This is in todays Macon Telegraph at http://www.macon.com/mld/macon/12153691.htm Posted on Sun, Jul. 17, 2005 Balls Ferry backers hope work can start soon on park By Tim Sturrock Telegraph Staff Writer History will soon be recaptured on the Oconee River in Wilkinson County, where an American revolutionary once spirited people across the water and where Confederate soldiers fought Union troops. These events are among the pieces of history that will be featured when 500 acres near what was once Balls Ferry becomes Georgia's fourth historic state park. Wilkinson County Commission Chairman Dennis Holder said he hopes development to create the park will begin next year. "It is one of the best regional projects in the state of Georgia," he said. According to a feasibility study by Georgia Tech, it would cost the state $10.5 million over a five-year period to give the park a natural history center, canoe and kayak rentals, hiking trails, rest rooms, bathhouses, cottages and full-service camp sites. In May, the Balls Ferry Historical Park Association, made up of a group of residents and leaders from five midstate counties, used federal money to buy the 500 acres from a timber company. After some of the larger pine trees are cut this summer, the land will be donated to the Georgia Department of Natural Resources, Holder said. Kim Hatcher, a DNR spokeswoman, said it's uncertain when money will be available to develop the land. Holder said the Balls Ferry Historical Park Association has $500,000 that can be used to start some development. Jack Weeks, a landscape architect with the DNR, said the land along the river is full of trees and should be preserved. "There are some interesting small isolated wetlands on the site that should be preserved and serve as some interesting opportunities for environmental education," Weeks said. Weeks said that further survey could reveal archaeological finds, such as a stone fish trap that was discovered, left from a time when Indians lived in the area. "It wouldn't be surprising to find some evidence (of Indian culture) on this particular site," he said. Jimmy Lord, a member of the Balls Ferry Historical Park Association, said American revolutionary John Ball began ferrying people across the Oconee in 1806. Land near the river was the site of skirmishes between the Confederate soldiers and part of Gen. William Tecumseh Sherman's Union army. In 1864 when Sherman marched across Georgia, the right wing of his army fought Confederate soldiers there. Seventy-five years later, in 1939, Ga. 57 was built across the Oconee, and the ferry stopped being used, Lord said. Until that time, the ferry was the main way to get from Wilkinson County to Johnson County. "It just brings you back in time," Lord said of the site and the river. "The Oconee River looks like nobody touched it. You can't help but feel like you're back in those times." Holder said the idea for the park came out of a committee intending to enhance the county. According to a feasibility study by Georgia Tech, the park would create 108 temporary construction jobs and 235 new jobs to the region. The study also said construction would bring in a one-time $4.3 million to the region and $2.92 million in additional annual income. The project would add $224,000 to Wilkinson County's tax digest, the study concluded. Wilkinson County administrator Laura Mathis said the park is just one piece of the puzzle for a county dealing with a downturn in the kaolin industry. Although Wilkinson County suffered some loss to its tax digest, in the last few years it's grown to the highest it's been since 1994. "It's part of an overall package of things that are in the works," she said of the park. "I don't think anyone thinks it's going to be the saving grace of the county, but it's certainly an asset not only to county but also to the region." -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- To contact Tim Sturrock, call 744-4347 or e-mail tsturrock@macontel.com. -- No virus found in this outgoing message. Checked by AVG Anti-Virus. Version: 7.0.323 / Virus Database: 267.8.16/50 - Release Date: 7/15/2005