Sweetwater Creek State Park
Sweetwater Creek State Park is a 2,549 acre (10.32 km2) Georgia state park located east of Douglasville in Douglas County, 15 miles (24 km) from downtown Atlanta. The park is named after Sweetwater Creek which runs through the park. The park features wooded walking and hiking trails, the George Sparks Reservoir, a visitor center, a bait shop, and a gift shop, as well as the ruins of the New Manchester Manufacturing Company. The Visitor Center displays artifacts that belong to Native Americans, remnants from the Civil War era, and mounted animals and birds. The park has rich biodiversity, geology, and history. The park's mission is to conserve environment for the present and future generations through use of various conservation methods such as bioretention ponds, solar panels, green roofs, and a composting toilet.
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[edit] History
The area of the Sweetwater Creek park used to belong to the Cherokee and according to a legend “Sweetwater” means the name of Chief Ama-Kanasta [1]. In 1819, hunger for land led the state of Georgia to appeal to the United States government to remove the Cherokee; the appeal was rejected [1]. In 1827, the state of Georgia began to divide the Cherokee lands through lotteries [1]. In 1829, just elected president Andrew Jackson who was an ally of the state of Georgia challenged the reject of appeal [1]. Even though the U.S. Supreme Court’s decree stated that Georgia had no right to forbid the Cherokee government, in 1831, Georgia’s General Assembly arranged all Cherokee land inspected and distributed by lottery [1]. In 1838, federal troops started forcing the Cherokee to leave Georgia and Alabama and about twenty thousand were forced to west to Oklahoma via the Trail of Tears [1].
On the Georgia Gold Lottery, in 1832, Philip J. Crask won 40-acre (160,000 m2) Lot 929 in District 18 of the Second Section and paid $18 grand fee [1]. In 1837, Lot 929 was sold at an auction to John Boyle for $12.50 who in 1845 sold it for $500 to Charles J. McDonald of Cobb County, a former governor of Georgia, and Colonel James Rogers of Milledgeville [1]. In 1846, Roger and McDonald started building water-powered mill along Sweetwater Creek and on December 21, 1849, the five story mill was in operation [1]. McDonald and Rogers incorporated their business as Sweetwater Manufacturing Company, which made cotton, yarn and fabric [1]. In 1858, McDonald renamed the Sweetwater Manufacturing Company as New Manchester Manufacturing Company after the center of the British textile industry Manchester, England [1]. By 1860, the factory produced seven hundred pounds of cotton which was transformed it in one hundred twenty bunches of yarn and five hundred yards of osnaburg per day.
In 1861, the American Civil War began. During summer of 1864 General Joseph E. Johnson removed the Confederate Army across the Chattahoochee River and the New Manchester factory was left exposed for the Union Army forces [2]. On July 2, 1864, two divisions of Union cavalry under Colonel Silas Adams (1st Kentucky) and an cavalry under Major Haviland Thompkins (14th Illinois) of General Stoneman’s personnel approached the factory and ordered to shut it down and arrest all the employees [2]. On July 9, 1864, following order of William Tecumseh Sherman to burn mills, Major Thompkins burned the New Manchester mill [2]. Under arrest of 1st and 11th Kentucky cavalry and 14th Illinois cavalry, the mill employees were moved to Marietta and merged with other mill prisoners forming 600 people in one group [2]. By order of General Sherman to move prisoners north of the Ohio River, on July 15, 1864, female prisoners with children were sent to Nashville, Tennessee by groups in trains. On July 20, 1864, they were moved to Louisville, Kentucky [2]. On July 21, 1864, civilian detainees were given opportunity to take an oath of allegiance to the Federal Government and be free north of the Ohio River, but forbidden to come south of the river while the country was still at war [3]. Some of the women returned back, and some of them were found by their families or spouses [2]. The mill ruins still exist today and protected by the Sweetwater Creek State Park, which was founded to protect the ruins and the pristine area around it. All that remains today is the brick walls and millrace that lead to the factory's waterwheel.
[edit] Biodiversity
Birds
American Crow (Corvus brachyrhynchos), American Goldfinch (Carduelis tristis), American kestrel (Falco sparverius), American Robin (Turdus migratorius), Barred owl (Strix varia), Belted Kingfisher (Ceryle alcyon), Bobwhite (Colinus virginianus), Brown thrasher (Toxostoma rufum) State Bird of Georgia, Chimney swift (Chaetura pelagica), Common Grackle (Quiscalus quiscula), Common nighthawk (Chordeiles minor), Screech owl (Otus asio), Cooper's Hawk (Accipiter cooperii), Eastern Bluebird (Sialia sialis), Eastern Towhee (Piplo erythroph thalmus), Golden Eagle (Aquila chrysaetos), Great Blue Heron (Ardea herodias), Great horned owl (Bubo virginianus), Northern Cardinal (Cardinalis cardinalis), Northern flicker (Colaptes auratus), Red-bellied woodpecker (Melanerpes carolinus), Red-headed woodpecker (Melanerpes erythrocephalus), Red-shouldered hawk (Buteo lineatus), Red-tailed hawk (Buteo jamaicensis), Red-winged Blackbird (Agelaius phoeniceus), Ruby-throated hummingbird (Archilochus colubris), Sharp-shinned hawk (Accipiter striatus), Starling (Sturnus vulgaris), Summer Tanager (Piranga rubra), Swainson’s thrush (Catharus ustulatus), White-throated sparrow (Zanotrichia albicollis), Wood thrush (Hylocichla mustelina), Yellow-bellied sapsucker (Sphyrapicus varius),
Animals
Beaver (genus Castor), Bobcat (Felis rufa), Common raccoon (Procyon lotor), Coyote (Canis latrans), Deer, Feral hog, Grey Fox (Urocyon cinereoagenteus), Muskrat (Ondatra zibethicus), North American River otter (Lutra Canadensis), Red Fox (Vulpes fulva), Skunk, Squirrel.
Reptiles
Brown Water Snake (Nerodia taxispilota), Red-Bellied/Yellow-Bellied Water Snake (Nerodia erythrogaster), Northern Water Snake (Nerodia sipedon), Queen Snake (Regina septemvittata), Brown Snake (Storeria dekayi), Red-Bellied Snake (Storeria occipitomaculata), Eastern Ribbon Snake (Thamnophis sauritus), Common Garter Snake (Thamnophis sirtalis), Smooth Earth Snake (Virginia valeriae), Rough Earth Snake (Virginia striatula), Eastern Hognose Snake (Heterodon platyrhinos), Ringneck Snake (Diadophis punctatus), Eastern Worm Snake (Carphophis amoenus), Racer (Coluber constrictor), Coachwhip (Masticophis flagellum), Rough Green Snake (Opheodrys aestivus), Corn Snake (Elaphe guttata), Rat Snake (Elaphe obsoleta), Eastern/Black Kingsnake (Lampropeltis getula), Mole Kingsnake (Lampropeltis calligaster), Scarlet Kingsnake/Milk Snake (Lampropeltis triangulum), Scarlet Snake (Cemophora coccinea), Southeastern Crowned Snake (Tantilla coronata), Copperhead (Agkistrodon contortrix), Canebrake Rattlesnake (Crotolus horridus).
[edit] Geology
Geologic history
The historical geology of the Sweetwater Creek State Park is divided into three periods such as deposition of sediments, metamorphism and folding, and uplift and erosion [4].
Deposition
The rocks at the surface at the park were deposited at least 450 million years ago [4]. A sequence of sediments formed rocks such as shales, sandstones and greywackes[4]. When these sediments were deposited, the environment was similar to that off the coast of Georgia today [4]. These deposits were formed constantly through layering of older deposits by younger ones [4]. Later these deposits were covered by basaltic lava [4]. Eventually, the lava cover was mantled by thousands feet of sediments [4].
Metamorphism and Folding
It is likely that the deposition continued until 450 million years before the present causing increase of weight of the sediments in the basin [4]. When subsidence stopped uplift began due to compression of the subsidence from the sides [4]. Due to the compression, temperature and pressure rose which led to a reformation of the rocks in the basin [4]. Increasing temperature led to recrystallization of minerals in the rocks [4]. As the result of recrystallization the micas were preferentially oriented, or oriented in the same position [4]. Due to this orientation, foliation took place [4]. Recrystallization and foliation changed the shales, sandstones, greywackes and basalts into mica schists, quartzites, metagraywackes and amphibolites [4]. It is likely that metamorphism destroyed fossil remains that may have been in the rocks [4]. Along with metamorphism folding and faulting of the rocks took place [4]. There were two periods of the folding in the park [4]. Pressure led to breach of the rocks [4].
Uplift and Erosion
Until approximately 250 million years ago uplift, folding, and faulting of the rocks took place [4]. During and after uplift streams changed landscape [4]. Streams carried away dissolved organic acids and groundwater decomposed the rocks [4]. These processes take place today in the park [4]. The washed sediments were found in the Coastal Plain of Georgia [4]. Due to the erosion, the rocks below several miles are exposed to the earth's surface [4].
[edit] Environmental Conservation
The mission of the Sweetwater Creek State Park is to sustain, enhance, protect and conserve Georgia’s natural, historic and cultural resources for present and future generations. The wise use of the resources of the park is necessary in order to provide recreational and educational prospects and facilities. The protection of the park resources is critical during fast urban growth. Atlanta grows and its demand for land use increases. The urbanization creates urban heat island effect, which is due to absorption of heat by asphalt and concrete cover. As trees and green cover help to reduce urban heat island effect, the protection of parks is important. In 1998, the Chattahoochee River was names one of the nations’ most Endangered Rivers by the American Rivers Environmental Group [5]. The river receives a large amount of pollutants brought by rainwater runoff which is due to the urbanization [5]. One of the goals of the park is protection of the rivers that flow through the park and fish population in those rivers. Due to urban growth, the demand to the park increases creating problems with trail compaction and erosion and unmanageable litter. The park offers several programs for public to participate in the park conservation such as: Rivers Alive Cleanup, P2AD-Pollution Prevention, Waste Management, Trail Maintenance, Recycling [5].
Visitor Center
Due to conservation efforts, the Visitor Center was built in a sustainable design in 2006 [5]. It is 9,000 square feet (840 m2) building which construction cost $1.5 or $173/SF [5]. The Visitor Center has received the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Platinum Certification from the U.S. Green Building Council, which is the highest level attainable [5]. In 2007, the Visitor Center was one of only twenty platinum rated buildings in the world and it was the first in the Southeast [5]. The building’s reduced impact: 77% reduced in water use, 51% reduction in electricity use, 80% of construction waste diverted from landfill, no increase in stormwater runoff after construction, and daylighting in 83% of interior spaces [5]. The building is built into a hillside to minimize the physical and visual disturbance to the land [5]. To reduce the urban heat island effect and water runoff, two 2,800-square-foot (260 m2) building’s roofs are planted with native plants, green roofs [5]. The green roofs are 12-inch (300 mm) deep [5].
The sun-controlling feature of the building allows the sun to warm the interior in winter and reduces solar energy in summer [5]. The northern side of the building has clerestory windows that allow indirect sunlight into the building [5]. The southern side of the building has shelves that bounce light into the interior [5]. The building uses photocells and motion sensors for general lighting [5]. Approximately 20% of the building electricity is produced by 10.5 kW photovoltaic arrays consisting of new and recycled solar panels [5]. The building’s long side faces south allowing the solar panels to receive maximum sunlight [5]. The building’s annual energy savings are 57,969 kilowatt hours which avoid 27 tons of carbon emissions per year [5].
The Visitors Center uses the existing parking lot, minimizing more disturbance [5]. The park has bioretention ponds to prevent downstream flooding and to filter storm water runoff with aquatic vegetation [5]. The building’s construction materials such as steel structure, aluminum siding and framing are made from recycled materials [5]. The construction waste is recycled [5]. In order to save fuel by avoiding transportation of goods from farther away, the park used masonry stucco, fly-ash concrete and other local materials [5]. In order to save water, the park collects rain water, has a composting toilet, Clivus multrum that uses no potable water, waterless urinals, and pervious concrete [5].
[edit] Facilities
- 2,549 Acres
- 215 Acre Lake
- Visitor Center-Museum
- 2 Fishing Docks
- Playgrounds
- 11 Picnic Shelters
- Group Shelter and BBQ Pit
- Benches along Sweetwater Creek
[edit] Activities
- Hiking, on 9 miles (14 km) of trails in the park
- Lake and stream fishing (electric boat motors only)
- Canoe and Fishing Boat Rental
- Picnicking
- Intrepretive Programs
[edit] Annual events
- Ruins and Rapids Full Moon Hike (September through December)
- New Manchester Days Festival and Arts & Crafts Show (September)
- A Walk Through Time: Sweetwater Valley 75 Years Ago (September)
- SweetH20 50K Trail Race (Spring)[6]
[edit] References
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Cook, Ruth B. (1998). North Across the River: A Civil War Trail of Tears. Crane hill publishers. pp. 3–16. ISBN 9781575871660.
- ^ a b c d e f King, Monroe M. (1982). Destruction of New Manchester, Georgia: the story behind the ruins at the Sweetwater Creek State Park.
- ^ Sweetwater Creek State Park history files
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x Abrams, Charlotte E.; Keith I. McConnell (1977). Geologic guide to Sweetwater Creek State Park. Department of Natural Resources.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x Georgia Department of Natural Resources (GDNR) Sweetwater Creek State Park
- ^ "SweetH20 Races". http://www.sweeth20races.com/.
[edit] External links
Coordinates: 33°45′30″N 84°38′10″W / 33.75833°N 84.63611°W
