If yo
u are in Newton County, be sure to visit the Historic Newborn City Cemetery, located directly behind the Old School. Circa early 1800, this beautiful, historical place is the final resting place to many of Newborn’s founding family’s including the Pitt’s and Child’s. Filled with majestic gravestones, CSA Soldiers and beautiful decorative wrought iron fences with fancy gates, there is still a single mystery – a simple wrought iron fence with no gate, surrounding no visible grave! Nothing…no markers – just empty! You can feel a cold breeze while standing next to this strange grave plot.
Back in 1916, The Child’s Store was the first floor of this historical building, and was the location of “The Shootout at Child’s Store”. The argument was between Clifford Childs and John Estes over land boundaries. Mr. Estes had been drinking and came into the store where Mr. Childs and his brother, Otis Lee Childs, were. During the shouting match, Mr. Estes pulled out his gun and Clifford pulled out his 9 mm German lugar and pointed at Estes’ chest, but the gun failed!
Estes began firing and shot Childs in the chest. Mr. Childs was carried upstairs to Dr. Pleasant Wilson’s office, but there was nothing the doctor could do for Clifford Childs. The townspeople carried him down the street to the hotel where he died later that night. Mr. Estes was not charged due to witnesses claiming his life had been threatened.
In November of 1864, during the Civil War, General Sherman and troops came to Newborn. There wasn’t total destruction, in part due to Mr. John W Pitts, who was a Union sympathizer. Legend has it that General Sherman stayed the night at Mr. Pitt’s home. The following day after General Sherman left the home, Union troops returned to Mr. Pitts farm and destroyed all the livestock and burned his cotton warehouse. Sherman was reported to be very sorrowful about this and offered to repay Mr. Pitts for his losses.
A Note From Our Guest Blogger –
“My name is Trish Robertson Johnson. I became interested in local history while researching my family tree. From searching through old census records, I began to find towns, villages and communities that no longer exist all across the South. My first exploration was finding the “ghost town” of Scull Shoals in Greene County, doing the research, finding local folklore about the town, and then I was hooked! I began researching, exploring, finding disappearing history all around us on every little back road across Georgia. All we have to do is go out and look! I began the Facebook Page, Heart Of Dixie-Memories, Legends and Ghosts of our Southern Past. I’m currently in the process of publishing my photos and writing a book on local history, in between exploring and searching for more local memories to share with all of you!”
