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If you live along the 113-mile Atlantic Coast of Georgia and, by extension, related areas into the low country of South Carolina to the north, you can't help but absorb a healthy dose of colonial-era culture and history. The evidence abounds everywhere in the region.
You can see the history and culture of this area with a look at names on the road signs, cemeteries, old buildings, shopping plazas, parks, and land title documents. You'll note the name Oglethorpe, courtesy of James Oglethorpe, the founder of the British Colony of Georgia in 1735, who created the plat and layout of Savannah while issuing colorful edicts like banning lawyers, alcohol, and slavery from the Colony.
You can feel the history and culture of this area via the magnificent live Oak trees and the barrier islands, out of whose bark and sandy grains oozes tales of local shipbuilding, wars, famine, and lives of love and loss over the centuries. On the coast, you can embrace wisps in the winds and the grit of the soil in places like Blackbeards Island, a refuge for and reminder of the presence of Sir Edmund Teach (Blackbeard) during an era when piracy on the high seas was at an all-time high. In part, battles between the European Colonial powers waged with Colonial America caught in their crosshairs during the pirates' reign.
If you're a visitor to the area or just passing through, you can get a quick snapshot of area history in a 1.5-hour briefing and tour at the Midway Museum. It's a place chock full of memorabilia --impressive for a small-town.
Here are a few snippets from our tour:
James Oglethorpe detested slavery and banned the practice in the Colony of Georgia. But King George of England reminded Oglethorpe of his promise to make the Colony of Georgia profitable.
In 1750, the King revoked Oglethorpe's ban on slavery. Between 1750-1756, 71 families, two single men, and 1,500 slaves were the subjects of a directed move from Dorchester, South Carolina, to present-day Liberty County, Georgia, to found a new village: Dorchester.
The new residents of Dorchester wanted a church Midway between Savannah and the port of Darien (the latter is at exit 49 off I-95 today). Thus, the Midway Congregational Church was built and stands today next door to the present-day museum. The original church was burned down in 1779 during the American Revolution and rebuilt in 1791.
The name "Midway" stems from the action to found the local church.
The settlers at Dorchester became rich quickly. By 1758, wealthy colonist Mark Carr decided the area needed a seaport independent of Savannah or Darien. A land grant by King George to Carr led to creating the port at Sunbury, the deepest natural port on the East Coast of the United States, second only to the Chesapeake Bay. Today, it is a recreational seaport and home to the 5-star Sunbury Crab Company.
In Liberty County at Hinesville, you'll discover the Convention and Visitors Bureau, now found in the old Bacon-Frazier home built in 1839. Descendants of the Frazier family still live in the county. Their ancestors go back to the revolutionary era when members of the colonial resistance hid courthouse records in local swamps to prevent their seizure by the British.
There's too much to report about this place. It's a must-visit spot for history buffs. Go and enjoy. If you're lucky, as we were, you'll get an extended tour if you're a travel journalist if your host has the time to do so.
Directions to the museum:
Take exit 76 off I-95 due west for about 6 miles to Route 84 and 17. Turn right, go about 1/4 of a mile, and you see the museum on your right directly across the street from a NAPA Auto Parts Store and adjacent to the Midway Congregational Church, itself a relic of revolutionary days.
