Notes from Low Country Georgia History, Ecology & Perspective

THE ESSAYS in this book have as their thematic basis the ways in which the people of the Georgia coastal low country have adapted to their environmental circumstances in virtually every aspect of their lives—the methods by which they planted their crops, how they built their homes and commercial buildings, how they got about from one place to another, and a myriad of other life-determining factors, almost all reliant upon the ecological conditions of where they were. This theme is woven within the context of another understanding that has applied to generations of coastal Georgians, white and black—that being an awareness of a sense of "place" and of "permanence" amid their landscapes and ecosystems. The stories here incorporate "ecology as history" from the perspectives of historical archaeology, tideflow rice cultivation, settlement and land use patterns, transportation, and the commercial fishing economy. Other essays relate the movement to conserve the coast, which actually had its genesis in the aftermath of the Civil War, and a review of coastal ecosystems from a scientific perspective—salt marsh, tidal waterways and uplands.

BUDDY SULLIVAN has researched and written about the history, culture and ecology of coastal Georgia for 35 years. He is the author of 28 books and monographs and is in frequent demand as a lecturer on a variety of historical topics. He is a recipient of the Governor's Medal in the Humanities from the Georgia Humanities Council in recognition of his literary contributions to the state. Sullivan's books include "Sapelo: People and Place on a Georgia Sea Island," "Early Days on the Georgia Tidewater," "From Beautiful Zion to Red Bird Creek," and "Georgia: A State History." He was the manager of the Sapelo Island National Estuarine Research Reserve from 1993 to 2013, and is now an independent writer and historical consultant living in coastal Georgia.