Nov. 5, 2005
BACKGROUND
Jacobs Hollow is set in rural Georgia. Georgia's geology provides a variety of physical settings however, this particular region where Jacobs Hollow lies is just below what is referred to as the Piedmont region or below the Fall Line. It is believed that this was once (in pre-man geology theories) a previous tidal line ~ that perhaps the Atlantic ocean came that high onto Georgia's land mass and centuries later receded to the current day shorelines.
The upper third of Georgia, physiologically, is made up of mountains that gently slope to hilly ranges generously forrested in pines and a multitude of hardwoods. The next range that embraces both the Piedmont region and beginning of the coastal and southern portions of the state, are at the end of these hilly slopes and begin to level into flat lands of pines and woods that seem to go on forever and ever, Amen. The coastal plains are the most eastern portion of the state and limited to the Georgia shoreline and inland by about a two hour's drive. The remainder of Georgia is the Deep South ~ extending into Alabama and beyond.
Georgia is known all too well for its infamous red clay. However, there are many regions that as a result of the decades when cotton was king, the soil is rich and loamy as well. But with the summer heat in Georgia, the soil can become dusty, parched and hardened; Georgia farmers know all too well the wrath of a rainless summer.
Wildlife that claims Georgia as home range from possums, racoons, deer populations that are undescribeable, feral hogs (wild pigs......bad, very bad...), fox, coyote, bobcat, rumored lynx and even most recently: a sighting of a Florida panther as far north as Macon along with Cumberland Island's shorelines playing home for wild horses. The eastern portion of the state falls in the migratory bird flight path and enthusiasts flock to the coastal plains regions during migration seasons to photograph and capture sightings of birds species passing through Georgia's flyway. The state has both fresh and saltwater fishing habitats that range from lakes and major streams and rivers to the east coast saltwater marshes and the Atlantic Ocean. Darien, Georgia is the shrimp capital of the South. Georgia is nothing short of paradise for the outdoorsman.
While Atlanta is capital of Georgia and many, many people think of Atlanta when they hear references to the state, the truth is, there is more ruralness to Georgia than the population of Atlanta may lend. According to census data, Atlanta's population is greater than 4 million while Georgia's overall population is nearing 9 million. Nearly one half of Georgia's population reside in the Atlanta region leaving the balance of its population sprinkled over the remainder of what is the largest state east of the Mississippi.
There is no shortage on the historical roles that Georgia has played in the development, growth and ultimate impact on both "The South" as well as the United States. It was originally and solely inhabited by the Creek Indians (both Upper and Lower tribes), the Cherokee, the Seminole (in the southwestern region) and the Yamassee prior to Oglethorpe's arrival to establish Georgia as one of the original thirteen colonies. It has also suffered great trial and retrobution with the Civil War, Reconstruction, the industrial age, the Great Depression and the Civil Rights movement. All of these elements are key in understanding Georgia and the South, its heritage and its people.
(...to be continued...)
Harriette K. Jacobs
Copyright 2005
All Rights Reserved
