Hart County is named for Nancy Hart, a rebel heroine of the American Revolutionary War. She is characterized as a tough, resourceful frontier woman who repeatedly outsmarted British soldiers, and killed some outright.
On December 21, 1946, Eugene Talmadge, the governor-elect of Georgia, died before taking office. The state constitution did not specify who would assume the governorship in such a situation, so three men made claims to the governorship: Ellis Arnall, the outgoing governor; Melvin E. Thompson, the lieutenant governor-elect; and Herman Talmadge, Eugene Talmadge's son. Eventually a ruling by the Supreme Court of Georgia settled the matter in favor of Thompson. Georgia's Secretary of State Ben Fortson hid the state seal in his wheelchair so no official business could be conducted until the controversy was settled.
Georgia's highest point is Brasstown Bald at 4,784 feet (1,458 m) above sea level. According to historical markers, the area surrounding Brasstown Bald was settled by the Cherokee people. English-speaking settlers derived the word "Brasstown" from a translation error of the Cherokee word for its village place. The term "Bald" is common terminology in the southern Appalachians describing mountaintops that have 360-degree unobstructed views.
The Berry College campus in Mount Berry, Georgia consists of more than 27,000 acres of land--including fields, forests, and Lavender Mountain--making it the largest contiguous college campus in the world. The Georgia Department of Natural Resources oversees about 16,000 acres of the campus, conducts managed hunts, and provides recreational opportunities, but the land encompassing the academic buildings and other public spaces is a wildlife refuge in which no hunting is allowed.
The Battle of Chickamauga, fought between U.S. and Confederate forces in the American Civil War, was the first major battle of the war fought in Georgia, the most significant Union defeat in the Western Theater, and involved the second-highest number of casualties after the Battle of Gettysburg.
Brown thrashers are generally inconspicuous but territorial birds, especially when defending their nests, and will attack species as large as humans.
The Okefenokee Swamp covers roughly 700 square miles and is located in the southeastern corner of Georgia, encompassing most of Charlton and Ware counties and parts of Brantley and Clinch counties. The term Okefenokee in Native American is "land of trembling earth".
Macon lies near the state's geographic center, about 85 miles (137 km) southeast of Atlanta--hence the city's nickname, "The Heart of Georgia".
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