www.gagenweb.org (C) 2005 - All Rights Reserved. GeorgiaGenWeb.org INDUSTRIAL RECUPERATION 20 1 roads, brought about reduction in freight rates, improved passenger ser- vice, and in other ways were of substantial benefit to this city and section. The people of Columbus, under capable and energetic leadership, and with the aid of outside capital which believed in this territory and its pos- sibilities built the Georgia Midland & Gulf Railroad and the Columbus Southern Railroad. This influenced the almost immediate construction of what was known as the Buena Vista & Ellaville, now the branch of the Central of Georgia Railway from Columbus to Americus. The Georgia Midland & Gulf Railroad was incorporated September 29, 1885 by the Georgia Legislature. The company began construction of its line in 1 8 86, and on December 1, 18 8 7 it was opened through to Mc- Donough, 98 miles. The Columbus & Florida Railway Company was chartered October 13, 1885. Its name was changed to Columbus Southern Railway Com- pany December 27, 1886. The construction of this road began Novem- ber 22, 1 8 8 7, and it was completed to Albany, Georgia, 8 8 miles April 12, 1890. Attendant upon this progress in business and financial circles, it was natural for Columbus to spread out and extend her corporate limits. For a long time Rose Hill had been more or less considered a part of the city but had not been formally included. In 1887 the city council took the matter under consideration and after the proper legislation this section was incorporated. R,ose Hill was so named by Mrs. James Carter Cook who lived in that suburb on Twentieth street in the house now occupied by Mr. J. T. Whatley, Sr. The Cooks had lovely rose gardens, as was the case at other large houses near her, and on account of the profusion of these flowers, Mrs. Cook suggested the name "Rose Hill" for the new section. Two years before, the city council had decided to change the names of the streets and avenues in the city, and numbers were given instead of the original names, the avenues to run north and south, with the streets crossing them. They were changed as follows: AVENUES STREETS New Old New Old ............... Dawson First . Oglethorpe First Second ............. Carnes Second ............... Jackson Third ............ Goulden Fourth ............. Covington Third ................. Troup Fifth ................ ~ulton Sixth .................. Early Fourth ............... Fors~th Seventh ,................ Few www.gagenweb.org (C) 2005 - All Rights Reserved. GeorgiaGenWeb.org 202 HISTORY OF COLUMBUS, GEORGIA Fifth .............. McIntosh Eighth .............. Baldwin Ninth ............... Thomas ................. Sixth Mercer Tenth .............. Crawf ord Seventh .......... First Avenue Eleventh ............ St. Clair Twelfth ............ Randolph Eighth ......... Second Avenue Thirteenth ........... Bryan ~i~~h.......... ~hi~d A~~~~~ Fourteenth ........... ~ranklin Fifteenth ................ Lee Tenth .......... Fourth Avenue Sixteenth ......... Washington Seventeenth ......... Woolf olk With the expansion of the city came the introduction of telephones and street cars. In 1894 the horse cars were dine away with and by 1896 a new sys- tem had been begun which was electrically equipped. Mr. John Flournoy was a moving factor in this improvement, and Mr. Louis F. Garrard was also among those most responsible for its inauguration. During Mr. Flournoy's term as president of the utilities company, the present developments were begun, and as head of various real estate enterprises, it has been largely the result of his efforts that Wynnton has dev_eloped into its present desirability as a site for homes. Mr. Flournoy comes from one of the first families to settle in Columbus and lend their efforts toward community welfare and upbuilding. During the 'nineties local politics were in such a state as to manage- ment of various affairs that the more stable citizens had to get busy and organize a new government. In 1897 a protest was made concerning existing conditions and after a heated election Lucius H. Chappell was made mayor with eight other "equally good, progressive, conservative, practical aldermen." Mr. Chappell served as mayor for six terms, retiring twice on his own volition, being recalled for the sixth term in order to put across the municipal owner- ship of the water works. Just previous to Mayor Chappell's taking leadership in the city affairs two negroes had been taken, one from the court room and one from the local jail, and hanged on Broadway. They had been accused in con- nection with criminal assault and the populace had' become so enraged that a mob had been formed that took them from the court room and the jail and executed them. For a while the race disorders were expected to reach a crucial point, but soon subsided. One of the most important and tragic happenings of the 'eighties and 'nineties was known as the "White murder caseJJ. It occurred in 1896 on October 14th near Rumsey's saloon at the corner of Thirteenth street and First avenue. The court record said in part: "Henry White was indicted in Muscogee superior court for the of- fense of murder, the indictment alleging the homicide of William Jackson www.gagenweb.org (C) 2005 - All Rights Reserved. GeorgiaGenWeb.org INDUSTRIAL RECUPERATION 203 by him on the 14th day of October 1896. On November 18th thereafter the case came on for trial, and the defendant moved the court to grant a change of venue, upon the ground that in consequence of strong local pre- judice existing in the county of Muscogee against him, he could not obtain a fair trial in that county. Upon the hearing of this motion a number of wit- nesses were sworn, and in addition to their testimony much documentary evidence, consisting of extracts from the daily papers in the city of Colum- bus immediately following the homicide, were introduced in evidence. The testimony shows, that at the time of the homicide there was intense feeling in the city of Columbus against the accused; but even the witnesses who swore in his behalf testified that the public mind had undergone a change, that this excitement had to a great extent abated, and that in their opinion the accused could be fairly and properly tried in the county of Muscogee. The trial judge overruled the motion for a change of venue, proceeded with the trial, and empanelled the jury without exhausting the list of names of persons in the jury-box who were subject to jury duty. "Upon the trial it was shown that because of some difficulty in which J. A. White, the father of the accused, became engaged in the morning, both he and the accused were summoned by certain members of the police force to appear in the recorder's court. Upon this provocation, and none other, so far as the record discloses, both J. A. White and the accused be- came very much enraged and incensed against the police force of the city of Columbus. They proceeded to arm themselves, the father with a fifle and the accused with a pistol, and after purchasing ammunition with which to load their weapons, they went down to a barroom upon one of the prin- cipal streets of the city. They there discussed in the presence of others, the fact that they expected to have some serious difficulty, and expressed great indignation against the members of the police force generally, and against the deceased in particular. "As they left the saloon and came upon the sidewalk, they met two policemen, and instantly without further provocation or warning, the father presented his rifle and shot down one of them. The other policeman, who was the person for whose murder the accused was indicted, retreated down the street, took refuge behind the corner of the barroom, himself standing in another street. The accused returned to the barroom and ran to the side entrance thereto, reached the street in which the policeman had taken refuge, and from the rear fired a pistol shot striking him. The de- ceased' ran around the corner, and there encountered J. A. White, who also shot him. "The accused and his father then moved over to the middle of the street, and the son, observing that Jackson, the deceased, had not expired, called the attention of his father to that fact, who turned and immediately fired upon him as he lay prostrate upon the ground, inflicting upon him another wound. "Both father and son then fled, and in an effort to apprehend' the www.gagenweb.org (C) 2005 - All Rights Reserved. GeorgiaGenWeb.org 204 HISTORY OF COLUMBUS, GEORGIA former, he was slain. The latter took refuge in the state of Alabama, but was subsequently apprehended and brought back for trial. "Jackson, the deceased, made a dying declaration, in which he stated that the accused had 'shot him down like a dog', repeating that expression. "It appeared that when the deceased was removed from the place from where he had fallen, he had a pistol in his possession, the hammer resting upon an empty cartridge. There was some evidence that, during the progress of the difficulty, the deceased had fired his pistol. Upon this question there was a conflict in the evidence. Upon the trial of the accused, the wife of the deceased was permitted to testify (over the objection of the accused that such testimony was irrelevent and hearsay), that she had seen the pistol of the deceased on the day of the homicide, and that at that time the pistol was in the same condition as when it was found after the killing; that it was the custom of the deceased so to carry his pistol, and he had oiled the pistol that morning, and spoke of it." When White and his son ran out in the street after shooting Officers Adams and Jackson, a crowd had gathered' but was held at bay by the two armed men.