'A History of Brooklyn: Part V' describes post-Civil War Brooklyn history

The old Rabun & Feagin store building at Brooklyn.

(In 1982, The Evergreen Courant newspaper published a six-part series called "A History of Brooklyn," which was originally written by the late R.G. (Bob) Kendall Jr. The fifth installment in the series, which you'll find reprinted below, was originally published in the April 29, 1982 edition of The Courant. Other installments of the article can be found in the April 1, April 8, April 15, April 22 and May 6 editions of The Courant from 1982. Four of those installments have already been posted on this blog during the past month, and I plan to post the final installment next Sunday, so if you enjoy reading Part V, keep you eyes open for the final installment next Sunday. Without further ado, here's Part V.)

“A History of Brooklyn: Part V” by the late R.G. (Bob) Kendall Jr.

The conclusion of the war found the Brooklyn area, like the rest of the South, drained of much of its best blood and prostrated economically. A hard struggle to come back lay ahead, a challenge not unlike the one facing the pioneer settlers a half century earlier.

Brooklyn rose to the challenge. It was aided greatly in the effort by the widespread activity of the timber and sawmill industry. After Thomas Mendenhall’s early effort, years later in the northeastern part of Escambia County, then Conecuh, Ira Bond built a water-driven sawmill on Cedar Creek. He later sold to William Ashley, who in turn sold to Andrew Jay. Both of these men were very prominent in Conecuh County affairs of the times. Mr. Jay sold to Elisha Downing and Downing moved the mill to Brewton in 1892. T.R. Miller, already operating a mill of his own in Brewton, bought into the Downing operation in 1899.

The post Civil War recovery was helped greatly by activity in cutting the virgin stands of longleaf pine near streams that could move the timbers. After this stand was exhausted, the area languished until the T.R. Miller Mill Co. extended its railroad operation into the area and across the Sepulga River in 1911. Incidentally, many of the area’s inhabitants still refer to the company as Cedar Creek.

The railroad not only served to move out the timber but brought in supplies for the area residents. They were delivered to the warehouse of Amos and Bush, a naval stores operation, between Fish Pond and Brooklyn. Fish Pond was a junction point for the lumber company’s railroad branches and much of their personnel and “woods crews.”

During the period after the Civil War and before the “mini boom” brought on by the Cedar Creek timber operation, there were a number of interesting developments in Brooklyn. In 1886 a newspaper was published at Brooklyn called The Plantation News. In that same year, a Federal appropriation of $12,000 was made to clear the Conecuh River of hinderances to navigation.

In 1888 another newspaper known as The Brooklyn Eagle was published. The quest for a successful river route seemed to spring eternal in the Brooklyn breast. In March of 1897 a steamboat was being built in Brooklyn to be used on the Conecuh and Sepulga Rivers. It was intended to tow a line of barges in moving the approximately 1,000 bales of cotton out of the Brooklyn area each season. This effort, too, ended in failure.

A final effort to improve the navigation of the area rivers came in January 1913 when government surveyors arrived in Brooklyn to survey the Conecuh River for locks. A measure was pending in Congress to appropriate $9,000 to improve the Conecuh and Escambia Rivers to permit increased river traffic, including passenger vessels, between River Falls and Pensacola. The failure of the legislation to pass finally ended Brooklyn’s dream of a navigable water route to Pensacola.

The following article in an unknown paper of 1895 tells something of the Brooklyn of that time.

BROOKLYN IN 1895

“Brooklyn is a nice country village in the southeastern part of Conecuh County, on the Sepulga River and about 20 miles from Evergreen. It has three stores, one, Amos-McMillan, does a general mercantile business, keeping everything in stock necessary to supply their customers. Mr. E.N. Amos, senior member of the firm, was raised in Conecuh County and has been postmaster of Brooklyn for a number of years. Dr. McMillan came from Monroeville several years ago to engage in the practice of medicine. Then later he went into the mercantile business with Mr. Amos, forming the above named firm. Both these gentlemen are in the prime of life, doing a good, safe business and have the confidence of their friends. (See their advertisement elsewhere in this issue.)

Mr. W.G. Rabun is also a successful merchant of Brooklyn. He is a young man of push and rein and does a good mercantile business and is held in high esteem by the young ladies. (See his ad this issue.)

“This town is situated in a fine agricultural county. For a full description of the character of the soil and the adaptability of growing various crops see Mr. I.M. Sanders’ advertisement of his valuable plantation. Mr. Sanders is one of Conecuh’s most successful planters, a good businessman, thoroughly reliable and whatever he says in his advertisement describing his place may be regarded as correct. The people in and around Brooklyn are refined and cultured and as a general thing, prosperous.”

After the T.R. Miller Mill Co. extended its railroad operations into the area around Brooklyn and across the Sepulga River in 1911, Brooklyn experienced its finest hours. This was finally terminated in 1926 by the abandonment of the rail operation, but in the meantime, Brooklyn was a fine, prosperous small town.

(To be continued)

(If you’d  like to go back and read Part I, Part II,  Part III and Part IV of Kendall’s “History of Brooklyn,” visit http://leepeacock2010.blogspot.com/2014/04/part-i-of-rg-bob-kendall-jrs-history-of.html,  http://leepeacock2010.blogspot.com/2014/04/part-ii-of-kendalls-history-of-brooklyn.html,  http://leepeacock2010.blogspot.com/2014/04/a-history-of-brooklyn-describes-sinking.html and http://leepeacock2010.blogspot.com/2014/04/history-of-brooklyn-alabama-tells-of.html.)