The Center of the World - Hartwell GA

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This episode is a little more somber than previous ones; however, it is a great story, nonetheless. It takes us to a place that was once considered the Center of the World by the Cherokee Tribe who once called this area in the Piedmont region of Georgia home. This was the central hub where trails, trading posts and camps once radiated out and where flocks of Passenger Pigeons once roosted. The land changed drastically after gold was discovered in Georgia in 1829, and the Cherokee were forced from the land. Overhunting eventually led to the extinction of the Passenger Pigeon as modem civilization took hold. Today, this sign and a stone monument are what are left of the Cherokee’s Center of the World.

EPISODE TRANSCRIPT

Today, I am in a very special place. Welcome to the Center of the World!

Standing here along Highway 29 in North Georgia, it’s hard to believe that at one time, this was a bustling area and was called the Center of the World by Native Americans.

This occurred hundreds of years ago and in this area there were numerous trails, trading posts and camps. There was plenty of game to hunt. Buffalo even roamed here during that point in history.
And it was the Cherokee Tribe that inhabited this land. They called this location "Ah-Yeh-Li A-Lo-Hee.”

This area was also known for the massive flocks of Passenger Pigeons who would darken the sky with their numbers and nest in the many deciduous forests here, many times breaking the limbs with their sheer numbers.

With the discovery of gold in Georgia in 1829 things began to change dramatically. President Andrew Jackson, a man who had no love for the Native American people, had thousands of men, women and children removed at bayonet point to Oklahoma. Known as the trail of tears, the Cherokee people were forced to march for 1,000 miles, with many dying along the way.

After the Cherokees were gone, the new settlers began changing the land. Farmland replaced forests and overhunting of the Passenger Pigeon eventually resulted in extinction. The last bird, Martha, died in the Cincinnati Zoo in 1914.

Sadly, the Center of the World is no more. Best we remember so as not to repeat history.

LOCATION

US 29/Hartwell St. At Marsh Lane Hartwell GA 30643

Latitude: 34.286890
Longitude: -83.109200