102-456: Remerton is a city in Lowndes County , Georgia , United States. The population was 1,123 at the 2010 census, and 1,334 in 2020. It was incorporated as a town in 1951, and chartered as a city under Georgia law in 2000. Remerton is an enclave of Valdosta and is a popular place for Valdosta State University students to live. Remerton was founded in 1899 as a company town for workers at
204-488: A Piggly Wiggly were built. In 1985 the L.E. Davis family purchased the Strickland Cotton Mill building from Sugar Creek Textiles. The next year Fred Wilkinson purchased the building and used the building for his Wilkinson Textile Company. On 1 November 2005, the Strickland Cotton Mill building was purchased by Remerton Mills, LLC. Remerton Mills, LLC is a corporation with local businessman Joseph H. Tillman, Sr. as
306-637: A 13,000-acre (53 km ) wetlands, is located in Lowndes County. The land that became Lowndes County had historically been inhabited by the Timucua . During most of the age of European colonization, the area of modern Lowndes County was part of the colony of Spanish Florida . From approximately 1625 to 1657, the Spanish Empire maintained a Catholic mission to the Timucua, dubbed Mission Santa Cruz de Cachipile, in
408-700: A commonly held view at the time by the colonists in the United States. In a draft "Proposed Articles of Confederation" presented to the Continental Congress on May 10, 1775, Benjamin Franklin called for a "perpetual Alliance" with the Indians in the nation about to be born, particularly with the six nations of the Iroquois Confederacy: Article XI. A perpetual alliance offensive and defensive
510-624: A far-reaching Indian policy with two primary goals. He wanted to assure that the Native nations (not foreign nations) were tightly bound to the new United States, as he considered the security of the nation to be paramount. He also wanted to "civilize" them into adopting an agricultural, rather than a hunter-gatherer , lifestyle. These goals would be achieved through treaties and the development of trade. Jefferson initially promoted an American policy which encouraged Native Americans to become assimilated , or " civilized ". He made sustained efforts to win
612-477: A free white population of 5,339, a free colored population of 20, and a slave population of 2,355. Lowndes County lost additional territory with the establishment of Berrien and Colquitt counties on February 25, 1856. Many residents of Lowndes County were unhappy when the Atlantic and Gulf Railroad announced June 17, 1858, that they had selected a planned route that would bypass Troupville. On June 22 at 3:00 AM,
714-541: A lot of public controversy before his enactment, but virtually none among historians and biographers of the 19th and early 20th century. However, his recent reputation has been negatively affected by his treatment of the Indians. Historians who admire Jackson's strong presidential leadership, such as Arthur M. Schlesinger, Jr. , would gloss over the Indian Removal in a footnote. In 1969, Francis Paul Prucha defended Jackson's Indian policy and wrote that Jackson's removal of
816-628: A more somber perspective. Historians have often described the removal of American Indians as paternalism , ethnic cleansing , or genocide . American leaders in the Revolutionary and early US eras debated about whether Native Americans should be treated as individuals or as nations. In the indictment section of the Declaration of Independence , the Indigenous inhabitants of the United States are referred to as "merciless Indian Savages", reflecting
918-482: A political issue, urging President Martin Van Buren to prevent the enforcement of Cherokee removal. Other individual settlers and settler social organizations throughout the United States also opposed removal. Native groups reshaped their governments, made constitutions and legal codes, and sent delegates to Washington to negotiate policies and treaties to uphold their autonomy and ensure federally-promised protection from
1020-502: A prominent South Carolina lawyer and Congressman. His father Rawlins Lowndes had been a Revolutionary War leader and was elected as South Carolina Governor. The Coffee Road was an improved trail first cut by Georgia militia to supply federal troops in Florida during the Creek Wars. It was the first route through the area of Lowndes County and opened up the area to white settlers. During
1122-524: A scale equal to their wants, and under regulations calculated to protect them from imposition and extortion, its influence in cementing their interests with our's [sic] could not but be considerable. In his seventh annual message to Congress in 1795, Washington intimated that if the US government wanted peace with the Indians it must behave peacefully; if the US wanted raids by Indians to stop, raids by American "frontier inhabitants" must also stop. In his Notes on
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#17328910009361224-648: A small faction of twenty Cherokee tribal members (not the tribal leadership) on December 29, 1835. Most of the Cherokee later blamed the faction and the treaty for the tribe's forced relocation in 1838. An estimated 4,000 Cherokee died in the march, which is known as the Trail of Tears . Missionary organizer Jeremiah Evarts urged the Cherokee Nation to take its case to the US Supreme Court . The Marshall court heard
1326-455: Is Valdosta . The county was created December 23, 1825. Lowndes County is included in the Valdosta metropolitan statistical area . It is located along the border with Florida . The county is a major commercial, educational, and manufacturing center of south Georgia with considerable forest products including pulpwood and naval stores , such as turpentine and rosin . Part of Grand Bay ,
1428-570: Is land and 15 square miles (39 km ) (2.8%) is water. The north-central (east of Hahira ), west-central (bordered by a north–south line that bisects Valdosta ), and southwestern portions (west of Dasher ) of Lowndes County are located in the Withlacoochee River sub-basin of the Suwannee River basin. The northwestern corner of the county is located in the Little River sub-basin of
1530-614: Is to be entered into as soon as may be with the Six Nations; their Limits to be ascertained and secured to them; their Land not to be encroached on, nor any private or Colony Purchases made of them hereafter to be held good, nor any Contract for Lands to be made but between the Great Council of the Indians at Onondaga and the General Congress. The Boundaries and Lands of all the other Indians shall also be ascertained and secured to them in
1632-486: Is unclear if authorities are investigating the latest vandalism incident. On September 15, 1941, Moody Air Force Base opened. it was part of the federal government's investment in military facilities in the South. The region received considerable Federal monies during World War II. According to the U.S. Census Bureau , the county has a total area of 511 square miles (1,320 km ), of which 496 square miles (1,280 km )
1734-552: The American Colonization Society , which had been working since the antebellum years to relocate free blacks to this new colony in West Africa. African Americans dominated the new colony (and future country) both socially and politically well into the 20th century before indigenous peoples, the majority within the borders of the country, came to power. Prior to 1872, the southern border of Lowndes County and of Georgia
1836-472: The American settlers and Indigenous tribes since the 17th century and were escalating into the early 19th century (as settlers pushed westward in accordance with the cultural belief of manifest destiny ). Historical views of Indian removal have been reevaluated since that time. Widespread contemporary acceptance of the policy, due in part to the popular embrace of the concept of manifest destiny , has given way to
1938-525: The Mississippi River . In an 1803 letter to William Henry Harrison , Jefferson wrote: Should any tribe be foolhardy enough to take up the hatchet at any time, the seizing the whole country of that tribe, and driving them across the Mississippi, as the only condition of peace, would be an example to others, and a furtherance of our final consolidation. In that letter, Jefferson spoke about protecting
2040-696: The Northwest Ordinance of 1787 (a precedent for US territorial expansion would occur for years to come), calling for the protection of Native American "property, rights, and liberty"; the US Constitution of 1787 (Article I, Section 8) made Congress responsible for regulating commerce with the Indian tribes. In 1790, the new US Congress passed the Indian Nonintercourse Act (renewed and amended in 1793, 1796, 1799, 1802, and 1834) to protect and codify
2142-571: The Second Seminole War . Osceola was a Seminole leader of the people's fight against removal. Based in the Everglades , Osceola and his band used surprise attacks to defeat the US Army in a number of battles. In 1837, Osceola was duplicitously captured by order of US General Thomas Jesup when Osceola came under a flag of truce to negotiate peace near Fort Peyton . Osceola died in prison of illness;
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#17328910009362244-636: The Seminole in Florida. General Winfield Scott , commander of United States field forces in the area, intended to stop the Creek movement and did. Virtually no Native Americans were left in South Georgia. In February 1850 Lowndes County lost land to the formation of Clinch County . At that time the eastern border of Lowndes County was defined as the Alapaha River . By the time of the 1850 census, Lowndes County had
2346-564: The Seneca Buffalo Creek Casino . Historical views of Indian removal have been reevaluated since that time. Widespread contemporary acceptance of the policy, due in part to the popular embrace of the concept of manifest destiny , has given way to a more somber perspective. Historians have often described the removal of Native Americans as paternalism , ethnic cleansing , or genocide . Historian David Stannard has called it genocide. Andrew Jackson's Indian policy stirred
2448-681: The Senecas transferred all their land in New York (except for one small reservation) in exchange for 200,000 acres (810 km ) of land in Indian Territory. The federal government would be responsible for the removal of the Senecas who opted to go west, and the Ogden Land Company would acquire their New York lands. The lands were sold by government officials, however, and the proceeds were deposited in
2550-627: The Trail of Tears . Indian removal, a popular policy among incoming settlers, was a consequence of actions first by the European colonists and then later on by the American settlers in the nation during the thirteen colonies and then after the revolution , in the United States of America also until the mid-20th century. The origins of the policy date back to the administration of James Monroe , but it addressed conflicts which had occurred between
2652-562: The 1830s Georgia and the federal government completed Indian Removal of most of the Native Americans from what became the state. Lowndes County was established by an act passed by the Georgia legislature on December 23, 1825. It was formed out of the 8th, 9th, 10th, 11th, 12th, 15th, and 16th land districts of Irwin County, Georgia . The county was named for William Jones Lowndes (1782–1822),
2754-560: The Chactas were leaving their country. "To be free," he answered, could never get any other reason out of him. We ... watch the expulsion ... of one of the most celebrated and ancient American peoples. While the Indian Removal Act made the move of the tribes voluntary, it was often abused by government officials. The best-known example is the Treaty of New Echota , which was signed by
2856-524: The Creek population to leave voluntarily, Creeks who had not participated in the war were not forced west (as others were). The Creek population was placed into camps and told that they would be relocated soon. Many Creek leaders were surprised by the quick departure but could do little to challenge it. The 16,000 Creeks were organized into five detachments who were to be sent to Fort Gibson. The Creek leaders did their best to negotiate better conditions, and succeeded in obtaining wagons and medicine. To prepare for
2958-527: The Five Civilized Tribes from the hostile political environment of the Old South to Oklahoma probably saved them. Jackson was sharply attacked by political scientist Michael Rogin and historian Howard Zinn during the 1970s, primarily on this issue; Zinn called him an "exterminator of Indians". According to historians Paul R. Bartrop and Steven L. Jacobs , however, Jackson's policies do not meet
3060-591: The Georgia General Assembly passed a bill establishing Echols County, Georgia . In December 1859, the Lowndes County board of commissioners were instructed by an act of the Georgia legislature to purchase land for a new county seat; it was to be along the line of the Atlantic and Gulf Railroad and as close to the center of the county as possible. As part of the same act the Brooks-Lowndes County border
3162-575: The House of Representatives by the Georgia delegation. President John Quincy Adams assumed the Calhoun–Monroe policy, and was determined to remove the Indians by non-forceful means; Georgia refused to consent to Adams' request, forcing the president to forge a treaty with the Cherokees granting Georgia the Cherokee lands. On July 26, 1827, the Cherokee Nation adopted a written constitution (modeled on that of
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3264-643: The Indian Territory. In 1832, the Sauk leader Black Hawk led a band of Sauk and Fox back to their lands in Illinois; the US Army and Illinois militia defeated Black Hawk and his warriors in the Black Hawk War , and the Sauk and Fox were relocated to present-day Iowa . The Miami were split, with many of the tribe resettled west of the Mississippi River during the 1840s. In the Second Treaty of Buffalo Creek (1838),
3366-432: The Indian tribes is gaining strength daily... and will amply requite us for the justice and friendship practiced towards them ... [O]ne of the two great divisions of the Cherokee nation have now under consideration to solicit the citizenship of the United States, and to be identified with us in-laws and government, in such progressive manner as we shall think best. As some of Jefferson's other writings illustrate, however, he
3468-483: The Indians from injustices perpetrated by settlers: Our system is to live in perpetual peace with the Indians, to cultivate an affectionate attachment from them, by everything just and liberal which we can do for them within ... reason, and by giving them effectual protection against wrongs from our own people. According to the treaty of February 27, 1819, the US government would offer citizenship and 640 acres (260 ha) of land per family to Cherokees who lived east of
3570-536: The Lowndes County courthouse at Troupville was set aflame by William B. Crawford, who fled to South Carolina after being released on bond. On August 9, a meeting convened in the academy building in Troupville at which it was decided to create from the area of Lowndes County to the west of the Withlacoochee River a new county to be called Brooks County . Brooks was established on December 11. On December 13, 1858,
3672-633: The Mississippi (present-day Oklahoma ), where they could exist without state interference. At Jackson's request, Congress began a debate on an Indian-removal bill. After fierce disagreement, the Senate passed the bill by a 28–19 vote; the House had narrowly passed it, 102–97. Jackson signed the Indian Removal Act into law on May 30, 1830. That year, most of the Five Civilized Tribes —the Chickasaw , Choctaw , Creek , Seminole , and Cherokee —lived east of
3774-527: The Mississippi River. Friends and Brothers – By permission of the Great Spirit above, and the voice of the people, I have been made President of the United States, and now speak to you as your Father and friend, and request you to listen. Your warriors have known me long. You know I love my white and red children, and always speak with a straight, and not with a forked tongue; that I have always told you
3876-568: The Mississippi. Native American land was sometimes purchased, by treaty or under duress . The idea of land exchange, that Native Americans would give up their land east of the Mississippi in exchange for a similar amount of territory west of the river, was first proposed by Jefferson in 1803 and first incorporated into treaties in 1817 (years after the Jefferson presidency). The Indian Removal Act of 1830 included this concept. Under President James Monroe , Secretary of War John C. Calhoun devised
3978-473: The Mississippi. The Indian Removal Act implemented federal-government policy towards its Indian populations, moving Native American tribes east of the Mississippi to lands west of the river. Although the act did not authorize the forced removal of indigenous tribes, it enabled the president to negotiate land-exchange treaties. On September 27, 1830, the Choctaw signed the Treaty of Dancing Rabbit Creek and became
4080-555: The Muscogee were confined to a small strip of land in present-day east central Alabama . The Creek national council signed the Treaty of Cusseta in 1832, ceding their remaining lands east of the Mississippi to the US and accepting relocation to the Indian Territory. Most Muscogee were removed to the territory during the Trail of Tears in 1834, although some remained behind. Although the Creek War of 1836 ended government attempts to convince
4182-731: The Seminole Tribe of Florida, and the Creeks in Alabama (including the Poarch Band ). Tribes in the Old Northwest were smaller and more fragmented than the Five Civilized Tribes, so the treaty and emigration process was more piecemeal. Following the Northwest Indian War , most of the modern state of Ohio was taken from native nations in the 1795 Treaty of Greenville . Tribes such as
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4284-637: The Senecas and the Tonawanda Senecas in 1842 and 1857, respectively. Under the treaty of 1857, the Tonawandas renounced all claim to lands west of the Mississippi in exchange for the right to buy back the Tonawanda Reservation from the Ogden Land Company. Over a century later, the Senecas purchased a 9-acre (3.6 ha) plot (part of their original reservation) in downtown Buffalo to build
4386-551: The State of Virginia (1785), Thomas Jefferson defended Native American culture and marveled at how the tribes of Virginia "never submitted themselves to any laws, any coercive power, any shadow of government" due to their "moral sense of right and wrong". He wrote to the Marquis de Chastellux later that year, "I believe the Indian then to be in body and mind equal to the whiteman". Jefferson's desire, as interpreted by Francis Paul Prucha ,
4488-454: The Strickland Cotton Mill. It was named for banker Remer Y. Lane. In 1951 Remerton was incorporated as municipality. In January 1979, Strickland Cotton Mills closed. Two months later the mill was purchased by Wipo Inc. and the mill began to operate as Sugar Creek Textiles. During the 1980s Remerton underwent many changes. Apartments began being built to attract students from what was then known as Valdosta State College. Also, businesses including
4590-637: The US Treasury. Maris Bryant Pierce , a "young chief" served as a lawyer representing four territories of the Seneca tribe, starting in 1838. The Senecas asserted that they had been defrauded, and sued for redress in the Court of Claims . The case was not resolved until 1898, when the United States awarded $ 1,998,714.46 (~$ 62.5 million in 2023) in compensation to "the New York Indians". The US signed treaties with
4692-476: The US. or remove beyond the Missisipi. The former is certainly the termination of their history most happy for themselves. But in the whole course of this, it is essential to cultivate their love. As to their fear, we presume that our strength & their weakness is now so visible that they must see we have only to shut our hand to crush them, & that all our liberalities to them proceed from motives of pure humanity only. As president, Thomas Jefferson developed
4794-433: The United States for their lands east of the Mississippi River. They reached an agreement to purchase of land from the previously-removed Choctaw in 1836 after a bitter five-year debate, paying the Chocktaw $ 530,000 for the westernmost Choctaw land. Most of the Chickasaw moved in 1837 and 1838. The $ 3 million owed to the Chickasaw by the US went unpaid for nearly 30 years. The Five Civilized Tribes were resettled in
4896-540: The United States) which declared that they were an independent nation with jurisdiction over their own lands. Georgia contended that it would not countenance a sovereign state within its own territory, and asserted its authority over Cherokee territory. When Andrew Jackson became president as the candidate of the newly-organized Democratic Party , he agreed that the Indians should be forced to exchange their eastern lands for western lands (including relocation) and vigorously enforced Indian removal. Although Indian removal
4998-431: The United States, and on the sincerity and zeal with which I am myself animated in the furthering of this humane work. You are our brethren of the same land; we wish your prosperity as brethren should do. Farewell. When a delegation from the Cherokee Nation's Upper Towns lobbied Jefferson for the full and equal citizenship promised to Indians living in American territory by George Washington, his response indicated that he
5100-418: The Valdosta city limits are in the Lowndes County School District , while those in the Valdosta city limits are in the Valdosta City School District . Lowndes High School and Valdosta High School are the district's respective comprehensive high schools. Valwood School is a private school in the county. Valdosta State University is in Valdosta. South Georgia Regional Library operates libraries in
5202-415: The Withlacoochee and Little rivers led to a shift in the population toward the rivers. In December 1833 the state legislature passed a law establishing a new county seat at a place to be called Lowndesville. The law called for a courthouse, a jail, and a town to be laid out within land lot 109 in the 12th land district. This land lot is near the present Timber Ridge Road in Lowndes County. It is uncertain why
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#17328910009365304-482: The already-displaced Lenape (Delaware tribe), Kickapoo and Shawnee , were removed from Indiana, Michigan, and Ohio during the 1820s. The Potawatomi were forced out of Wisconsin and Michigan in late 1838, and were resettled in Kansas Territory . Communities remaining in present-day Ohio were forced to move to Louisiana, which was then controlled by Spain. Bands of Shawnee , Ottawa , Potawatomi , Sauk , and Meskwaki (Fox) signed treaties and relocated to
5406-429: The case in Cherokee Nation v. Georgia (1831), but declined to rule on its merits; the court declaring that the Native American tribes were not sovereign nations, and could not "maintain an action" in US courts. In an opinion written by Chief Justice Marshall in Worcester v. Georgia (1832), individual states had no authority in American Indian affairs. The state of Georgia defied the Supreme Court ruling, and
5508-410: The city. In 2020, its population increased to 1,334. Residents are in the Lowndes County School District . Lowndes High School is the zoned comprehensive high school. Lowndes County, Georgia Lowndes County ( / ˈ l aʊ n d z / ) is a county located in the south-central portion of the U.S. state of Georgia . As of the 2020 census , the population was 118,251. The county seat
5610-454: The commission of outrages upon the Indians; without which all pacific plans must prove nugatory. To enable, by competent rewards, the employment of qualified and trusty persons to reside among them, as agents, would also contribute to the preservation of peace and good neighbourhood. If, in addition to these expedients, an eligible plan could be devised for promoting civilization among the friendly tribes, and for carrying on trade with them, upon
5712-530: The cotton mill town of Remerton was established, and by 1920, Lowndes County lost some territory when Lanier County was established. In 1918, a white planter was murdered in Brooks County. He was known to have mistreated his black workers. Sidney Johnson, one of his workers, was suspected in his death. Mobs of whites hunted in Brooks and Lowndes counties for Johnson, rounding up and killing at least 11 other black men and one black woman and her unborn baby in what historian Meyers called "a lynching rampage." One man
5814-413: The county having 2,850 free whites, no free persons of color, and 2,399 slaves. No battles during the American Civil War were fought in Lowndes County. Several regular Confederate Army companies were raised from the population. Those included: State Guard units included: In addition, two Georgia Militia companies were partially raised from the population in early 1864 following the reorganization of
5916-594: The county. Up until 1960, Lowndes County voted with the Democrats, as with most of the Solid South . It flipped in 1964 when it voted for Republican Barry Goldwater and has remained reliably Republican since then. The last Democrat to carry the county was Jimmy Carter in 1976. All of the railroads serving Lowndes County today are freight-only; the closest Amtrak passenger stops are at Folkston and Jesup , both about 100 miles away. 30°50′N 83°16′W / 30.83°N 83.27°W / 30.83; -83.27 Indian Removal The Indian removal
6018-446: The date stipulated in the treaty. When Andrew Jackson became president of the United States in 1829, his government took a hard line on Indian removal; Jackson abandoned his predecessors' policy of treating Indian tribes as separate nations, aggressively pursuing all Indians east of the Mississippi who claimed constitutional sovereignty and independence from state laws. They were to be removed to reservations in Indian Territory, west of
6120-423: The desire of settlers and land speculators for Indian lands continued unabated; some whites claimed that Indians threatened peace and security. The Georgia legislature passed a law forbidding settlers from living on Indian territory after March 31, 1831, without a license from the state; this excluded missionaries who opposed Indian removal. The Seminole refused to leave their Florida lands in 1835, leading to
6222-518: The detachments faced bad roads, worse weather, and a lack of drinkable water. When all five detachments reached their destination, they recorded their death toll. The first detachment, with 2,318 Creeks, had 78 deaths; the second had 3,095 Creeks, with 37 deaths. The third had 2,818 Creeks, and 12 deaths; the fourth, 2,330 Creeks and 36 deaths. The fifth detachment, with 2,087 Creeks, had 25 deaths. In 1837 outside of Baton Rouge, Louisiana over 300 Creeks being forcibly removed to Western prairies drowned in
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#17328910009366324-415: The east of Hahira in the eastern half of land lot 50 in the 11th land district; it was named after statesman and Founding Father of the United States, Benjamin Franklin . At the time of the 1830 federal census, Lowndes County had 1,072 white males, 1,044 white females, 156 male slaves, 179 female slaves, and 4 free people of color , for a total population of 2,455. The introduction of steam-powered ships on
6426-399: The encroachment of states. They thought that acclimating, as the US wanted them to, would stem removal policy and create a better relationship with the federal government and surrounding states. Native American nations had differing views about removal. Although most wanted to remain on their native lands and do anything possible to ensure that, others believed that removal to a nonwhite area
6528-568: The first Native American tribe to be removed. The agreement was one of the largest transfers of land between the US government and Native Americans which was not the result of war. The Choctaw signed away their remaining traditional homelands, opening them up for European–American settlement in Mississippi Territory . When the tribe reached Little Rock , a chief called its trek a "trail of tears and death". In 1831, French historian and political scientist Alexis de Tocqueville witnessed an exhausted group of Choctaw men, women and children emerging from
6630-403: The first few years after Lowndes County was organized, its courts met at the tavern owned by Sion Hall on the Coffee Road, near what is now Morven, Georgia in Brooks County, on the west side of the Little River. The first county seat was established at Franklinville (sometimes spelled Franklynville) by the Georgia General Assembly on December 16, 1828. Franklinville was located about 5.6 miles to
6732-404: The first plans for Indian removal. Monroe approved Calhoun's plans by late 1824 and, in a special message to the Senate on January 27, 1825, requested the creation of the Arkansaw and Indian Territories ; the Indians east of the Mississippi would voluntarily exchange their lands for lands west of the river. The Senate accepted Monroe's request, and asked Calhoun to draft a bill which was killed in
6834-433: The forest during an exceptionally cold winter near Memphis, Tennessee , on their way to the Mississippi to be loaded onto a steamboat. He wrote, In the whole scene there was an air of ruin and destruction, something which betrayed a final and irrevocable adieu; one couldn't watch without feeling one's heart wrung. The Indians were tranquil but sombre and taciturn. There was one who could speak English and of whom I asked why
6936-423: The friendship and cooperation of many Native American tribes as president, repeatedly articulating his desire for a united nation of whites and Indians as in his November 3, 1802, letter to Seneca spiritual leader Handsome Lake : Go on then, brother, in the great reformation you have undertaken ... In all your enterprises for the good of your people, you may count with confidence on the aid and protection of
7038-423: The friendship between them and the United States. Later that year, in his fourth annual message to Congress, Washington stressed the need to build peace, trust, and commerce with Native Americans: I cannot dismiss the subject of Indian affairs without again recommending to your consideration the expediency of more adequate provision for giving energy to the laws throughout our interior frontier, and for restraining
7140-546: The key law which authorized the removal of Native tribes, was signed into law by United States president Andrew Jackson on May 28, 1830. Although Jackson took a hard line on Indian removal, the law was primarily enforced during the Martin Van Buren administration. After the enactment of the Act, approximately 60,000 members of the Cherokee , Muscogee (Creek), Seminole , Chickasaw , and Choctaw nations (including thousands of their black slaves ) were forcibly removed from their ancestral homelands, with thousands dying during
7242-405: The land rights of recognized tribes. President George Washington , in his 1790 address to the Seneca Nation which called the pre-Constitutional Indian land-sale difficulties "evils", said that the case was now altered and pledged to uphold Native American "just rights". In March and April 1792, Washington met with 50 tribal chiefs in Philadelphia—including the Iroquois—to discuss strengthening
7344-483: The land, and you can live upon it you and all your children, as long as the grass grows or the water runs, in peace and plenty. It will be yours forever. For the improvements in the country where you now live, and for all the stock which you cannot take with you, your Father will pay you a fair price ... Unlike other tribes, who exchanged lands, the Chickasaw were to receive financial compensation of $ 3 million from
7446-508: The military occupation of the South during the Reconstruction era. Several years after the Civil War, 112 African American men, women, and children moved from Lowndes County to Arthington, Liberia in 1871 and 1872. Some settled there permanently to make their home in a colony established for free American blacks; a small number returned to the United States. Their emigration was supported by
7548-510: The militia. Those included: Lowndes County also had a home guard unit, but it was only called into action once in the fall of 1863. In that instant some soldiers' wives in Thomasville, Georgia were threatening to break into a Confederate Government Commissary to feed their starving children. In April 1864 a group of women rioted at Stockton, Georgia after a local store owner refused to take Confederate money in exchange for yarn. They took all
7650-518: The mill building began in June 2013. Remerton is located at 30°50′36″N 83°18′30″W / 30.84333°N 83.30833°W / 30.84333; -83.30833 (30.843572, -83.308492). According to the United States Census Bureau , the city has a total area of 0.2 square miles (0.52 km), all land. In 2000, there were 847 people, 440 households, and 124 families residing in
7752-640: The new Indian Territory. The Cherokee occupied the northeast corner of the territory and a 70-mile-wide (110 km) strip of land in Kansas on its border with the territory. Some indigenous nations resisted the forced migration more strongly. The few who stayed behind eventually formed tribal groups, including the Eastern Band of Cherokee (based in North Carolina), the Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians ,
7854-568: The plans for Lowndesville were abandoned, but in December 1834, the state legislature authorized commissioners to select a suitable site for a courthouse so that the county seat could be moved away from Franklinville. In October 1836, another group of commissioners was advertising for contracting proposals for the construction of a brick courthouse at Troupville . By Summer 1837, Troupville and Franklinville were both serving as courthouse sites. This continued until at least 1838. In December 1837 Troupville
7956-399: The registered agent. In 2006 Remerton Mills, LLC announced plans for renovating the Strickland Cotton Mill building into residential and commercial spaces. In 2012 plans for the demolition of the historic Strickland Cotton Mill were put in motion by Remerton Mills, LLC despite calls from preservationists and locals to save it. Plans were announced to build a park at the site. The demolition of
8058-575: The relocation, Creeks began to deconstruct their spiritual lives; they burned piles of lightwood over their ancestors' graves to honor their memories, and polished the sacred plates which would travel at the front of each group. They also prepared financially, selling what they could not bring. Many were swindled by local merchants out of valuable possessions (including land), and the military had to intervene. The detachments began moving west in September 1836, facing harsh conditions. Despite their preparations,
8160-548: The removal treaty was illegitimate; it was a "sham treaty", which the US government should not uphold. He describes removal as such a dereliction of all faith and virtues, such a denial of justice...in the dealing of a nation with its own allies and wards since the earth was made...a general expression of despondency, of disbelief, that any goodwill accrues from a remonstrance on an act of fraud and robbery, appeared in those men to whom we naturally turn for aid and counsel. Emerson concludes his letter by saying that it should not be
8262-462: The same Suwannee River basin. The eastern portion of Lowndes County is located in the Alapaha River sub-basin of the larger Suwannee River basin. As of the 2020 United States census , there were 118,251 people, 42,639 households, and 26,536 families residing in the county. The county's former courthouse was built circa 1905 and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places ; it
8364-630: The same manner; and Persons appointed to reside among them in proper Districts, who shall take care to prevent Injustice in the Trade with them, and be enabled at our general Expense by occasional small Supplies, to relieve their personal Wants and Distresses. And all Purchases from them shall be by the Congress for the General Advantage and Benefit of the United Colonies. The Confederation Congress passed
8466-418: The southern portion of Lowndes County near present-day Lake Park. In the centuries that followed, Timucua civilization collapsed due to slave raiding and disease. The Creek Nation peoples moved into the area and, by the early 19th century, they were well established here. On December 15, 1818, European Americans organized what they called Irwin County, which had been settled by pushing out the Creek people. In
8568-446: The truth ... Where you now are, you and my white children are too near to each other to live in harmony and peace. Your game is destroyed, and many of your people will not work and till the earth. Beyond the great River Mississippi, where a part of your nation has gone, your Father has provided a country large enough for all of you, and he advises you to remove to it. There your white brothers will not trouble you; they will have no claim to
8670-614: The war resulted in over 1,500 US deaths, and cost the government $ 20 million. Some Seminole traveled deeper into the Everglades, and others moved west. The removal continued, and a number of wars broke out over land. In 1823, the Seminole signed the Treaty of Moultrie Creek , which reduced their 34 million to 4 millions acres. In the aftermath of the Treaties of Fort Jackson , and the Washington ,
8772-515: The white planter's death. None of the lynching participants were prosecuted. On May 15, 2010, a historical marker memorializing "Mary Turner and the Lynching Rampage" was placed near the lynching site in Lowndes County and dedicated. The plaque includes a description of the associated murders of black people by white mobs in 1918, especially the lynchings of the Turners. In July 2013, the plaque
8874-529: The yarn in his store. At the same time, armed women stole a wagon load of bacon from a government warehouse. A mob of women also went on a rampage for similar reasons in Naylor, Georgia at about the same time. In February 1864 members of Company I "Woodson Guards", 32nd Regiment Georgia Infantry camped overnight in Valdosta at an area south of the railroad while on their way to Battle of Olustee in northern Florida. It
8976-555: Was a popular policy, it was also opposed on legal and moral grounds; it also ran counter to the formal, customary diplomatic interaction between the federal government and the Native nations. Ralph Waldo Emerson wrote the widely-published letter "A Protest Against the Removal of the Cherokee Indians from the State of Georgia" in 1838, shortly before the Cherokee removal. Emerson criticizes the government and its removal policy, saying that
9078-463: Was adjusted so that the east bank of the Little River formed the border. Land belonging to William Wisenbaker was chosen as the site of the new county seat of Valdosta . The arrival of the railroad led to the downfall of Troupville and the rise of Valdosta as a center for the economy of south Georgia. The shifting county boundary lines led to population loss for Lowndes County. The 1860 census showed
9180-528: Was ambivalent about Indian assimilation and used the words "exterminate" and "extirpate" about tribes who resisted American expansion and were willing to fight for their lands. Jefferson intended to change Indian lifestyles from hunting and gathering to farming, largely through "the decrease of game rendering their subsistence by hunting insufficient". He expected the change to agriculture to make them dependent on white Americans for goods, and more likely to surrender their land or allow themselves to be moved west of
9282-478: Was completed. This is the structure that is locally referred to in the 21st century as 'the old courthouse.' In August and September 2010, the county government moved to a new judicial complex. The 1905 Lowndes County Courthouse is widely acknowledged as one of the most beautiful county courthouses in Georgia. It is used for meetings, public display, and other community attractions. Today it is used for many events, meetings, and political purposes. Residents not in
9384-465: Was for Native Americans to intermix with European Americans and become one people. To achieve that end as president, Jefferson offered US citizenship to some Indian nations and proposed offering them credit to facilitate trade. On 27 February 1803, Jefferson wrote in a letter to William Henry Harrison : In this way our settlements will gradually circumbscribe & approach the Indians, & they will in time either incorporate with us as citizens of
9486-549: Was found to have five bullet holes shot by an unknown vandal. Since 2013, the plaque now has as many as 27 bullet holes and more recently, was struck multiple times by “some kind of off-road vehicle,” Mark Patrick George, coordinator for the Mary Turner Project, announced in October 2020. The historical marker has been since removed. Project officials said the historical marker will be stored until re-installment plans are made. It
9588-579: Was incorporated. Rumors of the coming of the Brunswick and Chattahoochee Railroad, the opening up of Florida, and the prosperity of the surrounding farmland led to the growth of Troupville and Lowndes County in general. In 1845, the remaining county-owned land at Franklinville was sold at the courthouse in Troupville. The closest battle to Troupville between Native Americans and whites was at Brushy Creek on November 10, 1836, in modern Berrien County . Creek Nation people were passing through Lowndes County to join
9690-478: Was killed in Lowndes County and the others in Brooks. Mary Turner , the married mother of two young children and eight months pregnant, was brutally murdered in Lowndes County, near Folsom Bridge on the Little River. The unborn child was then cut from her womb and its head crushed by a booted foot of one of the participants in the lynching. Her husband had been lynched the day before although neither had anything to do with
9792-563: Was slightly farther south. The border when Lowndes County was created was along what was called McNeil's Line. A dispute over the border between the states of Florida and Georgia later developed (see Florida v. Georgia ). In 1857, the governors of the two states appointed surveyors for a joint survey of the border. This led to the creation of the Orr and Whitney Line, which was agreed to by the United States Congress on April 9, 1872. In 1899
9894-409: Was sold for the funding of a new courthouse by 1869. The wooden building used for the courts of ordinary burned down in 1869. Lowndes County was without an official courthouse for a number of years. A two-story brick building was completed in 1874. In 1900, county commissioners decided that a larger structure was needed. In March 1904 the old courthouse was demolished and in 1905, the seventh courthouse
9996-417: Was the United States government 's policy of ethnic cleansing through the forced displacement of self-governing tribes of American Indians from their ancestral homelands in the eastern United States to lands west of the Mississippi River —specifically, to a designated Indian Territory (roughly, present-day Oklahoma ), which many scholars have labeled a genocide . The Indian Removal Act of 1830 ,
10098-408: Was the county's seventh courthouse. The first courthouse was built in 1828 at Franklinville, the original county seat. In 1834 another courthouse was built at the new county seat of Troupville. It was replaced by a new courthouse in 1842. The 1842 structure was destroyed by a fire set by William B. Crawford in June 1858. The first courthouse at Valdosta was built in 1860 and was a wooden structure that
10200-452: Was their only option to maintain their autonomy and culture. The US used this division to forge removal treaties with (often) minority groups who became convinced that removal was the best option for their people. These treaties were often not acknowledged by most of a nation's people. When Congress ratified the removal treaty, the federal government could use military force to remove Native nations if they had not moved (or had begun moving) by
10302-543: Was to be the closest fighting came to Valdosta during the Civil War. Valdosta became a home for many refugees fleeing into south Georgia due to Sherman's March to the Sea . Among those refugees was the family of Doc Holliday . Other refugees came by the railroad from Savannah and the Sea Islands . In the years right after the Civil War, members of Company "G", 103rd United States Colored Troops were stationed at Valdosta as part of
10404-412: Was willing to grant citizenship to those Indian nations who sought it. In his eighth annual message to Congress on November 8, 1808, he presented a vision of white and Indian unity: With our Indian neighbors the public peace has been steadily maintained ... And, generally, from a conviction that we consider them as part of ourselves, and cherish with sincerity their rights and interests, the attachment of
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