Trees & Landscaping - Pendleton King Park History

Lanscaping Old Towne Augusta
Trees & Landscaping

John Pendleton King History

A nineteenth-century Augustan, John Pendleton King, left an enduring legacy to present-day Augusta. Of his many accomplishments those still visible today include: the Augusta Canal; the Georgia Railroad; the Georgia Railroad Bank; the John P. King Mill; and Pendleton King Park, donated by his son, Henry Barclay King, which brings enjoyment to countless Augustans, old and young.

EARLY LIFE

"Judge" King, - lawyer, judge, senator, industrialist, banker, and railroad builder, was born April 3, 1799, near Glasgow in Barron County, Kentucky. His father was Francis King, a native of Hanover County, Virginia, and his mother was the former Mary Patrick of Pendleton District, South Carolina.

The King family moved to Bedford County, Tennessee, while John was quite young and he attended school in this area from his ninth to his sixteenth years, boarding during the week and making the trips to and from home on horseback.

In 1815, John, aged sixteen, came to Columbia County, Georgia, to visit his maternal Uncle Patrick. He liked the area so much that he decided to stay, and came to Augusta in 1817 to enter Richmond Academy. After finishing his schooling in this venerable institution, young King studied law in the office of noted Georgian, Major Freeman Walker.

LAW CAREER

John was admitted to the Bar in August, 1819, at age 20, and began his law practice in Major Walker's office. Money came easily to the young lawyer and, when Major Walker was elected to the U. S. Senate, King took over his large, lucrative practice. In the next few years, he gained wealth, popularity, and influence in his adopted city.

As an established and wealthy young man, King took a leave of absence from his law practice to sail for Europe in December, 1821. The purpose of his two-year sojourn was to study social, political, and economic conditions in Europe and to absorb general culture.

He mastered the French language and met General Lafayette in Paris. The two men became fast friends and King returned to America on the same ship with Lafayette, who was visiting this country. In the Autumn of 1825, when General Lafayette visited Augusta, John Pendleton King delivered the City's welcoming address to the great Frenchman.

In 1829, Mr. King retired from his very successful law practice to devote his time and considerable talents to his many private interests and enterprises.

POLITICAL CAREER

Though not politically ambitious, Mr. King attended the Georgia State Constitutional Convention in 1830, acting with the Jacksonian Democrats. He strongly advocated equalization of representation in State government, but his measure failed because of strong opposition.

Governor Wilson Lumpkin appointed Mr. King a Judge of the Court of Common Pleas in 1831. Though Judge King held this position for only a short time, he was thereafter known as "Judge" King.

The year 1833 was an important one in the life of Judge King. Early in the year, he attended a second Constitutional Convention, as Leader of the Jackson Democrats, and gained a reputation as one of the ablest and most eloquent men in Georgia in debate with William H. Crawford, leader of the Whigs, ex-secretary of the Treasury, and once a candidate for the presidency.

In the Autumn of 1833, while the Judge was on private business in Vicksburg, word reached him that he had been appointed to the U. S. Senate to fill the unexpired term of George N. Troup, who had resigned. Judge King went into the Senate as a States Rights Democrat.

At the age of 34, in 1834, King was elected to a six-year term in the Senate - without a campaign or any other effort on his part to achieve this post. He had the distinction of being the youngest Senator of his time.

This was an exciting and controversial period in the government of the United States. Andrew Jackson was President, and Senator King worked alongside such prominent and remarkable men as Calhoun, Webster, and Clay. King began his term of office on December 2, 1833, and was swept into the important issues of the day, which included: currency and the establishment of a national bank; the disposition of public land; the removal of the Indians West of the Mississippi River; internal improvements, the tariff; nullification - on which issue Senator King opposed Senator Calhoun on the grounds that is was dangerous to the Union.

In a speech, Senator King severely criticized leading measures of President Van Buren's Administration. The Georgia Press, in turn, did a hatchet job on Senator King's views - as expressed in his speech - and on November 1, 1837, King resigned from the Senate and politics in general to return to private life.

According to Alexander H. Stephens: "No like abandonment of politics from personal disgust ever occurred in the history of the United States".1

PERSONAL CHARACTERISTICS

Perhaps some description of Judge King's personal - and political attributes would be helpful to explain his disgust and retirement from political life at this point.

He is described as having "energy, integrity, physical, and mental activity and unswerving devotion to justice and right..."2, being a "close student and a vigorous and forcible writer"3 (contributing numerous articles to the journals of the day during important political crises), well-versed in the public affairs of this country and the old world as well"4.

His virtues also included "high courage and indomitable will",5 and, while he could be a resolute antagonist, he was also a "genial friend and warm sympathizer with human distress and suffering".6

1. The Story of Georgia, Biographical Volume, The American Historical Society, Inc.,

New York, 1938, pp. 497-498.

2. Memorial History of Augusta, Georgia, Charles C. Jones, Jur. L. L. D. Salem Dutcher,

Syracuse, New York, D. Mason & Co. Publishers, 1890, p. 39.

3. Ibid

4. Ibid

5. Ibid

6. Ibid

It is said, too, that through his life, both business and private, "there shone a rigid and unflinching integrity which never yielded to any stress of circumstances".7 In short, he was recognized as "an upright, honest man---conspicuous among all who knew him for his unbending integrity".8

He was also a deeply religious man and a member of St. Paul's Episcopal Church in Augusta.

He is further described as "fearless, honest, unyielding, and resourceful, blunt, candid, and impetuous, and was always practical and profound".9

Mr. King himself said: "We should never resort to theory when we have the lights of experience to guide us".10

BUSINESS CAREER

Judge King's retirement from politics didn't mean withdrawal from work. He at once proved himself a pioneer in cotton manufacturing, a great railroad-builder and developer".11

In 1835, the Georgia Railroad was begun to connect Augusta with Atlanta, via Madison, with a branch line to Athens. By 1841, only the track to Madison had been completed. The country was in a state of financial depression, affecting both railroads and banks, because of war, inflation, and worthless currency.

7. Ibid

8. Ibid

9. Ibid p. 37

10. Ibid p. 35

11. Excerpts from Augusta Chronicle article: John Pendleton King, July 24, 1960.

The shareholders of the Georgia Railroad and Banking Company pressed John P. King to assume its management. In 1841, he became President of the Company (for an initial period of two years) and placed his own private fortune and credit at the command of the Company.

Through good management and economy measures, Judge King was able to make the railroad profitable. By 1845, the line to Atlanta was completed, as with the branch line to Athens -- a total of 213 miles - and without calling on the shareholders for financial assistance.

At the beginning of the Civil War in 1861, the Georgia Railroad and Banking Company had a surplus of approximately $1,000,000. However, during the war years, General Sherman's raiders nearly destroyed the Railroad's entire rolling stock and track -- a loss of almost $3,000,000.

Judge King managed to keep the Company going throughout the Reconstruction period - no mean achievement - and was able to gradually to restore the Railroad to prosperity. After the War, he built the Atlanta and West Point Railroad, served as its President, and made it into one of the most profitable short line operations in the South, and, indeed, the whole country.

It is interesting to note that after the War was over, the Georgia Railroad transported more than 100,000 Confederate soldiers to their homes, FREE OF CHARGE.

The banking part of the Company began with a bank of issue before the Civil War. After the War, the State of Georgia granted it banking privileges. The bank did a large deposit and discount business, with status conferred on it by the wealth and standing of its shareholders. This is still the case today, as the Georgia Railroad Bank continues to prosper.

Another interesting note: The Georgia Railroad Bank will even now accept Confederate currency originally issued by the Georgia and exchange it for contemporary dollars and cents.

The Georgia Railroad Banking Company still operates under its original charter and had provided continuous service for more than 100 years. The Company has never been reorganized, has never placed a mortgage on the railroad, and has paid more than 250 dividends to its shareholders.

Judge King remained as President of the Company until May, 1878, at which time he was 79 years old and had been head of the Company for nearly 40 years -- a leader in the railroad development of the South.

His business and civic interests also included his cotton manufactory and the development of the Augusta Canal.

The Augusta City Council elected John P. King to a Board of Commissioners to construct a canal to provide water power for citizens of the city and for local manufacturing. The Augusta Canal was begun in 1845, seven miles above Augusta on the Savannah River, and completed in 1847.

The John P. King Manufacturing Company was incorporated in 1881. It was located on Goodrich Street, overlooking the Canal - and had 1900 looms and 60,000 spindles.

Despite his desire to stay out of politics, Judge King was persuaded to attend the State Constitutional Convention in 1865, but all efforts of the Convention were nullified by Reconstruction.

PRIVATE LIFE AND FAMILY

Judge King's private life appears to be as upright and honorable as his political and business careers.

He married Mary Louisa Woodward on January 10, 1842. She was the daughter of John Moore Woodward of New York City - the Woodwards being a wealthy and prominent family in that city.

THEIR HOME

Prior to his marriage, Judge King had purchased the old Bugg plantation, which contained a typical three-story Southern mansion. The building was of clapboard, with two-story white columns on the front and verandahs on both floors.

Judge King had the house renovated and brought his bride to it after their marriage.

On the first floor of the mansion were two drawing rooms, a library, dining room, and a morning or day room for the ladies. The kitchens were originally in a brick building behind the house, but were later moved inside for convenience. On the upper two floors were bedrooms for the family and their guests.

In the grounds near the house were the brick slave quarters, the old Bugg family cemetery, stables, and other necessary outbuildings and a pond.

As Judge King believed in using what he had, the family got its water from the pond, coal from their coal mines in Tennessee, and food from their land, excepting sugar, tobacco, and whiskey.

The property also boasted an avenue of trees leading from the mansion to the Georgia Railroad tracks, which bordered the estate. As President of the Georgia Railroad and Banking Company, Judge King possessed himself of an interesting privilege: each morning he would walk down this tree-lined avenue to the tracks, where the incoming Georgia Railroad passenger train would stop for him and take him into Augusta.

The family lived at Sand Hills during most of the year, and spent the summer months at their home in Asheville, in the North Carolina mountains.

John P. King saw war was coming, and sent his family to England about 1860 for the duration of the War, remaining himself in America to oversee his interests.

THE FAMILY

The Kings had four children - three daughters and one son. Their eldest child, Minne, married the Honorable Henry Wodehouse, Attache to the British Embassy in Paris. He died the next year in diplomatic service in Athens, Greece. In 1880, the widow married the Marquis of Anglesey, one of the first of many early Victorian marriages in which American wealth married European nobility or royalty. She later divorced the Marquis and made her home in Paris, France.

The Kings only son, Henry Barclay, was born August 22, 1844. He was graduated with honors from the University of Oxford (England) in 1867, and returned to make his home in Augusta. He married Elizabeth Cashin.

The third child, Grace Sterling King, was born in 1846 and married John M. Berrien Connelly of Burke County, Georgia. She died December 31, 1875 at the age of 29.

The youngest daughter, Louise Woodward King, was born at Sand Hills on July 6, 1850. She was educated at home and in private school in Switzerland. Miss King was distinguished both at home and abroad for her active efforts on behalf of dumb animals. She was instrumental in the establishment of the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals in Georgia and for the Augusta Humane Society. She was also the founder of the Louise King Home for Widows, which is presently located on Greene Street. She died unmarried on December 7, 1879 at age 29.

John Pendleton King, honored citizen of his city, state, and country, died in Summerville, Chattooga County, Georgia on Monday, March 19, 1887. He had suffered a bried illness and died from congestion of the lungs in his 88th year. He is buried in historic Summerville Cemetery in Augusta.

His wife survived him and died in Paris, France, on November 19, 1890.

FAMILY FOOTNOTES

The Years After J. P. King's Death:

The Henry Barclay Kings lived on at Sand Hills after his parents' deaths.

Mrs. King had suffered several miscarriages, and - at long last a son was born to them on July 9, 1889. He was named John Pendleton King II, after his grandfather, and was called "Pendleton".

Young Pendleton grew up on the family estate and, prior to America's entry into World War I, he became an Army Liaison Officer in Paris, France.

While Pendleton was overseas, the family home at Sand Hills burned. (We couldn't get any definite information as to when this occurred, but the best guesses were between 1911 and 1913).

Workmen were preparing to paint the house and were using blowtorches to soften the old paint, in order to scrape it off before repainting. Apparently, the fire from the blowtorches got underneath the old, dry clapboards and the house burned to the ground.

Family members and servants were able to remove some of the furnishings from the first floor through the doors and long windows. The dining room furniture, the rosewood from a drawing room, most of the silver, and a good bit of the china were gotten out of the house.

After the fire, Henry and his wife, Elizabeth moved in a Sand Hills cottage on the estate and remodeled it for their own use. It had formerly been a caretaker's home.

They occupied themselves with plans to build an exact replica of the old mansion on the site of the fire - and had blueprints ready and wait for their son's homecoming from the War.

Pendleton resigned from the Army on April 10, 1919, and came home to Augusta. One day, when he had been at home for about three weeks, he heard screams coming from the pond. He found two negro women drowning and he went to try to save them. He managed to get one of the women to shore, but the other drowned, despite his efforts.

Young King - the son and heir - developed pneumonia (some sources say flu) from this rescue attempts and died within a week, on May 28, 1919.

His heartbroken parents never built the new mansion, but continued to live in the cottage and became recluses.

An interesting family legend should be mentioned here. At one corner of the old mansion (to the right as one entered the house) stood a huge white camellia, reaching to the second floor of the house. The camellia bloomed beatifically each year, but it blossomed profusely when any family tragedy was imminent. The camellia was apparently completely destroyed in the fire which gutted the mansion, putting an end to its spooky warnings. However, it re-appeared three years after the fire, in the same place it had always been, and blossomed profusely in the Spring just before Young Pendleton's death.

Mr. and Mrs. King set aside a portion of their estate (just off Johns Rd.) They had several houses built for men of Pendleton's Army Division and their families who were in need. On the two streets, appropriately named Chateau Thierry Road and the Marne Road, these families could live rent-free, provided they kept up the property. If the Veterans died, his widow, and children could continue to live in the house forever. But, if the widow remarried, she was required to move.

This area is called Camp Pendleton and a plaque inlaid on a large ivy-covered stone near the house reads as follows:

Founded May 29, 1919

Memorial to John Pendleton King

First Lieutenant of Infantry, 26th Division

For the use and benefit of his

Wounded or disabled comrades in

The World War and their descendents forever

Camp Pendleton was a very disappointing enterprise to the Kings in the beginning, as the people living in the Camp often did not know or remember their son. But, in later years, it became a very gratifying endeavor, as the homes were occupied by persons who had known Pendleton well and remembered him.

Bordering on Camp Pendleton is Pendleton King Cerebral Palsy Park, with a pool and playground equipment for the use of those stricken with the disease.

Henry Barclay King revised his Will after Pendleton's death. The revised document provided that if no male heirs succeeded Henry Barclay, approximately 64 acres - including the property around the site of the old family home - would be given to the City of Augusta. This bequest was to be a memorial to his son, and used as a bird and animal sanctuary.

Mr. King died on January 25, 1931, and his wife, Elizabeth survived him until her death on February 5, 1933. After Mr. King's death, the European branch of the family - daughters who had married abroad and their families - spent a great deal of time and money trying to break the Will and acquire his Estate for themselves. But all attempts, to this day, have failed, and Pendleton King Park still belongs to the City of Augusta.

For many years after Mr. King's bequest, the City made no use of the land, and it became neglected and overgrown. Eventually, the Sears Roebuck Company bought Allen Park from the City of Augusta, and the City then decided to develop Pendleton King Park to take its place.

The Park came into being in May, 1966, and development and restoration were begun.

The sunken garden, originally John Pendleton King II's Blue Garden, was located and restored, as was the gazebo in front of it. The old Bugg family cemetery in its brick wall was tidied. The City of Augusta donated the old Georgia Railroad Locomotive #302 to the Park -- it had originally stood in front of the Municipal Building but was found to be a traffic hazard.

There are all manner of birds and some small animals in the fenced enclosure around Lake Elizabeth - jut "the pond" in the King's family time, and later named after Mrs. Henry Barclay King. Other animals can be seen and fed in another fenced enclosure behind Lake Elizabeth.

The Park also has swings, slides, chinning bars, picnic tables, tennis courts, a bicycle trail, and restrooms for visitors.

In the woods surrounding the Park is the "Hobo Tree", so called because in Henry Barclays King's time, there as a hobo jungle in this spot, where hobos gathered to cook and camp and wait for the Georgia Railroad trains to pass so they could jump on them and ride to other places.

Mr. Jim Cadle, Security Guard at Pendleton King Park, has some ghost stories about the property for those interested in the supernatural.

He prefaces his stories by saying, "I couldn't prove anything; it's just what I've seen."

Here is one: Several years ago, before development of he Park began, it was very overgrown on the old King property. It happened that on cold winter days, late in the afternoons, Mr. Cadle sometimes saw a tall, white blur, white coat - and quite tall, nearly six feet. On these afternoons Mr. Cadle would park his car close to the area near the gates and wait quietly for the "lady" to appear. On one occasion she came within 60 or 70 yards of his car, stopped, and then vanished. He saw her two or three times, but doesn't know of anyone else who has seen the "ghost". He hasn't seen it himself since development of the Park was begun.

He had a similar experience on New Years Night, 1969. On that night, two persons had come into the Park and killed two deer. After being notified of this, Mr. Cadle went to the Park himself, to see it the persons would return. He says that about three or four o'clock in the morning, he began thinking about ghosts, and went over to the old cemetery in the Park to see of any ghosts were walking that night. All was quiet in the graveyard, but, as he walked back through the woods, a small white blur moved from side to side, always just ahead of him and approximately three feet above the ground. He tried to catch up with it, but, it vanished, as had the "lady" near the gates.

Only a couple of weeks ago - May, 1972, Mr. Cadle was talking with some friends in the parking lot of the Park. It was fairly early in the morning -- about nine or nine-thirty. The lady suddenly jumped and asked her husband and Mr. Cadle if they had seen anything. They hadn't, but she had seen a white blur glide by the picnic shelter and fade off into the woods beyond.

Mr. Cadle hasn't any guesses as to who the ghost might be. But, if the lady's experience of a few weeks ago is any indication, perhaps the "ghost" of Pendleton King Park will walk again.

BIBLIOGRAPHY -- 1

We want to express our deepest thanks to the following people for their interest, help, and encouragement on the subject of John Pendleton King:

Mrs. A. H. Lehmann -- niece of Mrs. Henry Barclay King

Mrs. Thomas W. Seibert -- Chairman of the Pendleton King Park

Planning and Development Committee

Mr. and Mrs. Jack Odom -- Superintendent of Pendleton King Park

Mr. Jim Cadle -- Security Guard at Pendleton King Park

Mr. Thomas A. Nelson -- "Mayor" of Pendleton King Park

(Mrs.) Shudy Wood

(Mrs.) Ann McCann

BIBLIOGRAPHY -- 2

A History of Georgia Railroad and Banking Company and its Corporate Affiliations:

Joseph B. Cumming 1833 - 1958

Appleton's Cyclopedia of American Biography: Vol. 3; Grinnell-Lockwood

New York; D. Appelton and Company; 1888

Dictionary of American Biography: Jasper Larkin; Charles Scribner's Sons; New York; 1933

Georgia in Three Volumes: Vol. II; State Historical Association, Atlanta; 1906

Georgia's Landmarks, Memorials, and Legends: Vol. V; Lucius Lamar; Byrd Printing Company; Atlanta; 1914

Handbook of Augusta: A Guide: Maxwell; p. 13

History of Augusta, Georgia with Illustrations: Salem Dutcher; Syracuse, New York; D. Mason & Company; 1890

"John Pendleton King": Augusta Chronicle-Herald; July 24, 1960

Memorial History of Augusta, Georgia: Charles C. Jones, Jr.; D. Mason & Company; 1890

"Pendleton King Park Beckons to Young and Old Alike": Augusta Chronicle-Herald; July 24, 1960

BIBLIOGRAPHY -- 3

The Story of Georgia: Biographical Volume: The American Historical Society, Inc.; New York; 1938

Two Centuries of Augusta: Mary G. Smith Cummings: pp. 11,411