Home of Col. Charles T. Zachry CSA
The Peachstone Shoals is located on Hwy 20 East at the South River and the Henry-Newton County line. The Hwy 20 road bed is cut through where Col. Zachry's
home he called Castle Mound once stood. Charles Thornton Zachry (1828-1906) moved to Henry County from Newton County in 1852 and married Frances A. Turner.
He built his first house in the Beersheba District. This was his home when he raised a Volunteer Company for the CSA. His wife died in 1861 as did his father n law while he was away at war. When Col. Zachry returned home he married Elizabeth Jane Russell in 1865. His original home stood on the hill above the Cotton-Indian Creek before it enters the South River below the Shoals.
Col. Zachry bought and redeveloped the Peachstone Shoals property. He built a large grist mill, cotton gin and othe enterprises including a store and a saw mill. Between 1870 and 1873 he built his large new home "The Castle Mound" on the
hill above the River.
Many events occurred over the years at the Peachstone Shoals. Weddings, day outings, and more improvements. Such as in 1883 a new factory with 129 looms would be constructed. There was also tragedy at Peachstone Shoals. During the
March to the Sea in November 1864, a detachment of Union Soldiers lost their way
down the Peachstone Shoals Road and many drowned trying to cross the swollen River. Then on June 15, 1893; Col. Zachry's son n law Mr. Tom P. Thompson drowned at the Shoals.
By 1894, the Peachstone Shoals was home to a Post Office. Then things were about to change forever at the Shoals. Col. Zachry on Dec. 4, 1903 moved his family to McDonough to occupy the Adam Sloan House. With his last move Col Zachry leased the Shoals property and had the Castle Mound burned. Then Col.
Zachry passed away in Feb 1906. The Peachstone Shoals property and all the buildings were destroyed by fire during World War I. The property was divided after
the death of Mrs. Zachry in November 1918. Nothing remains of that time today
except possibly rusting remains of teh business and farm life of Col. Charles T. Zachry at Peachstone Shoals.
It is truly sad that a man of honor during the Civil War, then a statesman for the County and a prosperous developer who brought jobs to Henry County during the Reconstruction nothing remains of that accomplishment except good memories. As people travel today along Hwy 20 East at the South River never would know the settlement that once was Peachstone Shoals ever existed.
References:
1. "The Mother of Counties", Vessie Rainer, 1971.
2. Henry County Weekly, archived pages with years 1879-1903.
3. Official Records of the Civil War, Washington DC.
