Richmond Hill in Bryan County, Georgia — The American South (South Atlantic)

Rice Cultivation on the Ogeechee River

Rice Cultivation on the Ogeechee Marker image. Click for full size.

Photographed By David Seibert, September 26, 2012

1. Rice Cultivation on the Ogeechee Marker

Inscription. The production of rice on Bryan Neck utilized upstream fresh water and the tidal influences of the Ogeechee River. Heavy wooden trunks, or tidegates, along the levees and embankments in the rice fields allowed the inflow and outflow of fresh water in an elaborate system of irrigation and hydraulics during the summer growing season. A network of canals provided access for the tending of the fields by large forces of slave workers. The peak of this activity was in 1860 when 1.6 million pounds of rice was shipped from Bryan Neck plantations along the river. With a ready supply of labor no longer available after the Civil War, along with a series of destructive hurricanes in the 1880s, rice cultivation on the Ogeechee ended by 1900.

Erected 2012 by Coastal Bryan Heritage Trail.

Topics. This historical marker is listed in this topic list: Agriculture. A significant historical year for this entry is 1860.

Location. 31° 56.883′ N, 81° 18.067′ W. Marker is in Richmond Hill, Georgia, in Bryan County. Marker can be reached from Richmond Hill Trail, 0 miles south of City Center Parking Lot. The City Center is a meeting facility at the north end of J. F. Gregory Park, at the end of Cedar Street. An entrance to the Richmond Hill Trail (a walking trail) begins at a gate at

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the eastern edge of the City Center parking lot. The marker is approximately 150 feet east of the gate. Touch for map. Marker is in this post office area: Richmond Hill GA 31324, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker. Richmond Hill Veterans Monument (approx. 0.3 miles away); Jack Fleming Gregory, Senior (approx. 0.3 miles away); Robert E. Lee (approx. 0.3 miles away); Ways Station (approx. 0.3 miles away); J. F. Gregory (approx. 0.4 miles away); Henry Ford at Richmond Hill (approx. half a mile away); Community House (approx. half a mile away); Martha-Mary Chapel (approx. 0.6 miles away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Richmond Hill.

More about this marker. Google Earth or similar software is very useful to show the location of the marker, and to illustrate the pattern of canals in the former rice-growing area between the marker and the Ogeechee River.

Regarding Rice Cultivation on the Ogeechee River. The canals in the area where the marker stands are almost certainly from rice production on Richard Arnold's "Silk Hope" plantation.

Photographed By David Seibert, September 26, 2012

2. Rice Cultivation on the Ogeechee Marker

Photographed By David Seibert, September 26, 2012

3. Rice Cultivation on the Ogeechee Marker

The small bridge in the background carries the Richmond Hill (walking) Trail across an old canal leading to the Ogeechee River.

Photographed By David Seibert, September 26, 2012

4. Rice Cultivation on the Ogeechee Marker

Looking west from the marker toward the City Center parking lot. The black vehicle is parked at the entrance gate to the trail from the parking lot.

Credits. This page was last revised on January 28, 2021. It was originally submitted on October 3, 2012, by David Seibert of Sandy Springs, Georgia. This page has been viewed 921 times since then and 62 times this year. Photos: 1, 2, 3, 4. submitted on October 3, 2012, by David Seibert of Sandy Springs, Georgia. • Craig Swain was the editor who published this page.