Liberty

Remembering Mrs. Doris Shuler and summer fun at White Springs

November 5, 2010

by Tony Anderson The recent passing of Mrs. Doris Shuler, who in my personal opinion will always be one of Liberty County’s’ greatest ladies, has conjured up memories of what she has meant to me and how White Springs was one of my favorite places to go when I was growing up. When I think of Ms. Doris, I think of White Springs because that is the first place that I saw her. Every time I went to White Springs she was there. She seemed to know everybody and would always greet me with a smile as I paid...

Read more »

Ida Larkins to others, she was ‘Bunny’ to her grandchildren

June 20, 2010
Ida Larkins to others, she was ‘Bunny’ to her grandchildren

by Harriet Revell Brady, granddaughter of Ida Larkins Thanksgiving Day, any guest in the world would say – “I’ll invite Bunny back.” Since I was the first grandchild to give her a title, and she never liked Grandma names anyway, “Bunny” suited us both. Ida Larkins, to others, Bunny to her grandchildren. If I could just trade today’s wheelchair and useless legs for yesterday’s full healthy legs and exchange today’s blank stare to yesterday’s animated tale of growing up with five brothers. To see once again those dancing blue eyes, earrings no one could miss, and hands, with rings...

Read more »

Bristol Texaco Station

June 20, 2010
Bristol Texaco Station

Elwood & Red’s Bristol Texaco Station Elwood Long and an unidentified woman are shown inside a Texaco Station, known as Elwood and Red’s Texaco Station, which operated in Bristol during the 1930s and 40s. It was located on the west side of State Road 12 North, across from Liberty County High School (where the Christian Church is currently located in 2008). Sometime later, a second Texaco Station was built across the street on the east side of State Road 12 North. The interior photo at the top shows that customers could get a meal as well as filling up...

Read more »

The lives of George Dewey Sr. & Hazel Eunice Eubanks Bateman

June 20, 2010

George and Hazel lived in Bristol most of their lives. George worked at different jobs during his working life. He snaked poles out of the swamp with his prized oxen: Rough, Rite, Buck and Bright. He made syrup locally and traveled to parts of the state making syrup for different individuals. George owned and operated George Bateman Store, a large grocery store on Main Street in Bristol for many years. His store was burned in the 1937 fire that wiped out most of downtown Bristol. He moved across the street and then the Larkin Hotel next door caught fire...

Read more »

The Browns and the Allens: Great Depression drew many to Florida

June 20, 2010

by Joe Brown During the early 1930s, during the Great Depression, many families migrated to Florida to seek their fortunes in a new life. They used every means of transportation to get here. This is a story about one of those families who only got as far as Liberty County. In 1930, things were tough everywhere, including Florida and Liberty County, but most of the people who came were basing their trips on the earlier reputation of Florida as advertised in the newspapers and journals to the north, including the state of Georgia. William Marion Allen lived in Columbus,...

Read more »

The Three States survived sandbar collisions, mechanical failure & fire

June 20, 2010

by Teresa Eubanks, Journal Editor The Three States was one of many vessels that traced the rivers through Georgia, Alabama and Florida at the turn of the last century. But this sternwheeler’s history is remarkable in that she emerged from several disasters and was declared worthless before returning to service. Her sometimes infrequent use and change of ownership led those along the river to believe more than once that she had been abandoned. Her sudden appearance would catch them by surprise. The local paper took note of the vessel’s arrival in March 1920 after an absence from area waters:...

Read more »

The Queen City sternwheeler was a majestic sight

June 20, 2010

by Teresa Eubanks, Journal Editor Competition was up and rates were down when the new Queen City sternwheeler was christened with a bottle of champagne across her bow in Columbus, Ga., on Jan. 20, 1891. Built at a cost of $20,000, she was one of many steamboats making their way along the waters that emptied into the Apalachicola River, moving majestically along the borders of Calhoun and Liberty counties while carrying passengers and cargo, which sometimes included the mail, shingles and fertilizer. At least once, the cargo included a large number of live turkeys that were delivered to Apalachicola...

Read more »

Snagboats cleared the way for river traffic

June 20, 2010

by Norman Krentzel One of the greatest hazards to the riverboats was obstructions in or under the water. These items took many forms: logs floating free or sticking up from the bottom of the river, rootballs of large trees, or just anything that might have been carried into the river by floodwaters such as pieces of houses or bridges. Snagboats were built to clean up the rivers and it was a sizeable job. They often worked in conjunction with dredges. Both were owned by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. One of the snagboats was the Chattahoochee. It operated...

Read more »

The First Riverboats on the Apalachicola

June 20, 2010

by Norman Krentzel On the third of August, 1807, Robert Fulton took his new steam-powered boat for a test run on the Hudson River in New York City. The era of the steamboat had begun. Civilization was starting to push West and South. Steamboats quickly became the prime movers in this race to tame the new land. In 1818 Andrew Jackson moved against the Indians in the Florida Panhandle and things started to settle down. People felt safer and the area was ripe for development. A steamboat called the “Fanny” came to the Apalachicola in 1826. A second boat...

Read more »

A flight toward hope of freedom

June 20, 2010

by Addie Summers When the estate of Lewis Gregory was probated in 1860, his 36 slaves were apportioned among Mary Gregory, the widow, and (ages approximate) William T., 34; Marinda, 33; Amanda, 32, and Ivey H., 29. Set aside for Mary were Abner Brown, 5; Nancy, 21, and children Emmaline, 3, and Gatsy, 1; Jordan, 45; Stephen, 47; Jonah, 12; and Susan, 53. (Imagine that household!) To William T. went Patsy, 35, and children Rachael, 4, Balaam, 2 1/2, and Charlie Markham, 6 months; Jesse, 10; Murrell (or Manuel), 37; and Bob, 18. Marinda and her husband, Thomas D....

Read more »