Bradwell Park History

The current Bradwell Park area was originally designated as lots 40 & 49 and marked as Reserved in the 1837 Plan of Hinesville. The lots were owned by the Town of Hinesville.

 

1837 Hinesville Methodist Church Organized

“Organized shortly after Hinesville was settled in 1837, the Hinesville Methodist Church served as a place of worship for all denominations for about a hundred years. It was the only church in the town for that length of time. The first services were held in a small frame building, which was later replaced by a well-furnished large structure, which was used for a longer period of time than the first. Both churches were located in the same block as Bradwell Institute. The first recorded trustees of the church were Edward Way, E. Q. Andrews, John Wells, Thomas Sheppard and David Zoucks. A bell in the tower was used to call the worshippers to church and was tolled on other special occasions.

 

1890 Trustees for the Church 

In 1890 trustees for the church included Olin C. Smith, Dr. A. I. Hendry, Dr. S. Z. Calder, J. E. Butler, John A. Theus and John M. Darsey. The first ministers of the church were the Reverend Capel Haiford, the Reverend W. D. Busbee, the Reverend Burell Wells and the Reverend Charles McAlister. Outstanding ministers of the Methodist Episcopal Church, who were descendants of original settlers in Liberty County, were the Reverend John Andrews and Bishop James Osgood Andrews. Mr. Andrews was the first native-born Georgian to attain the position of bishop.

 

1841 Contract signed for the First Hinesville Academy

The Hinesville settlers established a school beside their church, and in 1841 C. Hines signed a contract, as a commissioner, with Colonel James Sharpe Bradwell, as the first principal of the Hinesville Academy.” 1

 

1910 Second Bradwell Institute Constructed

“Ernest Dunlevie and B.H. Allen, from New York, New York, and Montreal, Canada, respectively, on January 12, 1910, established the Southern Lumber Company between Hinesville and Walthourville alongside tracks of the Atlantic Coastline Railroad. The first lumber produced by the mill was used to construct a new building for Bradwell Institute on site of the old structure.” 2

 

1926 New Bradwell School Constructed (Located at the site of the current Board of Education building; Circa 2011)

“Bradwell Institute Elementary and High School was erected in 1926. It had an auditorium, 13 classrooms, and 13 teach­ers. Its consolidation eliminated schools at Flemington, Pine Grove, Palmetto, Allenhurst, and Gum Branch, and Walt­hourville. It was located three blocks from courthouse square in Hinesville.” 3

 

1926 Old Bradwell Institute used as Temporary Courthouse Buiding

“The old courthouse was razed, and a cornerstone for the new courthouse layed, in 1926. County records, offices, and the Superior Court were housed in the old Bradwell Institute while the construction was going on. The new courthouse was completed in 1927.” 4

 

1940 The old Hinesville Methodist Church was sold

In 1940’s “The Hinesville Methodist Church was sold to an outside interest. It was remodeled and became a grocery store. Members of the church congregation built a brick church building at the corner of North Main Street and Memorial Drive.” 5

 

1974 Bradwell Park Established

“Bradwell Park, named for Samuel Dowse Bradwell, was built in 1974 by the City of Hinesville, with assistance from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, and Liberty County garden clubs. It is located where the Hinesville Methodist Church and Bradwell Institute once stood.”