SCREVEN COUNTY. 519 



Fossils, Minerals.— Near Jacksonborough, at Mill Haven, 

 and in many other places, large quantities of fossils are found. 

 Mr. Eli Whitney states, that being in Georgia, in the year 

 1806, he was informed of the following facts, and saw the 

 specimen by which they were established. On Brier creek, 

 a stream which passes through Mill Haven, and empties into 

 the Savannah river, at the distance of two or three miles 

 from the road leading to Savannah, the people were occupied 

 in excavating a raceway for a mill. The mill dam was built 

 on a solid mass of agate, which crosses the creek, and formed 

 a natural basis for the superstructure. In clearing the pas- 

 sage for the water below this dam, the workmen discovered a 

 great number of hollow balls, in their form resembling bomb- 

 shells. Some of them were as large as a man's head, and 

 some even 8 or 9 inches in diameter. They had a dark, rusty 

 appearance, the crust looked like an iron ore, outside of a 

 snufF-colour, inside of a light brown. When broken, they 

 proved to be mere shells, the walls of which were from five- 

 eighths to three-fourths of an inch in diameter, and the capa- 

 pacity of the cavity was from a pint to two quarts or more. 

 The cavity was filled with a milky fluid, so perfectly resem- 

 bling white paint, or whitewash, that it was used to whiten 

 fire-places, and the walls of the rooms of the neighbouring 

 houses.* 



Towns, &c. — Sylvania is the county site, situated 5 miles 

 below Jacksonborough, on the Middle-ground road, leading 

 from Jacksonborough to Springfield. It has a court-house, 

 jail, one tavern, two stores, one church, one school. Four or 

 five families reside here. The town is considered healthy. 



Jacksonborough was formerly the county site, situated on 

 Beaver Dam creek, 10 miles from Savannah river, 55 from 

 Augusta, and 70 from Savannah. It is now almost a deserted 

 village. The place had formerly a very bad character. It 

 was reported, that in the mornings after drunken frolics and 

 fights, you could see the children picking up eyeballs in tea- 

 saucers ! i. e. there was so much gouging going on ! f 



Mill Haven, 6 miles from Matthews's Bluff, was formerly 

 a place of considerable business. 



* Silliman's Journal. f Sherwood's Gazetteer. 



