The Towaliga River is a 52.3-mile-long (84.2 km) tributary of the Ocmulgee River in central Georgia . The Towaliga begins in Henry County and passes through High Falls State Park in northwestern Monroe County , then traverses the county and joins the Ocmulgee near the town of Juliette . The river begins north of Cole Reservoir in Henry County where it is joined by multiple creeks, including Thompson Creek, Troublesome Creek in Spalding County , Long Branch, and Lee Creek to gain size. The river is fairly muddy above High Falls Lake, but it clears once below the falls where most of the river is rock bottomed. This region is about 50 miles (80 km) south of Atlanta and about 35 miles (56 km) north of Macon .
17-522: The river was featured in a scene from the made-for-television movie Murder in Coweta County in which the ashes of the murdered victim are found floating in the nook of tree hollow along the bank of the river. The river was used as location only and does not actually flow through Coweta County, also located in Georgia. The name probably derives from a Creek place name, but its meaning is unclear. Some say
34-465: A 1976 book by Margaret Anne Barnes and a 1983 television movie on CBS starring Johnny Cash and Andy Griffith . John Wallace, a wealthy landowner, had virtually unlimited power in Meriwether County, Georgia . Even the sheriff , Hardy Collier, was under his control. Wilson Turner, a sharecropper tenant, attempted to do extra bootlegging work without Wallace's permission and was fired as
51-508: A nearby stream. Wallace forced two black field workers, Albert Brooks and Robert Lee Gates, to assist him in destroying the victim's body. Since witnesses testified that the murder took place in Coweta County, the crime was under the jurisdiction of Lamar Potts, the Coweta County Sheriff. Potts and his deputies searched for days and then an informant told them that Wallace burned the body and implicated Brooks and Gates. Potts persuaded
68-846: A result. Turner retaliated by stealing two of Wallace's cows. Turner was found and arrested in Carrollton, Georgia , by Chief of Police Rada Threadgill but was transferred from the Carrollton jail to the Meriwether County Jail in Greenville . Turner was later released from jail, purportedly because of a lack of evidence. As he left the jail, he discovered John Wallace waiting outside with his men. Realizing that he had been set up, Turner attempted to escape in his truck, with Wallace and his group in pursuit, two men each in two cars. Turner's truck, drained of its fuel earlier, stopped running just past
85-608: A river in the US state of Georgia is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Murder in Coweta County The murder in Coweta County was an April 1948 murder committed in Coweta County in the U.S. state of Georgia . A wealthy landowner in Meriwether County was pursued by the sheriff of neighboring Coweta County, Georgia. The events were the subject of two acclaimed works, both titled Murder in Coweta County :
102-479: Is most commonly pronounced / t aʊ ( ə ) ˈ l aɪ ɡ ə / , but some insist that the local pronunciation sounds like / t aɪ ˈ l æ ɡ i / tye- LAG -ee . Others have heard it pronounced as / t oʊ ˈ ɒ l ə ɡ ə / toh- OL -ə-gə .Most of us locals pronounce it (tou,ah(lye)guh. or .tuh(wah)lig/uh. 33°07′37″N 83°49′02″W / 33.12707°N 83.81713°W / 33.12707; -83.81713 This article related to
119-518: The county line at the Sunset Tourist camp in Moreland , Coweta County, Georgia . Multiple witnesses reported seeing Wallace pistol-whip Turner so hard that the gun discharged, then Turner going limp and being put in one of the cars. The group then returned to Meriwether County, where Turner's body was first hidden on Wallace's property, then burned in a pit, the ashes and bone fragments scattered in
136-476: The Wallace trial, later described in the book Murder in Coweta County . In the 1983 made-for-TV movie of the same name , she was portrayed as a local oracle by 54-year-old June Carter Cash . Cash's real-life husband, Johnny Cash , played the key role of the persistent sheriff Lamar Potts determined to bring to justice the arrogant John Wallace ( Andy Griffith ). Lancaster ran for the Georgia legislature in 1926,
153-548: The fateful murder but also the events that brought Wallace to that point—the death of his father and his early exposure to making moonshine , among other events. It includes letters to and from Wallace in prison. Murder in Coweta County is a 1983 television movie produced by Dick Atkins and Michael Lepiner, directed by Gary Nelson , and written by Dennis Nemec based on Barnes' book. Andy Griffith played landowner John Wallace and Johnny Cash played Sheriff Lamar Potts of Coweta County. Cash's wife, June Carter Cash , played
170-414: The first woman to do so. She ran on a platform advocating roads and railroads into rural counties, public schools, and the passage of a law that mandated that doctors must deliver babies regardless of the family's ability to pay fees. She did not win, but some of her ideas were eventually carried out. Mayhayley Lancaster died May 22, 1955. In addition to her legal, political and educational activities, she
187-520: The local seer, Mayhayley Lancaster . Noted Watergate -era attorney James F. Neal played one of the lawyers during the trial. Mayhayley Lancaster Mayhayley Lancaster (October 18, 1875 – November 22, 1955) was an American lawyer, political activist, midwife and teacher best known for having participated in two of Georgia 's most high-profile murder trials, involving defendants Leo Frank in Marietta and John Wallace in Coweta County . She
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#1732851707305204-529: The name means "sumac place", while others believe it means "among trees". If you visit the Indian Springs State Park welcome center there's a book that suggests the names means "scalded scalp". This is said because Creek would scalp enemies and trespassers, and then place the scalps on the exposed rocks to bake in the sun as a warning to others not to poach on their land or leave the path. 3l Pronunciation of "Towaliga" varies, according to Georgians. It
221-483: The two men to take him to the burn site. There were bone fragments found that the crime lab identified as human. Brooks and Gates also took the sheriff to the well where Turner's body had originally been deposited. Ruptured brain tissue was found that was also identified as coming from a human being. Wallace's trial received wide press coverage in the rural community. It was reported that Wallace's eccentric testimony led to his conviction. After several appeals, John Wallace
238-460: Was a 1976 book by Margaret Anne Barnes , originally published by Simon & Schuster in 1977. Though the book is generally considered accurate, Barnes' website has quoted the El Paso Times as calling it "the new fictionalized style of recording historic events". No Remorse: The Rise and Fall of John Wallace (hardcover ISBN 978-1-58838-264-1 ), by Dot Moore , explores not only
255-710: Was also described as a noted fortune teller, numbers runner and self-proclaimed "Oracle of the Ages". She is buried in the cemetery at Caney Head Methodist Church. Oracle of the Ages: Reflections on the Curious Life of Fortune Teller Mayhayley Lancaster (hardcover ISBN 978-1-58838-007-4 ; paperback ISBN 978-1-60306-008-0 ), by Dot Moore , is a biography of Mahayley Lancaster. The people who knew her reflect on her personality, her politics, and her passions, delving fully into Mayhayley lore and legend. Also included
272-456: Was executed in the electric chair in 1950. His case was unusual, because he was one of the richest men ever to be given the death penalty and his case was the first in Georgia where a white man was given the death sentence upon the testimony of two black men. Mayhayley Lancaster , a local "seer" from nearby Heard County, also testified against Wallace. Murder in Coweta County (original ISBN 0-88349-064-1 ; re-issued in 1983 and 2004 )
289-536: Was involved in Leo Frank's defense and in the Wallace case as a witness for the prosecution. Born Amanda Mayhayley Lancaster, she grew up in Heard County, Georgia , where she lived for most of her life. Mayhayley Lancaster was 39 years old in 1915, during the Leo Frank case. She was one of the few public voices in Georgia to defend Frank. Thirty-two years later, in 1947, the 71-year-old Mayhayley Lancaster took part in
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