Brunswick's Carousel of Progress

This story originally published in the September 2022 issue of Discover Downtown Brunswick, published by The Brunswick News in Brunswick, GA. Story by Josh Dukes

As an avid history buff, one of my favorite attractions on our annual trip to Disney is (don't laugh) the Carousel of Progress.  Little did I know until recently that Brunswick has her own 19th century progress reporter - much like Father from the Carousel - in the form of a frequent visitor who marveled at the changes he witnessed here over a half-century.

Author Joseph W. Smith, circa 1860
Colorized by Josh Dukes

Massachusetts native Joseph W. Smith traveled to Brunswick for the first time in 1853.  He'd been tapped to deliver the bad news that a new railroad from Brunswick to Albany had gone bankrupt, killing hope that anticipated progress would be coming to the fledging town.

 

He wrote the following of that first visit to Brunswick in November of 1853:

 

"I took passage on the steamer D. L. Adams.  About the year 1835 great efforts were made to make this port one of note and a rival of the city of Savannah. The town was handsomely laid out…  An immense hotel was erected… streets were outlined but never graded, sites were set aside for public structures, parks were contemplated, and wharves to accommodate an extensive commerce were planned; but public expectation failed as did private enterprise, and hope was at a great discount, when a new railroad was proposed.  Its heralded advantages gave a stimulus to the still living ambition of the place. But, alas! "the best laid schemes o' mice an' men gang aft agley," and, as in thousands of other cases, hope's flattering tale was told in but one chapter. The railroad was a failure, and the lofty pageantry of the dream melted into thin air, leaving but a wreck behind. The fairy slipper was lost, and Cinderella had to wear her old shoes. Perhaps, however, some day it may be found. Let us sincerely hope so."

The Oglethorpe House, built in 1835, burned in 1862
Colorized by Josh Dukes from an engraving

 Smith contemplated all of this at the Oglethorpe House, the "immense" hotel he mentioned, which was constructed in 1836.  It sat on the same site where the more famous Oglethorpe Hotel would later be built in 1888.  None of the buildings we find familiar and historic in modern Brunswick existed in 1853. 

 

On a second visit in 1878 - this time by train instead of steamer ship - Smith witnessed the aftermath of the city's war ruin and Brunswick's rise from the ashes:

 

"Nearing Brunswick… we soon arrived upon the scene of my former experience 25 years before… the [Oglethorpe House] hotel where I previously stopped having been burned down during the war along with the wharves...  Everything was strange to me except the "lay of the land," and I failed to see any familiar object… The place was covered over with buildings connected with the railroad running to Albany… There was a marked contrast between the shipping of today and that of 25 years before. Now ships and smaller craft gave a decidedly marine aspect to the place, with new structures erected for business accommodations, which argued a healthy advance in commercial enterprise. Great improvements had also been made in the town. Buildings of every kind had been erected on the old streets and the new streets were becoming rapidly occupied, to accommodate an increasing population, that, from a few hundred when I was in Brunswick before, had grown to upwards of 3000.  My opinion regarding the real progress of Brunswick is, that if a new hotel were built, worthy of the place, it would be an indication of revived hope and confidence and give assurance of stability… that it hasn't been replaced is not creditable to the town."

 

Smith returned to Brunswick for a 3rd visit in 1883, where he stayed at the Nelson House hotel on Bay Street:

 

"As I looked out from the balcony of the hotel, my mind naturally turned to the incidents attending my visit to Brunswick 30 years before, and the scenes of that busy time passed before me like a diorama… I found that the shipping had greatly increased within the last 5 years, and buildings for business purposes were going up on every hand. Dwellings were also being erected, and a healthy indication prevailed that the old hope for the place might sometime be realized.  The Savannah and Florida boats still ran to Brunswick, the railroad business was on the increase, and everything wore a lively aspect. The Nelson House had been built four years — a pleasant and commodious structure…  This town ought to progress faster than it does, but the wealth of Savannah gobbles up all the railroads running into this part of the country, and poor Brunswick, not blessed with capital, has to suffer.  It is a pity that such a good seaport, with such natural advantages, should not fare better."

 

Smith circa 1895
Colorized by Josh Dukes

In 1901, a 70-year-old Smith made his final visit to Brunswick, where he stayed at the new Oglethorpe Hotel. In the years since his last visit, Old City Hall and The Grand Opera House (Ritz Theater) were now standing, but our current city hall, built as the U.S. Custom House, was yet to be completed on Gloucester Street. On this visit, he was able to bring his wife Frances "Fanny" Smith with him to show her the place he'd grown to know so well over the years:

 

"Mrs. Smith and I went out for a walk in Brunswick and took [Newcastle] down a few streets below Gloucester Street and crossed over to the docks, wending our way towards home along the water front.  The land had all been filled in and the territory was all owned and occupied by the Southern Railroad Company.  But I could see in my mind's eye just how everything looked in 1853 and 1854.  At our table at the hotel, there were several young men who were in business in Brunswick, among them two lawyers and a clerk in the Southern Railroad office… A drive about the city showed me the great changes that had taken place and I was pleased to see the improvements in the business section where substantial brick structures gave the place the appearance of a prosperous city."

 

Smith even met with Captain Urbanus Dart, a well-known citizen of his time, and noted the arrival of the gilded age aristocracy who had built the Jekyll Club and it's elaborate cottages on Jekyll.  But much like the Carousel of Progress at Disney World, all good things must come to an end.  Joseph Smith ended his final visit with this well wish for the city he'd grown to love over half of a century of ups and downs:

 

"These changes in the varied scenes of life add to the sum of human knowledge and remind us of the fleeting nature of everything earthly, impressing upon our minds the reflection that here we have no abiding place… Brunswick had taken a good start since the days of my first visit and there seemed to be a good deal of young blood in the place. With growing railroad facilities, it should become a good lumber, cotton, and turpentine shipping-port for years to come.  I left Brunswick with the good wishes of all my old friends and my new acquaintances." 

• Excerpts from "Visits to Brunswick, Georgia, and Travels South" by Joseph W. Smith
• Portraits of Joseph W. Smith and Oglethorpe House restored and colorized by Josh Dukes, www.joshdukesrestorations.weebly.com