Bryan County is one of the fastest growing counties in the state. With our growth we have an ever increasing number of new residents who would benefit from a better understanding of the rich history of their new home.

It is good to know where you live, both ecologically and historically. This series of articles will be my humble attempt to provide a few tidbits of information of a historical nature about where we live with perhaps a few comments on our very sensitive environmental surroundings.

Richmond Hill, Bryan County, has an amazing story.

My wife and I are relative newcomers ourselves. We moved here from Savannah around 17 years ago.

First my disclaimer. I am not a historian. I refer you to our coastal resident historian Buddy Sullivan who has written a number of very painstakingly researched and interesting books, some for sale in our gift shop at the Richmond Hill museum. If you have an interest in researching property ownership etc. I would refer you to the Georgia Historical Society located in Savannah and to the records department in the Bryan County Courthouse in Pembroke.

Questions: Why is this area called Bryan Neck?

Why was it called Ways Station?

How did you mail a letter when there was no post office? Why was the community of Hardwick, just west of Ft. McAllister Marina, of great interest to the King of England?

In what way can our excellent school system be accredited, in part, to Henry Ford?

Why are multi-rail white fences so prevalent here?

What is a rice gate/floodgate?

What does a pine tree mean to the economics of the State of Georgia?

What is the difference in the economics and quality of life between the production of turpentine and rosin and pulp wood?

How do you identify a loblolly pine? What is its importance?

What does Richmond Hill have to do with fruit cakes manufactured in Claxton, Georgia?

In what ways did the salt water tidal ranges determine the crops we grew?

What was George Washington Carver’s influence on our community?

What does Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas have to do with our community?

How did the people here survive the desperate times after the Civil War?

How did Bryan County fare during the Great Depression?

What does 40 acres and a mule represent?

What is a Savannah Grey Brick?

Where was the last battle of Sherman’s infamous march to the sea?

How did Savannah actually benefit from Sherman’s march?

What influence did Henry and Clara Ford have in our community? The answer is amazing. We have a story that no one else has.

I am going to try and answer all these questions and more in sequential submissions to the editorial page over a period of time.

If you want all the answers a bit sooner, plus a great deal more, visit us at the Richmond Hill/ Henry Ford History Museum. We offer a narrated video and a tour thru seven rooms of history presented with three dimensional items and walls of photography. If you have kids in middle school or higher, bring them along. History can actually be very entertaining.

Hubbard is a retired Green Beret.