The Beginning

This blog is about the Suwannee River, the land of the Suwannee valley, the people, history, and hopes for the future.

The Suwannee River begins in south Georgia. Like most rivers, it has many tributaries, but the primary source is the Okefenokee Swamp.

In the earliest period of European settlement (17th-18th centuries) the areas that surrounded both sides of the river were densely populated with stands of Bald Cypress (Taxodium distichum) and Longleaf Pine (pinus palustris). Early logging began along the river, as the river was used as the transport method to move the logs to railroads, etc. Some logs were sufficiently dense, that they sank to the bottom of the river.

The original inhabitants along the river were the indigenous people, sometimes called Native Americans. The watershed of the Suwannee River is entirely within the area believed to be habitat of the Timucua. They did not live to see the eventual destruction of the forests along the river, presumably wiped out be disease imported with the European settlers.

Beginning about 1800-1820, the first settlers arrived. The felled trees, built cabins, and grew crops. Early crops were greens, corn, tobacco and cotton. Cattle and hogs were the livestock of choice, while horses, mules and a few oxen were the beasts of burden.