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GEORGIA AND GEORGIANS 299
worth Jones. Like the one at Hinesville, it is undoubtedly genuine: one of the
number which took part in the defense of Georgia soil in Revolutionary time.'' *
During the War of 1812, the famous old fortification at Sunbury was remodeled
by the'local committee of safety and called Fort Defense, but the name soon passed.
Gapt. John A. Guthbert organized a company of citizens, some forty in number, while
Gapt. Charles Floyd commanded a body of students, in readiness for an attack. But
the enemy failed to appear.—"Georgia's Landmarks, Memorials and Legends," L.
L. Knight, Vol. II. ____
MEADOW GARDEN: THE HOME OF GOVERNOR WALTON.—With the single exception
of old St. Paul's, the most ancient landmark of Augusta is Meadow Garden, the
home of Gov. George Walton, one of the signers of the Declaration of Independence
from Georgia. The structure itself is much older than the present edifice of St.
Paul's, the latter having been built in 1819; but since the present church building
o'ccupies the site of the original house of worship, it is consequently linked in asso
ciation with the earliest pioneer days. Meadow Garden is situated on the banks of
the Augusta Canal; and here, amid surroundings which suggest an era of industrial
enterprise, with its ceaseless hum of spindles and with its mad rush after things
material, this quaint old mansion preserves the antique look of the olden times. It
is not known when the present building was erected; but Governor Walton was
living at Meadow Garden in 1797, according to his own statement made in letters
which have been preserved; and, moreover, it was from Meadow Garden that the
old patriot, in 1804, was borne to his burial. The remains of Governor Walton were
first interred in the Cottage Cemetery, on the old Savannah Road, some seven miles
from Augusta; and here they rested until 1848 when the body was exhumed and
placed under the monument erected to the signers, directly in front of the court
house in Augusta, where today sleeps the illustrious citizen who held nearly every
important office in Georgia's gift.
There is not perhaps in the entire State of Georgia a shrine of historic memories
more frequently visited by tourists. This is because it is one of the few homes in
America whose connection with the Colonial period can be distinctly traced. It was
here that much of the social life of two centuries ago centered. Its spacious hallway
—its antique furniture—its open fireplaces—its atmosphere of dignified repose—
these all bespeak the time when knighthood was in flower. It carries the imagina
tion back to the days when the belles of Augusta danced the minuet—to the days
when the powdered wig and the knee-buckle were worn by an old-fashioned gentry
whose stately forms have vanished. The abodes of most of the signers of the
Declaration of Independence have long since crumbled into dust. Time has not dealt
kindly with them; but around the hearthstones of Meadow Garden still linger the
recollections of an old patriot whose name is attached to the immortal scroll of
freedom.
It is not invidious to state in this connection that the credit for the restoration of
Meadow Garden belongs to an Augusta lady whose unwearied exertions were devoted
to the cause, without a moment's rest or relaxation, until success at! last crowned
it—Mrs. Harriet Gould Jefferies. She first conceived the idea soon after joining
the Daughters of the American Revolution, during the infancy of this patriotic
order. The famous old landmark was rapidly falling into decay, when Mrs. Jefferies
came to the rescue. The task of preserving it became literally her pillar of cloud
by day and her pillar of fire by night. She first turned to the City of Augusta.
But the commercial spirit was dominant in its councils. The town was deaf to the
claims of its old Revolutionary patriot. She then turned to the National Society of
the Daughters of the American Revolution. Here another defeat was encountered.
But she retired from the contest only to renew the gage of battle. At the next
annual meeting she won. The opposition was pronounced. Even the president-
general was antagonistic; but the majority was on the side of Mrs. Jefferies. Thus
the home of George Walton became the property of the National Society of the
Daughters of the American Revolution. In due time the old Colonial mansion was
opened to the public, its original features having been fully restored. The wisdom
* James Stacy, in "History of Midway Congregational Church," pp. 232-238;
Charles G. Jones, Jr., in Chapter on Sunbury, in "Dead Towns of Georgia."