We visited Suwanee River State Park as the fog of the day lifted, a common theme lately in our photography this winter. It still lingered over the river when I took this shot of a bench swing placed perfectly for viewing and relaxing.
We visited here before, and camped here once or twice. This visit we took more time, really reading the interpretive signs, some new to us, set along the way to enhance enjoyment with context of life here in those days. As with O’Leno, a once prosperous town named Columbus with over 500 people, a post office, numerous businesses, a steamboat ferry landing, and a stage coach stop was abandoned in the late 1800s. As one of the earliest towns in Suwanee County established at the confluence of the Suwanee and Withalacoochee Rivers it prospered during the time when the river and stage coach existed as the only viable forms of transportation in the region. The coming of rail led to its demise, just as the highway and road system replaced the rail. What is left of Columbus is now entirely in the Suwanee River State Park.
Most of the remains, the cemetery, the old Confederate earthworks, the railroad bridge (still in use), and a large flywheel from the ferry, are a short walk from the parking lot. Of course, the rivers remain the primary attraction.
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