Heritage

National Heritage Areas in Georgia

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In addition to part of the multi-state Gullah Geechee Cultural Heritage Corridor, Georgia has two unique heritage areas.

Arabia Mountain is a large site east of Atlanta, managed in sections by city, county and state park rangers. While Stone Mountain—infamous for its carving of three traitors—just north has similar granite monadnock geology, Arabia Mountain is a natural area, protecting Diamorpha and other rare species that thrive in shallow sandy puddles in the rock. It’s more of a low granite hill with a gentle slope, and there are signs of quarrying. At the top, I saw a Killdeer (see photo above) drinking out of one of the larger pools, so I turned on my birdsong identifier app and quickly recorded 18 more birds, including an uncommon Swainson’s Thrush, an Indigo Bunting, a Purple Martin, a Tufted Titmouse, 2 different Vireos and a Red-shouldered Hawk. I was well pleased for such a short hike. Panola Mountain is an even more protected part of the Arabia Mountain heritage area, but you need to reserve a hike with a ranger to climb it. The historic quarrying town of Lithonia is also in the area and has an old African American cemetery.

The other heritage area is the Augusta Canal NHA. That’s a miles long canal with tow-road paths, parks and views from the north of the city down to the historic district. The most famous historic sight along the canal is the Confederate Powderworks square chimney below. It’s the last remnant of the city’s impressive wartime industry. Late in the Civil War, one of the gunpowder mill buildings exploded killing 9, including one boy, which also sparked a strike. There’s now a fancy new Salvation Army multi-function center funded by the founder of McDonalds across the canal. The waterfront is a pretty area to hike or kayak.

National Heritage Areas of Alabama

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Alabama has two national heritage areas, the Black Belt and Muscle Shoals, neither related to a gym.

Alabama Black Belt NHA includes many Civil Rights sites, reflecting the progress forged by the large African American community that descended from the people brought here and bred against their will to work the rich black soil extending in a belt from the Mississippi River across Alabama. Several of these sites are run by the national park service, including Tuskegee Institute, Selma to Montgomery NHT, and Freedom Riders NM. Two other sites I recommend highly are the National Voting Rights Museum and Institute in Selma and the Legacy Sites in Montgomery. The first is an authentic old place filled with memorabilia, well illustrated stories and contains many important exhibits from the Civil Rights struggle, carefully preserved near where the marchers began their march for voting rights. The second is a much newer series of bold exhibits, perhaps most importantly featuring an artistic memorial dedicated to the victims of lynching.

Muscle Shoals NHA is dedicated to the rhythm & blues soundtrack of many of our lives. In 1959 a local music promoter who failed to make it in Nashville took a big risk and opened the small Florence Alabama Music Enterprises studio across the river from Florence in a less developed area called Muscle Shoals. Rick Hall hired some local talent to who lived closely enough to come in as needed to be the studio band for visiting artists. They were joined by Duane Allman, who just showed up and lived in the parking lot until he got a job there. They recorded a few songs there you may know, including Mustang Sally by Wilson Pickett. Etta James went to FAME to try to revitalize her career and recorded her album, Tell Mama, in which she sang I’d Rather Go Blind just a couple miles away from Helen Keller’s birthplace and childhood home, which is another great place to tour. A trumpet player got a little fresh with a young singer, and her husband was pissed. Rick went to their hotel after, but he got in a new fight with her husband. Rick lost the singer and her label (Atlantic) as a result. Still, Aretha Franklin recorded I Never Loved a Man and Do Right Woman, before she walked out never to return. FAME did pretty well nevertheless, especially with a Mormon family called the Osmonds.

In 1969, Hall’s best house band bought a casket shop nearby and opened their own place, Muscle Shoals Sound Studio. Run by these experienced artists, they also wrote songs and ended up producing more hits than almost any other studio in the world, with most of the work done on the first take. They wrote a song called Old Fashioned Rock and Roll and eventually got Bob Seger to record the vocals over their track, although they accidentally duped the intro. A band called The Rolling Stones illegally recorded Sticky Fingers there, before going to a riotous concert with Hells Angels where they sang Brown Sugar. Another time Lynyrd Skynyrd was stuck with a song until a roadie suddenly announced he could play the piano and gave them the opening to Freebird (demo version). They went on to make the house band famous as the ‘Swampers’ in their song Sweet Home Alabama. Newer singers like Lana Del Rey sometimes just walk in and ask to record there too. The list of songs is too long to mention, so take the tours, maybe watch the Muscle Shoals documentary, enjoy the music and listen to the stories.

I should mention that American Music has its roots along the Natchez Trace and nearby rivers: New Orleans, Nashville, Memphis and Muscle Shoals. The songs of the enslaved, French & Spanish trader influences, back country pickers, gospel music and travelers singing for their supper all came together to form the Blues, Jazz and all the rest. WC Handy was born and grew up in Florence below, before being inspired to write down classic blues songs like St Louis Blues and Beale Street Blues. He preserved his log cabin, and there’s a small but excellent museum there now. This is a fascinating and emotionally moving area of the country to visit, and, if I can mention one more, the Jesse Owens Museum is worth a stop too.

National Heritage Areas of Mississippi

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Mississippi has three national heritage areas: Delta, Gulf Coast and Hills. Culturally, Mississippi is one of the best states in the country.

The Delta area is fascinating, and I recommend the Delta Blues Museum when you’re in the area listening to live blues music, like Terry ‘Harmonica’ Bean pictured in Clarksdale. Vicksburg and Emmett Till are both in the area too.

I drove the Gulf Coast area while visiting the Gulf Islands National Seashore, and it is beautiful. (I skipped Beauvoir, the Jefferson Davis “Presidential” Library, since he was never president of our country.) You will see signs marking the Mississippi Blueways, which are mostly paddling river routes near the coast and unrelated to the popular Mississippi Blues Trail.

This year, I visited William Faulkner’s home in Oxford, which is part of the Hills area, along with Elvis’ home in Tupelo, Tennessee Williams’ home and Eudora Welty’s too. Brices Cross Roads, Natchez NHP and Medgar and Myrlie Evers Home are in this area too. I enjoyed visiting Faulkner’s home, ‘Rowan Oak’, and walking in the pretty woods nearby, but Faulkner would much rather be remembered for his screenplays, stories and books, including The Sound and The Fury, As I Lay Dying, and Absolom, Absolom!.

Tennessee Civil War National Heritage Area

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Tennessee is the only state that is also a national heritage area, focused on the Civil War, with four national park units, three other battlefield parks, three Civil War oriented museums, and Andrew Johnson NHS. The nationally established parks cover the history best, but state parks—especially Fort Pillow—are also historically important.

  • 1862 Fort Donelson NB Grant gained access to the Cumberland River in the northwest.
  • 1862 Shiloh NMP Grant won a costly battle, despite a Confederate surprise attack.
  • 1862 Parker’s Cross Roads a failed attempt to block a Confederate retreat.
  • 1862-3 Stones River NB, with slaughter pen & hell’s half acre, a bloody victory.
  • 1863 Chattanooga NMP another Union victory, securing railroads in the southeast.
  • 1864 Fort Pillow a massacre of surrendering black soldiers by Nathan Bedford Forrest.
  • 1864 Battle of Franklin a disaster for the Confederates, especially a dozen or so generals.

Fort Pillow is on a bluff then overlooking a sharp bend in the Mississippi River north of Memphis. It is well sited for firing down at passing ships, but there are several higher hills around the fort, making it defensively weak against a land attack. Nathan Bedford Forrest brought superior troops in number and experience, and attained the element of surprise. The Union leader was shot dead early on by sharpshooters, and his replacement refused to surrender. The battle was soon over, as the Confederates surrounded the fort, moved in and overran the ditch defenses.

Except that the slaughter continued, long after the battle was won.

The state park visitor center at Fort Pillow has a disappointing exhibit that repeatedly describes the 1864 congressionally designated “massacre” as only a “controversy”, displays grandiose portraits of General Forrest, and provides numerous excuses for the one-sided outcome (see below list of dead). Over the years, many apologists—the same who describe the Civil War as a heroic cause for states rights—have tried to defend the actions of the Confederates at Fort Pillow, but there’s nothing honorable about a 20 to 1 slaughter.

The facts—excluded in the museum exhibit—tell the true story. Most of the Union white soldiers were taken prisoner, while almost all of the black soldiers were killed. One of Forrest’s own sergeants described many black soldiers trying to surrender and wrote, “General Forrest ordered them shot down like dogs”. Black soldiers were denied prisoner of war status throughout the war, and the Union stopped prisoner transfers due to this official Confederate policy, clearly stated after Fort Pillow. Forrest became the first Grand Wizard of the Ku Klux Klan after the war. The site should be a national battlefield, and the history of Forrest’s massacre of black soldiers told accurately.

Blue Ridge National Heritage Area & Gullah Geechee Cultural Heritage Corridor

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Some Cherokee still live in the Blue Ridge Mountains, although the western North Carolina heritage area is more focused on waterfalls, sights along the Blue Ridge Parkway, bluegrass music, the Great Smoky Mountains, and more. The Cherokee, angry about their stolen lands, sided with the British during the Revolutionary War, while their Piedmont—central NC—neighbors, the Catawba, sided with the Patriots.

A particularly beautiful area in the US, the Blue Ridge includes the headwaters of the New River and the eastern states highest mountain (Mitchell), gorge (Linville) and waterfall (Whitewater Falls), plus the homes of interesting people, including the poet Carl Sandburg. There’s also rich diversity of species and frequent wildlife sightings. I love driving through, and I have to admit to bending my itinerary a few times to see something new here.

The Gullah Geechee area is much larger, stretching from North Carolina to Florida, including some great national park units, like Reconstruction Era, Cumberland Island and Timucuan Preserve. I heard Gullah spoken several times in the Carolinas, and there are numerous spots along the coast in four states to stop and learn about quilts, baskets, and other crafts. I love the food, always wanting to stop for boiled peanuts, country captain, perloo or other dishes. Gullah Geechee is a living culture, a unique community, an integral part of our history, and this distinct heritage is woven deep into our collective roots.

I understand that Gullah developed as a common dialect among slaves who had lived or passed through Angola, hence the name. A great public TV program on the English language taught me a bit about Gullah years ago. You already know some of the words that come from Gullah, like gumbo, jitters, and tote. The settlement on Cumberland and the plantation at Timucuan have clues about the Caribbean crops of indigo and sea cotton brought to grow in the barrier islands and about the enslaved people who worked the plantations. Not only did the communities survive, but they retained some of their African and Caribbean connections, linking us with living communities in other countries today.

South Carolina & Southern Campaign of the Revolution National Heritage Corridors

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These are two obscure heritage areas in the Carolinas, but none of the state or national park employees I spoke with had heard of either. While the South Carolina NHC has historic sites, plantations and gardens, the parks included—like Pinckney, Sumter, and Overmountain Victory—are unrelated. And while the Revolution NHC includes Moores Creek, it excludes many other important battles in the Carolinas and neighboring states. Don’t waste time following these confusing corridors, but instead start with an overview at historic Camden.

Here’s the story of the Revolutionary Campaign in the southeast, focusing on national sites and affiliates. Virginians Henry, Jefferson and Washington led their colony into rebellion, in concert with the north. Virginia colonial governor Lord Dunmore called in troops, organized loyalists and even formed a regiment of liberated slaves. Echoing Bunker Hill, Patriot militia fought well at Great Bridge in 1775, prompting Dunmore to order the shelling of Norfolk Virginia. Echoing Concord, the Patriots cut down a broadsword charge at Moores Creek North Carolina in 1776. And at the end of 1778, the Patriots took Savannah, followed up with a victory at Kettle Creek Georgia in early 1779.

But in May of 1779, the British sacked Portsmouth in Virginia, kicking off their southern campaign in earnest. In late 1779, the British returned to Savannah, capturing it after a siege. In early 1780, they took Charleston SC after another siege. Next, they turned their attention inland, hoping to sway more loyalists, keep their large southern colonies, and then take the fight back to the northeast. In 1780 the British fought over a dozen battles around Charleston and Camden (see Cornwallis’ HQ below) in South Carolina, consolidating their control over the colony.

But the British were ruthless in the south, revoking pardons, burning homes & farms, and imprisoning or hanging those who wouldn’t sign loyalty oaths. The most infamous example happened in May 1780 at Waxhaws—named after a local tribe—, when Banistre Tarleton massacred Patriots, inspiring further rebellion. Popular resentment against the tyrannical British grew, especially among the Scots-Irish settlers. After Gates lost his leadership position after failing at Camden, Nathaniel Greene began a much more effective guerrilla campaign in the back country.

The Patriots didn’t win all their battles, but many of the British victories were Pyrrhic, causing them to cede territory even after eking out technical victories. The back country belonged to the Patriots, especially when reinforcements crossed the Appalachian Mountains on the Overmountain Victory Trail. The Patriots won at Kings Mountain in late 1780, then again at Cowpens in January 1781.

Even though the British subsequently won at Petersburg VA, Ninety-Six in SC, and at Guilford Courthouse NC, clearly, they were not winning the broader campaign. Cornwallis brought his troops north to Virginia. After a close battle near Camden, the remainder of the British forces retreated for Charleston, with the last battle in the southeast fought at Eutaw Springs in September 1781. The denouement was set for Yorktown.

Mid-Atlantic Region National Heritage Areas

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There are 16 NHAs in the Mid-Atlantic; 8 in Pennsylvania alone. Well worth exploring these areas while visiting parks in the region.

Susquehanna National Heritage Area

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The Zimmerman center above is the launching point for summer boat rides on the river in the background, a colonial era museum, the trailhead through a Susquehannock tribal area, local HQ for the Captain John Smith Chesapeake NHT, and the HQ for the Susquehanna NHA. I’m glad I stopped here last month, since the staff cleared up some of my misconceptions.

The museum here does a good job in describing the contact between the colonial explorer John Smith and the natives. The staff also confirmed my suspicion that Captain Smith could not have traveled to all the points up river shown on his trail. Even his small exploring boat could not sail up waterfalls and over rocky shoals. So Smith’s historic trail map does not match the explorer’s actual historic trail. The NPS describes the trail as “a water-based trail following the coastline of the Chesapeake Bay and its tributary rivers”, which would be great, if this were a scenic trail, but it’s a historic trail, named for a real explorer. [No word yet from the NPS on fixing this.]

Amidst handling school groups with aplomb, the staff also nicely answered my questions about the broad heritage area. If you’re interested in the colonial era, you should visit the county history museum in York, which has several colonial buildings, including a tavern, where our revolutionary leaders, the Continental Congress, fled during the British occupation of Philadelphia from 1777 to 1778. While exploring, you will likely see both Mennonite and Amish community members, such as around Loganton in the scenic area up the west branch of the river.

Wheeling National Heritage Area

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Around 200 years ago, America was expanding the National Road (US 40) westward to St Louis and needed a bridge across the Ohio River. It took a couple tries, but the stone suspension bridge in the foreground was completed in 1859. The modern bridge behind it has four concrete bases, but the Wheeling Suspension bridge has none. Most traffic from the Midwest to the Mid-Atlantic passes on I-70 over the background bridge, so you may have seen Wheeling’s longest operating suspension bridge out your window between Ohio and West Virginia.

The city of Wheeling is marvelously uncrowded with small shops and restaurants around Centre Market in the historic center of the heritage area. It’s the kind of ‘stuck in the past’ place that I love, where the sign on the old bookstore advises folks to ask at the local bar if the owner is not inside his store. They have music, boating and cultural events, and they could use a few tourists pulling off the interstate to buy a hot fish sandwich at Coleman’s Fish Market below. Recommended.

Appalachian Forest National Heritage Area

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Smoke Hole above is a canyon formed by the South Fork of the Potomac River in West Virginia. Excursion trains take visitors on various trips through the area, but there are also country roads. I drove about 10 miles along the canyon admiring the views with fall foliage, and I never saw another person. The C&O Canal and Potomac Heritage NST are also in this NHA, which extends into the mountains of western Maryland. This is a rare, beautiful, underrated spot in the US to hike and enjoy nature.