Curse of Lorenzo Dow| Between Monsters and Men

Good Evening everyone and welcome to between monsters and men, today we are looking into the curse of Lorenzo dow

The Curse of Lorenzo Dow

Jacksonboro
    Founded in 1767 by Solomon Gross and his wife Mary, Jacksonboro, became a small town nearby the city of Sylvania. It didn't take long before the town flourished with every year that passed, but never had it grown in its popularity than in 1820.
    Regardless it was a rough town with a terrible reputation. Saloons outnnumbered all other businesses combined which resulted in plenty of fighting and drinking as the local pastime. In 1849, George White wrote in the Statistics of the State of Georgia that, "in the mornings after drunken frolics and fights you could see the local children picking up eyeballs in tea saucers."


The Story
    It was 1821 when it all began. A hunched man with long hair and a beard, traveled into Jacksonboro in hopes to make a change to one of the most routiest town in southern United states at the time.
    Lorenzo Dow preached at a Methodist church in town where he would deliver a fire and brimstone sermon. To alert the good people of Jacksonboro, he'd ring the church bell and they'd come. Unforuntately for Lorenzo, the chiming of the church bell also alerted the hooligans as well, which quite outnumbered the good people.
    They threw rocks and bricks through the church windows, shooting their pistols into the air. Outraged, Lorenzo finished his sermon and then followed the crowd into a local tavern. He grabbed an iron bar, and split open a barrel of whisky. The liquor quickly covered the floor, earning an immedate beat down on Lorenzo by the bar attendees. In comes a mason named Seaborn Goodall, who quickly got Lorenzo to the safety of his home.
    Another version has him riding into town on a horse in 1820, yelling at the people, "Repent, brethren, repent!" Understandably angry, the townsfolk threw tomatoes and rotten eggs at him. Lorenzo was persistent though, he climbed down his steed, grabbed an iron tool and broke open a barrel of whisky. The town rushed for him, but before they could grab ahold of the preacher, a man came forward and got him to safety. This man was a fellow methodist and mason, named Seaborn Goodall.
    In either version, Seaborn Goodall took Lorenzo to his house where he was allowed to stay the night. The house was just outside the town, decent size, but no one dared to bother Mr. Goodall because he owned quite abit of land in town. It was that night, that the usually stubborn Lorenzo decided he would leave town the next day.
    The next day, Lorenzo was about to leave, but before he could, the town taunted and threw objects at him in rage. Upset, yet again, Lorenzo placed a curse upon the town.

Curse
    Lorenzo left, leaving behind a curse that involved the entire town except for one house. The Goodall house. Windstorms came along, blowing off roofs of many buildings. Many were destroyed by mysterious fires. The Beaver Dam Creek, at which Lorenzo walked passed when he left, which was normally docile, became prone to flash floods that would sweep away entire houses. Even the General Sherman's March to the Sea came through and destroyed properties.
    The town of Jacksonboro began to disappear, leaving behind the Seaborn Goodall house. Matter in fact it still stands today. It was restored by the Brier Creek DAR. And it is now open for tours on the first Saturday of every month April - November.

Who was Lorenzo Dow
    Lorenzo Dow was born October 16, 1777 in Coventry, Connecticut. He was a sickly child, suffering from asthma and a few other illnesses, but as he got older he was said to have preached to more people than any other preacher of his era. Regardless of his popularity, he was unkempt in all the terms it means. He was never hygienic, his hair and beard were long and never combed. He usually had one set of clothes and he wore them till scraps. The only time he switched clothes was when people donated some to him. However, through his dirtiness, he became an important figure in the Second Great Awakening and even a very popular writer. His autobiography was the second best-selling book in the United States at the time, only being passed by the Bible. Both in America and Britain, he attracted large crowds that came to hear and see him - both persecuted as well as admired.
    Due to the churches being closed to him, Lorenzo would often preach in town halls, barns, and even open fields. He appeared unexpectedly at public events, annoucing in a loud voice that he'd would return exactly one year from that day and would actually do so. He never disappointed his audiences. His preaching consisted of shouting, screaming, crying, begging, flattering, and even insulting and challenging people in their beliefs. So popular was he, that there is recorded proof of Lorenzo preaching in front of 10,000 people or more.
    Of course, due to his type of preaching and his insulting people of their beliefs , he's met with plenty of threatening audiences from parts of southern United States. He was sometimes so bad he would be ejected from towns, pelted with stones, eggs and other rotten foods.

Was there a curse?
    Lorenzo dow never mentioned Jacksonboro in his writings - now that doesn't mean he didn't wander in and simply kept it out of his texts. Historians are certain that he did visit the town and it had to be around 1821 since that was the year Goodall owned his house. Also, after 1821 quite a few children that were born in the area, were named Lorenzo. What makes me curious about this is, why would people who hated him, and kicked him out, name their children after him?
    Maybe it was the few people who enjoyed his preachings? Let's hope, otherwise that's just weird.
    Weird things did occur in Jacksonboro after 1821 as mentioned. The tiny town no longer exists, with only the one house still standing, rocks, trees and dirt are all that is left of its memory other than history itself.
    So tell me, what do you think?

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