08/21/2026
This Sunday, August 23, is the 153rd anniversary of the incorporation of Hampton! It seems appropriate to share information gathered about the history of Bear Creek/Hampton that was shared in the Henry/Clayton Genealogical Society Promenade held July 25 in Locust Grove.
The Promenade featured character portrayals of prominent individuals from Henry County’s past. Along with the picture of Bear Creek/Hampton’s first Mayor, please find some facts about his life and times.
“If you don't know history, then you don't know anything. You are a leaf that doesn't know it is part of a tree.” – Michael Crichton
Thomas Griffin Barnett¹
Good afternoon!
This is a big day for Bear Creek! It is July 25, 1867², and we’re so glad you could join us for the dedication of our new depot! Since we have the only rail line for quite some distance, we have become a center of commerce. My name is Thomas Griffin Barnett and I’m the Postmaster. My daughter and I have arranged for the brass band and we are to have a grand ball afterward. I’ve got a few minutes…
1820s We have come a long way since our family moved here in ‘24.³ I was born on November 27, 1813 in Greene County, Georgia, which used to be part of Wilkes County. My Grandfather had been awarded a headright and bounty grant there for his service at Kettle Creek in the Revolutionary War.⁴
My Father, Nathan Barnett, Jr., died when I was five.⁵ My brother, John, was a fortunate drawer in the 1821 Georgia Land Lottery. His allotment was in Monroe County but he traded for the land here in Henry County.⁶
Mother’s maiden name was Ava Griffin and some of her family came with us to settle here. We built a log cabin beside the headwaters of the Towaliga River. The Muscogee Creek still lived here and many places had Native American names. I guess it depends on how you say
Tä-wäl-ĭ-gä, Töw-ĭ –ăg-ē, or Tī- lăg-ē, the word is Muscogee for drying scalps or bloody scalp. The Muscogee dried the scalps of their enemies, the Choctaw, Cherokee, and maybe some settlers on the rocks in the river to possibly serve as a warning or to mark their territory.⁷
Times were hard in the beginning: clearing land, planting crops and managing livestock, plus learning to live with the Creek that were still here. Chief McIntosh may have ceded 4 million acres east of the Flint River, but there were many that did not wish to give up their homeland.⁸
1830s I met the love of my life, Sarah Adams, and we married May 27, 1834, I was 20, she was 14. We had 13 children and stayed together for 50 years.⁹
Brother John headed out for Louisiana then Texas¹⁰ after we got settled in; Mother lived with us until she passed at 74 in 1850.
We finally got a Post Office in 1836. The area was known as Bear Creek from the story of the original surveyors sitting by a shady creek to enjoy lunch looking up to find two bears in the poplar tree above them doing some surveying of their own.¹¹
1840s Bear Creek became the location of the first railroad in Henry county in 1846.¹² Someone handed me this note today about our rail line, “Especially has the track between Macon and Atlanta been looked upon with admiration. The grades are easy and the curves, where necessary, are broad. However, the remarkable feature of this section of rail is that “the engineer dragged his chain along the dividing ridge which forms the water shed between the Gulf and Atlantic, and reached his terminal without crossing a stream of water that called for a bridge or trestle.”¹³
The Bear Creek settlement was moved about a mile east to locate beside the tracks. Things really began to happen then! President Andy Jackson had ordered the Indians removed in what became known as the “Trail of Tears”. We lost some good friends.
New settlers came; some even brought their fine homes with them. My kinsman on Mother’s side, Smith Griffin, bought 1200 acres to build what is now known as Oaklea, which still stands today.¹⁴ We had no idea how things were going to change.
1850-60s Georgia seceded from the Union on January 19, 1861 and war was declared in April of ‘62. Young men made choices, some difficult, some in the heat of passion. My brother-in-law and business partner, Franklin Adams could not wait to serve. He mustered into the Confederate Army at Camp Stephens, just a few miles south of here, on May 6, 1862.¹⁵ He was sent to Virginia. Four months later I rode the same train to retrieve his body. He became the first burial at the Berea Cemetery. He was 23.
I was nearly 50 when asked to serve as a Lieutenant in the 10th Georgia Calvary of the State Guard.¹⁶ The Federals were destroying everything in their path. After Atlanta fell we could hear the sounds of cannon and rifle fire drawing ever closer. On November 16, 1864, Calvary under the command of General Alfred Iverson skirmished with a unit of Union General Kilpatrick’s Calvary at Lovejoy’s Station. Murray’s Brigade drove Iverson 4 miles south to Bear Creek. General Iverson tried to reform but his lines gave way. Twenty prisoners were taken and the remainder retreated to Griffin.¹⁷
Oaklea was spared reportedly due to a masonic symbol catching the eye of the Federal Lieutenant in command. The Troops did burn the cotton gin, the brick mill, the grist mill, and broke the grindstone.¹⁴ The residents of Bear Creek Station were grateful for the preparations and thankful the worst had seemed to pass. Rebuilding Bear Creek began even before word of Lee’s surrender reached us. We still had the only rail line for some distance and many of the farmers in the area brought their cotton here. Times were good again and the need for this depot became obvious.
1870s In just a few years we will be going to the new State Capital in Atlanta to make our town official. On August 23, 1872, the Town of Bear Creek will be incorporated.¹⁸ I will be named Mayor.
One year later, at the recommendation of Smith Griffin, the name of Bear Creek will change to the City of Hampton.
In less than 10 years, this depot will not be able to accommodate the growing industries. The depot that now sits downtown will be built. Designed by Augustus Schwaab, it was budgeted to cost $20,000 but was finished in 1881 at just $15,000. Henry Chinn did the ornate brickwork.¹⁹ At that time, more people lived in Hampton than in McDonough. That changed when McDonough got a rail line in 1882
I died while still in office on November 29, 1884, two days after my 71st birthday. Mayor Pro Tem George Schaefer took my place. Along with being Mayor, I served as Postmaster, was a local merchant and a farmer. Sarah, my wife, lived until 1899 and is buried beside me at Berea Cemetery.²⁰
We are still remembered through Barnett St. which runs off East Main in downtown Hampton. The remains of our original cabin are off Barnett Rd. a mile or so north of town.²¹ The brick home we built in town still stands by Berea Cemetery and the Library.²²
Thank you for sharing my life and times today.
¹ Much of the information shared comes from data compiled by Joe Turner, Richard McBrayer, and shared through Larry Rucker for the character portrayal in the 2012 & 2014 Berea Cemetery Tour.
Thomas G. Barnette served several time as Postmaster between 1856 and 1877.
² The year is known, the actual date is not; July 25 is the date of the Promenade
³ http://barnettdna.micbarnette.com/?s=Griffin+
⁴ Georgia Headright and Bounty Land Grant Books: Grant Records 1786-1787, p 413. 24 May 1787 to Nathan Barnett (Sr.)
Nathan Barnett Sr. (abt.1729-bef.1804) WikiTree Free Family Tree
⁵ FamilySearch Nathan Barnett, Jr, 1759-1818
⁶ sites.rootsweb.com 1821 Land Lottery Listed as Barnet (sp), John, Residence District: Green Allens, Lot No. 149, District 3
⁷ Wikipedia, Towaliga River/Name
⁸ Treaty of Indian Springs, 8 Jan 1821
⁹ https://ancestors.familysearch.org/en/LTW5-GNS/thomas=griffin-barnett-1813-1884
¹⁰ FamilySearch.org John Griffin Barnett
¹¹ Hezikiah D. McIntosh was the first Postmaster of Bear Creek 11 April 1836.
The narrative concerning the name is found in “Hampton and Her Story”, by Emily Griffin, 1921, Henry County’s centennial
¹² Macon and Western Railroad, Wikipedia
¹³ The Right Way magazine, Vol. 51, No. 5
¹⁴ catalog.archives.gov Georgia SP Griffin, Smith, House
¹⁵ https://www.findagrave.com>23681262>franklin_l-adams
¹⁶ history-sites.com-bin/bbs62x/gacwmb/webbbs_config.pl?md+read:id+10245
sites.rootsweb.com 10th Regiment Calvary State Guards
¹⁷ https://www.georgiahistory.com/ghmi_marker_updated/calvary-skirmish-at-bear-creek-station/
¹⁸ sites.rootsweb.com Hampton (Incorporation of Hampton Georgia)
The Post Office recognized the name “Hampton” on 8 May 1877
¹⁹ catalog.archives.gov Georgia SP Hampton Depot
²⁰ https://www.findagrave.com>23685362>sarah_sallie-adams-barnett
²¹ Parcel ID 020-01022000 qpublic.schnidercorp.com Henry County Georgia
²² Parcel ID H09-02001000 qpublic.schnidercorp.com Henry County Georgia
