Mindful of the threat, Colonel Blair reported the
approach of 2,000 Indians on their way toward Lowndes County and requested a
hundred muskets, cartridge boxes, and ammunition to protect the county's
exposed position. Before the governor could respond with arms or men,
Lowndes countians fought the battle of
Brushy Creek, which took place July 10, 1836. Levi J. Knight described the
fight to the governor, who later commended Knight and his comrades for their
bravery. Knight wrote that both Enoch Hall and Hamilton Sharpe were in
charge of companies of militia. In the course of tracking the Indians
through Lowndes, fifteen men commanded by Captain Sharpe formed a battalion
with thirty-one men from Thomas County after they discovered Indians in the
fork of the Little River and Big Warrior Creek. Following the trail for
three miles down the east side of the river, Sharpe and his soldiers
encountered about sixty warriors and their families. In the ensuing fight,
Captain Sharpe lost one man, Mr. P. Folsom, and one wounded, when he was
forced to retreat. Reinforced by the remainder of the battalion, the Lowndes
men pursued the Indians for another three miles and found them on a pine
ridge, their rear protected by a cypress pond, and in their front a wide,
open, boggy meadow. A general engagement commended about 9 o'clock a. m. and
after a severe fight for two hours, the Indians were completely routed, with
a loss of twenty-two Indians and two Negroes killed, that were seen, and
many wounded. Of the militia, Bartow Ferrell of Thomas County and Edwin D.
Shanks of Lowndes County were killed and nine wounded.
Norman Campbell, John McDermott, Robert N. Parrish, Pennywell Folsom, Ashley
Lawson, Edwin D. Shanks, West Roundtree and others were among those going to
the battle from around Troupville.
The successful result of this fight soon became known far and wide, and the
Indians never gave the settlers of South Georgia any more trouble. An
occasional party was seen, but none of them proved troublesome and the
country was soon entirely free of Indians.
Growth of Troupville - Lowndes County
Troupville continued to grow rapidly and soon became a town with stores,
residences, mechanic shops and churches. And after a time a court house was
built. In a short while the town became the trading center of this section.
In the 1840 census Lowndes County was recorded as having 4,475 white people
and 1,662 Negroes. Several saw mills, grist mills, rice mills, a good many
stores and other industries were recorded. The taxable property of the
county was well over two million. By the year 1842 there were about five
hundred inhabitants in Troupville. The court house stood in the center of
the big square, and the jail, a "grocery" and Smith's stables were on the
back of the lot. The court house was a two story building, court being held
in the lower floor, while several lawyers had offices in the upper story.
There were three hotels and four stores, several mechanic shops and grist
mills, and homes for twenty families. Among the storekeepers were Aaron and
Moses Smith. William Smith operated a hotel across the street from the
courthouse called that he called "Tranquil Hall," and he and his wife were
famous for their hospitality. Morgan Swain operated another hotel. Dr. Henry
Briggs, an admired physician with a large practice, had a drug store in
Troupville. Also among the buildings in Troupville were the separate law
offices of Captain Platt, M. B. Bennett and William L. Morgan. Among the
residences in the town were those of Dr. Briggs, Dr. Thomas W. Ellis, Joshua
W. Griffin, Powhatan Whittle, Moses Smith, Jr., Henry Smith, Isaac DeLyon
and Colonel Leonoren DeLyon.
There were two churches in the village at this time--a Baptist and
Methodist. Just across the Withlacoochee River stood a Primitive Baptist
church. The only newspaper published in this section of the state was edited
and printed at Troupville by Colonel Leonoren DeLyon. The paper was called
"The South Georgia Watchman." It was ably edited and was a power in this
section.
Just across the river from the town was a clear, cool spring, known as
Morgan's Spring, as the Morgan family lived nearest to it. The spring was
famed far and wide for its purity and refreshing qualities. The stage coach
always stopped at Morgan's Spring, which was only a short distance from the
public road and near the bridge where the stage crossed in going over the
Withlacoochee River. The passengers always wanted to get out and see the
noted spring and many of them refreshed themselves with its cool waters.
Lowndes County was represented in the General Assembly by one Representative
and one Senator from 1825 until 1845. Lowndes was in the Fifth Senatorial
District when the old district system for senators went into force. This
lasted until 1853, when the new system went into effect and Lowndes was
placed in the Sixth Senatorial District.
Valdosta
Lowndes Countians had long anticipated the coming of a railroad and many had
invested in railroad stock believing that their investment assured the
construction of a rail line through Mill Town and Troupville. However, when
the new Atlantic and Gulf Railroad did extend its right of way from Savannah
toward Pensacola, it was on a line which ran four miles south of Troupville.
In the Georgia of 1859 location on a rail line was vital to the progress of
a town, and Lowndes Countians determined to benefit from the trade that a
railroad would bring. Therefore they had the legislature appoint
commissioners William H. Goldwire, James Harrell, John B. Stapler and Dennis
Worthington to choose a location on the rail line and in the center of the
county for the place of county business and to call it Valdosta.
In choosing a name for their county seat, the citizens of Lowndes did not
wish to transfer the name of Troupville to the new town; yet, they wished to
retain the association with the admired Governor Troup. Several names were
suggested, but it remained for Col. Leonoren DeLyon, editor of the "South
Georgia Watchman," to have the honor of suggesting the name finally
selected. Col. DeLyon suggested that the place be named for one of Governor
Troup's plantations, Val de Osta, in Laurens County. The source of the name
was a town, valley and district in northwestern Italy. De Lyon modified the
spelling to Valdosta. Throughout the years, Valdostans have maintained that
the phrase meant Vale of Beauty.
