Mr. J.A. Prior, of Esom Hill, brought to our office the other day some
extracts from an old book, "Historical Collections of Georgia," which was
dedicated by the author to Jas. Hamilton Couper, Hon. Geo. R. Gilmer and
Hon. Jos. H. Lumpkin. It has the following to say of this section, which
will be read with interest by our older citizens.
Polk County
This is a new county laid out in 1851. It is bounded east by Paulding, west
by the state of Alabama, south by Carroll, and north by Floyd and Cass.
Length, 24 m; breath; 20 m. Named after the late James K. Polk, President of
the United States. The streams are Pumpkin Pile, Euharlee, Cedar, etc. In
some parts the lands are of excellent quality, yielding cotton, corn, wheat,
rye, etc. Cedartown, in Cedar Valley, is the capital, handsomely located, 18
miles from Rome, 25 from Dallas, and 9 from Cave Spring. At Cedartown is one
of the finest limestone springs in the state. It is surrounded by a
beautiful natural growth of cedar. The spring affords water sufficient to
move machinery of several horse-power. It is proposed to supply the town
with water by means of a hydraulic ram. We feel peculiar pleasure in stating
that the citizens of this county take a deep interest in the subject of
education. At Cedartown there is an excellent school called the Woodlawn
Seminary under the direction of the Rev. Mr. Wood, a gentleman of very
superior qualifications. The institution is yet in its incipiency, but we
feel confident that it will soon occupy a high rank among the many resorts
of learning of which Georgia may justly be proud. The following are the
names of some of the persons living in the county at the time of its
organization, viz; Thomas H. Sparks, Dr. E. H. Richardson, Wm. Peek, Asa
Prior, Col. Springer, R. C. Gibson, Wm. F. Janes, W. E. West, G. W. West,
James O. Griggs, B. F. Bigelow, W. O. B. Whatley, B. Crabb. The first
Superior court in this county was held on the second Monday of September
1852. (The Cedartown Standard, Cedartown, GA., March 20, 1919)
Submitted by 9-30-2003
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