Georgia Natural Wonder #126 - Watson Mill Bridge State Park/Smithonia/Madison Co.1160

[Top Row Dawg]

Georgia Natural Wonder #126 - Watson Mill Bridge State Park – Smithonia – Madison County.

We did a post GNW #124 on Shaking Rock Park with a tangent on Oglethorpe County last week. We left another spot in the county to explore as we make our way to what deserves to be a separate Georgia Natural Wonder, Watson Mill Bridge State Park. It sits on the border of Oglethorpe and Madison counties. Since we touch Madison County, we have an excuse to tangent, so let's get started.



As I traveled the back roads of Oglethorpe County on the way to Watson Mill Bridge State Park as a student at UGA in the 1980’s, I remember passing this dramatic Plantation home with a vast view.


1980's

It turned out to be Smithonia (also known as Smithsonia). In the northwestern part of the county, the house is the hub of another historic Oglethorpe County community. I went back there recently in my travels around Athens.


This summer.

Historic Smithonia Farm, a premier event facility, is conveniently located in Oglethorpe County, just 20 minutes from Athens. Built in 1888, three large, brick barns with a beautifully landscaped courtyard and 200 acres of rolling pastures create the perfect setting to personalize your event. Smithonia is an unincorporated community in Oglethorpe County, Georgia, United States at the intersection of Crawford-Smithonia and Smithonia Roads. It is also the name of a historical plantation listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1984.



Smithonia is the nearest community to Howard's Covered Bridge, three miles away. The nearest city is Comer. Smithonia, was founded and named by Georgia State Senator James Monroe Smith. In the post-Civil War economy, Smith nurtured a small farm into the state's largest plantation.

History

Originally called Pleasant Hill, the community began as the thirty-square-mile plantation of Smith, an entrepreneur, farmer, gubernatorial candidate, and railroad developer. When the plantation became economically self-sufficient, it acquired a post office and was renamed Smithonia.



The land was part of Georgia agricultural tycoon and state legislator Smith's property holdings. It was built in 1866 in a "Plantation Plain" architectural style. The Smith and Dunlap Railroad connected the property with the Georgia Railroad at Dunlap, Georgia. The rail line was also used to construct Howard's Covered Bridge.



Tangent Howard’s Bridge

Man I totally missed this dang it. Will have to revisit area one day. Howard's Covered Bridge goes over the Big Cloud's Creek. It was built in 1904-05 and is 164 feet long. Constructed in the Town lattice design using convict labor, the 164-foot bridge’s web of planks crisscrosses at 45-to 60-degree angles and are fastened with wooden pegs, or trunnels, at each intersection. The south Georgia timber used in the bridge was transported to Smithonia via the Smith and Dunlap Railroad, a standard gauge steam railroad connecting the farm complex of James Monroe Smith with the Georgia Railroad at Dunlap.



The bridge was named for the pioneer family that settled in the area in the late 1700s. Located in a very isolated section of historic Oglethorpe County, this bridge suffered from neglect and was in desperate need for rehabilitation. Some of the pictures below show the bridge while it was being repaired during April 1998. Those repairs are now complete.



The original builder of this bridge is listed in Covered Bridges of Georgia as a "Mr. Hunt," which probably is the same person who is known to have built Cromer's Mill bridge: J. M. "Pink" Hunt. The Covered Bridge Trail of Georgia brochure states that this bridge was built by Pink Hunt and Washington King together.



Whoever built the bridge was ambitious: this bridge had the longest main span, 130 feet, of any surviving bridges. At some point in time a wooden pier was built to shore up the long span so the claim of longest unsupported span now belongs to the Red Oak Creek Bridge.



The site is marked by a historical marker posted by the Georgia Historical Society at the southern end of Chandler Silver Road at the intersection with Cloud's Creek Road, 1.3 miles west of the Cloud's Creek Baptist Church marker.

Back to Smithonia

Somebody added this addendum James M. Smith held hundreds of debt slaves on a farm that stretched thirty miles from the town he named after himself: In the post-Civil War economy, Smith nurtured a small farm into the state's largest plantation. He became a major buyer of convicts soon after Georgia's Reconstruction government was toppled by a campaign of voter fraud and Ku Klux Klan violence. For workers he relied on an army of convict slaves, including many African Americans he had owned before the war or their descendants.



If workers tried to flee, Smith relied on deputy sheriffs to recapture them and his own overseers to inflict brutal punishments. "They had dogs to trail them with so they always got caught, and then the whipping boss beat them almost to death," John Hill said. "It was awful to hear them hollering and begging for mercy. If they hollered 'Lord have mercy!' Marse Jim didn't hear them, but if they cried, "Marse Jim have mercy!' then he made them stop the beating. He say, 'The Lord rule Heaven, but Jim Smith ruled the earth.'"



Built in 1888, with three large, brick barns.



Beaver Dam Farms

Nearby I found this listing for Kenny Rogers’s old house at Smithonia. A truly iconic estate located on 966.07 acres developed by singer songwriter, Kenny Rogers. The property is located just outside of Athens Georgia. Included with the property are numerous improvements including the 13,850 sq ft, 7 bedroom, 7½ bath main house, a 72,000 sq ft equestrian center, an 18 hole par 72 golf course, seven private residential guest houses with a commercial dining hall, two swimming pools, 2 rubico tennis courts, and many other improvements.



The property has many potential uses such as a private club, a mixed use residential community, corporate retreat or continue as a private estate. A must see to appreciate the landscaping and the beauty of the property and all the improvements.

Watson Mill Bridge State Park

Divided by the winding South Fork River, Watson Mill Bridge State Park boasts Georgia’s longest covered bridge still in use, preserving a link to the culture of a bygone era and opening passageways to outdoor activities, rustic overnight experiences and equestrian adventures. The bridge is named for Gabriel Watson, who once operated a gristmill several hundred feet down river from the bridge.


Nothing to see at old Mill Site, but this spillway goes for a way on the Oglethorpe shore.

One of the most picturesque state parks in Georgia, Watson Mill Bridge spans 229 feet across the South Fork River. Built in 1885 by Washington (W.W.) King, at a cost of $3,000. He was the son of freed slave and famous covered-bridge builder Horace King. Though the bridge was renovated in 1973, the original truss system still supports it. The bridge is supported by a town lattice truss system held firmly together with tree nails and wooden pins. At one time, Georgia had more than 200 covered bridges; today, less than 20 remain.


View from Madison County shore.

The park is an ideal spot for an afternoon picnic or overnight stay in the quiet campground. Hiking, biking and horseback riding trails allow visitors to enjoy the thick forest and river. During summer, visitors often play in the cool river shoals just below the bridge. Watson Mill Bridge State Park has become a popular destination for horse owners who have their own camping area near stalls.



Watson Mill Bridge State Park is a 1,018 acre Georgia state park located near Comer and Carlton on the South Fork of the Broad River. The site is listed on the National Register of Historic Places as the Watson Mill Covered Bridge and Mill Historic District. The park also offers a scenic nature trail and a new hiking/horse trail that winds through the thick forests and along the river’s edge.



Covered Bridge

This 229-foot W. W. King bridge, built in 1885, replaced an earlier structure that the owner of the original mill, Gabriel Watson, built near the site of the present bridge. One of the occasional "freshets" (floods) that was created by the rise of the South Fork of the Broad River washed the old bridge away.



At the start of the 20th century the mill south of the bridge was purchased by Jefferson Mills in Crawfordville, who built a hydroelectric dam to power the machinery many miles away. Little remains of the original mill, but a good deal remains of the dam, which produced power until the 1950's, when it was no longer economically feasible for Jefferson Mills to generate its own power.



The land sat dormant for 20 years, finally being donated to the state of Georgia that began a restoration effort in 1971. The park opened in 1973 as a camping and recreational park with the centerpiece bridge as a major attraction.

Watson Mill Bridge today

Most people journey to Watson Mill Bridge State Park to see the bridge and enjoy the cool water of the Broad River. You can bring a bathing suit and have a good time all day sliding on the rocks and frolicking in the cool water.





What many people dont realize is that more than 1,000 acres comprise this park, most of it forested with abundant flora and fauna. Superintendent Lee Moon has been increasing the amount of hiking trails and mountain bike trails within the park. Currently for hikers there are seven miles of paths including an interpreted trail to the old power generation station, and five miles of easy to moderate mountian bike paths.


The next several images were from the Madison County side below the bridge and main shoals.

Horseback riders have 14 miles of designated trails with a separate camping area and stalls, but horse rentals are not available.

Nature Trail

The 2 miles of nature trails run along the south side of the South Fork River and Big Clouds Creek. Portions of the trails wander through the historical portions of the park along the old powerhouse sluiceway, also know as a raceway. This man-made waterway channel is about 300 yards long and runs from the old dam just below the covered bridge to a second dam just above the foundation of the old powerhouse.



The powerhouse generated electricity for a textile mill 10 miles away in Crawford, GA, for nearly half a century, beginning in 1905. The overlook at the head of this trail affords a view of the covered bridge and shoals below. At this site, the original Watson’s Mill, gone by the end of the 1800s, once sat. The rest of the trails beyond the old powerhouse ruin meander through the woods along the banks of the river and creek and pass by the camping area.

Biking & Hiking Trail

This six feet wide 2.5-mile loop trail runs along the north side of the South Fork River and is one of the most popular trails for hiking, mountain biking, and jogging. The trail meanders through hardwood and mixed forests and provides one of the best views of the lower shoals of the river.



About half way around the loop is an overlook at the edge of what was once a natural beaver pond. Over the years, natural succession has taken place and the former pond area has now become a meadow. It most likely will eventually become part of the forest. Will it ever be a pond again? Only time, Mother Nature and the beavers will tell. For the mountain biker, this trail is not overly technical as it is designed for beginners and intermediates. There are a few fairly steep grades. The entire trail is under shaded canopy. Whether you hike or bike, you will see a lot of biodiversity in the various types of environments the trail covers.

Beaver Creek Trail

This six feet wide 1.5-mile loop trail runs up Beaver Creek and over a high ridge back through the hardwood forests on its return. The creek was once the site of several beaver ponds. The beavers left this creek area in the mid 1990s after a period of heavy downpours washed away the beaver dams. They now are most often seen in the river.



As time goes on, the beavers may return. But even so, this area is an important wetland habitat. Birding opportunities abound on all trails, but especially on the trails on the north side of the river. This trail is for hiking, biking, and jogging. At the head of where the beaver ponds once began, there is a short rocky section and the entire trail is under shaded canopy.

Ridge Loop Trail

This six feet wide .75 mile trail begins in sight of the covered bridge where Beaver Creek dumps into the South Fork River. If you look carefully, to the right of the trail as it begins to climb up the ridge, old wheel ruts from “buggy days” can be seen when a horse and wagon was the mode of transportation. Ferns can now be seen growing in the old ruts.



While heavily wooded with big trees providing a shaded canopy, the top of the ridge was once planted in cotton in the late 1800s. Much of the park was once in agricultural use whether planted in cotton or fenced for livestock. While this loop is just under a mile, it is also part of the overall trail system that accommodates hikers, mountain bikers, and joggers.

Horse Trails

Presently, there are 12 miles of horse trails in the park. These trails are designed for equestrians. Bicycles are not allowed on these trails. Dogs are also not allowed on horse trails. These trails go through a variety of environments. While almost unnoticeable, there are remains of old home sites from the 1800s. An agriculture society once occupied this area and, as the years have gone by, nature is taking back what had been altered by man. The state park was established in 1970. However, until the state park acquired additional land in the mid 1990s, private companies were managing portions of the properties for timber production. The overall state park management plan is to help provide sound resource preservation and conservation. However, due to the various uses of the land before it was acquired by the state park, there are numerous environments from “natural” forested areas to formerly “timber” managed areas. Along the creeks, large hardwoods with high canopies will be seen.



Some of the formerly “timber” managed areas are now predominately pine forests and a few “old” abandoned field areas. While the park is full of wildlife, the deer population is truly wild and at the first sign of a person hiking a trail a deer will usually scatter. If you are riding horseback, the deer will generally stand in place for riders to get close-up views (the deer seem to see the trail rider as just another critter rather than a human). Because of the soil types in this area of the country, there are no “through the stream” trail crossings as streams are all crossed by way of culvert bridges. While there are some grades, most trail riders consider Watson Mill Bridge trails’ terrain is not as steep as mountain trails further north nor as flat as the trails further south. This is one of the reasons equestrian trails are so popular at this site. There is something for everyone. At the head of the horse trail system, there is a camping area for equestrians wishing to stay longer than just a day. Visit gastateparks.org/equestrian to find more information about equestrian trail requirements.



Water spilling from Spillway, and walk along dam.



Beside the covered bridge, river, and nearby recreation, Watson Mill State Park has a small camping area with RV sites, the mill pond and picnic shelters available for renting.



Frolicking in the shoals is still the main thing.



Due to the height (9-foot clearance) and weight (3-ton limit) restrictions for the covered bridge, regular RV campers should enter from Highway 22. Equestrian campers should enter the park from Highway 72.



Madison and Oglethorpe counties share Watson Mill Bridge State Park on the South Fork of the Broad River. We already covered Oglethorpe County with a wrap up of Smithonia today. We are on the Madison County side of the bridge so let’s take this opportunity to explore another county of Georgia.

Tangent Madison County

Madison County is a county located in the northeastern part of the U.S. state of Georgia. The county seat is Danielsville. The county's largest city is Comer with a population of 1,200. According to the 2010 U.S. census, the population of Madison County was 28,120, an increase from the 2000 population of 25,730.

History

Originally inhabited by Creek and Cherokee Indians, the land was gradually ceded during the colonial period to Governor James Wright of Georgia and was organized into two counties—Wilkes and Franklin. Eventually that land was divided into smaller counties, and Madison County was created from portions of Clarke, Elbert, Franklin, Jackson, and Oglethorpe counties on December 5, 1811, by an act of the state legislature. Georgia's thirty-eighth county was named for James Madison, fourth president of United States, from 1809 to 1817. He was president at the time of its creation.



Danielsville, the county seat, was named for General Allen Daniel, a state legislator who played an important role in the creation of the new county.



He is also known for ordering the construction of Fort Daniel, in present-day Gwinnett County, during the War of 1812 (1812-15).



Hog Mountain will be a future GNW. Here are plans for Fort Daniel on Hog Mountain.



Settlers in the area were primarily Revolutionary War veterans who had acquired land through land grants. Madison County's most famous native is Crawford Williamson Long. Born in Danielsville in 1815, Long was the first physician to use sulfuric ether as anesthesia during surgery.





As a young doctor in Jefferson (in neighboring Jackson County) he used the gas in 1842 when he removed a tumor from the neck of James Venable for two dollars. We detailed that in GNW #122 - Hurricane Shoals - Jackson County.



Besides being the birthplace of Long, Madison County is home to several other historic landmarks. New Hope Presbyterian Church, established in 1788, is Georgia's third oldest church.


Can't find anything on Church, but did find this view of cemetery with present day church in background.

The most recognizable site in Madison County is the old courthouse. Completed in 1901 for $18,314, the brick structure stands in the center of the Danielsville town square.



Also listed on the National Register of Historic Places, it is one of Georgia's most ornate courthouses. It was used continuously as a courthouse and county offices from 1901 until 1996, when officials moved to a more spacious county complex.



Sad History

It is interesting the edits on these Wikipedia pages exposing the warts of things. There were 6 lynchings in Madison County. On April 11, 1936, 45-year-old a black man, [called Lint Shaw in newspaper accounts] was arrested by Madison County police in connection with the rape of two white girls. Shaw, who resisted arrest, was shot three times by police before being taken to the county jail in Danielsville. By late evening, word had spread of Shaw's arrest, and a crowd of about 150 white Danielsville residents gathered at the jail, demanding Shaw be released to them. The crowd began prying apart the brick wall of the jail when 74-year-old judge Berry Mosely, who had been confined to bed with an illness, arrived and began talking down the crowd. In the meantime, the county sheriff began rounding up deputies, and called in nearby National Guard soldiers. Judge Mosely ordered the sheriff to take Shaw to a hospital, and when the National Guard soldiers arrived, they backed a truck up to the jail and sped away to Athens before the crowd could react. No one was severely injured in the incident, but the damaged jail had to be repaired. Two weeks later, Shaw was escorted back to Danielsville to face trial. The mob reappeared, and Mosely again ordered Shaw moved away for his safety, this time to Royston. That location was not far enough to protect him from the mob, which followed Shaw to the jail there. In the middle of the night, the mob stormed the jail and lynched Shaw. The mob riddled Mr. Shaw's body with bullets leaving his hanging body to be found the next day. His death was the 468th lynching in Georgia since 1889.



As if that was not enough Sad History, We have another lynching of Lt. Col. Lemuel Penn, a decorated veteran of World War II and a United States Army Reserve officer, was murdered by members of the Ku Klux Klan on July 11, 1964, nine days after passage of the Civil Rights Act. Penn was shot to death on a Broad River bridge on the Georgia State Route 172 in Madison County, near Colbert. Just before the highway reaches the Broad River, the Klansmen's Chevy II pulled alongside the Chevy Biscayne. The Klansman, Cecil Myers, raised a shotgun and fired. From the back seat, Howard Sims, also a member of the Ku Klux Klan, did the same.



When a local jury failed to convict the suspects of murder, the federal government successfully prosecuted the men for violations under the new Civil Rights Act of 1964. They went to jail for 6 years.

Primarily a Farm County

Early agriculture in Madison County was devoted to food crops and livestock (cattle, hogs and sheep), which was sufficient to feed the population. Madison has been primarily an agricultural county for most of its history. In the nineteenth century farmers grew corn, beans, pumpkins, and later cotton and oats.



The latter half of the nineteenth century saw the introduction of beef and dairy farming as well. Just after the Civil War ended, the demand for a cash crop led to a major reliance on cotton. The soils of Madison County were heavily damaged by this cotton monoculture, making it useless for crop farming.From the 1930s on, agriculture became more diverse. Since 2003, agribusiness dominates the local economy, with poultry production particularly important.



Incorporated Towns in the county are Carlton, Colbert, Comer, Danielsville, Hull, and Ila.

Carlton

An early variant name of Carlton was "Berkeley", to avoid confusion with Carrollton, Georgia.The Georgia General Assembly incorporated Carlton in 1892.


The city has a total area of 1.0 square mile.

Colbert

The Georgia General Assembly first incorporated the place in 1899 as the "Town of Five Forks"; the town was officially renamed "Colbert" in 1909 by a new act of legislature. The present name is after James Fletcher Colbert, an early settler.


The city has a total area of 0.9 square miles.

Colbert is known for its tradition of an Independence Day parade and festival, which draws crowds of nearly 10,000 people every year and has hosted celebrities including Hee Haw's Archie Campbell and fertilizer salesman turned comedian Jerry Clower.



In May 2010, Colbert declined to invite comedian Stephen Colbert to the parade despite a petition drive that gathered 499 signatures, because the parade was not deemed an appropriate venue for his visit being a solemn day.

Comer

The City of Comer's motto is "Make Our Town Your Town".



Comer is the largest city in Madison County based on population and total land area. The city has a total area of 3.2 square miles. Comer is unusual among small towns in Georgia because it is actually a planned community. When the town was platted out, an engineer and a pioneer citizen named A. W. Jones was hired to draw out the map of the town, and lay out the streets.



The present City of Comer was incorporated by an Act of the Georgia Legislature on January 1, 1893.

Danielsville

Danielsville was named for General Allen Daniel (1772-1836), Major-General of the Fourth Division of Georgia Militia 1812-17 and both state senator and representative of Elbert and Madison Counties, and Speaker of the Georgia House of Representatives in 1822. His father was at one time thought to be a Captain Allen Daniel of Virginia, a veteran of the American Revolutionary War, but this has been disproved. In 1812, Danielsville was designated seat of the newly formed Madison County.


Danielsville Hardware then and now.

Danielsville was incorporated as a town in 1817 and as a city in 1908.

Hull

The Georgia General Assembly incorporated Hull as a town in 1905. The community most likely was named after Reverend Hope Hull, a Methodist Church leader. The city has a total area of 0.3 square miles. Hull, is known as "The Well City" from a long-standing water well in the center of town. No images found of Hull. Always been just a city name on an exit on Athens Perimeter Highway to me.

Ila

The Georgia General Assembly incorporated the Town of Ila in 1910. Ila is a name derived from the Choctaw language meaning "dead".  Shortest City name in Georgia.


The city has a total area of 0.8 square miles.

Unincorporated Communities

Paoli

A post office called Paoli was established in 1854, and remained in operation until 1903. The community's name is a transfer from Paoli, Pennsylvania.


The Paoli Historic District, centered around the junction of County Roads 334 and 331, was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2002

Bond - Bluestone - Jeptha - Shiloh - Neese

Sanford

A post office called Sanford was established in 1892, and remained in operation until 1905.

Sanford.

The community most likely was named after John W. A. Sanford, a United States Congressional Representative from the state of Georgia.

Pocataligo

Variant names are "Pocatalago", "Pocateligo" and "Pocotalago". A post office called Pocataligo was established in 1900, and remained in operation until 1903. The Georgia General Assembly incorporated Pocataligo as a town in 1920. The town's municipal charter was repealed in 1995. Nothing to see here evidently (As per Web).

Harrison - Fort Lamar - Diamond Hill - Blue Stone

Madison County is also home to Jubilee Partners.  A sister program to Habitat for Humanity, Jubilee partners is a 258-acre Christian Service Community located on Jubilee Road in the City of Comer, founded in 1979 by a small group of people from Koinonia Farms in Americus, Georgia.



The group wanted to locate a community in Northeast Georgia because they already had one in Southwest Georgia. Koinonia Farms in Americus is a similar service community founded in 1942.

Notable people

Allen Daniel, Jr. - Major General, Speaker of the Georgia House of Representatives, State Senator, namesake of Danielsville.

Josh Fields - Major League baseball player.


Woo a Dawg!

Crawford W. Long - the man who first used ether in surgery was born in Danielsville.

Ralph Hudgens - Georgia Insurance and Safety Fire Commissioner.



Jake Westbrook - former Major League baseball player.


Almost a Dawg!

Our GNW Gals today are all Brides at Smithonia. I am going to leave these images large as there are some remarkable ladies here in the Wedding parties.


Black Dresses.


Blue Dresses.


Pink Dresses.

Back to the Mountains next as we rotate from Classic South to Mountains in this stretch of Georgia Natural Wonders.