James William Cureton was born on December 25, 1829 in North Carolina, went as a young man to Tennessee where he married Nancy Boyd, and in 1849 moved to Dade County, Georgia, seeking a good site for a water-powered mill. His household included his wife Nancy, his widowed mother, his sister Nancy, and her husband Alexander Smith, and at that time he owned two middle-aged enslaved Africans. He found a suitable site for his proposed mill, established his estate called “Dademont,” built a mill dam, constructed a saw mill and a grist mill, installed equipment for a water-powered wool carding machine, and manufactured furniture from local hardwoods. In 1859 he purchased a Negro boy named John. The 1860 federal census recorded James Cureton, age 34, with his wife Nancy, age 30, their children John, George, William, and Mary, and showed that he owned three enslaved Africans and maintained one Negro house. At the start of the war, he served as a sergeant in the 10th Regiment of Georgia State Troops until it was disbanded in the fall of 1861, then raised a local company called the Dade County Invincibles, which became Company D of the 39th Georgia Infantry Regiment in the Confederate Army. While Captain Cureton was away with the army during the Federal invasion in September 1863, Union officers identified his place as an excellent point for road movement, water, camping, corn, and temporary headquarters, and a member of Sheridan’s command recalled halting at a farm house that appeared to belong to a wealthy owner before moving on toward bivouac south of Trenton on Lookout Creek. Cureton remained with the Confederate Army until a leg wound disabled him during the battle of Atlanta. After the war, he continued his milling operations, expanded his farming activities, and served several terms in the Georgia Legislature in both the House of Representatives and the Senate.

Photo: Duane and Tracy Marsteller