THIS EVERYDAY LIFE

Well good people, I looked at the stitching's on my hiking boots becoming undone, so on Wednesday I decided it was time for some new ones. Left Riley at home (she tends to become agitated when left alone in the car), and headed down to Darien to purchase a new pair. Darien is a sleepy little shrimping and fishing town about 28 miles from Hinesville. Or at least it was when I was a kid. But to be quite frank the outlet mall I frequent to do my shopping is quite a distance from the actual town itself. I must admit I'd not been to the town in 44 yrs. Prior to reaching my exit to the outlet, I noticed a sign on I-95S proclaiming "Visit Historic King George Fort". Made a mental note to do so after shopping.

Now Darien is located in McIntosh County, a county that I knew played an instrumental role in establishing the southern boundaries of the Georgia County, but I plead ignorance about the fact there was an historical state park there. After exiting the x-way, curiosity got the best of me. Instead of heading right to go the outlet, I made aright in the direction of the town. Signage to the town and Fort King George were very illustrative in plotting my route.

After coming into Darien I spotted City Hall. Also noticed an historic monument in front. After parking, dismounting from my van and reading the inscription, I got the surprise of my life. In summary it described the events of the facility being burned to the ground during the Civil War. Burned to the ground no less by African American troops from Massachusetts and South Carolina. Heck I knew that the Union Soldiers came through this area, but didn't know that black troops caused mayhem. History books of my racially segregated youth didn't describe that. Hell, I made a mental note to do some research on this matter at a later date. Figured if a public monument in front of the city hall shouted this fact then now there were even more in depth historical accounting of these events.

Took a walk around and saw more historical residences and churches that were rebuilt after being burned down by the aforementioned troops. Very impressive the historic district. A district I knew nothing about during my youth.

After driving around the town I got the feeling that the residents depended now on diversified industries and businesses. But income from the sea was still high on the list as a source of income.

Strolling around the town I couldn't help but recall my high school history lessons regarding settlement of the area.

It seems that James Oglethorpe (the leader of the colony) needed a buffer between the Spanish

(to the south) and the rest of the colony. You see the area was hotly contested between the British and the Spanish. Both claimed ownership. To make a long story short the British recruited Highland Scots from Inverness to settle the area. Primarily because the Scots were known as fierce fighters. Haha, the British had good reason to know.

The original charter granted by King George of England (for the colony), in summary decreed that the land boundaries would consist of an area immediately south of the Savannah River, southward to the Altamaha River(including the barrier islands), westwards. George and the British were very very optimistic considering the westward took in a lot of territory. Most of which was claimed and colonized by the French and Spanish. Mad dogs and Englishmen. But getting back to the Scots, they fought the Spanish and eventually settled the area. All from Fort King George. But that is another blog for another time.