Background
Benjamin Weeks Hunt was born in Chappaqua, Westchester County, N. Y. , in 1847. He was the son of Benjamin Weeks and Mary (Quinby) Hunt. He was the second son and youngest child in a family of three children.
Benjamin Weeks Hunt was born in Chappaqua, Westchester County, N. Y. , in 1847. He was the son of Benjamin Weeks and Mary (Quinby) Hunt. He was the second son and youngest child in a family of three children.
He was educated at Mount Kisco Academy in New York.
He began his career in a bank, but on marrying, he found shortly his whole outlook on life changed. Unable to forget the pleasures as well as problems of Middle Georgia, his wife induced him to move to Eatonton, where he spent the rest of a long life. Hunt quickly adapted himself to the South, now beset by its Reconstruction problems, and won a remarkable place in the affections of the people.
Visualizing a new South based on diversified industries and scientific agriculture, he unloosed new ideas which he carried out with such success that his leadership soon attracted statewide notice and took on national significance. He established Panola Farm, devoted primarily to livestock, on which he introduced the first herd of Jersey cattle to the state, selected by him from the best strains on the Isle of Jersey. This activity gave an impetus to dairying in the state and made Putnam County outstanding in this business. He also bred fine horses and mules for the Southern market. Through these activities he became interested in animal husbandry, which led him in 1886 to investigate the tick menace which caused cattle fever.
He succeeded in getting Georgia to pass a law which led to tick eradication and added greatly to the wealth of the state. For some years he conducted a column in the Atlanta Journal, dealing with livestock problems. On his Panola Farm he also experimented with peaches, grapes, and figs, and in the garden surrounding his Eatonton mansion he worked on many varieties of plants and shrubs. In fact he made an experiment station of his farm and garden, and to help him promote it the United States Department of Agriculture sent him many exotic plants. It naturally followed that he should become a member of the board of directors of the Georgia Agricultural Experiment Station, at Experiment. Crossing the Celeste, a common Georgia fig, with the Capri fig, he developed a new variety which was named for him. He also experimented with crossing annual and perennial sweet peas and in developing palms. He always kept in mind local adaptations. His work attracted the attention of Luther Burbank, Liberty Hyde Bailey, and other scientists, many of whom visited him.
In 1898 Hunt was bitten by a cat with rabies. He went to Paris for treatment by Pasteur, and on his return he became a principal promoter of the first Pasteur institute in the state. In line with his many-sided interests, he became president of the Middle Georgia Bank and was elected president of the Georgia Bankers' Association in 1912; he entered the cotton manufacturing business; and he was one of the organizers of the Middle Georgia & Atlantic Railway, running from Covington to Milledgeville, and became its treasurer. He was chiefly responsible for organizing the Eatonton Public Library. After an illness of about a year he died of heart disease. His public spirit led him to contribute money to many causes and to aid financially many people.
He was a member of the Society of Friends.
He married Louise Prudden of Eatonton, Putnam County, Ga. , on May 18, 1876.
