The Georgia Coast, one of the South’s most popular tourist attractions, is famous for both its beauty and history. A mere 100 miles extending from Tybee Island to Cumberland Island, Georgia’s coast is not a continuous shoreline rather a mixture of rivers, estuaries, streams, marshes, and islands. In the 400,000 acres of saltwater marshes along Georgia’s coast lives a variety of wildlife such as fish, shrimp, oysters, crabs, and countless species of birds. The battle over ownership and use of this resource-rich land dates back to colonization pitting private landowners against the public good, development against preservation.
The artifacts on display in this gallery explore the many facets and interested parties involved in regulating and legislating Coastal Georgia. The objects are sorted according to the Russell Library’s six key collecting areas: politics, public good, social relations, environment, economy, and peace and war.