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Take a hike along the newly opened section of the South River Trail and learn a bit about Georgia's rivers!
This series will provide some great one on one time with nature as you learn about the many rivers throughout the state. Rivers have always played a vital role in the history and development of Georgia, and continue today to be major sources of drinking water, navigation, and recreation.
The Georgia River series is not a P&G series. Almost all of the caches are along a paved PATH trail that can be accessed by walking, running, or biking. There are a few different points that you can jump on the trail, but we recommend parking at the Gresham Park Recreation Center at the corner of Gresham Rd and Clifton Church Rd.
The South River Trail is still expanding with plans to connect to the Atlanta BeltLine to the west and Panola Mountain State Park to the east.
The Ocmulgee River is a tributary of the Altamaha River, approximately 255 mi (410 km) long. Noted for its relatively unspoiled and gentle current, it provides the principal drainage for a large section of the Piedmont and coastal plain of central Georgia.
It is formed in north central Georgia southeast of Atlanta by the confluence of the Yellow, South, and Alcovy rivers, which join as arms of the Lake Jackson reservoir. It flows southeast past Macon, founded on the fall line, and joins the Oconee from the northwest to form the Altamaha near Lumber City. On June 2, 1932 George W Perry caught the world-record Largemouth Bass in Montgomery Lake in Telfair County, Georgia. The fish weighed 22¼ pounds. The banks of the river were inhabited by people of the Mississippian culture between the 10th and 12th centuries. The river passes the remnants of several prehistoric Native American villages at Ocmulgee National Monument in Macon. For this reason the Ocmulgee site is also referred to as the "Macon Plateau". It was established around 950 CE by a population that most likely migrated from the Tennessee River Valley, based on pottery evidence. The inhabitants established a chiefdom, which was common for the Mississippian area. The site has eight, distantly spaced, large platform mounds and an earth lodge. Within the lodge, forty-seven seats were formed in a bench around the perimeter of the room. Across from this was a three-seated bench in the shape of an eagle effigy; it likely was used by the chiefdom leaders. About 1150 CE, the people abandoned the site.
In 1540 the Spanish explorer Hernando de Soto traversed the region and baptized Native American converts in the river. His expedition had conflicts with some of the natives, drew from their resources, and exposed many to new infectious diseases. These produced epidemics and high fatalities, as the Native Americans had no immunity to the diseases.
In the 18th century, the Hitchiti, later part of the Creek Indian confederation, lived near present-day Macon in Ocmulgee Fields. The name of the river probably comes from a Hitchiti words oki, "water", plus molki, "bubbling" or "boiling".
In 1806, the U.S. acquired the area between the Oconee and Ocmulgee rivers from the Creek Indians by the First Treaty of Washington. That same year United States Army established Fort Benjamin Hawkins overlooking the Ocmulgee Fields. In 1819 the Creek Indians held their last meeting at Ocmulgee Fields. In the same year, the McCall brother established a barge-building operation at Macon. The first steamboat arrived on the river in 1829. During the 19th century, the river provided the principal water navigation route for Macon, allowing the development of the cotton industry in the surrounding region. In 1842 the river was connected by railroad to Savannah. The river froze from bank to bank in 1886. In 1994 devastating floods on the river after heavy rains caused widespread damage around Macon.
You are hunting for a micro container with room for a log only so BYOP!
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