Facts About Georgia
Georgia, better known as the Peachtree state, is a great state in its own right as these facts about Georgia, rightly illustrate. These facts about Georgia illustrate to you the nature and strength of the state.
• Georgia was named after King George II, when it was initially named Province of Georgia in 1732. Georgia is nicknamed the Empire State of the South, Peach State and the Cracker State.
• The first steamboat, City O Savanna, to go across the Atlantic, departed from Georgia.
• The city has a long list of musicians who have kept their songs on the top of the charts for years. Music bands and artists like Ray Charles, Collective Soul, Little Richard, REM, The B-52’s and Gladys Knight all hail from the state.
• Okefenokee Swamp is a sprawling wetland in between the Okefenokke Wilderness and the Okefenokke Nation Wildlife Refuge. It is one of the Seven Natural Wonders of Georgia – the others include the Amicalola Falls, Providence Canyon, Tallulah George, Warm Springs and Stone Mountain. The original list compiled in 1926 has Marble Vein (Longswamp Valley, Pickens County) and the Jekyll Island Forest instead of Providence Canyon and Radium Springs.
• Hawkinsville in Pulaski County has the Hawkinsville Civilian Club's, Annual Shoot the Bull Barbecue Championship. At this event, people from all over Georgia and the neighboring states gather to take part in a competition where they showcase their own recipes for different ways of barbecuing. The proceeds from the collection are donated to the Civilian International Research Center.
• Another famous gathering held in Georgia every year is the International Poultry Trade Show, which is the largest poultry show in the world. The Vidalia onion is the only sweet onion in the world which can be grown only in the soil of Vidalia and Glennville.
• The Wesleyan College situated in Macon was the first college to allow degrees to be given to a woman.
• The Atlanta State Farmer’s Market, is the largest Farmer’s market in the world spread over 150 acres of land. The Army base at Fort Benning is the largest Infantry training center in the world. It has more than a 100,000 active forces, retired army men and civilians at any given point in time.
• Stone Mountain in Georgia is an isolated natural huge block of granite. Its highest point is1683 feet high, on which the sculpture of the three confederate leaders Stonewall Jackson, Jefferson Davis and Robert E Lee have been engraved.
• Thomasville in Thomas County is the famed City of Roses. It has an annual Rose Festival. Roses are so common in the city that almost all the houses have rose gardens.
• The highest point in Georgia is Brasstown Bald Mountain.