Nelson Tift - Albany's Founding Father
Northern merchant and entrepreneur Nelson Tift founded Albany GA in October 1836. Born to a Connecticut mercantile family, Nelson followed his father into business and into the South. While part of a general westward migration of farmers, slaves, and planters, Tift did not invest directly in agricultural enterprises but rather facilitated them. In so doing, he helped make southwest Georgia one of the state's foremost antebellum cotton-producing regions.
Tift took a roundabout route to Albany. Starting in 1826 at the family's Key West, Florida, salvage business, he managed stores in Charleston, South Carolina, and Augusta and Hawkinsville, Georgia. Prospects to the west continued to beckon, and in October 1836 he made his final move, this time to present-day Dougherty County, where he established a trading center on the Flint River and named it after Albany, NY.
Tift's business acumen located him at the hub of southwest Georgia's traffic in land, cotton, and slaves. Determined that the region's economy would remain strong, he promoted numerous transportation schemes, including a toll bridge at Albany and the extension of railroad lines from Savannah and later Americus. He speculated in land throughout southwest Georgia; he operated a dry goods store and several mills; he regularly extended credit to friends and neighbors; and for many years, he owned and edited the local newspaper, the Albany Patriot.
During the Civil War (1861-65), Tift built gunboats for the Confederate navy and supplied the Rebel army with beef and hardtack produced by his factories at Albany and at nearby Palmyra in Lee County.
In 1868 he won a seat in the U.S. Congress. In 1877 he was a delegate to the constitutional convention. He died a wealthy man, celebrated for his role in transforming his adopted home into what would later be described as the heart of Georgia's Cotton Kingdom.
This is an easy 3-stage Multi Cache that will require a bit of math.
The first stage will take you to a historic marker that tells about the life of Col. Nelson Tift. Here you will find the information needed to find the second stage.
Coords for Stage 2 are
N 31° 34.ABC W 084° 09.DEF
ABC = The year Nelson Tift moved to Baker County minus 1558.
DEF = The year Tift was elected Colonel of the Baker Co. Militia minus 1640.
The second stage will take you to the final resting place of Nelson Tift and his family. Please be respectful during your visit. Here you will find the information you need to find the final stage.
Coords for Stage 3 are
31° 35.GHI W 084° 09.JKL
GHI = The year Tift’s wife Maria was born minus 1169.
JKL = The year Maria died minus 1342.
The final stage is a small lock & lock container hidden in a park named in honor of Albany’s founder. The cache is placed here with permission from Albany Recreation and Parks Dept. Good luck and happy hunting!