Milton

Today, rural communities appear to be sinking into oblivion, especially as old houses and barns are torn down to be made ready for modernization. Every time one of these homes perishes, the past seems to disappear. After all, plows no longer do their job with horses, and old farm equipment rusts inside dilapidated barns and sheds. It is a past that no one wants anymore, one of the dusty roads and dilapidated communities. A less glamorous society is too slow for us today. And this is exactly how too many people think of old records. Yet, the old records describe societies that built communities, and then those communities built towns and cities. The first several will books in Savannah consist of wills having at least 50 pages each! These documents inventory an incredible lifestyle of agriculture and commerce. How they built brick chimneys and sidewalks and beautiful homes which hosted friends and relatives and which are the envy of visitors today. Georgia was a religious colony and slaves were not permitted until after the charter was surrendered to King George (1752). Thus, agriculture and industry were constructed by immigrants from the wilderness into thriving communities using white indentured servants. The cost was borne by the immigrant landowners. There were lazy people who did little work, however, most of them had run away to Charleston by 1743. By the time of the American Revolution, a great society had been carved in Savannah. Imports from England were costly and usually involved tariffs and restrictions. In other words, it cost more to build a home in America than in England. Lead windows, plank boards, bricks, and even nails were costly commodities. Those who had sacrificed so much to build a life in this wilderness were ready to protect their hard-work from punishing tariffs and trade restrictions. It was a question of freedom.