This geocache is part of a series to make you familiar with all the little townships and communities in the area.
A small town five miles southeast of downtown Savannah, Thunderbolt is one of the gateways to Tybee Island.
Thunderbolt runs along the western shore of the Wilmington River (a tidal creek that is part of the U.S. Intracoastal Waterway). The town is important to Georgia's shrimping industry, with scores of docks for shrimping trawlers. (wiki)
The Town of Thunderbolt owes its name to a legend of a lightning strike that created a freshwater spring on the Wilmington bluff. Native Americans were found to be among the first inhabitants.
Thunderbolt was a settlement which evolved into a shipping point for local plantation needs which also serviced the river traffic. In 1856, the Town of Thunderbolt was incorporated as Warsaw and then began its history as a processing port for the fishing community. In 1890, Georgia State College was founded for the education of African Americans. This college continues to be a historically black institution and is known today as Savannah State University.
In 1921, Warsaw's name was restored to Thunderbolt and the seafood processing continued to play a large part in this community's development. In 1939, yacht racing became popular and saw the construction of a yacht basin. Annually, the "Blessing of the Fleet" was celebrated until recent years and shrimping evolved into the primary seafood product. (Thunderbolt Museum Society)
Nearby you'll find Bonaventure Cemetery and across the city's town hall is a quaint little park worth visiting. Restaurants around here serve some delicious culinary delights.