Robert “Bob” S. Baker Speaks At Chattooga County Historical Society

By Brad Hayes, CCHS Vice President of Publicity

 

     Robert “Bob” S. Baker was the guest speaker at the Chattooga County Historical Society’s meeting. About 100 people attended the 175^th birthday celebration of Chattooga County, last Sunday at the historic Summerville Depot.

     Chattooga County was created in 1838, after the State Senate amended the charter and voted 61-20. The State House approved the amended charter by a vote of 80-45. Georgia Governor George Gilmer signed the legislation creating Chattooga County on December 28, 1838.

     Robert “Bob” S. Baker addressed the audience for about an hour speaking on “The 10 Most Important or Notable Events In Chattooga County History.” Mr. Baker first explained the difference in an important event and a notable event. The integration of the public school system was an important event in Chattooga County. The murders at Corpsewood were a notable event in Chattooga County. Mr. Baker chose ten events that were important in his eyes.

     The first event was the creation of Chattooga County on Friday, December 28, 1838. Once the county was created, three locations were considered as the site of the county seat: Henry property near Summerville, Wayside property at the foot of Taylor’s Ridge, and the Selma property in Summerville. Selma was the desired site, and Elijah B. Moseley served as the Postmaster at Selma. In less than one year, the county seat at Selma was changed to Summerville.

     The second event was manufacturing in the county. Of the three largest manufacturing companies created, the cotton mill in Trion is the only one still in operation. The Trion Manufacturing Company’s roots go back to 1845, but were later changed in 1912 when Benjamin DeWitt Riegel purchased the cotton mill. In 1985, Riegel sold ownership to Robert B. Pamplin, Sr. Other early mills in operation were the Summerville Mill and the Raccoon or Berryton Mill. The Raccoon Mill started in 1883, and in 1910 Mr. John Berry bought the mill and changed the name to Berryton Mill.

     The third event was how the “War Between The States” affected Chattooga County. Mr. Andrew Perry Allgood, owner of the Trion Company, was a union sympathizer, but his support for the Union Army saved the mill and town. Mr. A.P. Allgood provided jobs for the returning soldiers, and paid them with Yankee dollars. Mr. Benjamin D. Riegel, owner of Riegel Textile Corporation, provided for the town of Trion residents and mill workers by building a Glove Mill during the Great Depression. The Glove Mill opened in 1931 creating 900 jobs.

     The fourth event was when the railroad arrived in Chattooga County. Between 1869 and 1874, five railroad companies were chartered, but no railroad lines were ever laid in the county until 1888. The first railroad line connected Chattanooga to Carrollton. The railroad always stopped in Trion to load cotton, and chert was hauled from Summerville to Atlanta.

     The fifth event was the creation of schools in Chattooga County. Before the integration of public schools, children received an education through personal tutors, academies, or poor schools. The tutors and the academies were costly, and the poor schools created a bad reputation for students. The next form of schooling in the county was called “Old Field” schools. The term described where the schools were built – in an open field on a farm. One example of a community school was Myers School (1895) located in the Halls Valley area. The county has had about 19 “Colored” schools. The first Colored School to integrate with a public school was Westside School with Trion City Schools in 1965. A.C. Carter School integrated with Chattooga County School in 1966. At one time, there were 10 high schools in Chattooga County. Bethel, Gore, Subligna, Lyerly, and Menlo all consolidated with Summerville prior to 1961.

     The sixth event was the importance of media in the county. The Summerville News has been in the Espy family for over 100 years. The town of Trion has printed three newspapers: Trion Echo, Trion Herald, and Trion Facts.

     The seventh event was the emergence of fruit crops in the county. As in most communities and mill villages in the South – “Cotton is King,” but peach and apple orchards emerged as the great crop in Chattooga County. A third fruit crop was strawberries. In 1903, there were near a million peach and apple trees in the county, and strawberries were grown and loaded on the train and shipped to Cincinnati, Ohio.

     The eighth event was the beginning of utilities in the county. The first phone call was made in 1897 from Rome to Trion. AT&T connected phone lines in 1902 for the county. The Trion Company generated power for the mill and residents as early as 1903. Georgia Railroad & Power lines covered county residents by 1924.

     The ninth event was the creation of banks in Chattooga County. The first bank in the county was The Bank of Commerce opened in 1891. Many of the county banks had financial problems, but one exception was the Bank of Trion, opened in 1912.

     The final event discussed by Mr. Baker was prominent families in Chattooga County that helped the county survive after economic struggles. The following families often served as a loaning company before banks were established. The county operated without banks for 53 years after the county creation. The following families were mentioned: Allgood, Bellah, Cleghorn, Edmondson, Espy, Penn, Martin, Rudcil, Sturdivant, and Taylor.