Normandale

Normandale was named for Norman W. Dodge, one of seven sons of William E. Dodge, for whom Dodge County was named in 1870. The home of over 500 people, Normandale was headquarters of the Dodge Land & Lumber Company which was established after the Civil War using questionable deeds. The company claimed over 300 square miles of the finest longleaf yellow pine in the world. The area included the counties of Telfair, Dodge, Laurens, Montgomery, and Pulaski. Settlers had earlier claimed most of the property. After years of controversy, the Dodge Company appealed to the federal court and was awarded lands it had seized after the Civil War. As the Dodge Company evicted settlers, a bitter land war ensued. The Dodge superintendent, John C. Forsyth, was shot and killed on October 7, 1890. The murder occurred either in the executive house, now restored, or in a nearby twin structure which burned. Mr. Forsyth and his daughter, Nellie, are buried in the front yard of Christ Church on St. Simons Island. On September 9, 1892, the big mill and dry house of the lumber company burned to the ground. Having depleted the region's forests, the company did not rebuild what was one of the largest saw mills in the south.