Jackson's Folly: The Suwanee Canal Company in the Okefenokee Swamp

T he .okefenokee Swamp of southeastern Georgia and northeastern Florida has world renown as a land of beauty, serenity, and mystery. It is recognized as one of the great natural areas of the world-a premier. wildlife refuge and wilderness area. Today, writers often comment on its landscapes of pristine beauty. However, the swamp has not always been valued as scenery and sanctuary. Between 1890 and 1942 it was a valued economic area, crisscrossed by canals and railroads and filled with the sounds and equipment that accompanied logging activity in swamps across the southeastern United States. During this time, practically all of the cypress and pine and some of the hardwood timber was harvested. Many companies were involved in this effort. Some found profit in their attempts, others failed. Our paper examines one of the failures-the first company to try industrial timberharvesting methods in the Okefenokee. It was one of the first such efforts in the nation.