Historical Highlight - Soapy Smith

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Soapy Smith Circa 1898  Courtesy of Wikimedia Commons

One of the most colorful Newnan natives is a man who would leave Coweta County in his early teens and go on to be a notorious organized crime boss in the Wild West.

Our first introduction to Soapy Smith was through a computer game we loved to play when we were young. It was a game in which you played as a prospector making your way to the Yukon to strike it rich during the gold rush. When you reached the small mining town of Skagway, you were cordially invited to play three card Monte by a bearded man sitting in front of the saloon. He was gracious and gladly stripped you of your life savings in the most charming manner. We had no idea that Soapy Smith was a real person, much less that he grew up less than two miles from where we lived.

Jefferson Randolph Smith II was born in Sharpsburg on November 2, 1860. His family were prominent, wealthy Coweta citizens. Smith’s grandfather moved from Virginia to Coweta County in 1828 when he won a piece of land in the land grant lottery. He built a large, beautiful home on his new property on Shoal Creek. It was in this home that Soapy Smith was born and raised.

The Civil War would spell severe changes in the family’s financial situation. Their wealth was mainly built on slave labor. The severe economic depression that hit the South following the war stripped the Smith family of all of their former wealth. In 1876, Jefferson Smith packed up his family and moved them to Texas to start fresh.

There is no evidence that young Jeff Smith lived anything but an honest law abiding life up until the time he turned eighteen. While living with his parents in Texas, Jeff was present for a dramatic shootout between Round Rock law enforcement and famous outlaw Sam Bass and his gang. Sam Bass lost his life in the gunfire exchange. Historical accounts suggest that witnessing this event excited seventeen-year-old Jeff. Whether this event or the death of his mother were contributing factors of him leaving home shortly after this is unknown, but just a few months later he left to try and make it on his own.

Jeff began his career by selling inexpensive knick-knacks and jewelry for a significantly higher price at fairs. At this time, he also began to learn the standard tricks and games of a confidence man. It was a profession that was well suited to his enthusiasm and charm.

After a short time of traveling around to fairs learning the con man ropes, Jeff finally settled down in Fort Worth, Texas. It was an area that was deep in the heart of the Wild West and filled with shiftless criminals and fresh faced young men traveling west to make their fortune. This turned out to be the perfect combination for Jeff to form a booming business. Growing up on a plantation, he was sure to have observed in detail the workings of a successfully run business.

Back in Texas, Jeff earned the nickname that would stick with him for the rest of his life. He developed an ingenious con that involved him setting up a suitcase full of soap bars on a stand in a public area. He would let a crowd gather around him while he wrapped a few plain bars of soap with paper money ranging from five-dollar bills to one hundred dollar bills. He would then wrap every piece of soap in brown paper and mix the bars containing money together with regular bars. The crowd could buy as many bars of soap as they liked for a dollar each. To put this in perspective, that would be around twenty-four dollars today. Jeff would have a few plants in the crowd to buy bars and “win” the money. This gave the rest of the crowd a false sense of confidence and they would quickly hand over their money not realizing that they had no chance whatsoever at buying one of the cash laced bars. No one except the plants ever found any money in their soap. Jeff’s enemies began calling him Soapy in reference to this notorious con.

Not many grifters in the West had a head for business, and Jeff used his knowledge of enterprise to bring the criminals of Fort Worth together into one gang. As a unit, they were a strong force that regularly swindled idealistic newcomers out of their life savings. Under Jeff’s guidance, they were able to pool their resources and control the lawmakers and police force of the town. Jeff was careful to take very good care of anyone who worked for him. This policy allowed him to quickly gain the trust of men who were generally suspicious by nature.

His business dealings in Fort Worth were just a training ground for the criminal empire he would build in Denver, Colorado. Jeff was only nineteen when he arrived in Denver, but he had already gotten a good deal of experience in running a gang of criminals. Just as he had done in Fort Worth, Jeff quickly united the criminals of Denver into one gang. The Soap Gang, as they were called, were experts at separating people from their cash. They played rigged games, sold fake stocks, and passed off junk as expensive antiques and jewels. Jeff made a large fortune in Denver. He held the police force in the palm of his hand and even the local business owners liked him. He frequently donated large sums of money to help feed and clothe the poor and care for stray animals.

Denver in the 1800s. Image Courtesy of Wikimedia Commons.

Soon after starting his Denver dealings, Jeff was able to open his own bars, clubs and businesses that had the sole purpose of swindling innocent victims. His gang members were very good at their jobs and the cons mostly went off without a hitch. In the event that one of the Soap Gang were arrested, their legal expenses were fully covered by Jeff. Jeff’s men worked hard and were well taken care of in return.

Jeff kept his personal life distinctly separate from his business dealings. He lived a fairly normal life with his wife and children in his Denver home. He tended to keep his work at the office. Jeff also had a dark side. He was a heavy drinker and compulsive gambler. His temper was something to be feared and was only made worse by his excessive drinking.

Eventually, Jeff’s empire became bigger than the town of Denver could sustain. His cons were well known to the citizens and city officials could no longer secretly support his criminal dealings. They began to distance themselves from the Soap Gang and Jeff found that he was having a harder time staying in business. After a short respite in Creede, where he took some time to start up yet another criminal empire, Jeff returned to Denver. It was a short-lived stay. He was losing control of his hold on the city. The officials who were in his power were forced to leave office, and he was making himself very unpopular by getting into frequent gunfights in local establishments. His control completely faded when he was forced to leave the city or face several years of jail time for a bar fight gone wrong. In 1897, Jeff left Colorado for the wilds of Alaska.

Skagway as it looked the year Soapy Smith died. Image Courtesy of Wikimedia Commons.

There was a gold rush in the Yukon. This meant that thousands of people were making their way to the area with large supplies of cash in their pockets and an unbridled optimism for their chances of making a fast fortune. The conditions could not have been more perfect for Soapy Smith. A constant supply of unwitting strangers with money was all he needed to set up a new criminal operation. He chose the fledgling town of Skagway as a base. Just as before, he organized his gang to work together and strip strangers of their savings. As always, the Soap Gang was efficient and they quickly became rich and successful in Skagway. 

Soapy’s demise started with a con gone wrong. A few of his gang members stole several thousand dollars in gold from a wealthy miner. The people of Skagway were very upset over the blatant thievery and demanded that all the stolen goods be returned. They were holding a meeting on the Skagway Wharf about the incident when a very drunk and armed Smith showed up intending to interrupt the meeting. He was met by four guards who had been placed around the wharf in anticipation of a disturbance. An argument ensued followed by a shootout, which ended the life of one of the guards and Smith.

Soapy Smith was only thirty-seven when he died, but he had created and run three successful criminal empires and tamed towns in the Wild West. He died a very famous man. He was known for his criminal activities, but also for his loyalty and generous spirit. Original artifacts from the Smith plantation are on display in the Male Academy Museum.

Historical Highlight - William Thomas Overby

A little over 150 years ago on a day in late May, twenty three year old William Thomas Overby left his home in Sharpsburg for what would prove to be the last time.

© Susan Crutchfield Photography

Overby was born into a respectable Lawrenceville, Virginia family in April of 1837. He was the third of eight children. His family had been comfortably settled in the area since the early 1700s. Two years before William was born, his grandparents decided to pick up and move to the newly created Coweta County. Two years after William was born, his parents followed them. They made their home on a 506-acre plot of land in Sharpsburg, where Thomas Overby farmed and his wife Martha kept house and raised their children. The family seems to have been very involved in the community. They were close with their neighbors and made the half hour journey to Cokes Chapel each Sunday to attend services and socialize.

© Susan Crutchfield Photography

William, known to his friends and family as Billy, was known to have a weak constitution. The Overbys educated their son at Longstreet Institute, a school in Sharpsburg not far from the home of his grandparents. He grew into a tall, dark haired man with large, deep-set eyes and a long, straight nose. A month after the first shots were fired on Fort Sumter, Overby enlisted in Company A of the 7th Regiment Georgia Volunteer Infantry. The Coweta Guards were a group of young men that Overby was related to or had grown up with. He was fighting alongside friends and relatives. This must have made the events of July 21, 1861 extremely difficult. This was the First Battle of Manassas and the first action witnessed by the Coweta Guards. This must have been a shocking introduction to war for a group of newly enlisted men fresh from their hometown. The battle was extremely violent and the regiment had to witness the gruesome deaths of several of their commanders and fellow soldiers. The Coweta Guards would fight in six major Civil War battles as well as several small skirmishes. During this time, Overby watched as his friends were blown up and maimed fighting alongside him. In one incident, Billy witnessed a shell take the head off of his friend Al Parks. The regiments were subjected to tough conditions. They had to move through stifling heat, hole up in waterlogged trenches and crawl on their bellies through sharp stones and thick mud. Disease was not uncommon in these conditions and Overby fell ill and had to spend several days recuperating. Company A of the 7th Brigade earned a reputation for being unrelenting in battle and pushing forward through adverse conditions. Overby was well liked by his fellow soldiers.

© Susan Crutchfield Photography

Overby continued to fight bravely in the 7th brigade until August 30, 1862. By this point, he had seen many of his fellow soldiers killed and wounded, but he had somehow managed to escape injury. His luck changed during the battle of Second Manassas. His company ended up in the very same spot that had introduced them to the horrors of war a year earlier. This time Overby was not so lucky. It was a rainy August day and the ground was thick with mud. The company was caught in a heavy rain of shells and Overby was hit. Too wounded to move, he laid in the mud as his company advanced without him. It would be two days before he was removed to Warrenton Baptist Church, which was serving as a hospital.

© Susan Crutchfield Photography

The severity of the wound he received meant that Overby was not fit for moving with his company or engaging in battle. As soon as he was able, he began to assist the hospital doctors in the capacity of a nurse. The conditions in makeshift hospitals at this time were not pretty. There were simply not enough supplies to care for the numerous patients with terrible wounds that were constantly streaming in. We can only imagine the sights that Overby was confronted with were not much better than what he had seen during battle. Poor hygiene practices allowed disease to proliferate in wartime hospitals. Patients, nurses and doctors were all in danger of contracting serious illnesses such as tuberculosis, dysentery, malaria and smallpox.

© Susan Crutchfield Photography

Shortly after Overby began working as a hospital nurse, Warrenton was captured by Union troops and the hospital changed hands. Over the next two years, Overby worked as a nurse while the hospital continued to fall in and out of enemy hands.

© Susan Crutchfield Photography

In April of 1864, Overby left his nursing duties to rejoin a company. He joined up with Company D of the 43rd battalion, a group known as Mosby’s Rangers. John S. Mosby was a shrewd soldier, skilled at non-confrontational attacks. He had a knack for retrieving valuable information and taking much needed supplies right out from under the enemies’ noses. Because of his quick wit, he was given control of a company of men that were exempt from the rules that applied to most soldiers. They were not required to wear uniforms and they were allowed to keep spoils from their frequent raids. Mosby insisted on hand picking the men that would become his company. He chose young, well-educated men who had a record of bravery and cleverness. Overby seemed to fit these criteria perfectly.

© Susan Crutchfield Photography

Mosby’s rangers were incredibly skilled at making quick raids and then disappearing. Because they wore civilian clothes, they simply dispersed and blended into nearby small towns. They mostly worked in the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia, which supplied was a large supplier of food for the Union troops. Their ability to steal food and supplies, sabotage railroads and telegraph lines and cause general havoc infuriated the Union army. General Grant was fed up with them and gave orders that if Mosby or any of his rangers were caught they were to be hanged immediately without trial.

© Susan Crutchfield Photography

In mid September of 1864, Mosby took a bullet to the groin and was taken to his father’s home to recuperate, leaving Captain William Chapman temporarily in charge of his rangers. On September 23, he gave orders to his brother, Captain Samuel Chapman to interrupt Union communications out of Shenandoah Valley. Captain Chapman took 150 of the rangers to perform a raid on an ambulance wagon train that was carrying supplies and wounded soldiers out of the valley. Overby was one of the men selected to assist with the raid. From far away, it looked to be an easy raid of the kind they performed regularly.

© Susan Crutchfield Photography

The ambulance train was passing near a small town called Front Royal when Mosby’s Rangers caught up with it. On their way through the town, they were joined by Henry Rhodes. He was a seventeen-year-old boy who idealized the rangers. He had lived in Front Royal all his life and was supporting his young sister and widowed mother. He desperately wanted to join them, and saw his opportunity to prove himself as the men rode through his hometown. He borrowed his mother’s old horse and rode with the rangers toward the ambulance train.

© Susan Crutchfield Photography

Captain Chapman decided to use their usual method of attack and split the unit into two. One was to attack the back of the wagon train and the other to attack the front and stop the driver. Unseen by the rangers, the wagon train was followed up by two large Federal cavalry units assigned to guard the supplies and wounded men. The unit assigned to the back soon realized the problem and rushed to the front to call off the attack. Unfortunately, the men in the front had already cornered a Union officer, Lieutenant Charles McMaster. According to many Union officers, McMaster threw down his gun and put his hands up in surrender. He was shot anyway and trod on by Ranger horses as they realized they were outmanned and tried to make an escape.

© Susan Crutchfield Photography

Mosby’s rangers simply didn’t have the men or firepower to go up against the Federal troops. They quickly began to retreat as fast as they could, using their usual tactic of dispersing and blending into the background as civilians. Determined to catch some of the Rangers and avenge the unwarranted death of Lieutenant McMaster, the Federal troops pursued and caught five of the men and Henry Rhodes, whose mother’s horse proved unable to keep up with the demands of a hasty retreat.

© Susan Crutchfield Photography

David L. Jones, Lucien Love, Carter, William Thomas Overby, and Thomas E. Anderson were all captured by the irate Union troops led by General Torbert. Late in the afternoon, General Torbert and his men marched into Front Royal with Henry Rhodes tied between two horses. He was nearly unconscious by the time they got to the town center. His mother saw him from the window of their house and ran out into the street to plead with Torbert to spare her son who was not even one of the rangers. According to accounts from locals, he held his bayonet to her throat and told her she would be first if she didn’t leave.

© Susan Crutchfield Photography

The officers locked Carter and Overby in a stable. They then marched Jones and Love behind the church into the graveyard and made them kneel before they shot them in the head at close range. They marched Anderson onto the hill where Lieutenant McMaster was shot and shot him as well. Their treatment of the young Henry Rhodes was especially terrible. As his mother, sister and the town’s people who had know him since he was a boy watched, soldiers marched around him in a circle playing a funeral dirge. Locals later said the lyrics of the dirge were sung in a mocking way. They then executed him in the same way as the others.

© Susan Crutchfield Photography

Meanwhile, Overby and Carter were captive in a stable and could only guess what the gunshots signified. They may have been able to hear Mrs. Rhodes pleading, screaming and crying for her son’s life. Torbert desperately wanted to know where Mosby and the rest of the company were hiding out. He intensely questioned carter are Overby for some time. Once he realized he could get no information from them, Torbert ordered Captain John Bean to hang the two men and departed. Captain Bean and many of the other Union men were quite shocked and disturbed by what they had just witnessed. Though they had seen many deaths during the course of the war, it was unusual to execute men who had surrendered. They were particularly shocked that General Torbert had done these deeds within the sight of the women and children of the town. Bean put the two men on horses and took them to a walnut tree at the edge of town. Overby held his head high and maintained a stoic expression the entire way there, but Carter did not manage to keep his composure so well. He broke down in sobs and requested a copy of the Bible. As soon as they reached the walnut tree, Captain Bean offered to let them run away if they would only tell him the location of Mosby and the other rangers. Overby again defiantly refused to reveal any information. As the rope was going around his neck witnesses report that his last words were "My last moments are sweetened by the reflection that for every man you murder this day Mosby will take a tenfold vengeance."

© Susan Crutchfield Photography

Thomas Anderson, one of the first men shot had developed a friendship with Overby during the course of their service together. In recognition of this friendship, when Anderson’s father came to Front Royal to collect his son’s body, he also took Overby’s and buried them in the same graveyard in his hometown of Markham, Virginia. Because of his bravery and refusal to betray his fellow soldiers, he is called the Nathan Hale of the Confederacy. From September 1864 to December 1996 William Thomas Overby remained over 600 miles from his home. Finally, his remains were interred and brought to his hometown. In January of 1997 he received a military funeral with honors. The same year a stretch of highway from 154 to 34 was named in his honor. The farmland where he grew up in Sharpsburg is now a subdivision also named after him. In May of 1956, a monument was erected in Overby's honor in front of the Courthouse on the square of downtown Newnan.

Whitley Farms - Sharpsburg

We love spending time outdoors and we love fresh fruit, so we were sure that we would really enjoy picking our own fruit on Whitley Farms in Sharpsburg. We have often seen the brightly colored signs around Thomas Crossroads featuring large berries with arrows pointing the way, but had never been to this farm tucked away off a side road of Lower Fayetteville.

Whitley Farms Sharpsburg, GA ©Susan Crutchfield Photography

Whitley Farms is a local, family owned operation that grows a large variety of fruits and vegetables using sustainable, pesticide free methods. They sell their produce from a cute wooden stand and also offer their yields through a community supported agriculture (CSA) program.

Whitley Farms Sharpsburg, GA ©Susan Crutchfield Photography

Looking around the stand at all the plump berries, we couldn’t wait to get out in the fields and fill our buckets.

Whitley Farms Sharpsburg, GA ©Susan Crutchfield Photography

Whitley Farms Sharpsburg, GA ©Susan Crutchfield Photography

You can pick as many berries as you like and pay by the pound.

Whitley Farms Sharpsburg, GA ©Susan Crutchfield Photography

The blueberry bushes and blackberry canes were drooping with tons of juicy berries. More than half of them were ripe.

Whitley Farms Sharpsburg, GA ©Susan Crutchfield Photography

The plants are set up in neat rows with wide spaces between that make the fruit very accessible.

Whitley Farms Sharpsburg, GA ©Susan Crutchfield Photography

We found moving down the rows in the warm sunshine filling our baskets with berries a very peaceful experience. The open fields create a light breeze, and there is a rhythm in harvesting fruit that is calming.

Whitley Farms Sharpsburg, GA ©Susan Crutchfield Photography

Although Whitley Farms uses no pesticides on their crops, we saw very few bugs.

Whitley Farms Sharpsburg, GA ©Susan Crutchfield Photography

Whitley Farms Sharpsburg, GA ©Susan Crutchfield Photography

Our only blackberry picking experiences before this were of harvesting wild blackberries from the woods. Picking them on a farm is a very different experience without the sweat, blood and general trauma that comes from hiking into a thicket of wild blackberry canes.

Whitley Farms Sharpsburg, GA ©Susan Crutchfield Photography

We saw several children having fun trying learning to identify the ripe fruit and making a contest of finding the biggest berries.

Whitley Farms Sharpsburg, GA ©Susan Crutchfield Photography

As we dreamed about running away from home to become farm workers harvesting fruit outside all day, we realized we had filled our buckets. Back at the stand, we stocked up on fresh vegetables and fruits.

Whitley Farms Sharpsburg, GA ©Susan Crutchfield Photography

Whitley Farms Sharpsburg, GA ©Susan Crutchfield Photography

We love the taste of locally grown produce and had a hard time limiting our purchases. They also make jams, jellies and sauces and have honey from local hives.

Whitley Farms Sharpsburg, GA ©Susan Crutchfield Photography

Whitley Farms Sharpsburg, GA ©Susan Crutchfield Photography

Our favorite way to eat berries is raw with plenty of whipped cream. We ate an embarrassing amount of blueberries and blackberries with cream.

Berries and Cream  Sharpsburg, GA ©Susan Crutchfield Photography

Berries and Cream Sharpsburg, GA ©Susan Crutchfield Photography

We still have plenty of berries left, but will definitely go back to pick as long as they are in season. We recommend that you wear sunscreen and bring a wide brimmed hat to keep the sun from your face. Whitley farms offer frequent specials and discounts off produce, so be sure to follow their Facebook page to keep up.