The Wilson Company, LLC

10/08/2026

A glimpse of the 19th century forest-products industry

Liberty County, near Flemington, around 1900…A group of young people entertains friends visiting from Savannah with a ride on a timber cart — certainly not the usual sightseeing excursion!

The enormous two-wheeled cart was built for hauling heavy logs through the rough roads and woods of Georgia’s coastal plain. Its towering wooden wheels gave the axle clearance over ruts, roots and uneven ground, while a horse or mule supplied the power. Here, however, the work vehicle has temporarily become transportation for a much more cheerful purpose. Several members of the party have climbed aboard — and one young woman poses beside the wheel, which gives a wonderful sense of just how large these carts really were.

It’s one of those photographs that captures more than a piece of equipment. It gives us a glimpse of a day’s outing, country hospitality and a group of friends making their own fun in Liberty County at the turn of the twentieth century.


Georgia on My Mind curated by Lisa Land Cooper – Author and Historian

© 2026 Lisa Land Cooper – Author and Historian

10/03/2026

Great news!!

10/03/2026

Interesting to think about the many ferries that were used to connect east Georgia and South Carolina in the days before the major highways. Their names live on in road names: Fury's Ferry, Chamberlain's Ferry, Hammond's Ferry.

Elbert County, Sander’s Ferry on the Savannah River…Long before bridges made crossing Georgia’s rivers routine, ferries connected communities, farms and roads that otherwise might have been separated by miles of difficult travel.

Sanders’s Ferry carried travelers across the Savannah River between Elbert County, Georgia, and South Carolina. We know the crossing remained very much a part of everyday transportation into the automobile age—but fortunately, an even earlier photograph survives.

This is a remarkable image taken sometime between 1910 and 1919 and shows passengers, along with a horse and buggy, aboard the ferry. J. D. Rucker and Grace C. Rucker are identified among the passengers, while the ferryman sits at his post. It is one of those rare photographs that lets us see exactly what a Georgia river crossing looked like before bridges took over the job.

Today the Savannah River landscape in this part of Elbert County has been dramatically altered by reservoirs and modern transportation, but the old photograph preserves a moment when crossing the state line involved a boat, a ferryman—and a little patience.




Georgia on My Mind curated by Lisa Land Cooper - Author and Historian

© 2026 Lisa Land Cooper – Author and Historian

10/03/2026

This wonderfully detailed map dates to 1705 and is based on the work of French cartographer Nicolas Sanson. It shows a broad portion of what Europeans still called “Florida,” including the land that would later become Georgia.

Look closely and you’ll see numerous Native American towns and territories identified across the interior, along with rivers, mountain ranges and other geographic features. “Apalache” and the “Apalachi Montes” appear prominently, while many Indigenous place names are scattered across the region. Maps like this are valuable not because every river, village or mountain is placed correctly—far from it—but because they show what European mapmakers thought they knew about the Southeast at the beginning of the eighteenth century.

One of the most striking features is just how little resemblance the coastline, river systems and interior geography bear to a modern map. Information came from explorers, missionaries, traders, earlier maps and Native informants, and errors were copied from one generation of mapmakers to another.

Georgia would not be founded as a British colony until 1733. In 1705, this region was still a contested world of Native nations and competing European claims—and this map gives us a fascinating glimpse of how that world appeared on paper.

Source: Hargrett Rare Book and Manuscript Library, University of Georgia Libraries.


Georgia on My Mind curated by Lisa Land Cooper - Author and Historian

© 2026 Lisa Land Cooper – Author and Historian

09/25/2026

09/16/2026

Congratulations to Teresa Langham Amerson on another successful closing! Please call Teresa for all of your real estate needs.

09/06/2026

🎉 SOLD! Another successful closing!

Congratulations to everyone involved in the sale of this beautiful home. Teresa Langham Amerson is proud to help clients navigate every step of their real-estate journey—from the first showing to the closing table.

Thinking about buying or selling? Call or text Teresa at (706) 466-0684. Teresa Langham Amerson

Teresa Langham Amerson
The Wilson Co.
[email protected]

08/14/2026

Great job, close to. home.

The Sayre-Alford House in Sparta! In 2015, the principals of Carter Watkins Associates decided to settle in Sparta while reconstructing the Hancock County Courthouse, a former "Places in Peril" site. After discovering the c.1839 Sayre-Alford House in our Revolving Fund, they purchased the Greek Revival residence and rehabilitated it in a record time of only three months.

This property received a Georgia Trust Preservation Award. The property is also protected in perpetuity by a conservation easement held by The Georgia Trust, ensuring the home is safeguarded for generations to come.

08/09/2026

Fascinating!

08/09/2026

We love to see history saved!

⏳ One month left!

The deadline to nominate a site for the 2027 Places in Peril list is September 1—and your nomination could be the first step toward saving an important piece of Georgia's history.

Just look at the Foster-Thomason-Miller-Minnix House in Madison.

Built in 1883, this remarkable Queen Anne home was threatened by years of neglect after a devastating fire and uncertainty about its future. When it was named a Place in Peril, it brought new attention to the property's significance and the need for action.

The Madison-Morgan Conservancy ultimately purchased and stabilized the home before connecting it with preservation-minded owners who undertook an extraordinary rehabilitation. In 2024, the project received a Georgia Trust Preservation Award for Excellence in Rehabilitation—a testament to what can happen when a community comes together around a place that matters.

✨ This is the impact of Places in Peril.

💬 What story will you help write next?

📝 Nominate a site by September 1 → https://www.georgiatrust.org/our-programs/places-in-peril/

🎥 Want to learn more about the nomination process? Watch our free "How to Nominate a Place in Peril" workshop recording at the same link.