36-623: The Waycross Braves were a minor league baseball team located in Waycross, Georgia , United States. An affiliate of the Milwaukee Braves , they played in the Georgia–Florida League from 1956 to 1958 and in 1963. However the team began in 1939 with the name Waycross Bears . This article about a baseball team in the U.S. state of Georgia is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Waycross, Georgia Waycross
72-469: A 1920s logging town of 600 residents. Most of the Okefenokee Swamp is included in the 403,000-acre (163,000 ha) Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge . The largest wildfire in the swamp's history began with a lightning strike near the center of the refuge on May 5, 2007, eventually merging with another wildfire that began near Waycross, Georgia , on April 16 when a tree fell on a power line. Named
108-714: A major "hump"-type classification yard . On the National Register of Historic Places : Okefenokee Swamp The Okefenokee Swamp is a shallow, 438,000-acre (177,000 ha), peat -filled wetland straddling the Georgia – Florida line in the United States. A majority of the swamp is protected by the Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge and the Okefenokee Wilderness . The Okefenokee Swamp
144-473: A pre-school, six elementary schools, two middle schools, and one high school. The district has 431 full-time teachers and over 6,370 students. U.S. Highway 1 runs north–south through Waycross, while concurrent with U.S. Highway 23 . U.S. Highway 82 is an east–west highway in Waycross. U.S. Highway 84 runs east–west through Waycross. There are no limited-access highways anywhere near Waycross; Interstate 75
180-592: A proclamation to establish the Laura S Walker National Park in her honor. She was the only living person for whom a state or national park was named. In 1937, the federal government purchased distressed farmland for the park. Work on the park was undertaken by the Works Progress Administration and the Civilian Conservation Corps . In 1941, the national park was deeded over to Georgia, becoming
216-645: A trip to the Okefenokee Swamp . The tradition faded away after the interstates opened through Georgia. In the mid-1990s, the Flanders Hamburgers , a frozen hamburger that needed no defrosting, was created in Waycross. This was the creation of Eaves Foods, Inc., a company that later changed to Flanders, LLC. in 2000. Bubba Burgers are now sold nationwide as well as worldwide through the United States Military Commissary system. Waycross
252-511: Is 60 miles to the west, and Interstate 95 is 40 miles to the east. Waycross-Ware County Airport (IATA: AYS, ICAO: KAYS, FAA LID: AYS) is a public airport located three miles (5 km) northwest of the central business district of Waycross. It is owned by the City of Waycross and Ware County. Six railroad lines meet at Waycross, making it a logical location for shunting freight to different destinations. CSX Transportation operates Rice Yard here,
288-591: Is a leading center in health care in the area. The three-story facility has a trauma unit, cancer care unit, outpatient surgery and imaging services. In 2012, Satilla Regional Medical Center joined the Mayo Clinic Health System and became the Mayo Clinic Health System in Waycross. The Mayo Clinic ceased operations of the hospital in 2015. The hospital later joined HCA Healthcare and has since been renamed Memorial Satilla Health. The Ware County School District holds pre-school to grade twelve, and consists of
324-569: Is considered to be one of the Seven Natural Wonders of Georgia and is the largest " blackwater " swamp in North America. The swamp was designated a National Natural Landmark in 1974. The name Okefenokee is attested with more than a dozen variant spellings of the word in historical literature. Though often translated as "land of trembling earth", the name is likely derived from Hitchiti oki fanôːki "bubbling water". The Okefenokee
360-512: Is famous for its amphibians and reptiles such as toads , frogs , turtles , lizards , snakes , and an abundance of American alligators . The oldest known alligator, named "Okefenokee Joe" after environmentalist Okefenokee Joe , died in September 2021, at almost 80 years of age. The Okefenokee Swamp is also a critical habitat for the Florida black bear . More than 600,000 acres (240,000 ha) of
396-479: Is located at 31°12′50″N 82°21′18″W / 31.21389°N 82.35500°W / 31.21389; -82.35500 (31.213860, -82.354911) and is the closest city to the Okefenokee Swamp . According to the United States Census Bureau , the city has a total area of 11.7 square miles (30 km ), of which 11.7 square miles (30 km ) is land and 0.04 square miles (0.10 km ) (0.17%)
SECTION 10
#1732916225985432-418: Is the county seat of, and only incorporated city in, Ware County in the U.S. state of Georgia . The population was 13,942 in the 2020 census . Waycross includes two historic districts ( Downtown Waycross Historic District and Waycross Historic District ) and several other properties that are on the National Register of Historic Places , including the U.S. Post Office and Courthouse , Lott Cemetery ,
468-628: Is water. The closest major city is Jacksonville, Florida , which is roughly 81 miles away. In May 2010, the city purchased the Bandalong Litter Trap and installed it in Tebeau Creek, a tributary of the Satilla River . The trap was invented in Australia , but is manufactured in the United States. Although the city has maintained a good standing with the state's Environmental Protection Division,
504-524: The Bugaboo Scrub Fire , by May 31, it had burned more than 600,000 acres (240,000 ha), or more than 935 square miles, and remains the largest wildfire in both Georgia and Florida history. In 2011, the Honey Prairie Fire consumed 309,200 acres (125,100 ha) of land in the swamp. There are four public entrances: In addition, a 501(c)(3) non-profit, Okefenokee Swamp Park , provides
540-603: The First African Baptist Church and Parsonage , and the Obediah Barber Homestead (which is seven miles south of the city). The area now known as Waycross was first settled circa 1820, locally known as "Old Nine" or "Number Nine" and then Pendleton. It was renamed Tebeauville in 1857, incorporated under that name in 1866, and designated county seat of Ware County in 1873. It was incorporated as "Way Cross" on March 3, 1874. Waycross gets its name from
576-481: The Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge each year. The swamp provides an important economic resource to southeast Georgia and northeast Florida. More than 600,000 visitors from as many as 46 countries travel to the Okefenokee refuge each year to enjoy its unmatched wilderness. This tourism supports over 750 local jobs and contributes over $ 64 million to local economies. A 50-year titanium mining operation by DuPont
612-467: The 438,000-acre (177,000 ha) Okefenokee, sending volumes of smoke across the southern Atlantic seaboard and with an unknown impact on wildlife. With the drought still continuing, the massive Honey Prairie fire continued to burn at only 75% containment. On April 17, 2012, the Honey Prairie Fire was finally declared out. Thousands of firefighters, refuge neighbors, and businesses contributed to
648-495: The City of Waycross from coming back into Pierce County. As of the 2020 United States census , there were 13,942 people, 5,748 households, and 3,197 families residing in the city. WXGA-TV , a Georgia Public Broadcasting outlet, is licensed to Waycross and also serves nearby Valdosta. Waycross is part of the Jacksonville, Florida television market. With over 100 employees and 10 physicians, Satilla Regional Medical Center
684-549: The Okefenokee Refuge. However, in 2022, U.S. Senator Jon Ossoff blocked the proposed titanium mine after the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service warned of severe potential damage to the wildlife refuge. The Okefenokee Swamp was listed as one of America's Most Endangered Rivers in 2020 and again in 2023 on account of the mining threats. The Okefenokee Swamp is part of the Southeastern conifer forests ecoregion . Much of
720-607: The Okefenokee Swamp were the Timucua -speaking Oconi , who dwelt in or on the margin of the swamp. The Spanish friars built the mission of Santiago de Oconi in order to convert them to Christianity. The Oconi's boating skills, developed in the hazardous swamps, likely contributed to their later employment by the Spanish as ferrymen across the St. Johns River , near the riverside terminus of North Florida's camino real. Modern-day longtime residents of
756-449: The Okefenokee Swamp, referred to as "Swampers", are of overwhelmingly English ancestry . Due to relative isolation, the inhabitants of the Okefenokee used Elizabethan phrases and syntax, preserved since the early colonial period when such speech was common in England, well into the 20th century. The Suwannee Canal was dug across the swamp in the late 19th century in a failed attempt to drain
SECTION 20
#1732916225985792-539: The Okefenokee is a southern coastal plain nonriverine basin swamp , forested by bald cypress ( Taxodium distichum ) and swamp tupelo ( Nyssa biflora ) trees. Upland areas support southern coastal plain oak domes and hammocks , thick stands of evergreen oaks . Drier and more frequently burned areas support Atlantic coastal plain upland longleaf pine woodlands of longleaf pine ( Pinus palustris ). The swamp has many species of carnivorous plants , including many species of Utricularia , Sarracenia psittacina , and
828-561: The Okefenokee region burned from April to July 2007. Essentially the entire swamp burned, but the degrees of impact are widely varied. Smoke from the fires was reported as far away as Atlanta and Orlando . Four years later, in April 2011, the Honey Prairie wildfire began when the swamp was left much drier than usual by an extreme drought . As of January 2012, the Honey Prairie fire had already scorched more than 315,000 acres (127,000 ha) of
864-547: The Okefenokee. After the Suwannee Canal Company's bankruptcy, most of the swamp was purchased by the Hebard family of Philadelphia, who conducted extensive cypress logging operations from 1909 to 1927. Several other logging companies ran railroad lines into the swamp until 1942; some remnants remain visible crossing swamp waterways. On the west side of the swamp, at Billy's Island, logging equipment and other artifacts remain of
900-571: The State's 13th state park. Waycross was the site of the 1948 Waycross B-29 crash , which led to the legal case United States v. Reynolds (1953), expanding the government's state secrets privilege. During the 1950s the city had a tourist gimmick: local police would stop motorists with out-of-state license plates and escort them to downtown Waycross. There they would be met by the Welcome World Committee and given overnight lodging, dinner and
936-566: The city wanted to take action to reduce the amount of human generated trash entering the Satilla River and ultimately the Atlantic Ocean . Georgia Governor Sonny Perdue said, "Water is one of Georgia's most important and precious resources... the litter trap installed by Waycross is a model of stewardship for the state and the nation." The Satilla River litter trap is the first in Georgia and only
972-421: The city's location at key railroad junctions; lines from six directions meet at the city. The city council in Waycross opened municipal primary elections to white women in 1917, the first town in Georgia to do so. This action was taken because some of the largest property owners in town were women who wanted a say in how their tax dollars were spent. It wasn't until two years later in 1919 that Atlanta became
1008-436: The giant Sarracenia minor var. okefenokeensis . A species of mushroom-like fungus Rogersiomyces okefenokeensis J.L. Crane & Schokn. 1978 is found in the swamp. The Okefenokee Swamp is home to many wading birds , including herons , egrets , ibises , cranes , and bitterns , though populations fluctuate with seasons and water levels. The swamp also hosts numerous woodpecker and songbird species. Okefenokee
1044-540: The heart of the Okefenokee Swamp and drains at least 90 percent of the swamp's watershed southwest toward the Gulf of Mexico. The St. Marys River , which drains only 5 to 10 percent of the swamp's southeastern corner, flows south along the western side of Trail Ridge, through the ridge at St. Marys River Shoals, and north again along the eastern side of Trail Ridge before turning east to the Atlantic. The earliest known inhabitants of
1080-492: The northernmost access into the Okefenokee Swamp near Waycross, Georgia . State Road 2 passes through the Florida portion between the Georgia cities of Council and Moniac . The graded Swamp Perimeter Road encircles Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge. Gated and closed to public use, it provides access for fire management of the interface between the federal refuge and the surrounding industrial tree farms. Many visitors enter
1116-470: The safe suppression of this fire. At the peak of fire activity on June 27, 2011, the Honey Prairie Complex had grown to 283,673 acres (114,798 ha) and had 202 engines, 112 dozers, 20 water tenders, 12 helicopters, and 6 crews with a total of 1,458 personnel assigned. Over the duration of the fire, there were no fatalities or serious injuries. Firefighters managed to contain most of the fire within
Waycross Braves - Misplaced Pages Continue
1152-618: The second Georgia city to do this. Georgia women would not get the right to vote generally in all elections until 1922. Waycross was home to Laura S. Walker (1861-1955) a noted author and conservationist . Walker promoted a comprehensive program of forestry activity, including the establishment of forest parks. She erected markers and monuments along old trails and at historic sites, in Waycross and Ware County so that local history would not be forgotten. An effort to recognize her work culminated in President Franklin D Roosevelt issuing
1188-523: The second in the nation. Part of Waycross was situated in Pierce County , but effective July 1, 2015, Waycross was no longer located nor allowed to be located in Pierce County. State Rep. Chad Nimmer introduced HB 523 during the 2015 Legislative Session without providing the required statutory notice to the City of Waycross. HB 523 de-annexed the portion of Waycross located in Pierce County and prevents
1224-501: Was formed over the past 6,500 years by the accumulation of peat in a shallow basin on the edge of an ancient Atlantic coastal terrace, the geological relic of a Pleistocene estuary. The swamp is bordered by Trail Ridge, a strip of elevated land believed to have formed as coastal dunes or an offshore barrier island. The St. Marys River and the Suwannee River both originate in the swamp. The Suwannee River originates as stream channels in
1260-410: Was set to begin in 1997, but protests and public–government opposition over possibly disastrous environmental effects from 1996 to 2000 forced the company to abandon the project in 2000 and retire their mineral rights forever. In 2003, DuPont donated the 16,000 acres (6,500 ha) it had purchased for mining to The Conservation Fund , and in 2005, nearly 7,000 acres (2,800 ha) of the donated land
1296-681: Was transferred to Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge. In 2018, Twin Pines Minerals LLC proposed another titanium mining operation near the Okefenokee Swamp. Over 60,000 people sent comments opposing the operation. Later, in 2020, a new rule by the first Trump administration reduced what was protected under the Clean Water Act , removing about 400 acres (160 ha) in the proposed mining site from federal protections. The updated plan would include mining 577.4 acres (233.7 ha) for titanium and zirconium, 2.9 miles (4.7 km) southeast of
#984015