We decided to explore the park, before we departed this morning. The map says the park features sinkholes, hardwood hammocks, river swamps, and sandhills. We learned that as the river flows through the park, a unique and distinctive geological feature of the park is the River Sink. That is where the Santa Fe River disappears underground. A natural sink takes the waters of the Santa Fe down into a network of caverns. Only to re-emerge three miles south at River Rise Preserve State Park.
Company 418 of the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) spent 1935 and 1936 building the core of what became O'Leno State Park. They built campgrounds and picnic areas, cabins and other rustic structures, hiking trails and roads.
Perhaps the CCC's most remarkable project at O'Leno was the construction of a swinging or suspension bridge across the Santa Fe River. Designed as a way for hikers to cross the river, the bridge is still in use today and provides spectacular views of the Santa Fe.
The natural bridge created by the sink was used as an important crossing point by generations of Floridians. Researchers believe that Indian trails crossed the bridge long before the arrival of the first Spanish explorers and missionaries in Florida during the 1500s. The important Mission, Pensacola to St. Augustine and Bellamy roads crossed the natural bridge and its presence was a contributing factor in the growth of the town of Leno.
In the mid 1800s, the town of Keno was founded along the banks of the Santa Fe River just upstream from where the river disappears. Yes, Leno was originally known as Keno, after a popular bingo-like game often played by gamblers. The name was changed to Leno as the town grew, apparently to do away with the gambling association. The first telegraph linking Florida to the outside world passed through Leno. In 1896, the railroad bypassed the tiny town, causing Leno’s inevitable decline. By the turn of the century the settlement was only a memory. The old wire road and mill dams are all that remain of this early pioneer town.
On December 18, 1824, John Bellamy entered a bid to build the section of the new road between the St. John's River near St. Augustine and the Ochlockonee River near the new territorial capital of Tallahassee. He could complete the project, he believed, for $13,500. The bid was accepted and in early 1825 work began on laying out, clearing and building the road. Construction moved forward quickly and the road was soon completed. But as one critic warned, the following year, that Bellamy's road would not last twelve months, but he was wrong. Sections of it remain in use today. The section of road built by John Bellamy, however, ran through better lands and was of more value to early Floridians. As a result it remained in use long after other parts of the road were abandoned. Because it had been built by Bellamy, section in East Florida became known first as "Colonel Bellamy's Road" and eventually as the "Bellamy Road."
Did you know, that Lake City was once called Alligator Town? After Florida became a territory of the United States in 1821, pioneer and immigrant settlers from the United States formed their own settlement adjacent to Alligator Village and called it Alligator. Following the 1823 Treaty of Moultrie Creek, the residents of Alligator village relocated to the banks of Peace Creek in the newly established Seminole reservation, leaving Alligator Town on its own. When Columbia County was formed in 1832 from Duval and Alachua counties, Alligator Town was designated as the seat of the county government. In November 1858 a railroad was completed connecting Jacksonville to Alligator, which opened the town to more commerce and passenger traffic. Alligator Town was incorporated and its name changed to Lake City in 1859; M. Whit Smith was elected as the town's first mayor. According to an urban legend, the name was changed because the mayor's wife Martha Jane, who had recently moved to the town, refused to hang her lace curtains in a town named Alligator.
When you cross from one state to another on an interstate there are welcome centers and big signs … we were welcomed into Georgia by a small sign and the GPS stating “approaching state line” in a voice alert!
We passed through Fargo, Homerville and into Pearson. Before we arrived in Pearson, we passed endless rows of blueberries. Some were old growth, but these looked to be newly planted with the plastic around to keep the moisture in and the weeds down.
Pearson Georgia’s welcome sign “You are welcome to stay a day or a lifetime.” Pearson was founded in 1875 as a depot on the Brunswick and Western Railroad. It was incorporated as a town in 1890 and in 1916 as a city. The community was named after Benajah Pearson, a veteran of the Second Seminole War.
We continued on into Douglas and Broxton. In Broxton, we found an old Dodge RV. It could be a really unique restoration project for the right person.
As you come into McRae-Helena there is a mural that shares the unique aspects of this town. It’s a Purple Heart City, City of Distinction and the 6th safest city in Georgia.
Located at the intersection of Hwy 341 and Hwy 441 in downtown McRae-Helena is Liberty Square, home of a Statue of Liberty replica that is 35 feet tall and one-sixteenth the original's actual size. In 1886, France gave the United States the Statue of Liberty. In 1986, the local Lions Club chapter in McRae, Georgia, commemorated Lady Liberty's centennial by fashioning a scale model out of Styrofoam, a tree stump, and other objects normally considered rubbish. Her arm is made from styrofoam and the hand holding the torch is an electrician lineman's glove. Also in Liberty Square is their version of the Liberty Bell (the town's old fire bell was taken down and a crack put it in) and a marble memorial to Telfair County residents who died in service.
Arrived at Little Ocmulgee State Park, it is surrounded by sand hills and peaceful pine trees.
We are here for one night, because it is on our route and just outside of McRae-Helena, Georgia. The evening was pretty relaxing, as you can see!
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