CAMP CORNELIA

The Okefenokee held a rich bounty of old growth cypress and pine trees, and the timber operations to harvest them became an important part of the local economy. In 1891 a group of Atlanta businessmen led by attorney "Captain" Henry Jackson tried to gain access to the groves. They attempted to dig a canal through the land formation known as Trail Ridge, and drain the waters into the nearby Saint Marys River, but they abandoned their efforts after three years and the project became known as "Jackson's Folly." The community that remained there came to be known as Camp Cornelia.

Digging the Suwannee Canal

Camp Cornelia

1891

In 1909, other interests acquired the land, and tram railroads were built into the interior of the swamp. The Hebard Timber Company's logging operation led to the growth of a lively settlement of about 450 residents in the very depths of the Okefenokee, on Billys Island.In 1936, President Franklin Roosevelt (partly at the behest of his wife Eleanor) set aside 400,000 acres of swampland, islands, lakes, and prairies, in order to preserve the unique ecology and wildlife of the area. Two months after it was declared a wildlife sanctuary, the Men of the Civilian Conservation Corps Company arrived. They provided the labor that created the refuge, until November, 1941, just prior to the outbreak of World War II. Today this site is known as the Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge, and Camp Cornelia is its headquarters.