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Altamaha Echoes Library - 1986 Issues
Provided by Myrtle Newberry - Editor

Lower Altamaha Historical Society Newsletters

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FIRST Issue of Newsletter

HOW very appropriate it is that we are launching "The Altamaha Echoes," our newsletter, in the 250th Anniversary Year for Darien.

On Oglethorpe’s advice, a military company of Highland Scots was recruited from the Inverness area, and with their families were established (1736) at the mouth of the Altamaha River. The nearby site of Fort King George (1721) had been abandoned nine years prior to the arrival of Oglethorpe’s Scots.

This company of Scots played a decisive role in the bulwark of defenses of the Colony of Georgia. Construction was begun on Fort Frederica that same year the Scots settled Darien. Other fortified strong points, served by Scots, strategically placed by Oglethorpe, were stretched thinly down the coast to the St. John’s River, and too uncomfortably close for Spanish St. Augustine to enjoy.

On January 19, 1986, the people of Darien celebrated the 250th anniversary of their town’s historic past, while the First Presbyterian Church, supported by Savannah Presbytery and others of the denomination from distant parts of Georgia, met here to honor that original congregation of Scots from which the present Darien Presbyterian church is descended. It was an impressive ceremony, led by Dr. David H. C. Read, himself a Scot, and minister of the Madison Avenue Presbyterian Church of New York City.

The formation of the Lower Altamaha Historical Society was begun in November, 1979, and incorporated on March 24th, 1980, to provide a focal point for the gathering, sharing and enjoyment of the history of Coastal Georgia, with emphasis on McIntosh County, the Altamaha River Basin and Fort King George. Miss Bessie Lewis, Miss Frances Haynes, Miss Anne Lee Haynes, Mrs. Elizabeth Wylly Aug, Mrs. Will Dean, Mrs. Evella Brown, Mrs. Freicla Stebbins, Mrs. Gertrude Mallard and Mrs. Lillian Schaitberger, William G. Haynes, Jr., William B. Dean, Paul H. Ploeger, Jr., Daniel H. White and Norman Edwards, were among the founding members. The first slate of officers included William B. Dean as President, Evella Brown as Vice President, Norman Edwards as Secretary and Mrs. Lillian Schaitberger as Treasurer.

Since its inception, the Society has seen its membership grow to the present 35 members. They, and interested non-members, meet monthly to hear a talk on historical subjects with a Coastal Georgia bias. Programmes are as varied as possible, from Bottle Collecting to the Salzburger connection or Coastal Indian cultures. As a nonprofit organization, L. A. H, S. is well situated to play an active role in future historical promotion in McIntosh County and beyond. Above all, its aim is to enhance as much as possible the fascination and enjoyment of the area’s rich historical resources.

With this goal in mind, L. A. H. 5. 1985 President, Rundle Cook, Secretary Bill Haynes and the Board of Directors decided to publish this occasional newsletter, "Altamaha Echoes," to serve as one means of communication between L. A. H. S. members and as a source of information on upcoming events, snippets of practical information and general historical news of interest. Since all exchange of information is definitely a two-way street, suggestions for future programmes and ideas or contributions to this publication are most welcome — talk to Jeannine Cook at 912-832-4606.

Coastal Georgia with photography by Van Jones Martin and text by Beth Lattimore
Reiter, published by Golden Coast Publishing Co., 1985. 127 pp., in hard & soft cover.

Coastal Georgia offers readers an excellent introduction to the area, both from a visual and historical viewpoint. Beth Lattimore Reiter’s text is vividly and tautly written, spanning the eras of prehistory, colonisation, post-Revolution plantation prosperity, War between the States and Reconstruction, to day’s world of resorts, lumber and fishing industries, military facilities and historic preservation. Van Jones Martin’s photographs illustrate the diversity and beauty of natural and historic sites, often capturing the essence of the Georgia Coast. Despite their frequently small size, they convey the qualities of timelessness and golden light special to this area. As well chosen counterpoints to the photographs are quotes from early writings on the area and additional historical commentaries. A series of maps completes the book, enabling the reader to situate the natural and historic sites mentioned in the text. This book is a lovely evocation of our area’s unique history and natural beauties and makes a delightful present to oneself or to a friend.

With a view to helping L. A. H. S. members who might wish to investigate acquiring funds to preserve historic structures, the Society asked Miss Holley Dean to share her experience of negotiating bureaucratic labyrinth after she acquired the Dunwoody-Cain-Tyson house at the Ridge, now designated as one of McIntosh County’s Historic Districts. Having applied for all requisite forms and information on historic restoration, Miss Dean received forms and a very helpful booklet specifying the "dos and don’ts" of restoring an old house. More strictures concerne preserving the historic aspects of houses’ exteriors than the interiors, where bathrooms, kitchens, etc. can be installed or modernised without difficulties. Completing the paperwork can be complicated and Miss Dean emphasised the need for an accountant knowledgeable in this field or one of Savannah’s firms specialising in obtaining National Registeer certification for a house. Under the National Register programme, owners are refuned 25 per cent of the first year’s restoration costs, 20 per cent the second year and the owner cannot live in the house for five years but must rent it out, which can therefore imply a possible tax shelter. After five years, the owner can live in the house. Atlanta should in theory, check on the terminated restoration work.

Anyone wishing to learn more about this historic preservation process can contact Miss Holley Dean at 1-800-342-9654.

1985 Officers
Mr. & Mrs. Rundle Cook
Mr. & Mrs. Philip Dalrymple
Mr. & Mrs. W. B. Dean
Mr. & Mrs. William Dettmer
Mrs. Ralph Gill
Mr. & Mrs. Talbot Harding
Mrs. Harold Hawthorne
Miss Anne Lee Haynes
Miss Frances Haynes
Mr. W. G. Haynes, Jr.
Mr. Alfred W. Jones, III
Mr. & Mrs. James Lawrence
Mr. & Mrs. John McEvoy
Mrs. James McEvoy
Mr. J. B. Mallard
Mr. & Mrs, William Merriman
Ms. Linda Miller
Mr. Everett Moriarty
Ms. Sheilla Parker
Mr. Paul Ploeger
Mr. & Mrs. Ira Rabb
Mr. & Mrs. Curtis Ryals
Ms. Lillian L. Schaitberger
Mr. & Mrs. Derek Stewart
Mr. & Mrs. Roy E. Sullivan, Jr.

President: Albert R. Cook
Vice—President: Mrs. Sarah Dalrymple
Secretary: William G. Haynes
Treasurer: Mrs. Lillian Schoitbarger

1985-86 Board of Directors
Will Dean                 Mrs. Jeannine Cook
Mrs. Linda Miller     Mrs. Sheila Parker
Mrs. Doris Rabb

1984-85 Board of Directors
Talbot Harding             Mrs. Vivian Hawthorne
Sarah Dalrymple          Mrs. Dorothy Morton

1986 Officers & 1986-87 Directors elected in May

HONORARY MEMBERS

Dr. Delma E. Presley
Dr. George A. Roggers
R. F. Saunders, Jr.

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LOWER ALTAMAHA HISTORICAL SOCIETY

ANNUAL MEMBERSHIP

( ) Libraries $25.                                 ( ) Family $15.
( ) Historical Societies $25.                 ( ) Individual $10.
( ) Corporate $25.                              ( ) Student $2.50.

Make Cheek Payable to Lower Altamaha Historical Society

Is this a renewal membership? ( )

Lower Altamaha Historical Society
P. 0. Box 1405, Darien, Georgia 31305

A feature of Darien’s 250th anniversary celebration which might interest L. A. H. S. members is the compilation by Mrs. Lillian Schaitberger of the list of Scottish Highlanders who arrived in Darien on the Prince of Wales in 1736, the more detailed list of all those living in Darien from 1736-41 and the 1986 list of descendants of those early Scottish settlers who are presently living in McIntosh County.

Anyone interested in these lists should contact Mrs. Schaitberger at 912 437-4885.

7:30 p. m. on the 3rd Thursday, at the Courthouse, Darien

May 15th, 1986: Mr. Aage Janson, manager of Altama Delta Corp., will give a talk on shoes, or history in the making, by this important employer in McIntosh County.

June 19th: Author-photographer Jack Leigh will give an illustrated talk on his book Oystering-a Way of Life & his forthcoming book on the Ogeechee River A River & its People to be published by University of Georgia Press.

July 17th: Dr. John Bozeman of the Dept. of Natural Resources will talk about "Billy Bartram’s Lost Franklinia."

August 21st: Holley Dean and Jim Lawrence will talk about the restoration of old houses and show slides of houses before and after restoration.

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Lower Altamaha Historical Society
P. 0. Box 1405
Darien, Georgia 31305

THE establishment of Fort King George in 1721 set the stage for the founding of the Colony of Georgia. It was the first link in the chain of British frontier forts and its presence, despite the Fort’s realitively small size, prevented the French from dominating the Altamaha River Basin.

Later, the departure of the garrison and abandonment of this fortified strong-point on the Altamaha River created a power vacuum such that expedient action was necessary to preclude further enemy depredations. The alarmed S. Carolina Council agreed to relinquish all claims to the lands between the Savannah and Altamaha Rivers in return for a buffer zone between themselves and the Spanish at St. Augustine. This area was also coveted by the British. Speculators, philanthropists and missionary societies were describing it as "the most delightful country in the Universe" offering innumerable opportunities, especially to those who were victims of unfortunate circumstances. In London interested groups coalesced into a Board of Trustees composed of prominent gentlemen, clergy and members of Parliament, anti-slavery in sentiment and anxious to obtain the British Government’s consent to the establishment of a "Colony of Georgia in America" The Government agreed to the "Georgia Experiment" and granted the Trustees a charter to "those lands south of the Savannah River" for their Georgia Colony, for they realized that settlers would defend themselves from any attack and thereby preserve the territory for the Crown at little or no expense to the British Government.

Today, no trace remains above ground of Fort King George. Nothing to tell of its critical eighteenth century role in maintaining the territorial balance between rival empires. However, Fort King George symbolizes the true beginnings of Georgia. Symbols are powerful tools. The Statue of Liberty’s renewal focused the Nation’s sentiments on the ideals of Liberty and their role in American history. The State of Georgia could focus attention upon Fort King George as a symbol of the determination of its people that produced the Colony and later the State of Georgia. A visible, tangible Fort, a facsimile of the original, would powerfully stimulate people’s imagination and pride in the State of Georgia and enhance a national understanding of this area’s unique history.

The Lower Altamaha Historical Society, since its inception, has recognized the initial importance of Fort King George’s role in Georgia’s history and in the history of the nation. L.A. H. S. believes that the time has come to capitalize on the Fort’s symbolic value. The Society seeks your support, and that of the State of Georgia, for a concerted effort to upgrade Fort King George as a true historic site.

[CELEBRATING the 250th year of the first Scots Highlanders settlement at Darien, Fort King George Historic Site is hosting a variety of special programms in 1986.]

Admission $1.00 for adults, .50 for children under 12, under 6 free. Group rates available. For more information call 912-437-4770.

"Never move away from this coast because you won’t starve here," was Mrs. Meta Watson’s advice to her children as they grew up in McIntosh County in the early 1900S. Her father, John McIntosh Atwood, taught his large family equally deep allegiance to the area but for different reason ;he knew that children might leave temporarily but that they would always need to return to "smell the marshes."

John McIntosh Atwood had cause to know this: his forebears had lived along the McIntosh County coastline since their patriarch, John McIntosh "Mohr," had stepped ashore from the vessel Prince of Wales in 1736 to found Darien. Today, more than two dozen County residents, tracing their ancestry to John McIntosh ‘Mohr’ through Ann McIntosh, still live on or near the same lands accorded their ancestors by King’s Grant.

This family’s fortunes were long centred on land, both in McIntosh County (along the coast from Cedar Point south towards the Ridge) and in middle Georgia. Ann McIntosh married New Englander Henry Atwood in 1824 and lived on her plantations in Putnam County. Family history relates that she would go to the slave market at Lewisville, Georgia, and to the coast to purchase the slaves remaining until last on block through poor health or physique, and would nurse them back to good health Reputedly, Ann was the largest slave owner in Georgia but freed her slaves well before the Civil War.

Ann’s five sons lived on the family properties (Clark’s B1uff, Manchester South, Cedar Springs, Shell Bluff, and Baywood) in McIntosh County after the Civil War which had seen them officers in the cavalry upon graduation from the Georgia Military College at Milledgeville. These Atwood sons, Alfred, Henry, James, John McIntosh and his twin brother, George Eliot, cultivated cotton, corn, oats, livestock and timber. Hazzard’s Dock (in present-day Valona) was a shipping point for their timber, by Mr. Hazzard’s store. John McIntosh Atwood also owned a commissary near the Crescent railroad station. His supply boat, captained by Frank Durant, would return from Savannah laden with barrels of flour, whiskey or even blocks of ice. These were kept in saw-dust lined holes in the ground during the winter; melons occupied the same storage holes during summer.

With land practically worthless after the Civil War, the N. Georgia properties passed out the family, with 17 lots in Atlanta (now the Five Points.-Whitehall area) being gambled away in a poker game by two Atwood sons. The coast began to lot larger in the family fortunes and ultimately, seafood saved the remanents of the properties after the depression. James Atwood, who owned the land where King Shrirnp Co. now stands in Valona, advertised for help and went into canning oysters and shrimp. Henry Atwood started another oyster canning plant at Cedar Point, while Hugh Atwood Burrows, John Atwood’s grandson, was one of the first commercial fishermen in the area, At his death, the State of Georgia published a commendation citing his pioneering efforts in trucking seafood to Baltimore and further north.

Hugh’s half brother, Hunter Watson, an expert shrimpboat builder and shrimper, also experimented with transporting shrimp by boat to northern markets. A trip he made with Frank Hanneberger ended in disaster on the return voyage and incidently confirmed his mother’s pyschic powers. Long before there was any intimation of bad weather, Mrs. Watson had phoned the Charleston Coast Guard to ask them to watch for a little white shrimp boat in trouble. Eventually convinced, the Coast Guard put to sea in the USS Yamacraw and indeed found the boat in distress. It was two days before the heavy seas subsided sufficiently for Hunter, Frank and the crew to be rescued after many a dramatic moment.

By 1930s, shrimping had become a way of life for many of Ann McIntosh’s descendants and their fortunes have mirrored the evolution of America’s seafood industry. Behind such endeavours, however, remains this deep emotional tie to their fore-fathers’ lands on which many of them live. As Mrs. Gay Jacobs said, reflecting upon her family’s 250 years in McIntosh County, "We’re the tenacious ones—we stayed here while other family members went elsewhere."

With acknowledgement and warm thanks to: Mrs. Lewis Graham, Mrs. Perry Saunders and Mrs. Gay Jacobs.

Tide Craft. The Boats of Lower South Carolina and Georgia: 1650-1950.
Rusty Fleettwood. Published by Coastal Heritage. Society, Ft. Jackson, Savannah;
1982. 219 pp. Illustrated, extensive bibliography.
Living in McIntosh County affords memories of lumber craft coming down the
Altamaha River and a constant presence of shrimp trawlers, small boats and bateaux.
Curiosity about the origins and history of these Georgia watercraft is rewarded by
TIDECRAFT, a book published in 1982 but well-worth seeking out.

As the author states in his Prologue; "To tell the story of this region (from Charleston, South Carolina, to Jacksonvile, Florida), it is necessary to tell of boats. Not necessarily fancy or large craft, just plain, get-from-here-to-there boats that could live with the mud, the oyster rakes, the narrow creeks, and the short choppy seas of the sounds and would be simple cheap to build and operate..."

Tracing the history of boats from early Indian times onwards, Mr. Fleetwood unfolds the story of Coastal Georgia, for travel m this region has been essentially on the

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1986 Officers                                             1985-86 Board of Directors
President: Will B. Dean                                 Will Dean         Mrs. Jeannine Cook
Vice-President: Philip Dalrymple                  Mrs. Linda Miller     Mrs. Sheila Parker
Secretary: Roy E. (Buddy) Sullivan                 Mrs. Doris Rabb
Treasurer: Mrs. Lillian Schaitberger

1986-87 Board of Directors                                                         "Altamaha Echoes"
Albert R. Cook Bill Haynes Editor:                                         Mrs• Jeannine Cook; 912-832-4606
James Lawrence Bill Merriman                                                     Printed at the Ashantilly Press

LOWER ALTAMAHA HISTORICAL SOCIETY
ANNUAL MEMBERSHIP

( ) Libraries $25.                                 ( ) Family $15.
( ) Historical Societies $25.                 ( ) Individual $10.
( ) Corporate $25.                              ( ) Student $2.50.

Lower Altamaha Historical Society
P. 0. Box 1405, Darien, Georgia 31305

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rivers and coastal waters. Mastery of the inland passages became a vital aspect of the struggle between France, Spain and England for early settlers depended upon boats and ships "to transport trade goods, secure and explore surrounding areas, protect themselves from enemy incursions by water and escape if need be."

Mr. Fleetwood takes the reader through the development of the local larger ship building industry from the 1700s onwards, whilst emphasising the vital role smaller dugouts, periaguas, canoes ("Trus-me-Gawds" in Gulla) and later bateaux played in coastal life. Fortunes ebbed and flowed in rice and cotton plantation eras, wartimes, fishing, shrimping and oystering seasons, and for each period, the demands for different types of boats are clearly discernable. Plantation racing canoes demonstrate eloquently these affluent, stable times; yacht regattas tell a similar story of of the area’s resurgence, mainly thanks to the timber and phosphate industries, in the 1880s-1890s. The fortunes of the first steam-powered boat built in 1790 in Savannah, the story of the Hunley, the first submarine ever to sink an enemy warship (off Charleston in 1864), the revolution brought about by the internal combustion engine from 1900 onwards, especially in the shrimping industry.. .These are but a small sampling of the book’s fascinating contents.

FUTURE PROGRAMMES

7:30 p. m. on the 3rd Thursday, at the Courthouse, Darien

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Lower Altamaha Historical Society
P. 0. Box 1405
Darien, Georgia 31305

HISTORIC PRESERVATION
IN recent times, Georgians have been asking themselves two questions. One is:
what value do old buildings have for a community? The other is: how vital is the role of an Area Planning and Development Commission (CAPDC) historic preservation planner in efforts to preserve historic sites, structures or buildings?

Both issues were discussed in some detail in November during statewide hearings chaired by Senator Glenn Bryant. The purpose was to assess the economic and social impact of historic preservation, with a view to securing funds for the continuation of APDC historic planners’ work. The hearings were held after dismay was expressed in the Coastal area at the curtailment of funds for APDC technical assistance in activities such as surveying and listing an area’s historic assets, obtaining their official recognition (e. g. Darien’s Columbus and Vernon Squares and The Ridge being put on the National Register), helping owners restore old buildings and integrating them into an overall plan so that the whole community can benefit from these resources.

McIntosh County was represented at both the Savannah and Brunswick hearings by Darien Mayor Scotty Rogers, together with Bill Haynes. They and the other speakers emphasized both the key role of APDC historic planners and the value of old buildings to a community. Participants spoke of experiences in historic preservation— achieving National Register status (with, in the case of income-producing structures, accompanying tax incentives), restoring homes in an historic district or renovating and revitalizing downtown business areas through Main Street programs. Each speaker underlined the importance of structures of historical note as a community asset. Proven financial benefits of historic preservation are more jobs and opportunities, more tourist dollars spent, larger healthier tax digests, better uses of old buildings. . . Intangible advantages loom just as large - a greater spirit of community pride, awareness and cooperation and a clear statement to all residents and any visitor (tourist or possible investor) that that particular community cares deeply about its past, its present and its future, its surroundings and its quality of life. In other words, potentially powerful, positive statements about an area.

McIntosh County has already begun to recognize the value of buildings telling of its past and heralding its future. The National Register status of the Darien Squares and The Ridge came after a CAPDC inventory of the County’s historic buildings. This designation of The Ridge helped Holly Dean banish the cobwebs from the Tyson house and have Jim Lawrence carefully restore this Victorian East Lake home to its former elegance. Linda Miller and Shiela Parker are expending great and successful efforts to restore the old Patelidas building in Darien and to make "McIntosh Square" a revitalized downtown area with antique shop, inn and tearoom.

There are many valuable historic resources in McIntosh County - Darien’s waterfront, old homes throughout the County, public Structures big and small, Fort King George and other historic sites, Butler Island, Sapelo, the ballast piles. . . Is it not perhaps time to consider these resources as a catalyst, as a means of enhancing residents and visitors’ appreciation and enjoyment of this community and attracting more economic activity to McIntosh County?

Through the generosity of McIntosh resident, Mr. Conrad Rogers, the diaries of his mother in-law, Mrs. Daniel Legare Whitesides, were lent to the Editor. These journals cover the period 1947—1965, chronicling in elegant style life in Darien, events in the County and those further afield. Some excerpts from these diaries follow:

January 31, 1948: This has been (and still is) a terrible winter. It’s been awfully cold all over the country and due to fuel oil and gas heating systems being so widely used, a fuel shortage (acute) has resulted. In Detroit all factories, automobile included, have been shut down to allow the fuel for heating homes. It is being felt here too, as many have fuel stoves and butane radiators. On top of the cold, it continues to rain! We’ve had an entire week of it... .The woods are so full of water (Conrad) can’t cut the necessary logs to keep operating (his sawmill).. . Butler’s Island (under lease to local people) is unable to put in any crops. There will be no lettuce this year. The fields are frill of water.

March 17, 1948: The old brick Mansfield building at the foot of the highway bridge is being torn down. It’s been there ever since I can remember; in fact, I believe it was standing when my father came to Darien in 1876.

August 2, 1949: At a public sale today, Butler’s and Champney’s Islands were bought by R. J. Reynolds, for the sum of $42,500.

August 16, 1948: Side walks are being torn up from the Court House to the bridge in order to widen the highway. Robert Young is tearing down the old house back of his filling station... .It has gone down until nothing but a wreck and a fire hazard.

January 1,1950: The new year came in with very little fanfare. The headlines in paper are "Troubled world hopefully greets new year." Prices are high. Coffee nearly a dollar a pound, due to short crops in Brazil. New York is experiencing a water shortage. It’s generally agreed that the past 50 years have brought more scientific changes than in any other known era. Personally, I well remember the first automobile in Darien (rather a "Locomobile"), the second in Georgia, I believe. I recall how its passing, like a locomotive, would virtually upset the entire school, as the children ran to the windows to see the sensational thing, owned by Arthur Konersko. Many a horse tried to climb a tree when it passed. It was considerably later that Darien had electric

lights—kerosene lamps were used. To me then, the airplane, radio, moving pictures are all of my lifetime....

June 24, 1950: Census figures reveal McIntosh County to be one of three in this district with an increase of 1,000 or more population since the 1940 census. Then the population 5,292, 1950—6,007.

November 16, 1951: Darien’s new municipal airport which has been under construction for several months, is completed and has been accepted by the Civil Aeronautics Administration. It’s to be designated "Edenfield" after Mose Edenfield. (then Mayor of Darien)

April 54, 1952: A new highway is being paved to Lower Bluff to Fort King George Site. This is to attract tourists, they say!

September 17, 1954: The beautiful old Oglethorpe Oak near the Court House has split and over half of it fallen, almost completely destroying the tree. It made a mighty crash! Fortunately it happened at night or someone on the highway would doubtless have been injured. This is the tree, which according to tradition, General Oglethorpe slept beneath upon his visit to the Highlanders in 1736.

May 2, 1957: Frank and Charles Durant (Alex Durant’s sons) and C. A. Stebbins are leaving this week for Belem, Brazil via shrimp boat. They plan to clear Ft. Myers or Key West. This is the first shrimp boat to sail so far. They plan on delivering the boat to a shrimp fishery—the trip will take two weeks.

The Lions Club which has been working towards a swimming pool near the schoolhouse, have reached their goal which is $7,500. By raising this sum, R. J. Reynolds contributed an additional $6,000. Work will be started at once.

The John Harrods have just completed a tourist "motel" on Highway 17. It is named the "Fort King George."

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1986 Officers                                                         1985-86 Board of Directors
President: Will B. Dean                                     Will Dean         Mrs. Jeannine Cook
Vice-President: Philip Dalrymple                        Mrs. Linda Miller     Mrs. Sheila Parker
Secretary: Roy E. (Buddy) Sullivan                     Mrs. Doris Rabb
Treasurer: Mrs. Lillian Schaitberger

1986-87 Board of Directors                                                         "Altamaha Echoes"
Albert R. Cook Bill Haynes Editor:                                         Mrs• Jeannine Cook; 912-832-4606
James Lawrence Bill Merriman                                                     Printed at the Ashantilly Press

LOWER ALTAMAHA HISTORICAL SOCIETY
ANNUAL MEMBERSHIP

( ) Libraries $25.                                 ( ) Family $15.
( ) Historical Societies $25.                 ( ) Individual $10.
( ) Corporate $25.                              ( ) Student $2.50.

Lower Altamaha Historical Society
P. 0. Box 1405, Darien, Georgia 31305

______________________________________________________________________________

November 1, 1961: I had an unique experience this afternoon. I attended the Blessing of the Gates by the Episcopal rector. A beautiful iron fence has been placed around St. Andrews Cemetery due to an inheritance from Randolph Spalding’s estate. The lovely gates were closed until the "blessing" was concluded, then they were opened. Most impressive.

May 21, 1963. Last night, a severe thunderstorm; lightening struck the Oglethorpe Oak.... Am afraid this is the end of the old tree.

Swamp Water and Wire Grass / Historical Sketches of Coastal Georgia. George A. Rogers and R. Frank Saunders, Jr. Mercer University Press. 1984. 253 pp.

A collection of essays about the Georgia Coast offering vignettes of people, ideals and events which have shaped today’s world south of the Ogeechee River. The Midway settlement, Liberty County notables such as the Rev. Charles Colcock Jones, botanist Stephen Elliott or. . . Henry Ford, agriculture from plantation to small farm, martial spirit and chivalry in Coastal Georgia.. .each essay provides insights into this "Southern" world.

7:30 p. m. on the 3rd Thursday, at the Courthouse, Darien

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Lower Altamaha Historical Society
P. 0. Box 1405
Darien, Georgia 31305

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