Excerpt from Forest Resources of South Georgia

Open waterways and narrow shoestring lake are to be found in all parts of the swamp. The Suwannee River originates in the western part of the swamp and flows southwest into the Gulf of Mexico, while the St. Marys River emerges from the southeast corner and flows into the Atlantic Ocean.

The Okefenokee Swamp was largely unsurveyed State property until 1889, when the State land was sold to the Suwannee. Canal Co., which attempted to drain and reclaim the area. This gigantic task, known as jackson's Folly, was abandoned in the middle nineties as unsound, and the timber re sources were placed on the market. Approximately acres, including the major portion of the swamp, were purchased by a large lumber company that began logging operations about 1910. From then' until 1926, when active operations ceased, approximately 400 million board feet of cypress and about 60 million board feet of pine were removed. No blackgum was logged, and it was believed that over 100 million board feet were left standing in the areas cut for cypress. Since 1926, several small companies have successfully Operated in the smaller and more sparsely stocked stands bordering the swamp, and the cutting of cypress railroad ties has long been an activity along the outer rim. A severe fire which swept the swamp in the spring of 1932 and destroyed much of the residual stand caused particularly heavy damage in the western part, where well over one-third of the blackgum was said to be destroyed.

The Bureau of Biological Survey, United States Department of the Interior, has recently acquired approximately acres, to be administered as a game and bird refuge. Here the unique and interesting natural conditions can be studied and the vanishing bird and animal life protected and preserved for future generations.

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