Chesser Island Winery

The largest of the numerous prairies located within the Okefenokee Swamp, Chase Prairie derives its name from being a favorite place of early swampers to chase deer, bear and other game animals. Using their poling skills propel their narrow wooden boats, the swampers were able to overtake animals that ventured out into the shallow water of the prairie to feed.

The Suwanee River is one of two Georgia/Florida rivers that originate in the Okefenokee Swamp. Upon exiting the Great Swamp near Fargo, Georgia, the river travels almost 266 miles before reaching the Gulf of Mexico in Florida. Originally named Suwani (echo river) by the Timucuan Indians that lived along its banks in the 1500s, this wild blackwater river was made famous by Steven Foster's 1851 song titled, "Way Down Upon the Suwanee River." Foster shortened the river's name to a two-syllable cadence to better fit the music he composed.

The Seminole term "Okefenokee" means "land of the trembling earth" and is so named because floating peat deposits, some over 15 feet thick, are so unstable that merely walking on them causes the ground and surrounding trees to tremble. Covering over 483,000 acres, the Great Swamp is one of the world's largest freshwater wetlands, home to some 600 plant species and 425 species of vertebrate animals - including over 10,000 alligators. The vitality of the swamp ecosystem is matched only by the rich history and stories of it's early settlers. Visit and enjoy!

In addition to being the "Gateway to the Okefenokee Swamp," Folkston,Georgia is also known to rail fans and train-watchers as the Folkston Funnel. During any given 24 hour period, as many as 70 or more trains pass through this friendly southeast Georgia town heading up and down the eastern seaboard. The name is fitting given that two major rail lines converge near the northern border of the town funneling essentially every freight train from the eastern half of the U.S. through the center of this train enthusiast's paradise.

Intending that the Okefenokee Swamp be drained and its fertile soil farmed, Georgia's 1889 legislative session allowed The Suwanee Canal Co. to purchase 430,000 acres of the Great Swamp for $62,101.80. Captain Harry Jackson undertook the task of digging a canal from the eastern side of the Okefenokee due east toward the St Mary's River. Twenty-two miles of canals and over a million dollars later, Captain Jackson was no closer to draining the swamp than when he started. Rather than flowing east toward the St Mary's River, the water in the new canals flowed west toward the Okefenokee's interior. The project was eventually abandoned in despair and local history refers to the engineering mistake as Jackson's Folly.

Billy's Island was named for Billy Bowlegs, the last Seminole Indian chief to leave the Okefenokee Swamp. The island was once home to over 600 residents and enjoyed such modern amenities as a movie theatre, post office, general store, school house and churches. The island served as a base of operations during the first half of the 1900s for workers hired to harvest the vast stands of cypress and pine trees located throughout the Great Swamp.