Over the years, many mysterious wonders of nature stories about freaks of nature, inexplicable phenomena or fantastic elements of nature. have captivated and fascinated newspaper readers across the state and the nation. Here are a few more of these stories which happened right here in Georgia, many, many years ago.
THE SPIRIT OF THE DEAD LIVES - Mr. H.A. Wrench, a credible Brunswick newspaper man, was walking through Greenwood Cemetery in the coastal city, when he noticed a strange and interesting phenomenon. African-Americans of the city often decorated the graves of their deceased loved ones with glassware and pottery. Wrench observed that the oldest pieces of glassware, perhaps through exposure to the sun and the soil, had turned to "a beautiful wine color." Local experts believed that the combination of the soil and the decaying bodies contributed to the color change to the once clear vessels as if they were filled with oxygen exposed blood of a living still soul. Kalamazoo Gazette, February 12, 1898.
HERE COMES THE RAIN AGAIN - M.P. Hoyle, of Dawson, Georgia, lived just beyond the city limits. Anytime Hoyle needed a shower, all he had to do was to walk out into his yard. It all began in September of 1886. In a 25' by 25' section of his yard, Hoyle and hoards of mystified and stymied observers noticed a constant rainfall. The frequency of the rain varied from mist to regular rain. Plain Dealer, October 7, 1886.
That same phenomenon occurred in Dublin in 1920. Whether it was cloudy or fair, there was a spot on the sidewalk of Columbia Street between Franklin and Washington Streets in Dublin where it was always raining. Residents reported a light shower every day which began around 11:00 a.m. and ended in the mid-afternoon. The phenomenon had been occurring for more than two years. Mansfield News, Mansfield, OH, October 17, 1920.
WAY UP ON THE SUWANEE RIVER - It was in the spring of 1842 when folks in Lowndes County, Georgia and parts of northern Florida noticed that the Suwanee River rose three feet higher in a matter of five minutes. Those present also noticed the rumbling ground typical of a light earthquake. Southern Patriot, June 4, 1842.
THE SKY IS FALLING - It was calm morning on in Pitts, Georgia. Then, all of a sudden and without any warning, a fireball came streaking out of the northeastern sky headed toward the Wilcox County town. As it approached, the meteor, which was seen as far away as Macon, exploded into smithereens. The reports of a dozen distinct explosions on April 21, 1921 was heard in surrounding towns up to 15 miles away.
Residents reported machine gun like explosions followed by crackling noises of metal burning for several minutes. Black, smoky streaks filled an otherwise crystal blue sky. Several chunks of iron were embedded as much as three feet into the soil. The red hot meteorites, weighing as much as six pounds, were scattered primarily over a concentrated region.
One farmer, who was nearly hit by one of the interplanetary missiles, remarked, "It was red hot as it entered the earth, and it was too hot to handle after it had been excavated from its hole, which required a period of ten minutes."
Souvenir hunters and curiosity seekers combed the area for weeks to pick up as many of the meteorites as they could find. Some samples were sent to Atlanta for analysis. The largest space rock is in the collection of the Smithsonian Institution. Macon Telegraph, May 21, 1921.
FIREFLY FIREWORKS - On an early summer evening in the mountains around Ringgold, Georgia, several million fireflies descended from the sky toward the Chickamauga River. Ringgold residents in the valley observed the trunks of trees filled with the illuminating insects. Many reported that the entire mountain was lit by a "horde of fireflies fully forty feet high." The lightning bugs took nearly a quarter of an hour to pass down the river's course before they flew out of sight. Biloxi Herald, June 27, 1891.
A TRAIN WRECK AWAITS - People living near the tracks of the Savannah, Florida & Western Railroad, noticed an unusual phenomenon. The people there were used to seeing lime sinks where the ground appears to be swallowed up, but on this occasion, it was observed than on one sixty -foot section of the railroad the tracks were elevated by a mysterious force to a level of one foot or more during a single night. Huntsville Gazette, May 19, 1888.
A REAL MULBERRY CANDLE - Many people love the sweet, fruity scent of a mulberry candle. One mulberry bush in Griffin, Georgia was eager to become a candle. It couldn't seem to light itself, but it did seem to emit smoke from all parts of it, a smoke which was described a thin, light smoke similar to cigar smoke. Jackson Citizen Patriot, April 8, 1882.
SURRENCY'S SPECTACLE - Some nine miles below the sandy soil of Surrency, Georgia lies a mysterious object unseen anywhere in the world. With the use of powerful sound waves, scientists from Cornell University were scanning the 26-mile-thick crust of the Earth when they discovered a rare object. Their instruments indicated that below the surface was a two-mile wide, contact lens shaped pool of unknown liquids, possibly carbon dioxide gas or liquid helium at an estimated temperature of 500 degrees. Initial findings indicated that the pocket in the crust was created some 200 to 500 million years ago when North America and Northern Africa collided. As the two continents parted, a small portion of Africa remained attached to North America running roughly from Brunswick to Americus to Alabama and below. Augusta Chronicle, May 24, 1987.
APPLERITION - Uncle Sam Allen, an ancient farmer living near Blythe, Georgia near what is now Fort Gordon, had seen a lot during his long life. But Sam or no one else around had ever seen an apple tree which flowered in the autumn and bore fruit in January. Allen's tree bore small apples about the size of a large strawberry. The staff of the Augusta Chronicle believed they might be seeing an apparition until they tasted the fruit and confirmed for themselves that the fruits were indeed apples. Augusta Chronicle, January 25, 1901.
THE SPIRIT OF THE DEAD LIVES - Mr. H.A. Wrench, a credible Brunswick newspaper man, was walking through Greenwood Cemetery in the coastal city, when he noticed a strange and interesting phenomenon. African-Americans of the city often decorated the graves of their deceased loved ones with glassware and pottery. Wrench observed that the oldest pieces of glassware, perhaps through exposure to the sun and the soil, had turned to "a beautiful wine color." Local experts believed that the combination of the soil and the decaying bodies contributed to the color change to the once clear vessels as if they were filled with oxygen exposed blood of a living still soul. Kalamazoo Gazette, February 12, 1898.
HERE COMES THE RAIN AGAIN - M.P. Hoyle, of Dawson, Georgia, lived just beyond the city limits. Anytime Hoyle needed a shower, all he had to do was to walk out into his yard. It all began in September of 1886. In a 25' by 25' section of his yard, Hoyle and hoards of mystified and stymied observers noticed a constant rainfall. The frequency of the rain varied from mist to regular rain. Plain Dealer, October 7, 1886.
That same phenomenon occurred in Dublin in 1920. Whether it was cloudy or fair, there was a spot on the sidewalk of Columbia Street between Franklin and Washington Streets in Dublin where it was always raining. Residents reported a light shower every day which began around 11:00 a.m. and ended in the mid-afternoon. The phenomenon had been occurring for more than two years. Mansfield News, Mansfield, OH, October 17, 1920.
WAY UP ON THE SUWANEE RIVER - It was in the spring of 1842 when folks in Lowndes County, Georgia and parts of northern Florida noticed that the Suwanee River rose three feet higher in a matter of five minutes. Those present also noticed the rumbling ground typical of a light earthquake. Southern Patriot, June 4, 1842.
THE SKY IS FALLING - It was calm morning on in Pitts, Georgia. Then, all of a sudden and without any warning, a fireball came streaking out of the northeastern sky headed toward the Wilcox County town. As it approached, the meteor, which was seen as far away as Macon, exploded into smithereens. The reports of a dozen distinct explosions on April 21, 1921 was heard in surrounding towns up to 15 miles away.
Residents reported machine gun like explosions followed by crackling noises of metal burning for several minutes. Black, smoky streaks filled an otherwise crystal blue sky. Several chunks of iron were embedded as much as three feet into the soil. The red hot meteorites, weighing as much as six pounds, were scattered primarily over a concentrated region.
One farmer, who was nearly hit by one of the interplanetary missiles, remarked, "It was red hot as it entered the earth, and it was too hot to handle after it had been excavated from its hole, which required a period of ten minutes."
Souvenir hunters and curiosity seekers combed the area for weeks to pick up as many of the meteorites as they could find. Some samples were sent to Atlanta for analysis. The largest space rock is in the collection of the Smithsonian Institution. Macon Telegraph, May 21, 1921.
FIREFLY FIREWORKS - On an early summer evening in the mountains around Ringgold, Georgia, several million fireflies descended from the sky toward the Chickamauga River. Ringgold residents in the valley observed the trunks of trees filled with the illuminating insects. Many reported that the entire mountain was lit by a "horde of fireflies fully forty feet high." The lightning bugs took nearly a quarter of an hour to pass down the river's course before they flew out of sight. Biloxi Herald, June 27, 1891.
A TRAIN WRECK AWAITS - People living near the tracks of the Savannah, Florida & Western Railroad, noticed an unusual phenomenon. The people there were used to seeing lime sinks where the ground appears to be swallowed up, but on this occasion, it was observed than on one sixty -foot section of the railroad the tracks were elevated by a mysterious force to a level of one foot or more during a single night. Huntsville Gazette, May 19, 1888.
A REAL MULBERRY CANDLE - Many people love the sweet, fruity scent of a mulberry candle. One mulberry bush in Griffin, Georgia was eager to become a candle. It couldn't seem to light itself, but it did seem to emit smoke from all parts of it, a smoke which was described a thin, light smoke similar to cigar smoke. Jackson Citizen Patriot, April 8, 1882.
SURRENCY'S SPECTACLE - Some nine miles below the sandy soil of Surrency, Georgia lies a mysterious object unseen anywhere in the world. With the use of powerful sound waves, scientists from Cornell University were scanning the 26-mile-thick crust of the Earth when they discovered a rare object. Their instruments indicated that below the surface was a two-mile wide, contact lens shaped pool of unknown liquids, possibly carbon dioxide gas or liquid helium at an estimated temperature of 500 degrees. Initial findings indicated that the pocket in the crust was created some 200 to 500 million years ago when North America and Northern Africa collided. As the two continents parted, a small portion of Africa remained attached to North America running roughly from Brunswick to Americus to Alabama and below. Augusta Chronicle, May 24, 1987.
APPLERITION - Uncle Sam Allen, an ancient farmer living near Blythe, Georgia near what is now Fort Gordon, had seen a lot during his long life. But Sam or no one else around had ever seen an apple tree which flowered in the autumn and bore fruit in January. Allen's tree bore small apples about the size of a large strawberry. The staff of the Augusta Chronicle believed they might be seeing an apparition until they tasted the fruit and confirmed for themselves that the fruits were indeed apples. Augusta Chronicle, January 25, 1901.
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