4% 3
5 Historical Sketch (First entry, p. 18)
Ll 
Ei In March 1898 the grand jury of the county recommended that the
gf question of a new courthouse be dropped for the vear,(1) but in September
$@ of that year another grand jury recommended that the county commissioners
Ng take steps to rebuild the courthouse as soon as they were able to raise
tj the necessary funds.(2) In the meantime the grand jury used the Masonic
ti Lodge Hall for its meetings and court was held in a church. ln April
tl 1898 the county commissioners ordered that a storehouse owned by T. C.
gf Ham be rented at $1.50 a month for use as a temporary courthouse.(3) Act-
QQ ing in pursuance of the recommendation of the September grand jury, the
t° oounty commissioners ordered that 25 cents on the $100 be levied for build-
M. ing a courthouse.(4)
tig 
tt Finally, after calling for plans and specifications, the commissioners
QQ let the contract for the present courthouse to L. W. Mattox in June 1899.
tt (5) The cornerstone was laid with Masonic honors, and on September 15, 1899, V
ti the county accepted the two-story wood courthouse from the contractor.(6)
tm ln spite of the new building, Echols County still had no safe place to
fg keep its records. In 1908 a grand jury recommended that the board of
ji commissioners "make some arrangements to establish a perfect device, or
tt some safe place for keeping and maintaining the official books of our
J County 0ffices."K7) Since then a vault has been added to the present
é bui1ding.(s)
li Early in 1900 the board of commissioners let a contract to L. W.
[Q Mattox for a jail which was completed in May of that year.(9) Eight
QQ years later the board decided to build a new jail, and on May 9, 1908,
H? awarded the contract to the Southern Steel Company, of San Antonio,
MY Texas.(l0)
u
tf Eppulatipn and Growth
it A year after the creation of Echols County the total population was
tf less than fifteen hundred persons. Of this number about 20 percent were
EQ Negro slaves,(1l) a small number as compared with the cotton belt counties
K1 of Georgia. In 1860 there were 121 farms in the county, nearly all of
  “'‘‘‘’‘”’‘‘‘'‘‘''''''”'''' ' ''''''''' ` ' '
ii 1) Minute Book (Civil and Criminal), vol. A, 1898-1914, p. 15, see
ff entry 22.
Qi 2) ibid., sv.
yy 3) Minutes, Commissioners Roads and Revenues, vol. 1, 1898-1925, p. 5,
li` see entry 1.
je 4) ibid., ii.
gi s) ibid., 21. A
{S s) ibid., 2s, 29.
ld 7) Nights Book (Civil and Criminal), vol. A, 1898-1914, p. 575, see
lf ent 22.
hi' 8) Forrg description of the present courthouse and vault, see Housing,
MR Care, and Accessibility of the Records, infra, p. 11.
Q{— 9) Minutes, Commissioners Roads and Revenues, vol. 1, 1898-1925, pp. 55,
pj 38, see ent 1.
it io) Ibis., 145,r149, iso.
Fi ll) §ee—Popu1ation of Eohols County 1860-1940, infra, p. 7.