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This is the home of Balaam Bentley now owned by Tammy and Bill Hunt. The house is located at 3611 Leathersville Rd., Leathersville, Georgia. The town of Leathersville got its name from the Tannery Balaam Bentley owned and operated:
FROM: History of Lincoln County pages 51-52 comes the following:
" TANNERY. Sometimes in the early days of settlement, the exact date of which is unknown, a tannery was established in the southern part of the county (Lincoln County, Georgia) and the place was called LEATHERSVILLE, a name which it still remains, and was the first one in Georgia, if not in the South. According to tradition, it was established by BALAAM BENTLEY, the progenitor of the BENTLEY FAMILY in the county, and was operated by him for a number of years. It was later owned and operated by his son, DR. JOHN BENTLEY. It was patronized not only by this county, but by all the surrounding counties, for in the early days , and for many years later, shoes and harness were made locally by hand. During the latter years of it's existence, most of the leather was shipped to northern markets."
From the Will of his father, William Bentley II, Balaam and his brother Joshua were the two youngest sons. They were willed the "the tract of land, buildings, and tenements, whereon we now live". This may mean that the Balaam Bentley house may be the same house that William Bentley lived in before he died and that William Bentley and his wife Jane may be buried there behind the house in the family cemetery!
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