This park is known for its 27-hole disc golf course, where Frisbee-style discs are thrown into metal baskets. For traditional golfers, the park's 18-hole Arrowhead Pointe Golf Course offers a pro shop and annual passes. Georgia's own Bob Walker designed the 18-hole layout and is situated on a peninsula within the state park, and the water views are stunning with 10 of the 18 holes skirting the lake. Several Indian sites were excavated near the park in 1980 before the lake was filled, indicating that Paleo-Indians lived in the area more than 10,000 years ago, hence the name Arrowhead Pointe.
The most interesting thing we discovered this morning was the park and lake served as the Olympic rowing training center in preparation for the 1996 Olympic Games. Many college rowing teams continue to use the park for training. But how did this lake become an Olympic training site? A local, Walter McNeeley, who gave up jogging for rowing as his personal fitness regimen, conceived the notion of using Lake Richard B. Russell as a training site for Olympic rowing teams, although there had never been any competition level rowing done on the lake. He placed an advertisement in a rowing magazine in late 1994, and received dozens of responses from rowing teams interested in training on Lake Russell. As a result of Walter McNelley's vision and actions, rowing teams from eight foreign nations and parts of the United States team conducted pre-Olympic training in Elberton. Walter McNeeley, through a positive idea, helped to unite the residents of the City of Elberton as they embraced their roles as hosts to Olympic competitors. Walter McNeeley was selected to be a 1996 Olympic torchbearer, a fitting tribute.
Who is Richard B Russell? He was born in 1897 and was the fourth of fifteen children. He attended public schools and went on to become a lawyer. In 1919, Russell was admitted to the bar and took up practice in Winder, Georgia. In 1921, at the age of 22, Russell became a member of the state house of representatives and served there for 10 years. In 1927, at the age of 29, he was elected speaker of the house, a position he held until his election as governor of Georgia in 1931. At 33, Russell became the youngest governor in the history of Georgia. During the last year of his term as governor (1933), Russell was elected to the United States Senate, and it was there that he spent the last 38 years of his life. Russell quickly became an effective and respected member of the Senate. At the time of his death, he was chairman of the Senate Appropriations Committee, ranking democrat on the Senate Armed Services Committee, (which he chaired for 16 years). During his years in the political arena, Senator Russell earned the reputation of being a fair and honest man. His calm and judicious actions in times of crisis helped earn his election as President Pro Tempore of the Senate in January 1969. Spiro T. Agnew, vice-president at the time, later stated that "Richard Russell was a man of towering intellect and unwavering integrity. He was a partisan of principle, who, in times of crisis, never failed to place the broad interests of his country above all other considerations."
We took Peg & Tom to The Georgia Guidestones, it is one of the more truly bizarre roadside attractions, you’ll find. Our friends, Paul & Sandy introduced them to us last year and we were glad to share them with Tom & Peg. These stones were erected in 1980, known as the Stonehenge of America, the Guidestones are mysterious in origin, for no one knows the identity of a group of sponsors who provided the specifications for the 19-foot high monument. This monument is a massive granite monument advocating the conservation of mankind and future generations. Sources for the sizable financing of the project choose to remain anonymous. The wording of the message proclaimed on the monument is in 12 languages, including the Archaic languages of Sanscrit, Babylonian Cuneiform, Egyptian Hieroglyphics and Classical Greek, as well as English, Russian, Hebrew, Arabic, Hindi, Chinese, Spanish and Swahili. The guides, followed by explanatory precepts, are as follows. The words here are exactly as the Sponsors provided them. There are Astronomical Aspects to this monument too. See my blog from last year, for more information about this monument.
We also visited Nancy Hart Log Cabin was the home site of Nancy Hart. She was a first cousin to Daniel Boone, a zealous Patriot, skilled doctor, gracious neighbor, a deadly shot and Revolutionary War heroine. A spy for the colonists, Hart captured a cabin full of Tories after they shot her turkey and forced her to cook it. The Cherokees name for Hart was Wahatchee which means “War Woman.” In 1932, the Elbert County Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution, recognizing the contribution of Nancy Hart, erected a replica of her cabin on the site of the original home place. The stones from the fireplace and chimney of Benjamin and Nancy Hart’s early home were used to recreate the cabin to its original state. Tall Georgia pine trees were harvested, skinned, and notched to build the one room log house. The cabin was constructed for historical authenticity with short doors and wooden shutters over small windows. Holes were left in the mud chinking for “shooting Indians and other unwelcome visitors.” A large stone fireplace at one end of the room provided fire to cook the food and warmth for the winter. Water was carried from a spring less than half a mile from the cabin. The spring still produces a steady stream of clear water, feeding into the beautiful Wahatchee Creek.
The DAR deeded the Nancy Hart Cabin to the State of Georgia in the late 1940’s, and the 14 acre plot was developed as a state park. During this time, the park was used for a wide variety of educational and recreational purposes. The park was deeded to Elbert County because of state budget cuts in the 70’s. The cabin was restored in 1992 through grants and donations and a generous outpouring of community effort. The only one we found home was an eight-legged homesteader!
Charlie & Tom did check out the modern facilities
here!
We headed downtown to see the Bicentennial Memorial Fountain on Elberton’s town square. Of course, it is made from local granite! It was donated to Elbert County by the Granite Industry in 1976. It lists significant periods of local history on 13 panels symbolic of the 13 original colonies. A sculptured American Eagle sits atop the center shaft.
Across the street is the Elbert County Courthouse. It was constructed in 1893 in the Romanesque style, popular for courthouse architecture of the late 19th century. Appropriately, the exterior of the courthouse contains brick and local granite.
A block away from the Bicentennial Fountain, you will
find the Confederate Monument. It is a uniformed Civil War soldier standing at
parade rest, gripping the barrel of his rifle with both hands at chest level, the
butt of the rifle resting by his right foot. The soldier wears a brimmed hat.
The soldier is mounted on a base consisting of a tall shaft that has a
depiction of six cannon balls piled near the middle, and three cannon balls on
the side. The lower section of the base is inscribed and graduated. I believe
that this is the statue that replaced “Dutchy.”
Peg and I walked down to see the Elberton Granite
Association’s constantly changing display of work from Elbert County’s granite
industry. Peg noticed that some of the display monuments had errors … I guess
that is why they ended up on display, instead of as a monument.
We heard about the Granite Bowl and had to check it out! Elberton and Elbert County contains one of the most unique features in the state of Georgia and hundreds maybe thousands of football fans will attest to this fact. Elberton, chartered Dec. 10, 1803 was settled because turkey hunters found a pleasant area situated around a spring. In 1812, town commissioners purchased the spring from a private owner. It was used for drinking water until the City of Elberton built a water system around 1899. From that time forward, the spring was forgotten. The spring was unfortunately used as a trash dump and was overgrown with weeds and bushes. It was right off of the downtown square so citizens had to view this mess daily.
Local resident and Elberton City Parks Director Ben Sutton came up with the idea for improvement. He envisioned a football stadium for the Elberton School System, whose football team was the Blue Devils. After floating the idea by Elberton High School Football Coach Lee “Chunk” Atkinson, Mr. Sutton talked to City Council and convinced them to support his plan. The Council promised to purchase a culvert, clean the area and install lights and poles. Beginning in the summer of 1951, local contractors loaned bulldozers for the project. The spring was covered and a drainage pipe funneled it under the portion leveled for the playing field. Local granite companies donated various sizes of sawed pieces of granite for the seating areas. Sand for mortar was donated, fill-in dirt was donated and money was contributed.
In 1954, the Elberton Blue Devils prepared for the first game. It had a field-level granite wall circling the field. On the home side five rows of granite seats were complete between the 20-yard lines. The visitors’ side had only two rows, with a 40-foot dirt hill rising above it. Unfortunately, the first game played in the Granite Bowl was lost in the fourth quarter to Morgan County, 7-0. A week later the Blue Devils celebrated a victory defeating Greenwood, SC, 33-0. The Elberton School system operated from 1900 to 1956 when it merged with Elbert County. The high school became Elbert County High School. The Granite Bowl has been upgraded through the years. The second major push to finish the stadium came in 1961 enlarging the seating capacity to 20,000. Another interesting addition to the field is the scoreboard sign acquired from Sanford Stadium in 1991.
We finished our touring today at the Elberton Granite Museum and Exhibit. It is operated by the Elberton Granite Association, Inc. The museum, which opened in 1981, contains historical exhibits, artifacts, educational displays, and materials depicting current and past events in the rich heritage of the Elberton Granite Industry.
The Elberton area is home to over 40 granite quarries and more than 100 granite finishing businesses. These quarries and businesses produce over half of the monumental granite in the world. Hence the town’s nickname … “Granite Capital of the World.” I just love the different colors, however the Elberton is home to the blue and grey granite.
We stopped to see the unique granite monuments in the Elberton County Memorial Park. It is a sacred place to honor all veterans. The monument with all the pictures for soldiers really captured our attention.
Stay tuned to hear more about our two lane adventures!
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