Roswell, Georgia is
located on the northern banks of the Chattahoochee River in an
area the Cherokee Indians once called "Enchanted Land".
Originally, whites were forbidden on the land that was inhabited
by the Cherokees, but that law was often ignored. Many
difficulties would arise, and although a variety of treaties
would be signed, many were broken.
The Cherokee became increasingly aware of the white-man's
powerful weapons and the great numbers of settlers flocking to
the area. Moreover, they realized that they must learn to
co-exist with the white man or their way of life would surely
perish.
The Cherokee Indians were an extremely progressive tribe. They
were the first Native Americans to use a written language and
alphabet. One of their leaders, Sequoyah, born to a daughter of
a Cherokee Chief and a Virginia fur trader, was an outstanding
silversmith. Many of the white silversmiths of that era signed
their works and it had been suggested to Sequoyah that he should
do so. This desire to sign his works led him to realize that the
Cherokee Nation could benefit greatly from a written language.
By 1821, Sequoyah had created the "Talking Leaves" consisting of
85 letters. The Cherokee Nation adopted his alphabet and within
a short time, thousands of Cherokee were able to read and write.
As a result, the Cherokees created the first Native American
newspaper "The Cherokee Phoenix". The offices were set up in the
Cherokee capital of New Echota and the first issue was produced
in 1828.
In an attempt to survive encroachment, the Cherokee adopted some
of the white man's ways and became shop owners, storekeepers,
farmers, and even operated mills, ferries, and other businesses.
Before the mid 1800s, the Cherokee Nation had a centralized
government complete with a constitution. The Cherokee capital at
New Echota presented a problem for the State of Georgia because
of an 1802 agreement with the government of the United States to
remove the Cherokees within the state's boundaries. This
discomfort was further enhanced by the discovery of gold on
Cherokee land. Georgia declared the Cherokee Nation illegal and
took possession of their land, dividing it into counties and
giving the land to white settlers through a land lottery.
Cherokee Indians continued to live in the area of Roswell and
for a while there was a tolerance of each other. James Dorris
and his Indian wife, Nancy Cook, operated a trading post that
traded with both whites and Native Americans. Lebanon Baptist
Church Mission Society served the Indian missions. Sharlot
Vickery, a Cherokee married to a white settler, was part-owner
of two farms and a ferry on the Chattahoochee.
The Cherokees pursued action to protect their rights through the
courts, but President Andrew Jackson ignored a mandate by the
Supreme Court and approved removal of the Cherokee. In 1838, the
Cherokee's traveled west on a path that was to become known as
"The Trail of Tears".
William Proctor was a white- man (so it is thought) married to
an Indian girl. They lived between Foe Killer & Vickery Creek,
near the present-day location of LickSkillet Farm Restaurant.
Their son Ezekial, often called Zeke, was 7 years of age when
the family was forcefully removed from the area. Zeke did not
live peacefully in Oklahoma. Instead, he and his followers were
known to have a personal vendetta against the white-man. In 1873
however, President Grant gave them amnesty for their actions and
Zeke later served as a U.S. Deputy Marshall.
Roswell Becomes a Town
In 1828, gold was found in north Georgia, thus causing a swarm
of settlers to the area, especially Dahlonega and Auraria. It
was this activity that prompted Roswell King of Darien, Georgia
to investigate the sites. Traveling on horseback, Mr. King
followed Indian trails to the Chattahoochee River near what is
now Roswell.
Following the river, Mr. King discovered vast forests and the
rushing waters of Vickery (Vickery's) Creek. These natural
resources inspired him to envision a mill, powered by the water,
and a community close by.
In 1838, he began work on the first cotton mill and in 1839 it
was incorporated as The Roswell Manufacturing Company. The
company was extremely successful and expanded. Even a "flouring"
mill was constructed. Orders for cloth, tenting, rope, flannels,
and yarn poured in.
Mr. King offered homesites and investment opportunities to his
friends and associates from coastal Georgia and a community was
built. They constructed magnificent homes for themselves,
cottages and apartments for mill workers, a general store near
the mill, a church, and an academy to attend to the educational
needs of the children.
Before Roswell King’s wife, Catherine, could move from Darien,
she died, never seeing the town that would be named for her
husband. Roswell King died in 1844. Their son, Barrington King,
and his wife, Catherine Nephew King, worked to carry on his
father’s dream.
There were several distinct styles of life in Roswell .... the
prominent families, the mill workers who often labored 11-hour
days, and the slaves. The issues of slavery and states rights
would have a major impact on the town of Roswell. Secession of
Georgia from the Union took place in January of 1861. By 1861,
Roswell families, who could afford to do so, gathered as many
personal possessions as possible, and began to refugee to safer
areas. The Union cavalry, under the command of Brigadier General
Kenner Garrard, arrived in Roswell on July 5, 1864. Retreating
Confederate soldiers burned the covered bridge at the
Chattahoochee River in order to slow the Union's advancement.
However, there was a river crossing called Shallowford (located
on today's Azalea Drive at the River Park). At Shallowford, in
those early years, the river was only about waist deep. It was
here that Union troops crossed the river. The fighting that took
place involved the Spencer repeating rifle. This was the first
time in U.S. History a rifle was used successfully under water
during armed conflict.
Theophile Roche, a French citizen, had been employed by the
cotton mills and later the woolen mill. In an attempt to save
the mills, he flew a French flag in hopes of claiming
neutrality. However, the letters "CSA (Confederate States of
America) were found on cloth being produced. For two days the
mill was spared, but on July 7, after it was proven that the
neutrality claim was false, General Sherman ordered everyone
connected with the mill to be charged with treason. The nearby
cotton mill was also destroyed. Mill workers, most women and
children since the men were fighting the war, were arrested,
charged with treason and sent north to uncertain fates. One of
the women involved in this tragedy was pregnant and working as a
seamstress at the mill. She was sent north to Chicago, and left
to fend for herself. It would take five years before she and her
daughter would return, on foot, to Roswell, only to find that
her husband had remarried because he thought she was dead.
Although the mills were destroyed, the magnificent homes and
church were not. After the War, families returned to Roswell and
began to pick up the pieces of their lives. The mills were
rebuilt and the textile industry once again became a strong part
of Roswell's economy, until 1975.
Resources: Michael Hitt, Historian and author of Charged With
Treason
Roswell Mills Camp 1547
Roswell
Historical Society
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