Wednesday, January 05, 2005

Lance:
I'm going home tonight and pull out the article I wrote for the Dothan Progress back in '99 and the speeches I made for the dedications of the Southern Boundary of the U.S. historical marker located south of the Alabama Welcome Station on U.S. 231 and the Florida Line sign on the banks of the Chattahoochee put up by the Historic Chattahoochee Commission in 2001.
I have a chronology of all the important events which occurred on Ansley's property between 1763 and 1816. I need to get it on the Web but for right now I'll copy it and send it to you. Please send me your mailing address.
Off the top of my head, here's some of the reasons Ansley's property and Chattahoochee State Park are important:

1] This property is part of the Lime Sinks region of Alabama. This is a common physiographic region and Georgia and Florida, however, only about 1000 square miles of Alabama are in the Lime Sinks. This makes this region and its flora and fauna unique for our state.

2]Chiskatolofa, a Creek village of Yuchi[Euchee] origins, was located on Ansley's property. This village was an important crossing point on the Old Spanish Trail between St. Augustine and Pensacola. The trail branched east of the Natural Bridge in Marianna Caverns with the northern branch crossing the Chattahoochee anywhere between the U.S. 84 bridge and Neal's Landing. This crossing point was open all year long even in floods. It also sent the traveler directly east toward present day Bainbridge,Georgia which was the crossing place on the Flint for the Old Spanish Trail.

3] All of the villages around Chiskatalofa on both sides of the river from the U.S. 84 bridge down to the river junction were the center for the rebellion against the Spanish and the Creek National Council which lasted from about 1790 until 1803 and was headed by the notorious adventurer, William Augustus Bowles.

4] Chiskatalofa and the villages near it were the home of the Perryman family. Bowles married a Perryman girl. The Perryman's have been leaders the Creek Nation for over two centuries. Two Perrymans were subjects of Caitlin's important portraits of Indians made in Oklahoma in the 1840s and two Perrymans were chiefs of the Creek Nation in the nineteenth century. Perryman's Town was flooded by Lake Seminole but it was located near Fairchild's Landing on the Georgia side. Dr. Perry {Perryman} Mobley of Haleburg is descended from this family and a Perryman family cemetery is located near his home.

5] When Ellicott and Minor of the U.S. and Spanish boundary commissions arrived there in August of 1799, they built their astronomical observatory for their zenith sector near the north end of Ansley's property. I am pretty sure this zenith sector is preserved in the Smithsonian Institution. Ellicott and Minor had important conferences with the Seminoles at Chiskatalofa and after they left there to go down river, their party was plundered near present day Chattahoochee, Florida and they were forced to abandon their survey. This disaster led to the boundary controversy between Georgia and Florida which was not resolved until after the Civil War.

6] On May 27, 1804,one year to the day after the Creeks decided to turn Bowles over to the Spanish at the present day Creek Indian Bingo Parlor near Wetumpka, the Indians at Chiskatalofa deeded John Forbes 1.2 million acres of land. This deed of cession was upheld by the U.S. Supreme Court and is considered a basis for contract law in this country.It has been called "The Greatest Real Estate Deal in American History" because a private citizen received clear title to 1.2 million acres for about a nickel an acre.
In order to get the Indians to close the deal, Forbes' agent, James Innerarity of Mobile, had to agree to build a John Forbes & Co. trading post at Prospect Bluff on the Apalachicola River. This became the location where the British built the Negro Fort for fugitive slaves during the War of 1812. This slave insurrection produced by these fugitives brought Andrew Jackson to Florida for the First Seminole War.

7] In 1848,F.A.P. Barnard of the University of Alabama [Barnard College in NYC is named after him] discovered Ellicott Mound #381 during his investigation of the boundary controversy between Alabama and Florida. In 1854, James Whitner built the witness mound you saw during your visit to Ansley's property. Prior the 1854, all the land below the dirt road you came in on on the Fitch property[the St.Stephens Base Line] was considered to be in Florida. To this day, this land is the northern most land which has its legal description based upon the Tallahassee Base Line. This base line controls the legal description of land as far south as Key West and the Dry Tortugas.
The reason Chattahoochee State Park is still owned by the Alabama Public Schools is probably due to the fact that it is a fractional 16th section of Florida land dedicated to the support of Florida public schools which is land now located in Alabama.

I'll send more later and please feel free to forward this to anyone.
I will be glad to answer any questions.
Best,
Robert Register

Tuesday, January 04, 2005

The thing that really started it all was the Louisiana Purchase and the need for an overland trail to connect Washington with the newly purchased port city of New Orleans. In 1802 sugar exports alone were $3.0 million and Cotton exports were $1.0 million. Settlers up the Mississippi, Tennessee, and Ohio River valleys were all using New Orleans as their port city, and were exporting around 10,000 barrels of flour, cider, apples, and pork that year. Of the 267 ships sailing from the Port of New Orleans that year, 104 were Spanish, and 158 were from the United States. The Natchez Trace starting in Nashville and going south was the last 450 miles of the only overland way of connecting Washington with New Orleans. President Jefferson wanted a quicker way and chose to go through the Indian held lands of Georgia, and the territories of Alabama and Mississippi. Remember, this is still only 1802. Legislation passed the congress in October, 1803 enabling President Jefferson to act quickly to secure lines of communication between Washington and New Orleans. Using powers he had to help the Post Office, he established a series of Post Offices and Post Roads connecting them across Georgia, Alabama, and Mississippi. He chose to use old paths and trails used by the Indians and cut new trails where needed. The first postal horse path through Georgia is sometimes thought to start in Athens, but the “High Shoals” area of the Apalachee, in the head waters of the Oconee in upper central Georgia was actually where it began. The area west had belonged to the Creek Indians prior to the Treaty of Washington in 1805. The actual ax work began on the west bank of the Ocmulgee section of the road in 1806. Like the later Pony Express, the postal horse path allowed mail riders a quick path to ride. With a change of horses every 30 miles or so, they could travel 120 miles a day. The path was eventually expanded and adjusted against the will of the Creek who still occupied the land. At a special meeting of the Creek Indian Council in September 1811, representatives of the Choctaw, Cherokee, and Shawnee tribes all voted to reject any further work on the road. Col. Benjamin Hawkins, a seasoned Indian agent who lived among the Creek had been placed in charge of the project, told the Indians that he did not come to ask their permission to open the road, but to merely inform them that the road was being cut. The road was sufficient for stagecoach travel by 1820. The first stagecoach line was established by Maj. James Johnson who operated the inn at Fort Mitchell near present day Columbus. The route ran to Montgomery with one trip per week. Johnson's stage was the first to bring mail to Montgomery in April 1821. By 1823 Johnson increased the trips to three per week. Highway robbers, and Indian raids were constant, but the people kept coming. The road traveled west from Augusta through Milledgeville, Macon, Fort Mitchell (Columbus after 1827), Montgomery, Mobile, Pensacola, and on to New Orleans. The Upper Creek still fought to keep their lands. The Creek Indian Wars of 1813 to 1814 were caused because of the bold encroachment of the road by whites. The road was not wanted across their lands and they fought to stop it. In several battles, hundreds if not thousands of Creek were slaughtered by the armies of President Andrew Jackson who wanted to drive the Indians out no matter what the cost. In one battle with the Upper Creek on March 27, 1814, Jackson's artillery opened up with a two hour barrage of cannon fire against the Creek led by Chief Menawa. At the end of the battle, the bodies of 557 Creek warriors were found on the battle field. Andrew Jackson had won another major victory against the Creek. The Creek could not win and the tide was already moving against them as the trail of tears started looming in their future. Col. Benjamin Hawkins reported that between October 1811 and March 1812, 233 vehicles and 3,726 people had passed his Indian agency on the Flint River heading west. The road improved through the years allowing for more coaches and supply wagons traveling west. English author Thomas Hamilton headed west in April 1831, and described the route through an almost unbroken pine forest, and over roads so sandy that wheels would sink half-way up to the axles of the wagons. Adam Hodgson’s experience was much more pleasant as he described his travels through Creek country in March and April 1820. About 30 miles after leaving Milledgeville for Fort Hawkins on the Ocmulgee River, he passed acre upon acre of peach trees in full bloom, several settlements, wagons of supplies, and many groups of slaves going from the Carolinas and Georgia to Alabama and Mississippi. After the Indians were removed, there was no reason to confine travelers and settlers to one road crossing the south. People were now free to stray from the road and find new lands to farm that had previously been Indian lands. People fanned out across the newly acquired lands and started clearing for more farm land. Before the Civil War began, most of the forests of Georgia were cut down, and the hundreds of miles of Long Leaf Pines began to disappear. New roads began to branch out to other new areas. What we now know as Bankhead Highway, was already in place as another Federal Road before the Cherokee were removed from all of Campbell County. In the years since, all remnants of the original Federal Road through central Georgia have disappeared. Only traces of it are found today, but it was once the I-85 of its day, and the only road across the southern part of the United States.
The Friends of Sweetwater Creek are working to bring you the best in environmental and nature education. We also strive to make people aware of the tremendous history of our country and help you understand how and why we are where we are. The Sweetwater Creek Interpretive Center will help everyone learn and appreciate our history and environment much better. Our programs are all family oriented and will help you get back in touch with yourselves, your families, and your history and nature. YOU CAN HELP - NOW. We are asking our community to get behind this project. We also hope that church groups, civic organizations, businessmen and corporations will see the value of the Center, and join our Corporate Sponsor Program. This is a good way to contribute to a local organization that is trying to make a real difference in this community.  We are an all-Volunteer, non-profit organization and receive no financial help from the State of Georgia. Our educational programs are award winning, but depend on public support. Contributions to the Sweetwater Creek Nature Center and Museum are tax deductible, and should be sent to: Friends of Sweetwater Creek State Park, Inc. 1826 Mt. Vernon Road Lithia Springs, GA 30122 Or use the printable form to join/sponsor or contribute. Call Bill Cahill at 770-942-2555

Monday, January 03, 2005

TO MY FELLOW "PANTY-MAW CITY BEACH in the SIXTIES" CONSULTANTS:
Received the following email from Neal Rose seeking photos of THE IMPACTS from the '67 National Peanut Festival.
Any response will be appreciated but some of you knuckleheads who still live down in NutPatch need to go over to the Goober Festival office and check out their archives. Same goes for TVY, AGF, WOOF and The Eagle.
Anybody heard from Preston T lately and how 'bout Mitch and Lamar and HOW 'BOUT more stuff about the CHIMES, Mar Teks, The Kapers and The Concrete Bubble.
best,
reg http://robertoreg.blogspot.com

http://robertoreg.blogspot.com/2004_09_05_robertoreg_archive.html
saw you mentioned the Impacts and Lamar Spence on the above page. I played bass for the Impacts in 1967 when they played at the peanut festival with the Sons of Bach and the Hombres. Do you know anyone that has pictures of the Impacts then?

I also saw where Frank Tanton sent you an email about playing at the Capri club, do you have an email for him? we did cross paths and I did play with the Impacts at the Capri club several times at the bass.
thanks
Neil Rose


{Richard Burke's Original Post on the "Cuba, Alabama" weblog}
I think Little Lois, Lois Johnson, I think, of Little Lois and the Capri's
still lives here. She did backing vocals on my recordings with Clique in
75. Jay Scott from Dothan also needs citing for his work with Alicia
Bridges
(I like the Night Life),
Beeverteeth and Clique during this period. He was a great saxaphonist and Latin Percissionist.
I just got off the phone with Mitch Goodson. He is going to drop by the
shop and I'll get Frank Tanton, Doug and David Morris, David Adkins and Jimmy Dean's brother Robert Dean, who booked all of us during this period, over and if we can hold it in the road long enough we'll try to get some
straight info, well, we'll have straight info until a wheel runs off. Mitch
has been disabled for some time now but brought up his working for three
different owners
at the Old Dutch. His parents would take him to work there
when he was fifteen. He said Lamar Spence of the Impacts helped him get in,
The Impacts, there's a flash from the past.
rbiii
Biography of THE HOMBRES
Formed in Memphis in 1966, the Hombres - Gary Wayne McEwen (guitar), B.B. Cunningham (organ) the brother of Bill Cunningham of the Boxtops, Jerry Lee Masters (bass) and John Will Hunter (d. 1976; drums) - originally served as a touring version of Ronny And The Daytonas, whose leader, John "Bucky" Wilkin, did not like to tour. While in Houston, the group met Shelby Singleton who introduced them to producer Huey P. Meaux, who agreed to record them. They wrote "Let It Out (Let It All Hang Out)", a rambling, funky shuffle, on the way to the session. Lyrically patterned after Bob Dylan's "Subterranean Homesick Blues", the single was issued on Verve/Forecast the following year and rose to number 12 in the US charts. The group had no further hits.

Discography:
Let It Out (Let It All Hang Out) (Verve/Forecast 1967)**.


Let It Out (Let It All Hang Out)
THE HOMBRES
(Bill Cunningham)

(spoken): "A preachment, dear friends, you are about to receive
on John Barleycorn, nicotine, and the temptations of Eve"

(Bronx cheer)

No parkin' by the sewer sign
Hot dog, my razor's broke
Water drippin' up the spout
But I don't care, let it all hang out

Hangin' from a pine tree by my knees
Sun is shinin' through the shade
Nobody knows what it's all about,
It's too much, man, let it all hang out

Saw a man walkin' upside down
My T.V.'s on the blink
Made Galileo look like a Boy Scout
Sorry 'bout that, let it all hang out

Sleep all day, drive all night
Brain my numb, can't stop now
For sure ain't no doubt
Keep an open mind, let it all hang out

It's rainin' inside a big brown moon
How does that mess you baby up, leg
Eatin' a Reuben sandwich with sauerkraut
Don't stop now, baby, let it all hang out

Let it all hang out (harmonized) [repeat to fade]


Sunday, January 02, 2005

Date: Mon, 13 Oct 2003 10:25:27 -0700 (MST)
From: That Alan Gordon
Subject: Re: Yet another query for That Alan Gordon

DC wanted my take on the village scene in the 60s. Well, it was
fantastic. The Magicians played at the Night Owl, before that I
was in Tex and the Chex, we played at the Cinderella club, and
Trudy Heller's 8th Wonder [complete with go-go girls in cages].
We hung out with the Strangers, Blues Magoos [I wrote with Ritchie
Adams "Gotta Get Away" on their single]. David Blue brought Dylan
in to see us perform one of David's songs we did "I'd Like to Know"
by the way. They both left after that song!!! We hung out at Googies,
the Kettle of Fish and oh yes Jimi Hendrix played around the corner
at the cafe wha.You get the idea, it was HEAVEN.
Best

That Alan Gordon

Meeting Gegg and Duane Allman from the Allman Joys when I was about 15 or 16 was exciting to me also but in a much different way. They were not yet famous like Paul Simon but they were Daytona's only real band that had traveled and played in other cities like Nashville, New York's Greenwich Village, etc. I had heard so much about them and how great they were. They were older than me but still just kids, also. I think they played the usual stuff that was popular at that time. Songs playing on the radio, etc. The first time I actually met them (I had seen them play a couple of years earlier as the House Rockers) was when they returned from playing at Trudy Heller's in New York's Greenwich Village. They were really hyped up about a band called The Blues MaGoos. Duane had a Vox distortion box clamped to his cream colored Telecaster which I believe he got from them or got the idea from them. Anyway, I had been playing at a club in Daytona called the Martinique. They were now called the Allman Joys and I really anticipated seeing them play since I had heard how great they were. The first time I heard them was when they came into the club and sat in on a few songs. They had had a few too many beers or whatever and I was not very impressed. Of course it wasn't like they had their own band and doing a real gig. It was just a spur of the moment, get up on stage and play something type of situation. There were other people up on stage singing along. Not a showcase episode for talent. They were probably talked into it by someone and they weren't prepared or in any state of mind to do a very good job. Anyway, I told my friends who had been building them up so much that I was not that impressed. Later Duane told me he heard I was disappointed in seeing them play that night and I could tell he planned on being more impressive the next time I heard them play. And I was very impressed later. They had a very good band called the Allman Joys, which seemed to be changing members very frequently. You know it is a hard thing to keep a band together.