# Henry Shultz > Mediated Wiki article. Canonical URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Henry_Shultz > Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Henry_Shultz.md > Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_Shultz > Source revision: 1356565873 > License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/) {{about||the American economist|Henry Schultz|the American academic|Henry Schultze}} {{Infobox person | name = Henry Shultz | image = | alt = | caption = | birth_name = Klaus Hinrich Klahn | birth_date = {{Birth date|1776|10|10}} | birth_place = Dahme, Duchy of Holstein | death_date = {{Death date and age|1851|10|13|1776|10|10}} | death_place = Hamburg, South Carolina, USA | other_names = | occupation = Entrepreneur, real estate developer | years_active = | known_for = Founder of Hamburg, S.C. | notable_works = | signature = Henry Shultz signature.svg }} '''Henry Shultz''' (October 10, 1776 – October 13, 1851) was a colorful entrepreneur in [Northern](/source/Northern_Germany) [Germany](/source/Germany) and the [American South](/source/Southern_United_States). He caused an important bridge to be built across the [Savannah River](/source/Savannah_River) at [Augusta](/source/Augusta%2C_Georgia), [Georgia](/source/Georgia_(U.S._state)), and founded the town of [Hamburg](/source/Hamburg%2C_Aiken_County%2C_South_Carolina), [South Carolina](/source/South_Carolina). == Early life == Shultz was born '''Klaus Hinrich Klahn''' in the village of [Dahme](/source/Dahme%2C_Schleswig-Holstein) on the Baltic coast of [Holstein](/source/Holstein), when this [duchy](/source/duchy) was in personal union with the kingdom of [Denmark](/source/Denmark). He left Dahme for the port city of [Lübeck](/source/L%C3%BCbeck) at age 16, in time becoming a wealthy trader there and in nearby [Wismar](/source/Wismar). Economic dislocation during the [Napoleonic Wars](/source/Napoleonic_Wars) pushed Klahn's business into failure. He changed his name, escaped his debtors to [Altona](/source/Altona%2C_Hamburg), near [Hamburg](/source/Hamburg), [Germany](/source/Germany), and finally stowed away on a ship bound for America.Voigt-Lassen 1965 == Career == Shultz came to Augusta, Georgia in 1806 and took up as a laborer on the Savannah River [pole boats](/source/Setting_pole). These carried upcountry produce such as tobacco (and later, cotton) to [Savannah, Georgia](/source/Savannah%2C_Georgia), and returned with manufactured items such as metal goods, paper, and cloth. In 1809 he purchased his own boat.Cordle 1940, 79 In 1814 he engaged the support of a 'mechanic' named Lewis Cooper, secured financing, and drove the construction of a Savannah River bridge at Augusta. Two previous bridges had been swept away by floods, but his bridge proved remarkably durable and served the city well until 1888.Cordle 1940, 79–80 Shultz took advantage of the great success of his bridge, using it to capitalize the Bridge Company of Augusta, complete with currency known as 'Bridge Bills' that circulated widely.Cordle 1940, 80 thumb|400px|'Bridge Bill' All of this came to an end during the [Panic of 1819](/source/Panic_of_1819). The Bridge Company failed, the Bridge Bills became worthless, and the bridge itself fell into the hands of a creditor. The enraged Shultz concluded that the citizens of Augusta conspired against him to take away his hard-earned accomplishments.Cordle 1940, 80–81 Driven to desperation, Shultz attempted suicide with a pistol, but survived.Scott 1884, 27 As revenge, Shultz enlisted the support of property owners on the opposite side of the river, and in 1821 founded the town of Hamburg, South Carolina. The town grew quickly and by the end of 1821 had 84 houses and 200 inhabitants, directly competing with Augusta in its role as an upriver trading point. Shultz ruled the town as its 'proprietor' and worked continuously to improve it by constructing buildings, streamlining its water and road connections, and encouraging the opening of a bank.Cordle 1940, 82 thumb|Seal used by Henry Shultz 1825–1850 He used the newspapers to brag about Hamburg's success, deride the hated Augusta, and threaten legal action against his persecutors. Playing on the theme of retaining South Carolina commerce within the State, he successfully appealed to the legislature for tax exemptions and loans, that he used to buy a steamboat and construct buildings.Cordle 1940, 83–85 He founded a Mechanics Society, and conducted a Mechanics Festival that amounted to an annual [pep rally](/source/pep_rally) for his town.Hughes 2010 Hamburg grew quickly, but Shultz was derailed by a series of mishaps. A suspect in Shultz's custody died during the investigation of a trunk stolen from a wagon. Shultz was held in the district jail at [Edgefield](/source/Edgefield%2C_South_Carolina), and in a sensational trial was convicted of manslaughter. He was sentenced to six months' confinement, and then to be branded on the hand with the letter 'M'. But Shultz obtained a pardon from the governor, and apparently escaped the branding.Stokes 1951, 249 While Hamburg itself had been a measured success, Shultz had long since run out of money. He had difficulty getting paid for rents and for the sale of lots, and the defaulted Bridge Bills continued to dog him. While in jail for manslaughter, half of Hamburg was sold off in a sheriff's sale.Cordle 1940, 91 In 1828 Shultz found himself in jail again, this time for bankruptcy. He was forced to turn his remaining assets over to his creditors.Cordle 1940, 91–92 In the following years he was able to obtain some forgiveness and renewed support from the state, and despite his diminished role, continued to foster 'his' town.Hughes, 2010 ==Death and legacy== Shultz steadily sold off property in order to maintain himself. He died [intestate](/source/Intestacy) and in poverty on October 13, 1851, at the age of 75 in Hamburg, South Carolina. To his death he maintained his alias and was generally believed to have been born in 'Hamburg on the [Elbe](/source/Elbe)'.Hughes, 2010 Hamburg quickly declined during the 1850s, and by the time of [the war](/source/American_Civil_War) was a [ghost town](/source/ghost_town).Chapman 1897, 20 The town enjoyed a resurgence during reconstruction as a home for displaced freedmen, but in 1876 was the site of the [Hamburg massacre](/source/Hamburg_massacre).Budiansky 2008, 221–254 Hamburg once again dwindled until its final destruction in a Savannah River flood in 1929. Shultz Township in present-day [Aiken County](/source/Aiken_County%2C_South_Carolina) is named in his honor. == Notes == {{Reflist}} == References == *{{cite book |last=Budiansky |first=Stephen |author-link=Stephen Budiansky |url-access=registration |title=The Bloody Shirt: Terror After Appomattox |year=2008 |publisher=Viking Penguin |url=https://archive.org/details/bloodyshirtterro0000budi_n2t3 |isbn=978-0-670-01840-6}} Section VI - pages 221–254. * {{cite book |last=Chapman |first=John A. |title=History of Edgefield County, South Carolina |year=1897 |publisher=Various Reprints |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=trI-AAAAYAAJ |isbn=0-8063-4696-5}} pp. 20 and 236–243 *{{cite book | last = Cordle | first = Charles G. | title = Henry Shultz and the Founding of Hamburg, South Carolina. Studies in Georgia History and Government | year = 1940 | publisher = University of Georgia | oclc = 794924 }} 79–93 and 257–263 *{{cite book | last = Hughes | first = Peter | title = The Sixth Hamburg Mechanic's Festival. The Carolina Herald and Newsletter, Vol. XXXVIII No. 2 (April, May, June 2010). | year = 2010 | publisher = South Carolina Genealogical Society | url=http://henryshultz.wordpress.com/2015/02/21/sixth-hamburg-mechanics-festival}} *{{cite book | last = Scott | first = Edwin J. | title = Random Recollections of a Long Life, 1806 to 1876 | year = 1884 | publisher = Charles A. Calvo, reprinted by R. L. Bryan Co. | url = https://archive.org/details/randomrecollect00scotgoog | oclc = 5952211 | isbn = 0-8371-1537-X }} pp. 25–28 * {{cite book | last = Stokes | first = Thomas L | title = The Savannah | url = https://archive.org/details/savannah00thom | url-access = registration | year = 1951 | publisher = University of Georgia Press | isbn = 0-8203-0621-5}} pp. 244–251 * {{cite book | last = Voigt-Lassen | first = Irene | title = Ein Dahmer wurde Städtebauer an der Savannah | year = 1965 | publisher = Jahrbuch für Heimatkunde im Kreis Oldenburg/Holstein, 9. Jahrgang | url=http://www.heimatkunde-ostholstein.de/jahrbuch.html}} pp. 245–249 == External links == * [Klaus Hinrich Klahn (Wikipedia DE)](/source/%3Ade%3AKlaus_Hinrich_Klahn) Accessed October, 2023 * [http://henryshultz.wordpress.com/ Henry Shultz and his Town of Hamburg, SC] Accessed December, 2016 * [https://henryshultz.wordpress.com/2017/01/04/images-of-the-augusta-bridge/ Images of the Augusta Bridge] Accessed February, 2017 * [https://www.rootsandrecall.com/richland/buildings/hiram-hutchison/ Hiram Hutchison an Antebellum S.C. Banker / Entrepreneur] {{DEFAULTSORT:Shultz, Henry}} Category:1776 births Category:1851 deaths Category:Founders of populated places in South Carolina Category:People from Ostholstein Category:People from Augusta, Georgia Category:People from Hamburg, South Carolina Category:People from the Duchy of Holstein Category:German emigrants to the United States --- Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Henry Shultz](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_Shultz) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_Shultz?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.