Historic trial in Hancock County gave birth to the wealthiest black woman in Georgia in the 1800s
An 'illegitimate' daughter of a white man and a slave ended up inheriting almost half a million dollars in the late 1800s.
If you pass through small towns throughout Central Georgia, many times the courthouse is the tallest building in the area. It emits a sense of pride for folks.
Every Friday morning this month, Suzanne Lawler is taking you into the hallowed halls of four Central Georgia courthouses. In our first week and second weeks, we visited the courthouses of Monroe and Washington Counties.
This week, we're featuring the rebuilt courthouse in Sparta.
2014 fire destroys original courthouse
You may remember five years ago when the Hancock County Courthouse burned to the ground.
"I stayed up for two hours and then went back to sleep for school crying," said Kentray Tucker, who lives close to the courthouse with his grandmother.
They lost more than just the building that night.
"The paper records that date back to the 1790s were still in our courthouse, and the heat of the fire, we lost every bit of original, paper records," Richard Joslyn said.
County Commissioner Sistie Hudson says it was just overwhelming.
"I got the call about 3:30 a.m., and when you get a call like that, you think it can't be. It can't be," Hudson said.
She couldn't believe her eyes that early morning. Flames devoured the town's beloved courthouse.
"As I was walking up, the clock tower was falling," Hudson said.
Tucker and his grandmother snapped pictures as they stood in shock, watching the flames.
"We're seeing firefighters, and like, I smelled books everywhere, like old books, mildew and stuff like that," Tucker said.
Even after a devastating loss, the community found a way to come back.
"We rebuilt it exactly two years from the day it was burned," Hudson said.
The courthouse had insurance. Construction crews brought the building, nicknamed 'Her Majesty,' back to the glory of the late 1800s, including the clock tower and replica benches.
"I mean can you imagine this street, this town, without this? I can't," Hudson said.
To this day, the fire marshal said they couldn't determine what caused the fire.
The only thing that wasn't restored was the grand courtroom because of codes. They couldn't build it with 25-foot ceilings.
As a result, the building has a third floor it didn't have before.
Amanda America Dickson Subtitle here
The name David Dickson is intertwined in early Hancock County history. He lent the county $30,000 to build the original courthouse in the late 1800s, but he's also known for something else.
In 1849, he had sexual relations with one of his slaves. They had a daughter named Amanda America Dickson.
"David loved the child, brought the child into his household, and the child was raised by David's mother on the plantation," Richard Joslyn said.
Joslyn is fascinated by the Amanda Dickson story, along with others who published books on the subject.
After David died, he left his entire estate to his illegitimate daughter. According to Kent Anderson Leslie's 'Woman of Color, Daughter of Priviledge,' the estate was valued at $309,503, split between Hancock and Washington Counties.
But his white family members contested the will.
"The trial happened very quickly, about six months later," Joslyn said.
"That was not even legal in Georgia, or anywhere. You could not leave a property to a slave," Hudson said.
The will held up, and Amanda inherited half a million dollars.
"Overnight, Amanda became the wealthiest African-American woman not only in Georgia, but probably the entire southeast, if not the nation," Joslyn said.
After Amanda inherited the money, she forgave the $30,000 debt the county owed her father for the courthouse.
She eventually moved away, but her story is part of the history of this hallowed hall in Hancock County.
PHOTOS | Hancock County Courthouse
Join us next week, Friday, November 22, to find out which Central Georgia courthouse we feature last.
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