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Little Known Facts and Trivia of Georgia
- Okefenokee Swamp encompasses over 400,000 acres of canals; moss draped
cypress trees, and lily pad prairies providing sanctuaries for hundreds of
species of birds and wildlife including several endangered species.
- Cumberland Island National Seashore contains the ruins of Dungeness, the
once magnificent Carnegie estate. In addition, wild horses graze among wind
swept dunes.
- The late John F. Kennedy, Jr. and his future wife stopped in Kingsland on
the way to their marriage on Cumberland Island.
- Historic Saint Marys Georgia is the second oldest city in the nation.
- The City of Savanna was the first steamship to cross the Atlantic.
It sailed from Georgia.
- Ways Station was renamed Richmond Hill on May 1, 1941, taking the name of
automaker Henry Ford's winter estate.
- The pirate Edward "Blackbeard" Teach made a home on Blackbeard
Island. The United States Congress designated the Blackbeard Island
Wilderness Area in 1975 and it now has a total of 3,000 acres.
- On January 19, 1861, Georgia joined the Confederacy.
- The official state fish is the largemouth bass.
- In Gainesville, the Chicken Capital of the World it is illegal to eat
chicken with a fork.
- Georgia was named for King George II of England.
- Stone Mountain near Atlanta is one of the largest single masses of exposed
granite in the world.
- Georgia is the nations number one producer of the three Ps--peanuts,
pecans, and peaches.
- At the Hawkinsville Civitan Club's Annual Shoot the Bull Barbecue
Championship, people from all over Georgia and surrounding states flock to
this small south Georgia town to enter their tasty barbecue concoctions in
this famous cook-off. The funds raised from this event benefit the Civitan
International Research Center and its work toward a cure for Down's syndrome
and other developmental disabilities.
- Each year Georgia serves as a host to the International Poultry Trade
Show, the largest poultry convention in the world.
- The oldest portable steam engine in the United States is on display at
Historic Railroad Shops in Savannah.
- Known as the sweetest onion in the world, the Vidalia onion can only be
grown in the fields around Vidalia and Glennville
- Georgia is the largest state east of the Mississippi River.
- Georgia's population in 1776 was around 40,000.
- Cordele claims to be the watermelon capital of the world.
- The annual Masters Golf Tournament is played at the Augusta National in
Augusta every first week of April.
- Georgia is often called the Empire State of the South and is also known as
the Peach State and Cracker State.
- In 1828 Auraria, near the city of Dahlongea, was the site of the first
Gold Rush in America.
- Coca-Cola was invented in May 1886 by Dr. John S. Pemberton in Atlanta,
Georgia. The name "Coca-Cola" was suggested by Dr. Pemberton's
bookkeeper, Frank Robinson. He penned the name Coca-Cola in the flowing
script that is famous today. Coca-Cola was first sold at a soda fountain in
Jacob's Pharmacy in Atlanta by Willis Venable.
- Berry College in Rome has the world's largest college campus.
- The Little White House in Warm Springs was the recuperative home of
Franklin D. Roosevelt.
- In 1942 Jekyll Island was a private resort sold to the state by the
owners, a group of millionaires.
- Providence Canyon State Park, near Lumpkin, is known as the Little Grand
Canyon of Georgia.
- The Cherokee rose is the official state flower, the live oak the official
tree; and the brown thrasher the official bird.
- United States Highway 27 runs the length of Georgia and is known as Martha
Berry Highway, named after a pioneer educator.
- Marshall Forest in Rome is the only natural forest within a city limits in
the United States.
- The popular theme park - Six Flags Over Georgia, was actually named for
six flags that flew over Georgia. England, Spain, Liberty, Georgia,
Confederate States of America, and the United States.
- The locomotive engine popularly known as The General is housed in the Big
Shanty Museum in Kennesaw. It was stolen in the Andrews Railroad Raid in
1862 and later depicted in The Great Locomotive Chase, a popular movie.
- The name of the famous south Georgia swamp, the Okefenokee, is derived
from an Indian word meaning the trembling earth.
- Brasstown Bald Mountain is the highest point in Georgia. It has an
elevation of 4,784 feet.
- The Cyclorama is a three dimensional panorama that depicts the famous
Battle of Atlanta, and is located in Grant Park in Atlanta.
- Thomasville is known as the City of Roses.
- Chickamuga National Park is the site of the bloodiest battle in American
history.
- Plains is the home of Jimmy Carter, the 39th President.
- The figures of Stonewall Jackson, Jefferson Davis, and Robert E. Lee make
up the world's largest sculpture. It is located on the face of Stone
Mountain. Additionally Robert E. Lee's horse, Traveler, is also carved at
the same place.
- Savannah was the landing site for General James Edward Oglethorpe, founder
of Georgia.
- The world's largest Infantry training center is located at Fort Benning.
- The largest Farmer's Market of its kind is located in Forest Park.
- Ralph Bunch, United States diplomat, was the first Georgian to win the
Nobel Peace Prize.
- Callaway Gardens is a world famous family resort, known for its azaleas.
- Wesleyan College in Macon was the first college in the world chartered to
grant degrees to women.
- Madison is known for its beautiful antebellum homes spared during
Sherman's fiery march to the sea.
- Chehaw in Albany is a well known wild animal park.
- Ocmulgee National Monument in Macon is the largest archeological
development east of the Mississippi River.
- Athens is the location of the first university chartered and supported by
state funds.
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