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The Marion County Patriot May 24, 1907; The Marion County Patriot, No. 19 Friday, May 24, 1907; Page One

Contributed by Gerry Hill

Buena Vista, the county site of Marion County, is situated on the highest point in southwest Georgia, with a climate unsurpassed and an abundance of pure water.  Its 1,600 inhabitants connected with every part of the county by telephone and postal rural mail service, and with the outer world by railroad, telegraph and telephone, are proud of their superb situation, and their many beautiful homes and advantages make it one of the most attractive and desirable places in the south.

The hill on which Buena Vista stands gives birth to innumerable springs of pure sweet water.  On the north they pour down into a deep ravine, out of which flows the sparkling Uchee, fed by waters as pure as those that well up from the base of the Blue Ridge mountains.

On the south and east the fountains sparkle up from the hill slope and go dancing away to form the Muckalee.

On the west a system of silvery fountains break away and form the source of one of the principal branches of the Kinchafoonee.

The town is environed by a system of perfect drainage, making it one of the healthiest places in all Georgia.

The ancient site of Kings Town is only about a mile from town.  King was a chief of the Uchee Indians, and the old plum orchard and scraps of pottery, arrowheads and other relics remain as reminders of the days when the “Uchee Trail” was a great thoroughfare between the Indian towns in Alabama, just across from where Columbus now stands, and Savannah, where the red men went to do their trading; carrying their bundles a distance of two to three hundred miles to barter them for goods of the pale faces by the sea.

Marion County was cut off from Lee and Muscogee counties in 1827, and was named in honor of General Francis Marion.  It then embraced extensive territory from which in 1827 a part was given to Crawford county, in 1829 a part back to Muscogee, in 1837 a part to Macon, in 1852 a part to Taylor, in 1854 a part to Chattahoochee and in 1857 a part to Schley.  It now contains 344 square miles.

Its first county site was Horry, now in that part that went to help make Schley county.

In 1838 the county site was moved to Tazewell, where it remained until 1845 when it was removed to Buena Vista, which five years later, 1850, was incorporated and public buildings made permanent by an Act of Congress.

The building that was the courthouse in Tazewell in the “long ago” is yet standing, the upper part being used by the Masonic Lodge, while the lower part has been converted into a store room, and is now occupied by the general store of Messrs. H.T. Chapman and H.S. Wall.

In 1849, two years after a part of Stewart county, was known as the “cut off” was added to Marion county, Judge D.N. Burkhalter sold half the lot, the most central point in the county, for $700.00 and donated the other half, where now stands our beautiful Buena Vista, the county’s capitol.  It was called “Pea Ridge” in those days because someone had said it was too poor to sprout cow
peas, and everyone took the saying as a fact; but the now growth of vegetation, the fine gardens, the abundance of flowers, the numerous and attractive shade trees, etc., show that they judged too hastily.

The Name
Just at that time the victory of General Zachary Taylor, in Mexico, had set the nation wild with gladness and joy, and it was first suggested that the county site be called Taylor in honor of this great hero.  But there was another Taylor in Georgia, and while the discussion was at its height, news of the glorious victory of the hard fought battle of Buena Vista reached the sons of Marion, and
with one accord they gave it this name.  It means “Beautiful View,” and no more appropriate name was ever given a town, and no town in Georgia contains more beautiful views.  As far as the eye can reach the blue veiled Uchee Valley stretches away toward the pine hills of the north, and beautiful indeed is the vista of wood and field, valley and hill, homes and sparkling water that
stretches westward toward the hills of the Chattahoochee.  To the east the sun rises on fine farm lands brought to a high state of cultivation and to the south rise in swelling indulations, like the rise and fall of sun-crested ocean billows, the fertile lands of the Muckalee.

Thirty-six miles from Columbus, Ga., and twenty-nine miles from Americus, Ga. on the Central of Georgia railroad Buena Vista stands in an altitude 780 feet above Columbus, the highest point between Macon, Ga. and the sea, one of the most beautifully located towns in Georgia.

Back near 1850 a part of the land obtained from Judge Burkhalter was sold for $8,000.00 and the money applied to the building of a brick courthouse.

Buena Vista was then incorporated but it was not until 1890, forty years later that a new chapter was granted incorporating the town extending one mile from the courthouse in every direction.

Buena Vista in its general makeup has thirty-four stores, four cotton warehouses, two banks, one newspaper and job printing office, six churches, two schools with teachers, three hotels, four barbers, two livery and sales stables, three blacksmith shops, three dentists, one eye specialist, one shoe shop, one bracket, turning and variety shop, one meat market, one guano factory, one cigar factory, one skating rink, one telephone exchange, one express office, two telegraph offices, six resident attorneys, five resident white preachers, beside colored preachers, four physicians, Masonic Lodge K. of P. Lodge, W.C.T. U. Local, Daughters of the Confederacy Chapter, several Negro lodges, a system of water works, water works power house and reservoir, besides courthouse, post office, new jail building, new depot and many fine residences.

The Post Office
The post office is a modern brick structure, well arranged for the accommodation and quick handling of the immense mail that comes this point.  It is the supply point, not only for the great amount of individual mail handled directly through the office, but of seven rural mail routes, one star route and all the mail that goes to Draneville and Tazewell and the mail routes that start from those places.

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Columbus Daily Enquirer, 22 Oct 1913:

Mrs. J W Brown to be buried at Buena Vista.  The body of Mrs J W Brown, whose death occurred at the family residence at 3114 Third Avenue, Monday evening, will be taken to Buena Vista, the former home of the family, this morning at 7:00 on the Central of Georgia train and funeral will occur from the Primitive Baptist Church of that place upon the arrival of the train.  Interment will be in the family burial ground bear Buena Vista.

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Columbus Daily Enquirer, Nov 5, 1913:

Judge James M Lowe, 74 years old, for many years Ordinary of Marion County and prominent as a citizen of West Georgia died Monday at him home in Buena Vista and was buried yesterday morning, the funeral having been conducted from the Methodist Church of that town by Rev J W Weston, his pastor.  He has been prominent in Sunday School work and as a steward in that Church for many years.  Judge Lowe is survived by five daughters Mrs Stokes of Buena Vista, Mrs R H Peacock of Columbus, Mrs J H Huff of Griffin, Mrs Victor McMichael of Buena Vista and Mrs Lowe of Buena Vista.  He had many friends throughout West Georgia who will deplore his death.

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