White-tailed Deer (Odocoileus virginianus) are abundant in the Okefenokee and the ones I photographed at Stephen C. Foster State Park were nearly tame. Their are signs warning against feeding them, but people apparently do so anyway.
McNatt Falls is an area along the Altamaha featuring numerous fishing cabins, mostly second homes, characterized by their elevation on stilts to protect from flooding.
While many of the structures are recycled mobile homes, many newer, more modern cabins are being built.
Water is usually at dock level here, but the 2011 drought has had a major impact on water levels on the Altamaha.
This monument was placed memory of Bennie, Gladys, Faye & Samuel Brantley, and Franklin Haynes, who lost their lives in a boating accident at Gray’s Landing on 12 July 1956. Belinda Brantley writes: My husband had this placed, I think in the 90s. He said that he couldn’t give his Daddy (Bennie) and his sister (Gladys) anything else. My husband was in the boat also, but a bystander jumped in to save him. His mother could never find out who it was, but my husband met the man at Cornerstone Baptist one night, thanks to Roy Mimbs. He was on leave at the time of the accident, and went back to the Navy a day or two later. Like Frankie said it was a day no one that was there could ever forget.
Frankie Haynes Astrauckus recalls: I was in the accident that day at Gray’s Landing. I’ve never been back. Today online, I saw the Memorial placed there in memory of my father, Frank Haynes, Uncle Benny Brantley, cousins, Gladys, Faye and Skeets (Samuel). It’s touching and it is beautiful. Thank you to all the people who came along side our family the days following… Thank you for placing that Memorial to remind us of many things… as a community we lost family, friends and neighbors. Life changed for many of us that afternoon. The loss was profound and they are still missed by those of us who knew them. Some of them were heroes amidst the calamity. I know, I experienced what it means, “greater love has no man than this, that he that would lay down his life for his friends’. That morning as we were on the way to Gray’s Landing, Gladys, Faye and I were singing an old song, “How Far is Heaven”. (I think it was popular in the 50s). They found out- that same day!
The historical marker placed by the General Robert Toombs Camp, SCV, outlines the importance of this cemetery, especially its location as the final resting place of a member of the “Immortal Six Hundred”: Founded Circa 1820 as a meeting place for circuit riding ministers, Old Campground added a cemetery in 1853. It contains some of the oldest graves in Toombs County. There are three Confederate veterans buried here, including Lt. Gordon K. Fort, 24th Bn. Georgia Cavalry one of the “Immortal 600.”
During the War for Southern Independence, (1861-1865), the U. S. Army selected 600 captured Confederate officers, including Lt. Fort, for retaliation against the South. In one of the most heinous acts of vengeance in American history, they were starved, maltreated, and used as human shields. Because of their courage and perseverance, they became known as the “Immortal 600.” Also buried here are Lt. Robert Stripling, 61st Rgt. and Pvt. Benjamin Stripling of the 47th Regt. Georgia Infantry, CSA.
The cemetery is 1/4 mile south of this location.
I’ve never been able to identify this building, located between Altamaha and English Eddy, but it looks like a store. The utilitarian nature of the shotgun form lends itself to any number of building materials, as seen in this cinderblock example.
This bridge, at the Appling-Toombs County line near English Eddy, is a busy viaduct in the shadow of the Southern Company nuclear power facility, Plant Hatch.
Update: This barn collapsed in the spring of 2013.
Built in the 1930s, this historic farmhouse was owned by the late Leta Mac Stripling, who recently passed away at the age of 100. Her descendants are presently modernizing the house while keeping her antiques a focal point.
Among my favorite items are the original Currier & Ives lithographs in the parlor, as well as lithographs by Nathaniel Currier before he went into partnership with James Merritt Ives.
Family photographs look out over antique shaving mugs in the hallway.
This upstairs bedroom is very typical of a country house of 80 years ago.
Several historic barns remain on the property.
Thanks to Janisse Ray for the invitation, and William and Jane Stanley for being wonderful hosts.
Cow Ford, a community in the Ohoopee River bottomlands, is located near the Tattnall County Landing. It is sometimes written as one word: Cowford. The store in this shot sits directly across the highway from a newer one located across the highway.
This store is located near the Tattnall County Landing on the Ohoopee River.