benga (8), and Joseph (7). Four men also resided in his household: John Chann (sp.) (22) who is an overseer; Green B Keith (18) a farmer with property worth $1,800 (today: $48,700); Columbus (16) with property worth $1,800; and William B (17) with property worth $1,800. Green, Columbus, and William were sons of Lucinda Fuller Keith, daughter of Greene Fuller, brother-in-law of McLendon. In the 1870 Census, William McLendon’s family is noted in the Sandtown area (later known as Woodbury). His property was valued at $1,500 with $400 of personal wealth (today: $24,200 and $6,440). He was living with his wife Judith, and children Willis, a farmer (26), Louisa (22) and Benjamin (17). Louisa and Benjamin were recorded as still attending school. Four farm hands and 2 domestic servants also lived with the family: Thomas J. Cook (21 year old white farm hand), James Garret (20 year old white farm hand), Mary Garret (45 year old black servant), Carrie Garret (12 year old black servant), Adam McLendon (21 year old black farmhand), and Dixon Clay (18 year old black farmhand). The census noted that the black tenants could not read or write. William and Judith McLendon were buried at the Antioch Baptist Church Cemetery also known as the Cato Cemetery. William died Sept. 21 and Judith died Sept. 20 of 1882.28 William’s son Willis M. McLendon was born in 1843 and enlisted as a soldier in the Eighth Georgia regiment, Company D under the Confederacy in 1861.29 He fought in the First Battle of Manassas, the Battle of Fredericksburg, and had his right leg amputated at the Battle of

24 1850 US Census. 25 1834 deed, Meriwether County Courthouse Recorder of Deeds. 26 Houston, Martha Lou, Reprint of Official Register of Land Lottery of Georgia, 1827 , Easley, SC: Southern Historical Press, 1986, page 21. 27 1850 US Census Slave Schedule. 28 Banks McCoy, Antioch or Cato Cemetery-Partial Survey, accessed Oct 31 2011 http://files.usgwarchives.net/ga/meriwether/cemeteries/antiocho255gcm.txt. 29 Southern Historical Association, Memoirs of Georgia. Vol. II, Atlanta, Georgia, 1895.

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Gettysburg. He was captured twice: the first time he was quickly rescued and the second time he spent 15 months in a Union prison. He was paroled on Sept. 18, 1864 from Point Lookout, Maryland and exchanged at James River, Virginia on Sept. 22, 1864. After the war, he applied for a military pension and was a cartwright for two years. In 1868, he purchased land in order to become a farmer in the area later known as McLendon Crossroads. He married Alice C. Thompson in 1883 and had four children: Leon, Irene, Amorette, and John C. The family also had a black servant named Louodis Harris born in 1880. Willis was noted as being a landlord and owning his farm. Willis McLendon was a more prolific inventor than his father. He submitted at least 3 patents to the United States Patent Office (see Appendix 5). His first patent was in 1870 for an improvement to the combined cotton seed planter and fertilizer distributer. His second patent was submitted in 1872 for an improvement to combined hoes and rakes. His third patent was submitted in 1895 for a plow. He was also a peach brandy producer. The 1866 IRS Tax Assessments record that Willis applied for an alcohol license to distill peaches. He paid $15.00 (today: $186) for the license and was taxed for 33 gallons of peach brandy at $1.50 per gallon, totaling $49.50 in taxes (today: $613).30 Willis helped establish the Woodbury Baptist Church on September 4, 1889.31 The other founding members included George J. Strozier, James Charles Dunn, Dr. John M. Hooten, John Stewart Dunn, Charles Joseph Dunn, Mrs. M.E. Dixon, Mrs. Elizabeth Bolger, Mrs. E.B. Wales, Mrs. Alice I. Chunn, Mrs. Elizabeth Dixon, Mrs. Benetta A. Findley, Mrs. Harnett Callaway, Mrs. Lula Chunn, Mrs. Carrie, Dunn, Mrs. Susie Lee Hooten, Mrs. Hattie Sutton, and Mrs. Julia Gill. The congregation met at members’ homes until a land lot located on Depot Street in Woodbury was donated by Sutton, Gill, and Williams. The church later burned in a fire in 1936. A new church was erected three years later on an expanded lot to Chalybeate Street, which was donated by Mrs. W. M. McLendon. The cornerstone was donated by Solon W. Ware, Jr. (Figure 14).

Figure 14. A 1915 Woodbury Baptist Church photograph from The Heritage of Meriwether

County 1827-2004. Amorette and Irene McLendon and Solon Ware are pictured.

30 “Willis McLendon,” U.S. IRS Tax Assessment Lists, 1862-1918 Record, pages 293 and 324. 31 Linda P. Dobbs, et al, The Heritage of Meriwether County 1827-2004, Marceline, MO: Walsworth Publishing Co., 2004, page 44.

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Willis McLendon also co-founded the Woodbury Banking Company in 1891.32 Willis McLendon died on Oct. 4, 1929 in Woodbury. The 1930 Census notes that Alice was the head of household and owned her residence with property worth $3,200 (today: $34,800). The family, which included her four children, did not live on the farm. John C. was noted as a farm supervisor. The family was buried at the Woodbury Cemetery.33 John C. inherited the McLendon land which surrounded the Antioch Baptist Church. Some other family surnames associated with the area include the following noted families: Andrews Family One of the earliest pioneers of Meriwether County was Judge Martin A. Andrews, who was born in 1795 in Wilkes County.34 He married Bennetta or Bernita Talbot (b. 1803). He took part in the War of 1812 as a private in the Fourth regiment (Booth’s) of the Georgian militia. He also took part in the Georgia Cherokee Land Lottery of 1832 and received land in the 12th District of the Second Section of Cherokee County.35 By 1850, his farm was worth $2800 and he lived with his wife Bennitta and children Martha A (b. 1833), William F (b. 1835), James K (b. 1837), Sarah F (b. 1840), Louisa P (b. 1842), Bennette F (b. 1845), and Joseph M (b. 1850).36 He received a land grant in 1852 of approximately 79 acres in Montgomery, Alabama for his service and applied for a pension. By the 1870 Census, he was listed as a farmer with $1500 (today: $24,200) worth of real estate and $1100 (today: $17,700) worth of personal estate. He and his wife were living with children Louisa, Benetta, and Joseph. The couple and their son William F., a Confederate soldier, were buried in the Antioch Baptist Church Cemetery. William F. enlisted as a private in Company F, 41st Infantry Regiment of Georgia on March 4, 1862.37 He died approximately 2 months later, leaving a wife, Surfronia Elizabeth Harris with child (Sally Elizabeth Andrews). Chunn Family According to Joanne Williamson Amerson, the Chunn family ran the general store located along Woodbury Highway within the McLendon Crossroads community in the first half of the twentieth century. Amos Chunn, Sr. was the family patriarch and was born in 1767 in Maryland.38 He married Lydia Cartwright in 1788 and moved his family to Wilkes County, Georgia in 1822. He had eight children; Hezekiah (b. 1790), Margaret A. (b. 1792), Judith C. (b. 1794), Amos, Jr. (b. 1804), Samuel (b. 1806), Benjamin (b. 1810), Lydia a. (b. 1811), and Amanda (b. 1814). He and his son Amos, Jr. took part in the 1838 Cherokee Land Lottery; his son drew lot 68 in the 26th district of the second section in Cherokee County. Amos, Jr. married Elizabeth J. McLendon in 1826 and the family later moved to Meriwether County in 1830.39 In the 1850 Census, he lived with his wife Elizabeth, and children Lewis (b. 1828), Lidia A. (b. 1831), 32 General Assembly of Georgia, Acts Passed by the General Assembly of Georgia, Vol. II, page 412-418. 33 Banks McCoy, Woodbury Cemetery-Complete Survey. Meriwether County GA Archives Cemeteries, accessed Oct 31 2011 <http://files.usgwarchives.net/ga/meriwether/cemeteries/woodbury257gcm.txt >. 34 Clare Isanhour, Pioneers of Meriwether County, Georgia, as reported in the Meriwether Vindicator , Smyrna, GA: C. Isanhour, 1991. 35 Smith, James F. The Cherokee Land Lottery, Containing a Numerical List of the Names of the Fortunate Drawers in Said Lottery. New York, USA: 1838. 36 1850 U.S. Census. 37 Georgia. Confederate Pension and Record Department. Roster of the Confederate Soldiers of Georgia 1861-1865. 7 vols. Hapeville: Longino & Porter, 1955-58. Ancestry.com. 38 Ibid, page 121. 39 Death Notices from the Meriwether County Vindicator, Vol. 5, No. 1, December 22, 1876, page 2.

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Benjamin (b. 1833), Andrew J. (b. 1834), William A. (b. 1835), Julia F. (b. 1837), John T. (b. 1839), Penelope (b. 1840), Joseph W. (b. 1841), Elizabeth (b. 1842), Alexis (b. 1844), Margaret (b. 1845), Wilson (b. 1849), Sarah (b. 1838). His farm was worth $6,060 and his older sons were noted as farmers. He was assessed in 1866 for owning a 203 ½ acre farm and a watch. Amos, Jr.’s son Lewis Chunn enlisted as a Corporal in Company F, 5th State Guard Infantry Regiment of Georgia, his son Benjamin F. enlisted in Company E., North Carolina 2nd Infantry Battalion in 1862 and was mustered in 1864. The majority of the family is buried at the Old Concord Cemetery along Highway 109/18 in the Lemmon’s Cattle Farm pasture. Hinton Family Jesse Hinton and his wife Clara Wells were buried in the Antioch Baptist Church Cemetery. They were both born in Wilkes County; Jesse in 1802 and Clara in 1810. The 1850 Census recorded the family to include Jesse, Clara, children Lemuel (b. 1828), William H (b. 1838), Andrew J. (b. 1841), and Lydia Hails (b. 1820) and William Reddin (b. 1827). He owned $4,200 worth of real estate. He also owned 29 slaves (1850 US Federal Census-Slave Schedule). Hinton served as a private in Captain Daniel Dodson’s Company of Colonel Thomas Allen’s 49

th Georgia Militia in the Henry County Georgia Volunteers (1836). His son Andrew J. Hinton took part in the Civil War in Company K, Fifty-fifth Georgia volunteer infantry later known as Company B, Ninth Georgia infantry, rising from private to company captain. After the war, he became a county clerk and later a county judge. Andrew’s son Jesse Lee Hinton was the assistant secretary to General Thomas for the Sac and Fox Agency, who managed the Indian reservation in Oklahoma. 40 Powell Family Benjamin Powell born in 1798 in Wilkes County was an early settler to the Woodbury area. He married Mary (b.1800) and by the 1850 Census had the following children: Lucius (b. 1829), Elizabeth (b. 1831), Benjamin F. (b.1835), Mary (b. 1836), Harriet (b. 1838), and Robert (b. 1842). He also had 12 slaves.41 Benjamin, his son James L (b. 1830), and grandson Tommie N. died in the cyclone on April 15, 1884.42 Benjamin, James L., and Tommie are buried with two other Powell relatives in the Antioch Baptist Church Cemetery. Sims Family Judge John T. Sims was born in 1829 and married Margaret L. McLendon, daughter of William McLendon in 1859. In 1860 he is listed as a farmer and living with his wife near his father Sanders Simms and his family. By 1880, his wife had passed from consumption and he was living with his daughter Lelia (b. 1863), son Sanders (b. 1870), and 13 year old cook Emma Moreland.43 John T. was a county judge and died in 1895 of paralysis. He was also a neighborhood teacher and was a member of the Board of County Commissioners. John T., his wife, daughter, and two Sims relatives are buried in the Antioch Baptist Church Cemetery. 40 Allen Daniel Candler and Clement Anselm Evans, Georgia: Comprising Sketches of Counties, Towns, Events, Institutions, and Persons, Arranged in Cyclopedic Form , State Historical Association, 1906, p. 290. 41 1850 U.S. Slave Schedules. 42 Cyclone Tuesday Morning! Over 50 Houses Swept Away, Meriwether Vindicator, April 18, 1884. 43 U.S. 1880 Census. Death Notices from the Meriwether County Vindicator, Vol. 13, No. 24, May 29, 1885.

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Ware Family From cemetery records, it appears the Ware family entered the area a century later than most of the well-known families. Allen Ware is noted in a Meriwether Vindicator article concerning the 1884 cyclone.44 All of the buildings on his property were lost except his dwelling. Thomas W. Ware was born in 1920 and enlisted in World War II on Nov. 15, 1945 with the Army in the Corps of Military Police at the Norfolk Army Air Field. He was enlisted for the Hawaiian Department.45 He died in 1975.46 Solon W. Ware attended the Woodbury Baptist Church. The Williamson family purchased the old Ware Place around 1940 after moving to the area. Benjamin P. Bussey Benjamin P. Bussey appears to be an early settler of the area. He took part in the Cherokee Lottery of 1832 and was from Kendrick’s Militia District in Monroe County.47 He received land lot 203, of the 26th district of the third section. In the 1840 Census, he was a farmer with 8 people involved with agriculture. He had 10 male and 6 female slaves. He had eight white females and a male residing in his household. In 1850, his farm was worth $9,000.48 He was living with wife Julia, (b. 1806), Elizabeth (b. 1833), Julia (b. 1836), Mary (b. 1838), and Virginia (b. 1840) near William McLendon’s family. He died in 1859 and is buried in the Antioch Baptist Church Cemetery. John H. Bolger John H. Bolger, according to the 1850 Census was a blacksmith born in 1822 in South Carolina. He lived with his wife Mary E (b.1830) and had a middle-aged male slave. He owned a teenage female slave in 1860. In 1880, he lived with his wife Elizabeth. He was buried in 1888 in the Antioch Baptist Church Cemetery. Nation Family The Nation family appears to have lived shortly in the area. Joseph Nation Sr., lived with his uncle Alexander Banks in Fayette County at the time of the 1910 Census. He married Mary J. Roger and had Joseph Jr. in 1914. In 1916, father and son had died. Mary J. died in 1949 and is buried with her family in the Antioch Baptist Church Cemetery. John D. Sutton John D. Sutton, (b. approximately 1850) a large landowner in the late 1800s, was noted as Dr. J.D. Sutton who worked in merchandising and later as a dry good merchant in the 1880 Census. Sutton and his wife Hattie were noted as boarders in John R. Jones’ household. He was a member of the Board of Trustees to the Woodbury School District in 1900 and co-founded the Woodbury Banking Company in 1891.49 The 1890 County Tax Digest record Sutton as having

44 Cyclone Tuesday Morning! Over 50 Houses Swept Away. Meriwether Vindicator, April 18, 1884. 45 National Archives and Records Administration. U.S. World War II Army Enlistment Records, 1938-1946 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc., 2005. 46 Ancestry.com. Georgia Deaths, 1919-98 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc., 2001. 47 James F. Smith, Cherokee Land lottery, 1832, page 308. 48 U.S. 1850 Census. 49 Lucian Lamar Knight, Georgia’s Landmarks, Memorials, and Legends, Vol. II, page 875. General Assembly of Georgia, Acts Passed by the General Assembly of Georgia, Vol. II, page 185.

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380 acres of land, 500 acres of town land valued at $1,520. He had $500 of money and debts. Some of his relatives are buried at the Woodbury Cemetery. Other local surnames to the larger Woodbury area included Betts, Dixon, Fuller, Gill, Wadell, Williams, and Lawrence, Mathews, Middlebrooks, Moreland, Moultrie, Stribling, and Strickland. Information for these families was limited. Historic Resources The McLendon Crossroads contains eight historic resources (see Appendix 6). The following historic resources have been surveyed by NAHRGIS (see Appendix 7):

Resource 103056, Old Ware Place, 455 Williamson Circle Resource 103632, 4976 Cedar Rock Road Resource 103124, Antioch Baptist Church and cemetery, 47 Williamson Circle Resource 103558, Ware Cemetery Resource 104028, General Store Resource 200042, 1966 Owens Road Resource 200048, 14703 Woodbury Highway Resource 200047, Barn

Nine other properties in the crossroads area are 50 years of age or older according to the Meriwether County Tax Assessors Office. They include:

14568 Woodbury Highway- 1890 one-story brick and vinyl sided residence located on the same parcel as Resource 200047

15739 Woodbury Highway- 1940 front-gable, three-bay vinyl sided bungalow residence 15973 Woodbury Highway- 1945 side-gable, three-bay vinyl sided Georgian Cottage

style residence 16023 Woodbury Highway- misidentified as the Old Ware Place, 1890 vinyl sided New

South Cottage style residence 16109 Woodbury Highway- 1954 brick ranch style residence 16153 Woodbury Highway- 1940 side gable residence 16239 Woodbury Highway- 1940 side gable residence 16810 Woodbury Highway- contains a 1941 ranch style residence, a 1996 mobile home,

and were currently constructing a modern residence upon survey 16511 Woodbury Highway- 1965 brick ranch style residence

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Figure 15. The Old Ware Place.

Resource 103056, Old Ware Place, 455 Williamson Circle Built in 1940, the frame, 4-bay one-story dwelling with a center cross gable is located on land lot 21 in the 8th district. The property is currently owned by Inez Faulk & et al. as part of the Aaron Williamson estate. The Williamson family was from Carroll County and moved to the area in the 1940s.50 Benjamin A. Williamson started as a sharecropper for a Mr. Martin Gibson before purchasing the Old Ware Place and his wife Cora worked at the pepper plant in Woodbury. The Williamson family purchased the 200 acre property from Solon W. Ware. According to Joanne Williamson Amerson, the original Ware homestead was demolished by the Williamson family, who built the current dwelling. The Williamsons raised 11 children including Joanne. Mr. Ware had purchased the property through a sheriff’s sale from H.A. and Sallie W. Ware in 1930. The property had earlier been in the hands of the estate of Martha G. Butts. Her estate willed the property to her son Sterling S. Jenkins in 1869. Willis and William McLendon gave the east and west halves of the land lot to Martha G. Butts in 1857. The brothers received the halves from James F. Walton in 1850. Carter Thomas gave one of the halves to James F. Walton in 1846. The “fortunate drawer” of land lot 21 in the 1827 land lottery was widow Fanny Brown.

50 Interview with Joanne Williamson Amerson, member of Antioch Baptist Church and longtime resident of Williamson Circle, Sept. 29, 2011.

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Figure 16. Dwelling at 4976 Cedar Rock Road.

Resource 103632, 4976 Cedar Rock Road The one-story, frame, 4-bay side-gable dwelling with a gabled ell projection and porch on the front elevation was built in 1925. The 1.5 acre property is currently owned by Virginia C. and Douglas Sands who received it from Mrs. Elvie Moultries, formerly Mrs. Elvie Sands. The property was previously owned by C.B. Garrett in the 1950s. The listing of the “fortunate drawer” of land lot 52 could not be found.

Figure 17. The Antioch Baptist Church.

Resource 103124, Antioch Baptist Church and cemetery, 47 Williamson Circle The congregation originated in Sandtown later known as Woodbury. The congregation split and some members established a church along the Greenville road (Woodbury Highway)