The Antioch Community's Historical Journey
as
"Yellow Stone Township"
By Bobbie Wright Grogan
With the aforementioned information that Polk County, Georgia
was created in 1851 from parts of Paulding County, we understand why the first
census from the newly established Polk County was in the year 1860. The following are the seven townships that
made up the county, and most, if not all of these had their own post
office: Hawkinsville, Yellow Stone, Van
Wert, Pumpkin Pile, Cedar Town, Vans Valley, and Easom Hill. These are the original spellings of the names
from the census.
The community
where Bednego Wright and his family settled in 1863 was then called the Yellow Stone
Township, which is currently known as the Antioch Community. It is a deeply historical community located
almost exactly midway between the current cities of Rockmart and Cedartown. There are 137 heads of households listed in
the 1860 Yellow Stone Census. We can note that many of the surnames listed below are still represented presently in this area. The heads of households listed in this census are as follows:
1. Berry A. Adison
2. N. V Adkin
3. Joel Adkins
4. Peter Agan
5. William Agan
6. Thomas Akin
7. J. C. Baldwin
8. John Baldwin
9. Thomas Baldwin
10. C. U. Barton
11. Susan E.
Blackman
12. Joel Brewer
13. James Brooks
14. John A. Brooks
15. Mariah Brooks
16. Micajah Brooks
*Only known Revolutionary War Soldier’s Grave in Polk County
17. William Brooks
18. J. B. Broom
19. Levi Broonee
20. John Bryant
21. Henry Burton
22. Sarah Burton
23. Daniel Byars
24.Elias A. Camp
25. William Camp
26. Edward C.
Carter
27. Melvin Check
(Cheek)
28. James Cheek
29. E. J. Childers
30. Martin Childers
31. N. F. Cobb
32. Amanda Cockran
33. James Cockran
34. Moses Cockran
35. Doctor Coots
36. William D. Crab
37. John Dugger
38. James Evans
39. Catharine
Ezzell
40. Henry Fincher
41. James Gallimore
42. Joseph B
Goddard
43. Caroline
Golding
44. William T.
Golding
45. David Griffin
46. Berry Gurley
47. Nancy C. Gurley
48. Sarah Gurley
49. James A.
Hackney
50. Edward Hampton
51. James Hardin
52. D. D. Heslep
53. John Hicks
54. E. D. Hightower
55. D. W. Horton
56. Thomas Hubbard
57. John Q.
Hutching
58. Thomas J. James
59. James L. B.
Johnson
60. Martha A.
Junior
61. Nancy Junior
62. Henry S.
Kilgore
63. Joseph Kitchen
64. Farrow
Langester
65. Green Lee
66. Burrell Leverit
67. M. R. Lewis
68. John Long
69. John B. Long
70. Margaret Long
71. Sarah, A.C.
Long
72. William Long
73. Jefferson
Lovell
74. Madison Lovell
75. Ann Martin
76. Charles A.
Marton
77. William L
McCormick
78. P. W. McCurry
79. Isaac McDowell
80. Mary McDowell
81. Amanda McGrady
82. John H. McGrady
83. John McGraw
84. Walter McGraw
85. John W. Morgan
86. Margaret Morgan
87. Sarah A. Morris
88. Thomas Morris
89. Lazarus Owens
90. Margaret Owens
91. Mary Parham
92. Rebecca Parham
93. G. W. Peck
94. Mary C. Peck
95. Thomas J. Peck
* Thomas Jefferson Peek, my 3rd great grandfather, Father in law to
Dr B. F. Wright, Mary Ella Peek’s father, and Yellow Stone Post Master 1860
96. William C. Peck
97. Caroline
Perkell
98. A. J. Perkins
99. Jackson Pollard
100. J. W. Reeves
101. Sarah F.
Riddlespurger
102. Thomas
Riddlespurger
103. John Roe
(Rowe) owned the land of Bednego’s prior to the Wright purchase; Rowe was Justice of the Peace
104. John L. Roe
105. Thomas Shaw
106. Hiram Spalding
107. Andrew J
Stewart
108. J. M. Stewart
109. Thomas
Swafford
110. Mary Swinney
111. R. W. Swinney
112. Martha E.
Terry
113. Elizabeth D.
Toler
114. Mary J. Toler
115. J.J. Underwood
116. William T.
Vernon
117. John N. Voyles
118. Benjamin
Waddel
119. William Waddel
120. Alford Waddle
121. Beverly
Wadkins
122. Moses White
123. James L.
Whitehead
124. James Sen
Whitehead (Senior)
125. F. M.
Whitfield
126. John C.
Williams
127. John Willson
128. M. Wilson
129. Marian Wilson
130. Robert Winn
131. C. H. Wood
132. J. B. Wood
133. William A.
Wood
134. Thomas J.
Wright (unrelated to Bednego Wright, as far as we know)
135. Eliza Wynn
136. William R.
Wynn
137. William W.
Wynn (The Wynns were the descendants of
Minor R. Wynn, who was the first pastor of Antioch Baptist Church. They were also related to the Bednego Wright
family through marriage, and they ran a mill on the Wright property.)
Judging from the names in the Census list of 1860, we see that the Indigenous
Cherokee and Creek people, who once made their homes here, are no longer present. Sadly,
there is not one reference to a Cherokee name or trace thereof by this time. They had been removed more than two decades
prior to 1860. Chances are that this small historic community, as we now know it, was
born shortly after the Trail of Tears.
One has to assume that the men and women listed above were undoubtedly the historical foundation of the post-indigenous community we now call Antioch. Many of these people were the assuredly the proactive leaders that established the initial opportunities of business, worship, and education that a viable Township of that time must possess to be prosperous. These pioneers are responsible for creating the small rural post
office, pony express, Antioch Academy, and general store that we know existed here
during that day. I believe the inception
of the name “Yellow Stone” came well before the year of 1840, as stated in an earlier post entitled Da-lon-ni-ge-i: Golden Antioch.
We have proof that our local community
church, Antioch Church was established and erected in 1843, according physical
church records and land deeds from that era of time. The church building was initially constructed as a pole cabin and a shared Place of Worship between the Methodists and the Baptists, where each denomination alternated use of the facility every other Sunday. All of this is additionally evidenced in a historical account written by Dr. Charles K. Henderson in a series of newspaper excerpts that were composed during 1897 through the early 1900s (article shown in italics below.)
In chapter twelve, or as I understand it, Henderson's twelfth historical column in the Cedartown Newspaper, he offers his audience a compiled personal and historical collection about the land and people around the Antioch community. He makes mention that the church was made
up of only five charter members. Those members
were Mr. and Mrs. Baldwin (Uncle Baldy) Peek, Mr. and Mrs. Morgan, and
Elizabeth Pollard. The first pastor of
the church was Rev. Minor Wynn.
Henderson speaks very highly of the pioneers of The Historic Antioch Community and its affluent
affiliations. Notice that he mentions
Dr. Benjamin (B. F) Wright a few times. As many of you are aware, he is the son of Bednego F. Wright and Mary Jenkins Wright, and he served as the local physician for the
Youngs and Antioch Communities during the late 1870s until his
death in 1898. Dr. Wright was also a state
legislator, as well as Surgical Medic in the Confederate States Army during the War. Benjamin Wright was only 14-16 years old at the time of his entry into Civil War Service.
The following is the
full chapter-twelve transcription of Dr. Charles K. Henderson’s Polk County History
collection from his newspaper columns, as it was initially transcribed by Mary Read in 1999. I have also made several minor grammatical corrections to the transcription, although I left some errors that place emphasis on the historically-relevant manner of Henderson's writing.
POLK COUNTY HISTORY
Written and Prepared by
Dr. Charles K. Henderson
Chapter Twelve
In a former paper I make reference to
the land titles of Polk County. In this paper you will find the exact amount of
the way the whites required the title to Polk County. In April, 1802, agreeable
to a treaty, Georgia ceded to the United States all the territory belonging to
her south of Tennessee, and west of the Chattahoochee up to the great bend,
thence west of the line direct to Nickajack Creek, near the present city of Chattanooga,
upon this condition: that the United States shall extinguish the Indian title
to all lands in the state of Georgia.
Some of the Indians were in favor of emigration, others were
not. In 1834 Eli Hicks, a son of an Indian chief, favored emigration and was
shot by a band of Indians. John Ross was opposed to removal and John Ridge was
in favor of it. Ridge’s side prevailed and a treaty with the Cherokees was
signed at New Echota, Dec. 21, 1835. In this treaty the Indians gave up their
lands in Georgia for five million dollars and a perpetual reservation of
7,000,000 acres of land west of the Mississippi River. The Indians were allowed
to remain in the state for two years after the confirmation of the treaty. On
May 18th, 1838, a force under General Scott began to collect the Indians. The
last of June 14,000 Cherokees commenced their march to the west of the
Mississippi. Meantime, Major Ridge and his son, John Ridge, were murdered.
These were the first martyrs to removal. All genuine movements must be cemented
in the blood of their founders. The Cherokees have advanced in civilization
since their removal.
Soon after the removal of the Indians, there came to Antioch Township,
"Baldy" Peek, Augustus Young, Joseph Morgan, Sr., Woodson Hubbard, A.
J. Stewart and Mrs. E. Pollard.
Uncle Baldy Peek came to Polk County in 1839 on a January day.
Polk was then Paulding County. He lived first in Collard Valley until 1834 in a
pole cabin on the place now owned by John T. Phillips. At that time between his
home and Cedartown there were living only two families, a distance of
six-yards. These families were those of Ab Whatley and John Strong. Ab Whatley
married a daughter of Governor Lumpkin. Many will remember that Governor Lumpkin’s’
wife died at Mr. John C. Lumpkin’s, near Cedartown, in the late Seventies. At
one time it was necessary for Uncle Baldy and John Strong to buy themselves a
hat each, perhaps of wool, of coon, or beaver fur. And what do you imagine they
paid the storekeeper, who was also a distiller, for a hat apiece? Fourteen
barrels of corn! One thing is certainly true, either hats were dear or corn
whiskey was cheap.
In those days, whiskey was a necessity, and water was the
beverage. And this order of things has not changed with some today. But hats
are cheaper, and whiskey is dearer, just
as dear as ever. Seventy bushels of corn for one hat then! Please consider
this--Uncle Baldy even hauled the corn several miles and was glad to make the
trade besides. In 1843 Uncle Baldy moved to where Dr. Wright now lives. This
was his home until the day of his death. At that time between Collard Valley
and Antioch, ten miles, there was but one dwelling.
In 1843, a pole cabin was organized Antioch Baptist church,
of five members, namely: Joseph Morgan and wife, Baldwin Peek and wife and
Elizabeth Pollard. The first pastor of Antioch was Rev. Minor Wynne, father of
our fellow citizen, R. C. Wynne. Afterwards, Revs. Van Brewster, Camp,
Mountain, Pittman, Reynolds and others were faithful pastors. Rev. Mr. Davis is
now the shepherd of the flock.
In 1846, E. D. Hightower moved to Antioch. He was a man of
great enterprise, and established a farm, grist and flour mills, and a
wool-carding business. He also had a bee industry, and raised sheep. Mr.
Hightower was a good and useful man. He lived long over the three score and
ten. In the early Fifties, C. H. Wood moved to Antioch and was prominent in
church and in all civil matters. He made a success of farming and died lamented
by many.
During the War Between the States, B. F. Wright came to
Antioch and has served his generation faithful as a physician and legislator.
His popularity is very great. After the war, a number of families moved to Antioch from
South Carolina. With these came Dr. Russell, who served a term in the Georgia
Legislature and has been a leading physician and Baptist during his residence
in Polk.
R. W. Everett came to Antioch after the war, and has served
his generation both as a teacher and Congressman. He has taught the people how
to live at home and make farming pay. He should do one thing more before he
passes away to make the circuit of his example complete. May he live long after
he had done that, and return "serum ad coelum."
O. B. Pullen was one of the men who helped to make Antioch.
After the war the improvement of Antioch was rapid. Better homes took the place
of pole cabins, farms were improved and schools were established. Antioch is
noted for an industrious, law abiding, Christian citizenship. The pioneers of
Antioch were God-fearing men. Her people have not figured largely in the
courts. They pay their debts and obey the law.
Antioch has given to the county one Congressman, one State
Senator, four Representatives, two Baptist preachers, two County Treasurers,
three reputable physicians, besides machinists and farmers of the best kind.
Since 1846, the Methodists and Baptists have jointly owned and been worshiping in the same church with little or no friction.
But, alas, the pioneers are gone. We miss them now. Their
influence lives and Antioch is dear for what she has been and is now. Let the
sons make her more glorious than ever. (Charles K. Henderson)
We are the “sons” that Dr. Henderson challenges in his last
statement. I have an unrelenting conviction that I personally must
live up to this expectation, to earnestly continue what our forefathers sought to create here
in Antioch for God, the community, and for posterity’s sake. We have
been blessed by our Heavenly Father with such a beautiful landscape and a strong heritage here, and the
responsibility lies within us to see that it continues to be great when we ourselves have since departed. We are the Legacy...God's Legacy, the Legacy of these industrious Pioneers of Yellow Stone, and the Legacy of our fathers and mothers. Are WE personally responsible for making our home, church, land, community, and our offspring "more glorious than ever?" I would have to answer that with a resounding, "Yes, we are!"
© Bobbie Wright Grogan 2014
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