Historic Map - Albany, GA - 1885

View of the city of Albany, Ga. (the Artesian City) county-seat of Dougherty-County. 1885. Beck & Pauli, litho.

Panoramic map of Albany, Georgia, published in 1885. County seat of Dougherty County, the city was originally founded by Nelson Tift in 1836. Tift, a merchant and land speculator, saw the location along the Flint River as ideal for a market that would serve the newly arriving cotton farmers that were settling southwest Georgia during this time of expansion, after the United States acquired the land from the Creek Indians. African American slaves outnumbered whites during this period as cotton farming increased. Barges loaded with cotton were shipped down the Flint River to Apalachicola Bay on the Gulf of Mexico.

In 1857 the first rail line arrived, allowing the city to cut transport time to the mills in the northern U. S. and Europe. Nelson Tift was one of the chief promoters of the railroads in Albany. He also secured ferry and bridge rights across the Flint River at Albany. The Tift Toll Bridge that is indexed on the map was designed and built by African American bridge-builder Horace King. The covered toll bridge and bridge house still stands in downtown Albany.

This map captures the city as it appeared twenty years after the Civil War. While many southern cities experienced devastation and destruction during the war, Albany and southwest Georgia were largely spared the massive damage other cities endured.

The map features clearly labeled street names.

Features numbered references to the following locations:

1. County Court House and Jail.
2. St. Paul's Episcopal Church.
3. Baptist Church.
4. Methodist Church.
5. Jewish Synagogue.
6. Presbyterian Church.
7. Catholic Church.
8. Colored Methodist Churches.
9. Colored Baptist Churches.
10. Public Schools.
11. Mrs. Sterne's Institute.
12. Post Office.
13. Depots.
14. Artesian House, Cruse Barnes, Proprietor.
15. Barnes House, M. Crine, Agent
16. Artesian Wells.
17. County Fair Grounds.
18. Skating Rink.
19. Daily News & Advertiser Office.
20. The Daily Medium Office.
21. Central R. R. Bank.
22. Grist Mill & Variety Works, J. E. Crawford.
23. Machine Shop, H. E. Wardwell.
24. J. G. Stephens Grist Mill.
25. J. Pattison & Sons, Iron & Brass Foundry.
26. John Drinkwater, Pottery & Machine Shop.
27. The Artesian Ice Manufactory.
28. N. & A. F. Tift & Co.'s Cotton Warehouses.
29. Wight, Davis & Co.'s Cotton Warehouse.
30. S. R. Weston, Cotton Factory - Warehouse.
31. N. & A. F. Tift & Co., Merchants & Cotton Factors.
32. Welch & Agar, Druggists, Booksellers & Jewelers Wholesale and Retail.
33. Greenfield & Brown, General Merchandise.
34. Morris Mayer, General Merchandise & Cotton Dealers.
35. J. Ventulett, Rialto Saloon and Restaurant.
36. Ed. L. Wight & Co, Insurance.
37. Greer & Floyed, General Merchandise.
38. Reich & Geiger, General Merchandise.
39. A. Sterne, Fancy Groceries.
40. B. A. Collier, Agent, Groceries.
41. Sheffield & Bell, Hardware.
42. W. E. Hilsman & Co., Druggists and Prescriptionists.
43. C. J. Daniel, Books, Stationery, Jewelry, etc.
44. W. W. Rawlins, Meat Markets.
45. R. Hobbs, Attorney at Law.
46. Wm. E. Smith, Attorney at Law.
47. W. T. Jones, Attorney at Law.
48. Jesse W. Walters, Attorney at Law.
49. D. H. Pope, Attorney at Law.
50. McKenna & Smaw, Saloon and Billiard Parlors.
51. O. F. Gambati, Dentist.
52. Mrs. Sarah W. White, Residence.
53. Fred Lehman, Residence.
54. W. Muse, Residence.
55. Tifts Toll Bridge.
56. Oil Mill.