I only met her once, but she had some interesting stories to tell. I think we sometimes underestimate the intelligence of our ancestors. This is especially true in today’s world where we have people with limited intellect making decisions on how the rest of us should live.
The Dixon farm was located on both sides of Freeman Rd. adjacent to the railroad tracks. There was an old green farmhouse facing the railroad tracks. We bird hunted on this property and to tell you the truth, I never thought anyone lived there. My father would buy a calf from Mr. Dixon from time to time. On one occasion, when dad went to pay, He was told to give the money to Mr. Dixon’s aunt who lived in the house.
We had to drive around and come in on a dirt road that paralleled the railroad tracks. When we knocked on the door, after some delay an elderly woman answered. We told her why we were there and she invited us in. She told us that the person we were looking for was in the bedroom. After a few minutes we were invited back.
The elderly lady was bedridden. Beside her on the bed was an old civil war sword. She said it had belonged, as I recall, to her great grandfather. She knew she could not use it, but felt secure having it by her side. She was a very intelligent and gracious lady. She wanted to know all about our family. It was like she had known us all our lives. It was obvious that she did not receive many visitors and wanted us to stay and talk, which we did.
She told us about the history of the area, on which she was well versed. She then directed our attention to a spring that was located on the property. She then explained that this was the beginning of Pates creek, a permanent tributary. The railroad tracks were constructed on the Continental Divide. All the water on the east side flowed to the Atlantic Ocean while the water on the west side flowed to the Gulf of Mexico.
If you check her facts you will find that the water in this ladies backyard flows to form Pates Creek. Pates creek flows through two water reservoirs as it makes its way to the Little Cotton Indian Creek. Then it travels on to the Big Cotton Indian Creek and into the South River. In Jackson Lake it combines with the Yellow River and the Alcovy River, exiting the lake as the Ocmulgee River. The Ocmulgee River joins the Oconee River to form the Altamaha River which flows into the Atlantic Ocean just North of Saint Simons Island.
The water on the other side of the railroad tracks flows to the Flint River, down through Lake Blackshear and then on to Lake Seminole. The Flint then joins the Chattahoochee River and they become the Apalachicola River, which flows into the Gulf of Mexico at Apalachicola Florida.
The lady was right and besides who would want to argue with a lady who sleeps with a sword. The old green house is gone now. It was replaced by the Clayton County sewage treatment holding ponds. The moral to this story is when you pollute the water it affects more than you can imagine. It is important that our streams be monitored to preserve our most important resource, clean water.
Frank Hancock has worked as a Farm Manager, Vocational Agriculture Teacher, Vice President at Snapper and currently serves as the University of Georgia Agricultural Extension Agent in Henry County. He is a also a member of the Heritage Writers Group.
