Known to the Creeks as “The Beloved Man of the Four Nations,” Benjamin Hawkins, who lived from 1754 to 1816, was appointed Indian agent by President Washington. A soldier, Congressman, and Senator, he sought with firmness and kindness to guide the Indians toward civilization. His agency was on the Flint River near Roberta. Hawkins made the first known written record of a journey through this area, using a system of accurate measurement by elapsed time between points, set at 3 miles an hour on horseback, and his descriptions of streams and terrain make his route easily followed today. A short distance south is “a very extensive view westward,” described in his journal.