Alright, so maybe the brick factory was already dead, but now even its corpse is not long for the world. We've been to the brick factory before, and I've even said a little about the Hammond's Ferry development. But, as ground was officially broken in April for the first phase of the Hammond's Ferry riverfront project, which will render the entire area virtually unrecognizable in a couple of years, we'll take a final look. Houses, restaurants, shops, and offices--1,000 units-worth altogether--are on the way. These are all shots from my last trip back in December. I led off with this building last time, but this is the view from the back. It's in there somewhere.
Let's go WWAAAYY back. In 1540, Hernando DeSoto and his party had been lost for some time in the wilds of Georgia. Even their Indian guides didn't know where they were anymore. On April 21, they crossed the Savannah River near Augusta, probably a bit to the west of the Savannah River Site. The crossing was known as Point Comfort, which is ironic, as comfort was in short supply. Here, DeSoto met the friendly Cofachiqui Indians. Well, they were friendly as long as you weren't from a rival indian tribe. If you were, they'd sever the nerves in one of your feet so you couldn't run away, and hold you as a slave for life.
In 1770, Campbell Town, SC was founded, and its existence is directly relevant (finally!) to these photos. Enter John Hammond, the father of Campbell Town. Or was his name Leroy Hammond? No one really knows for sure, so we'll call him Mr. Hammond. (Update: It was John. Leroy was the name of his uncle...and a cousin.) Anyway, Campbell Town (why not Hammond Town?) was established near where the 13th St. bridge is today,
Mr. Hammond's death meant doom for Campbell Town, as Augusta continued to upgrade its shipping and storage facilities and C-Town did not. The town languished until about 1811, but has since sunk without a trace beneath the rippling waves of history. While Campbell Town is long gone, Hammond has lived on for over 200 years through Hammond's Ferry, the bit of woods pictured here that bears his name.
So, that's about it for the brick factory. You know, I don't make this stuff up, it just seems that at every turn I find some sordid little detail. I don't go out of my way to document death, disease, and insanity. Well, okay, maybe just a little. But it might just be the CSRA itself. And no-one is immune, really. For example, Cliff Roberts, who co-founded Augusta National Golf Course with golf legend Bobby Jones, Jr., one day walked out to the 3rd hole on the Par 3 Course and shot himself in the head. And he was from New York! As an aside, there's a funny golf story about Dwight Eisenhower and Vice-President Richard Nixon. Eisenhower, who apparently didn't think much of his VP, would never invite Nixon along when he went to play golf. But Nixon was always asking to play, and so on one occasion Ike agreed to let him shoot a round at Augusta National. However, Ike was livid when Tricky Dick missed the tee-time and was nowhere to be found for the duration of the game. At the end of the round, the entourage found Nixon at the clubhouse, wearing sunglasses and nursing a hangover. It was Nixon's first and last visit to Augusta National. More here.
Okay, I'm off to see the Handsome Family. If you like country music (un-modern, downright gothic), fantastically morbid lyrics, and a wicked sense of humor, I highly recommend them. To wit: "Evel Knievel flew up from dead grass, I loved him better each time he crashed." If you can't get behind that, the King of Pop would like to speak with you about making a donation to his legal defense fund. Really, the Handsome Family would make a great soundtrack for City of Dust. They have songs about parking lots, bottomless holes, forgotten lakes, and haunted convenience stores. It was from just such a store that these shopping carts escaped and dragged themselves to the edge of the Augusta Canal. However, lacking the wherewithal to finally throw themselves in, they sorta collapsed in a heap on the bank. Good night.
3 comments:
Excellent tales and excellent research, as always.
I know why you keep going back to the brickyards, it is just a fun place to be for anybody with a little bit of explorer in his heart. Every time I go I cannot resist carrying out a couple of 5 gallon buckets of old bricks or pieces of pottery. The bulldozers have been threatening for the last couple of years so the only thing that will be saved is what I carry away.
A ledger book for Hammond's general store in Campelltown still exists. It runs through the 1790's. It surprised me that they were dealing in your typical Indian trade goods. I just have trouble thinking of this area as being the 'Wild West' once upon a time, but it was. Anyway Hammond was buying animal skins and selling knivers, powder, and shot right up to the year 1800. I guess these were hunters coming in from Alabama and Mississippi, where else would they go besides Augusta? Anyway I guess the Cotton economy 15 years later wiped all of that out - why waste your time buying possum skins when there is real money to be made!
I saw something else about Leroy Hammond in a book about the South Carolina Legislature. Farmers who had suffered through the war and Thomas Browne complained that now Leroy Hammond was trying to run them off. I guess you can never have enough....
Hmmm... the Augusta Metro Spirit had an interesting article this week, 16 June 2005. Titled "The Rising - It's Only a Matter of Time" it posits the idea that development on the far side of the river is awful close to the water. The cover showed a photo of the Riverwalk's Jessye Norman Ampitheater, flooded to the bottom of the lowest seats in the 1990 flood, during a flood surge of 43000 cfs. A 1964 flood produced a rate of 87000 cfs with a flood stage of 135 feet, or 1 foot below foundations being built today. The water control manager of the Corps of Engineer Savannah District says the worst case design for their system is 180000 cfs at Augusta.
How shortsightedly we bemoan the loss of our brickyard, little knowing how well we have provided for the future. You should really have more faith.
Post a Comment