I was able to spend two days at the Banks County Superior Court Deed Room during my Christmas vacation. My goal was to try to identify the chain of ownership on the buildings on North Main Street in Maysville, Banks Co, GA, running from the current post office down to the Community Club. However, the post office lot itself took me almost one day.
Although the more recent deeds reference some previous deeds, once you get further back in the chain of ownership, references are usually not found. For example, I was able to trace ownership of the post office lot back to 1896 but no further. I suspect the lots along that row were originally laid out by the railroad surveyer and recorded in Jackson County.
The deeds refer to lot numbers from an original survey made by J. M. Edwards, ex-superintendent for the Northeastern Railroad. Land for the railroad was originally donated to the railroad by local landowners, such as the Sherman Sims estate. After the railroad tracks were laid in 1876, and the route established, there was land leftover on the right of way, which the railroad chose to section off and sell by auction. These lots were numbered beginning with Lot No. 1, the current location of the Maysville Post Office.
At the end of day two, I had started working on the old Regions Bank lot, which is actually five of the original lots. Original lots were only 25 feet wide and ran about 90 feet back to Oak Alley. The deed to the Regions Bank lot provided considerable insight into the location of some of the older Maysville businesses I had read about but could not figure the location of. These include J. Tom Smith, W.C.J. Garrison and Yarbrough.
As I complete more research, I'll be able to share some of my findings. Superior Court Clerk Tim Harper was extremely helpful to me, as well as his staff, which was much appreciated.
