Episode Guest
Jason Carter – Park Manager
Fort McAllister State Historic Park
Park Stats
- Where park is located – Richmond Hill, GA
- Park created – Henry Ford bought the property in 1930 and began the restoration, and then International Paper Company purchased the land and gave it to the state of Georgia in 1958
- Size of the park – 1725 acres
- Interesting Facts
- 1 of 3 forts that protected Savannah during the Civil War
- Attacked 9 times by Union Forces. 8 times by the Union Navy, Once by the Army.
- Fell in 1864 in General Sherman’s “March to the Sea”
Speed Round
What is your earliest park memory?
The earliest park memory that I have is from Cooper Creek in Columbus, Georgia. I remember sitting beside my mother and father and my mother caught a giant cat fish. Giant to me when I was little. And the funny thing is my mom says, there’s no way I could remember that ’cause I had to be less than two, but I can remember it.
What made you love the parks?
I’ve always been an outdoors person, especially wildlife photography. So when I moved down to South Georgia I took a liking to especially Laura Walker State Park was close to the Okefenokee Swamp Park. So I spent a lot of time out there. The more time I spent out there, I decided I needed to work there. That’s actually where I got my start was at Laurel Walker State Park.
What is your favorite thing about Fort McAllister State Historic Park?
My favorite thing is just the diversity. I know everybody says that their park has a little bit of everything, but I think mine has a little bit more of everything. We have both the historic side aspect of it plus the natural history. Recreation, overnight, amenities side of it. Pretty much anything you want to get into from seeing, small arms and artillery, military demonstrations to to pier fishing, staying overnight in a rustic type environment. If you want to do backcountry or pioneer the way up to upscale glamping, if you want to call it, staying in a modern condo style cottage, we can accommodate all of that. We have, just a ton of big events here every year. So we’ve got a lot more going for us than a lot of other facilities. Not saying that those are all, those aren’t great ’cause every one of the state parks is fantastic. if you want a place where you can literally do just about everything that Georgia State Parks offers, both from the historical aspect, recreational aspect, it’s hard to beat Fort McAllister.
What is your favorite thing to do at Fort McAllister State Historic Park?
If we’re talking about work related, it’s firing cannons. If we’re talking about on my own time, it’s photography, bird photography, landscape photography.
What park have you yet to visit but is on your bucket list and why?
I actually have visited Cloudland Canyon, but it was on a work trip and I didn’t really get to get out and do anything. So right now that one’s on the top of my list to get back to, where I can actually take some time and spend several days doing some photography.
What are three must-haves you pack for a park visit?
- Water
- Camera gear
- First aid kit
What is your favorite campfire activity?
Spooky stories
Tent, camper, or cabin?
I think my tent camping days might be behind me. I’m usually probably gonna stay in a camper or a cabin. Not to say that I wouldn’t stay in a tent. I have done it before recently, but just being honest, not really my cup of tea anymore.
Hiking with or without trekking poles?
I usually don’t carry a pole. I may carry a walking stick, but I usually have a camera in my hand.
And what is your favorite trail snack?
Peanuts
What is the favorite animal sighting that you’ve had?
I’ve got a tie. My two favorite animals by far, only here, but in Georgia, a painted bunting. Every time I see one of those, it doesn’t matter if I’ve seen it a hundred times, it’s still magical. It doesn’t seem real. It’s hard for my brain to comprehend that it’s a real creature, especially when you see one in good light. It’s just magic.
And eastern Diamondback rattlesnakes probably my animal altogether ’cause it’s the ultimate snake.
What is your favorite sound in the parks?
Pileated woodpecker
What is the greatest gift the parks give to us?
I think they just give us the opportunity to, not only make memories with our friends and family currently, but it brings back memories of years past when you were able to go out with your friends and family when you were younger enjoy the same things. I try to teach all of my staff that guests are paying us money to come here and recreate. They’re trying to have great memories. Our job, we are in the memory making business. So let’s do everything that we can to ensure that. We’re fostering that type of environment.
I think that’s the greatest thing that parks can give, is give everybody an opportunity to get out, get away from, the stress of everyday life. Make some great memories with your friends and family, but also give you a chance to recollect about all the things that got you interested in parks when you were little.
Show Notes & Links
Episode Transcript
- Missy Rentz: Let’s head to a park that was an unbreakable fort during the Civil War repelling seven Union naval attacks before finally falling during General Sherman’s March to the Sea. Join me as we explore Fort McAllister State Historic Park. I’m your host, Missy Renz, and this is the Parks podcast. Today’s episode we’re joined by Jason Carter, who is the park manager at Fort McAllister State Historic Park in Georgia. Jason, welcome to the Parks podcast.Jason Carter: Thank you and thank you for having me. Looking forward to it.Missy Rentz: Let’s get into some park stats. The park is located in Richmond Hill, Georgia. It was created when Henry Ford bought the property in 1930 and he began the restoration and then International Paper Company purchased the land. They ultimately gave it to the state of Georgia in 1958. The park size is 1,725 acres and some interesting facts. It is one of three forts that protected Savannah during the Civil War. It was attacked nine times by Union forces, eight times by the Union Navy, and once by the Army. It fell in 1864. In General, Sherman’s March to the sea. I had such an amazing April visit at this park, Jason.Jason Carter: April’s a, it’s a pretty good time to visit’cause the temperature’s really nice. The bugs can be a little rambunctious there in April.Missy Rentz: I met a lot of black flies and mosquitoes
Jason Carter: yes. There’s a few here and there at that time of year. Okay.
Missy Rentz: So Fort McAllister is really divided into two parts. The first is the historical site, and then the other I would call it like the natural site. What’s the difference and what’s the relationship between these two pieces?
Jason Carter: Yes. We are one of only a handful of sites in Georgia, what we call dual purpose sites, both a historic site and a state park on the same grounds. the historic site. Side of things operates like a regular Georgia historic site. Our hours are eight to five Monday through Friday on that side of things. And the historic site encompasses the museum the fort. And we also have a short movie in our AV room, our movie theater, where you can get an overview of the historic side itself. So that’s what’s entailed in historic side of mission. Then on the state park side, just your, I won’t say standard, but your more common state park operation where I have a large campground with 65 campsites. I have seven cottages. Back country sites pioneer camping two different nature trails and standard hours on the park. Operations side of things are 7:00 AM till 10:00 PM and the office is open eight to five Monday through Friday.
Missy Rentz: So I find military parks to be really fascinating. I think in this journey the past few years for me, I went into it. Thinking and knowing. I love the natural part, but it’s amazing how much the history is really resonating with me, and it feels really good. And during visits to military parks you almost can allow yourself to sink into the history as the story unfolds. And Fort McAllister, you guys have, do such an incredible job of telling that story and showcasing. The fort is. I didn’t, I couldn’t even imagine what a fort looked like until I came there and actually got to go underground and see the infirmary and whatnot. What role did Fort McAllister play in the Civil War?
Jason Carter: At the beginning of the Civil War Mr. McAllister Joseph McAllister, knew that the area known as Genesis Point Property that he owned interestingly enough, is the highest area in this part of the county for about five miles in any direction. So he knew that it would be strategically important. To the Confederacy because the o Geechee River, which is immediately to is immediately adjacent to the park here to our north, is basically a back door into Savannah. It’s a deep water channel. It goes all the way up to the back to the southern side of Savannah. What Mr. McAllister called the back door of Savannah knew it would be strategically important, not only for the Confederacy, but in the event that the union wanted to attack via the waterways. It would allow them to advance basically right up to Savannah. Unopposed. he gave the land of Con Confederacy and they started constructing at the time what was just a simple naval battery three to four coastal defense naval guns. They stretched a chain across the river. To blockade the river that would require any vessel going up and down the river to come to the basically within point blank range of those naval guns. So they could control the river at that point. And as the war waged on they added more guns. And then of course when the Union Navy actually did attack, then they really started making some, so to speak. But yeah, the main purpose of the property to start off with was to guard the back door of Savannah via the O Geechee River.
Missy Rentz: And when? When you’re there, I guess I. Maybe this is’cause of the different places I’ve been, but I expected a fort to be some concrete or brick structure that was up high. But a lot of this is all through, like mounds on the ground.
Jason Carter: Correct. It’s a subterranean earth and fort one of the best examples of a Confederate earth and fort in the country. even though it’s, it may not be as big and as pretty as a, a masonry fort like Jackson or Pulaski or, even a wooden fort, like 14 George, what they found out through the naval bombardments and engaging the Union Navy is that Irv and fort is actually really resilient to artillery fire, much more so than those other two types of forts.
Missy Rentz: And it’s really like unassuming when you’re there, you’re it’s, and then you get into it and it’s massive. The amount of trenching and digging to create the structure. The other thing that was interesting to me, so you have the fort and then the field beside it was where camps were set up for soldiers and stuff was wartime so polite that they would not shoot towards the camps where people were living and sleeping.
Jason Carter: No. During the naval engagements, they pretty well. Tried to drop ordinance anywhere and everywhere on that site. the way it was laid out during the conflict, during actual engagements is, I’m sure you saw the four wooden huts there on the greenway.
Missy Rentz: Yeah.
Jason Carter: originally 16 of those, and that’s where your non-commissioned officer stayed. all of your Fort Garrison would actually have stayed in tents in rows on that field there.
Missy Rentz: Okay.
Jason Carter: when they actually got attacked. they would move into the fort man, their positions, man, their guns. But most of’em stayed out there in the open, in the wooden huts or in the tents. And, when the Union Navy engaged, no, nothing was off limits. They were trying to hit whoever, wherever, however they could.
Missy Rentz: And I would assume at that day and age, like shots weren’t all that reliable. Targets weren’t all that reliable, so you’d have to, protect yourself wherever you were.
Jason Carter: That’s correct, especially on the Confederate side. The Confederates for much of the war didn’t have really good rifled artillery. Like the union had the North had. So even more so on the Confederate side, the. The guns that were in the fort, the cannons that were in the fort, they were fairly inaccurate compared to some of the technology that the union had
Missy Rentz: And so tell me why is it so important that this park is part of the Georgia State Park system?
Jason Carter: because it’s basically tells the story not only of civil war, there’s a lot of civil war history in Georgia, especially when you get back up towards Atlanta and that area. But people don’t realize that there was a great deal of activity here along the coast as well, especially here at Fort McAllister. Yes. Our claim to fame is we are the site of the final battle of William and t Sherman’s Marks to the sea. Everybody knows about Sherman, they know about general hazing. They know about the March to the sea, I’ve always been more fascinated by the scale of the naval bombardments and the naval engagements here. Because in 1863, Passaic class ironclad was the latest, greatest weapon of mass destruction in the world. It was the most advanced piece of military equipment in the world, and the fact that four of them were sent. To engage the fort in 1863 is pretty amazing. Maybe the best example of a large scale, close range artillery battle that happened during the Civil War because you had of the fort’s, big guns, 4 32 pounder, inch Columbia had a 10 inch, Columbia had 42 pound rifle. Going at once. And then you had all of these big guns on these ironclads, which was the 11 inch and the 16 inch cannons. 16 inch gun is the biggest gun fired during the Civil War. And all of these are going at the same time at what is basically point blank range for heavy artillery. So it’s a really interesting, thing to get into is the naval engagements of 1863, to see how they manu maneuvered, how they engaged each other, the fact that they were not able to really do any damage to the other side. It was pretty much a stalemate because the earth and fort was, pretty well oblivious or, impenetrable to artillery fire. Yes, it could blow big holes in the dirt, but they could just fill’em right back in.
Missy Rentz: And so how much, like when you did when they, it did become a park, how much reconstruction needed to be had versus how much is still true to that era?
Jason Carter: Okay. That’s a really good question. Union did a really good job of destroying the fort before they left. They not only, of course, trashed all the artillery pieces and threw cannonballs out in the river, they didn’t need’em anyway.’cause again, a lot of their equipment was more advanced. So it was obsolete stuff. The confederates had. So they just threw that stuff out there in the river, both the artillery pieces and the the shells, the rounds. But they also destroyed much of the fort as far as the mounds, the underground bunkers. They tore it up the best they could to prevent it from ever being used again. And when Henry Ford got the property in the thirties, he had the original footprint, but that was pretty much it. He had to reconstruct or start reconstruction on everything else. So the footprint of the fort is original, but far as the earthwork and the mounds those are all pretty much reproduction. And if you look at photographs. From the Civil War versus what we have down there today, you can see that there are some pretty obvious differences in different places as far as how the mounds look, the shapes of the mounds, the parapets the gun in placements, that kind of thing. So again, the footprint is original, but everything else is pretty well a construc.
Missy Rentz: That’s fascinating. I,’cause I feel like it, God, it looks so, it’s so good. It’s i’ve been to a lot of forts and this is to be able to go in we’ll get into it. We’ll get into it in the planning of the visits okay. After the fort fell, one of the stories I love about this park is after the fort fell, the union hosted a post battle dinner and they invited, was it the major general from the confederate to the dinner?
Jason Carter: Yes, the actually the two top commanding officers from the Confederacy, and I believe it was the main four in charge on the union side, all attended the dinner.
Missy Rentz: And came and celebrated. Or not celebrated, but like they, they were together. They had this evening together. Can you tell me a little bit about that dinner and more importantly, what happened after the dinner?
Jason Carter: Sure. When general Sherman watched the, in the fort, the reduction of the fort from across the river at Chavis Rice Mill, after he received word that the fort had been taken he, moved with his staff to the fort and they met with general Hazen, who was the commanding officer that took the fort and the commander of the fort, which was Anderson. And one of his subordinates. And they all had a dinner there. Well close to the fort here in a house here. And the funny thing, the or interesting thing about that is, Sherman was really mad that the fort had used landmines. They called’em torpedoes back then, we’re not a hundred percent sure, but we’re pretty sure this is the first documented case of landmines causing casualty in a battle. They had been used in battles before that, but they hadn’t caused casualties. They actually, some union soldiers were actually killed by them here, and a lot of’em were injured. of course that was new technology back then, and Sherman felt like it was a violation of the. Gentlemanly rules of war, if you will. So he was very upset him and major Anderson had it out at the dinner of, over the use of the landmines. And resulted is Sherman made haze and fall in with the enlisted men the next day with his own men and get down on the ground and dig all those mines up.
Missy Rentz: I just love it. I love it. And I just imagine’cause it, it feels like one of those stories I had read was, it was. Contentious, but there was also a bit of like sharing strategy during this dinner and then the next day they were back to enemies again and it just, I don’t know, it just, I thought it was really funny. A funny part of war is the relationships and how you go from enemy to, let’s talk it out then enemy again.
Jason Carter: Still a lot of if you will, between opposing commanders back then, but not only in, after war activities like the dinner and stuff like that, but even on the battlefield, they were still using, Napoleonic war tactics and there was certain ways you were supposed to fight a battle and shoot at each other. And, yeah, there, there was still a lot of chivalry involved up to that point. Maybe the last major conflict that involved that type of behavior.
Missy Rentz: I love that. That’s the historic part but I don’t want. To overshadow the beautiful, natural part of this park and the conservation efforts and the natural resources that you guys are working with. And I just wanna paint a picture of the park, the drive in. To this park, you’re driving down this two lane road and it’s like an, you’re passing sailboats and cute little seafood shacks and everything, and then you get to the park and it’s this grand drive with these beautiful trees and Spanish moss and it’s like a movie when you’re driving into your park. Jason, it’s beautiful.
Jason Carter: Yes, indeed. Yep. It’s a really interesting site in that we have so many different, habitat biomes in one location. going from not only a tidal river on one side, but a true. Eson environment with Redbird Creek on the other. Then you’ve got the marsh, you’ve got the upland scrub, pine forest, maritime forest, and then we have the old grove pine forest as well with a pretty good spattering of live oaks mixed in here and there. And of course, the Spanish moss everywhere. So it’s a pretty fascinating area with the, like I say, all of the different types of ecosystems and biomes involved here.
Missy Rentz: So Jason, you’ve mentioned a little bit about the plant species, but what are some of the animal species that people can find when they visit Fort McAllister?
Jason Carter: Where do I start? Probably the most common animal species that people see on a daily, sometimes a hourly basis, are the white-tailed deer and the raccoons. I have. A large population of both of those that kind of roam the park day or night. So it’s usually no problem to see those every few minutes sometimes. In fact, I’ve got three really nice white-tailed buck that live on the campground, live in the campground right now on the island, and people are seeing them daily. Of course the raccoons, you can always see those. But we have just about anything you can think of far as coastal wildlife species. We are. On the Colonial coast birding trail. of the main stops on that trail. So we got a lot of birding activity. That’s kinda one of my things that I’m into is wild bird photography, all types of wildlife photography, but bird photography especially. So we’re a popular location on the birding trail. most common or the species that people most like to come here to see. Obviously the painted bunting, it’s probably the crown jewel of Georgia Birds. but. Raptors bald eagles osprey. We see ospreys daily. We pretty much see bald eagles daily as well. But any of your wading birds, your herons tricolored heron, great blue heron, little blue heron egrets, you could spot all that pretty much easily every day. if you get into the upland forest part of the park your woodpeckers and your smaller your buntings, your sparrows, your warblers, you can spot all those pretty easy. It’s pretty easy to get 35 or 40 species of bird here within an hour if you. If that’s your thing. but to get away from the birds a really neat animal that we have here that a lot of people don’t realize they, that we have in Georgia until they see it here. About once a month I’ll see mink on the causeway and people are pretty fascinated that we actually have those. So that’s pretty cool. winter months, cooler months. We see a lot of otters. They disappeared during the warmer months, but winter months, you can see those usually once or twice a month, I’ll see those reptiles and amphibians. Gosh, the, it’s endless. We got probably 30 species of snake that can be found on the park. all of the venomous snakes that we have in Georgia do occur on the park. Several species of salamanders, toads. A couple of species of legless lizard, can be found here and obviously we got plenty of bugs, insects, and spiders.
Missy Rentz: Yeah, it’s it’s such a beautiful park. Let’s talk a little bit about planning a trip. How do you recommend someone begin? To plan a trip to Fort McAllister.
Jason Carter: First of all, say there’s never a bad time to come here. It just depends on what you want to get outta your trip, what you want to do. If you want to avoid hot weather, obviously, don’t come during the try not to come during the warmer months. We do try to get the word out that we have a pretty healthy population of deer flies seasonally. Usually April through mid-June. Luckily they only stay around for a couple of months. But we try to tell people that if you’re gonna be heavy into outside activities not to say that you can’t come, but just come prepared.
Missy Rentz: Yes.
Jason Carter: some insect repellent, bring some long pants, long sleeves that type of thing because just being honest, they do get a little rambunctious, especially back there in the fort
Missy Rentz: Yeah.
Jason Carter: late April through early June.
Missy Rentz: I was not prepared Jason, and I wish I had a camera on me on the hiking trail along the water from the, in the campground. I was running, flailing my arms, trying to get away from these. And it was comical, but I also knew that was my fault. I did not prepare. And you can still enjoy the space during this season. You just have to be prepared.
Jason Carter: That’s correct. If you’re worried about bugs I’d. Not saying don’t come, just be prepared like we were just saying. But the warmer months to come down here. If you’re looking for, again, for certain bird species painted buntings that’s the best time to come is during the warmer months. They’re not here in numbers during the winter. They’re sporadic during the winter, but if you wanna, pretty well guaranteed chance to spot one the warmer months or the time to be here. If you want to come during the cooler months we have a lot of our big events and activities during the warmer months. The cooler months, I’d say fall. we, that’s when we do our candle lantern tour. Winter must two of our biggest events, our car show in February, so we’ve got plenty to do during the cooler months as well. But if you’re into wildlife there’s plenty of wildlife around during the cooler months as well. It’s just different stuff. We have different bird species. during the wintertime, if you want to come spot, things like Northern har Harriers or Paragon Falcons, stuff like that, you need to come during the wintertime’cause they’re not here during the warming
Missy Rentz: Yeah,
Jason Carter: So Really depends on what you want to get outta your trip. If you wanna plan your trip around, certain big events, you might wanna look to see what Savannah’s got going on. It’s another neat thing we got here is really close to Savannah, but where I’m situated, you would not know that because you can come stay here and you can’t hear a highway, you can’t hear trucks, you can’t hear other people pretty much. we’re only 15, 20 minutes from the Savannah City limit. So what I like to say is, we’re in Savannah’s backyard, but we’re a world away from Savannah.
Missy Rentz: Yeah.
Jason Carter: you want to come experience Savannah, but you don’t want to experience the negative parts of Savannah, IE, the traffic and the crowds, you can come stay here and feel like you’re a hundred miles away, but within 30 minutes you can be in Savannah.
Missy Rentz: Yeah,
Jason Carter: that’s always
Missy Rentz: definitely.
Jason Carter: for people that want to come here and visit Savannah as well.
Missy Rentz: And I’ll link to all of those special dates on the Parks podcast website so that people can have one quick place to go or they can visit the Fort McAllister website. And this park, I think this is a park where you could have a, you could come visit for a day and have a really enjoyable time. Learn a lot. See a lot. Or you could come for an extended stay. What are some of the lodging options that are within the park?
Jason Carter: Obviously I have a. Campground just over 60 sites. I have some full hookup sites. All of the sites have water and electric. Sites one through 18 are full hook hookup, 50 amp service sewer, the whole nine yards. The rest of the sites do not have sewer, but we do have a dump station if you want to those sites. I have seven premier cottages. They’re all two bedroom. They have four queen beds. Each unit has four queen beds. We don’t even like calling’em cottages anymore. They’re, because they’re more like staying in a condo. Really nice. They’re fully equipped. They have everything you need. You don’t, all you have to bring is your clothes and your food. Everything else is provided. Full linens, full, kitchen utensils, everything. Everything’s there ready to go for you. if you’d more rustic accommodations. I have pioneer camping and I also have back country camping that you have to hike in, hike out if if roughing, it’s your thing. And then Some day use facilities as well. Some picnic shelters, group shelter, things like that.
Missy Rentz: and if anybody wants to reserve that, they just do that through your website.
Jason Carter: Yes, they can call either the one 800 number to make reservations they can go through Georgia state parks.org and do it online.
Missy Rentz: And we’ll link to all of those within the episode notes. On the parks podcast.com for people. Okay, so we’ve got that taken care of. Then. Let’s talk about what people can do while they’re visiting and maybe we break this down first into the park and then we’ll talk about the historic site. So from a park standpoint, what can they do when they visit?
Jason Carter: We have obviously nature trails. I’ve got a mag, the Magnolia Trail in the campground, which is adjacent to the campsites down there. Easy access to our campers. And then if you’re looking for a little bit more arduous hike, I have the three and a half mile Redbird Creek trail up in the day use area. I have two fishing piers. I have a on the O Geechee River, which is accessible to everyone from 7:00 AM till 10:00 PM and then if you’re an overnight guest, I have a private pier on the island that people can fish off if they’re an overnight guest. I have two boat ramps if you’re into boating or fishing. I have a public boat ramp that’s open 24 7. I have a private boat ramp in the campground that’s available only to overnight guests. We do have both wet and dry storage areas for boat. If you want to tie your boat up to the dock in the campground and leave it, you can do that. Or if you wanna leave it parked in the parking lot on the trailer, you can do that. Those amenities are also only available to overnight guests. So that kind of covers the boating and fishing and our nature trails. If you want to obviously do any photography or birding nature watching, we have areas that you can do that. a na nature observation area in the campground that overlooks a clearing, good place to spot not only the deer and the raccoons, which are pretty much in there every morning and every evening. songbirds and raptors and other things like that can be spotted there.
Missy Rentz: And it’s clear where the good birding areas are because you have benches, like in the most kind of obscure spots. Like on a trail you’ll have a bench that’s,
Jason Carter: yes.
Missy Rentz: the Magnolia Trail. I did sunrise or sunrise hike on the Magnolia Trail. And oh my gosh, the like orange sky. It was so beautiful. But then also on the. On the way to like the campground island. There are spots, there are places where you can just sit and I dunno where they, there, there are benches, but I think there’s even like dock areas set up for people that wanna watch birding. And watch what’s going on in the water.
Jason Carter: the call, we call it the causeway. Those benches on the causeway are strategically placed. If you wanna sit there and watch the bat boxes,
Missy Rentz: Ah,
Jason Carter: bats come in and out in the evenings.
Missy Rentz: oh, I didn’t.
Jason Carter: bat houses on the causeway, and we have a place where you can sit down and watch those.
Missy Rentz: And then when in the entrance of the park, before you get behind the gate, there’s a big park area off to the side that’s on the water and has a lot of picnic shelters and things like that. So it’s lots of opportunities. Then if,
Jason Carter: our day use area, and that’s where the, I have two picnic shelters. The fishing beer playground there,
Missy Rentz: Hey, tell me about that tree that’s in there.
Jason Carter: the one that’s laying down.
Missy Rentz: Yes. Oh my gosh.
Jason Carter: Yes,
Missy Rentz: I.
Jason Carter: we call that the witness tree. Because we were pretty sure up till a few years ago that was the only tree remaining from the Civil War because the Confederates had cut down every tree within about a half mile of every direction, not only to give them a open line of sight to the enemy, but to also use, to create barriers to make it hard to get to the fort. We were looking at some of the old pictures and we’re pretty sure we could find that tree was still standing. I brought some people out here from the Forestry Commission to have it tested, they told me they couldn’t give me an exact date, but that it was at least 210 years old.
Missy Rentz: Wow.
Jason Carter: So that definitely means it was standing during the Civil War and actually we’re talking about all the way back to 18, the war of 1812, which is pretty fascinating. So it actually unfortunately got blown over by Hurricane Matthew
Missy Rentz: Okay,
Jason Carter: we started cutting it up to remove it. Then it started growing again, laying on the ground. So I stopped. I, said, Nope. We’re gonna let it grow. So we put a fence around it and we’ve got a educational sign over there and it’s doing well, growing, laying on its side.
Missy Rentz: I’m gonna, I will post pictures’cause just to, set the tone. It looks like a dead tree laying on the ground and then there’s trees growing on top of it. It’s so cool to see. I love it. Oh, I’m I dunno how that popped into my mind. I’m so glad it did.’cause it was really cool.
Jason Carter: musket rounds inside of the tree. Where was in the Civil War?
Missy Rentz: Can you see it when you’re walking around or it’s too embedded in the tree.
Jason Carter: what you’re looking for,
Missy Rentz: Okay. Okay. All right. I may have to come back and get a personal tour from you to see that. That’s pretty cool. Okay, so now let’s talk about what people can do when they visit on the historical side and what they’ll see.
Jason Carter: sure. You come into the historic site, you pay your admission obviously, and you can see the museum it’s one of the better civil war museums in the state. That also gets you access to the video in the AV room. And there’s some artifacts in the AV room as well. There is an exceptional, right now, there’s an exceptional collection of some rare carbine from the Civil War that a lot of people don’t even know exist. And those are on long and can be viewed right now. Pretty amazing collection of some pretty rare guns also some pretty rare artillery pieces as well, artillery rounds that are somewhat obscure and unknown. And then from there you can go out to the fort itself. You can tour the actual. Battleground there’s a reproduction of a caretaker’s house down there. We call it the officer’s barracks. The lower floor is made up to look like period Officer’s barracks. you can tour that from time to time. It’s not open every day, but when we have staff down there, we do keep it open so people can come in and out. And then of course you can go into the fort, got three places you can go underground, the hotshot furnace, which is pretty fascinating. Walk by the hot shot cannon itself. And then you walk into the hot shot furnace where they would’ve heated 32 pound cannonballs up red hot, shoot it wooden vessels, set’em on fire. You can actually go into the furnace underground and go back to the backside. It’s creepy in there, but if you like dark places, it’s pretty neat. And from there you can go into the central Bombproof, which always amazes people, they don’t realize how big it is till they get down in there. It doesn’t look that big from the outside. But when you get down in there and there’s, 20 bunk beds and a couple of chimneys and fireplaces, and it’s a pretty fascinating little area there. And we also have a magazine, one example of a heavy artillery magazine, which is where they would’ve stored powder rounds and some other equipment on the backside that you can go in. Then you can climb up on the parapet itself and walk around the perimeter of the fort. Look at, you can see the river and you can imagine what it was like for those vessels to be parked out there. Those ironclads that I was talking about earlier, be parked out there, basically point blank range, engaging you from, half a mile to three quarter miles away with the largest rounds fired during the Civil War.
Missy Rentz: It’s so cool. I think I’ve said this. 10 times during this. It’s so cool to see and feel what it was like in those underground areas. They are creepy. And I took a ton of videos, so I’ll make sure I post those too, just to give people a hint. But they are damp and they are a little creepy and I can’t imagine being in them in the middle of a war. So
Jason Carter: Interesting story for the central Bombproof. We had an alligator in there about three weeks ago.
Missy Rentz: what.
Jason Carter: a visitor had come out from under one of the bunks and scared a
Missy Rentz: Oh,
Jason Carter: good size, about four and a half, five feet.
Missy Rentz: what’d you, how’d you get it out?
Jason Carter: We had to it out of there and capture it on the causeway and let it go. In the river?
Missy Rentz: oh my gosh. That would, I’d have a heart attack. Oh my gosh. Because it’s really dark. Really dark in there. That would be hard to spot until it was really close to you.
Jason Carter: Yes.
Missy Rentz: Wow. Okay. You mentioned a couple things that might require permits and licensing. Do people need to get permits and licensing before coming for some of these activities?
Jason Carter: Not necessarily The only permits that you would really have to have is if you want to we allow people to launch kayaks. The overnight boat ramp from time to time, you do have to get a special use permit for that. Fishing, obviously if you’re gonna fish, you do need a Georgia fishing license, whether you’re a resident or a non-resident. So to fish off either one of my fishing peers, you would have to have a license for that as well.
Missy Rentz: And do people get those at the park office or do they need to get them ahead of time? And where would that be?
Jason Carter: They need to preferably have’em ahead of time, but it’s really easy to get it on your phone on the internet now. But we do not sell’em at the park.
Missy Rentz: So Jason, you guys have some reenactments and some ranger programs. Can you tell us a little bit about those?
Jason Carter: Far as our a true reenactment. We only have one true reenactment each year. around December 13th, which was the time of the date of the actual battle. And by, when I say when we talk about reenactment, we’re talking about a, what we call a tactical force on force engagement, for lack of better terminologies. That’s the only time of year we shoot at each other. And that’s usually the Saturday closest to December 13th. So that’s our one true reenactment each year. But I have reenactors present probably a dozen times a year for various events and programs we, fire, do small arms, demonstrations, marching demonstrations, fire the cannon. And for the most part, those are all around major holidays. People always ask. They say, when can I see a cannon firing? If you want to guarantee you’re gonna see it major holiday, winter muster, candle, lantern tour. we do it some sporadic thing. We fire it sporadically throughout the rest of the year too. But we try to have at least one program a month where I have Reenactor present doing at very least, small arms demonstrations.
Missy Rentz: And besides the reenactors, I think your rangers are so knowledgeable. So I really do encourage people to take time to engage with them and ask questions because they really made the park come to life for me when I was there.
Jason Carter: Yes. I’ve got a really good staff right now. A lot of key Ranger staff are, they’re all long term. They’ve been in the system for a while. They’re pretty well versed. Not only at, on this site, the park operations as a whole. They’re pretty sharp.
Missy Rentz: And I also wanna talk a little bit about our four-legged friends. I travel with my dog, and Fort McAllister is a pet friend. Park.
Jason Carter: Yes, we want your four-legged friends to have just as good of a time and create just as many memories as you do. I have very few facilities here that are not pet friendly of some of the cottages, and I do have pet friendly cottages as well. of the cottages we really don’t have any areas. Your pets aren’t allowed here.
Missy Rentz: You just need to be respectful and responsible with a, six foot leash and pick up after them. And Tootsie and I had a great time and it’s, it was rare and unexpected to me to get, to go to explore the fort with. The dog, which was great. It was great outdoor activity. So Jason, we talk about all of the great views, and you have, you’re eloquent about the birdie and clearly a huge passion of yours. And I’m looking at a picture that you have taken of amazing lightning bolt down from the sky down to the water. You’ve got a lot of photos capturing the parks.
Jason Carter: Yes. like I was mentioned earlier, photography. Is by far my main hobby right now. And shooting lightning is probably one of my favorite things to do just’cause it’s so dramatic. But yes I spent a lot of my free time, not only here at the park, but throughout Georgia taking a lot of photographs, especially nature photography, landscape that kind of.
Missy Rentz: When you’re kind enough to allow me to use some of your photography when we promote this episode, but I’m also gonna tag you because that, I’d love for people to see all the other photography that you have.’cause it’s stunning.
Jason Carter: Sure. If they wanna follow me on Facebook it’s photography by the Jason C.
Missy Rentz: Perfect, and we will tag you as well. So we end each episode with a speed round of questions, Jason, and just answer with the first thing that comes to mind.
Jason Carter: Sure.
Missy Rentz: What is your earliest park memory?
Jason Carter: The earliest park memory that I have is from Cooper Creek in Columbus, Georgia, and I remember sitting beside my mother and father. A large transformer, an electrical transformer and catching a giant, or my mother called a giant cat. Giant to me when I was little. A giant catfish. And the funny thing is my mom says, there’s no way I could remember that.’cause I had to be less than two, but I can remember it.
Missy Rentz: I love it. What made you love the parks?
Jason Carter: I’ve always been an outdoors person especially, in regards to and especially wildlife photography. So when I moved down to South Georgia I took a liking to especially Laura Walker State Park initially was close to the Oak Canoe Swamp Park. So I spent a lot of time out there more time I spent out there. I decided I needed to work there and that’s actually where I got my start was at Laurel Walker State Park.
Missy Rentz: Your favorite thing about Fort McAllister State Historic Park.
Jason Carter: My favorite thing is just the diversity. I know everybody says that their park has a little bit of everything, but I think mine has a little bit more of everything than a lot of people’s we have both the historic side aspect of it plus the natural history. Recreation, overnight, amenities side of it. Pretty much anything you want to get into from seeing, small arms and artillery, military demonstrations to to pier fishing, staying overnight in a rustic type environment. If you want to do backcountry or pioneer the way up to upscale glamping, if you want to call it, staying in a modern condo style cottage, we can accommodate all of that. We have, just a ton of big events here every year. So we’ve got a lot more going for us than a lot of other facilities. Not saying that those are all, those aren’t great’cause every one of the state parks is fantastic. if you want a place where you can literally do just about everything that Georgia State Parks offers, both from the historical aspect, recreational aspect, it’s hard to beat Fort McAllister.
Missy Rentz: What’s your favorite thing to do at Fort Mac? Star State Historic Park,
Jason Carter: Probably go on a, if we’re talking about work related, it’s firing cannons. If we’re talking about on my own time, it’s photography, bird photography, landscape photography.
Missy Rentz: what park have you yet to visit, but it’s on your bucket list and why?
Jason Carter: I actually have visited Cloud and Canyon, but it was on a work trip and I didn’t really get to get out and do anything. So right now that one’s on the top of my list to get back to where I can actually take some time and spend several days doing some photography.’cause it’s an amazing place and I just I didn’t get a chance to really get into it like I would’ve liked to while I was there.
Missy Rentz: What are three must-haves you pack for a park visit?
Jason Carter: Usually water. Always my camera gear no matter what park I’m going to work or related. I’m always bringing camera gear first aid.
Missy Rentz: What is your favorite campfire activity,
Jason Carter: Oh, spooky stories by far.
Missy Rentz: and are you staying in a tent, a camper, or a cabin?
Jason Carter: I think my tent camping days might be behind me. I’m usually probably gonna stay in a camper or a cabin. Not to say that I wouldn’t stay in a tent. I have done it before recently, but just being honest, not really my cup of tea anymore.
Missy Rentz: Are you hiking with or without trekking poles?
Jason Carter: I usually don’t carry a pole. I may carry a walking stick, I usually got a camera in my hand, so
Missy Rentz: What’s your favorite trail snack?
Jason Carter: probably peanuts.
Missy Rentz: What is your favorite animal sighting?
Jason Carter: I got a tie, my two favorite animals by far, only here, but in Georgia, a painted bunting. time I see one of those, it don’t matter if I’ve seen it a hundred times, it’s still magical. It doesn’t seem real. It’s hard for, hard for my brain to comprehend that. That’s a real creature. That’s that. Especially when you see one in good light. It’s just magic. And eastern Diamondback rattlesnakes probably my animal altogether’cause it’s the snake
Missy Rentz: What is your favorite sound in the park?
Jason Carter: Pilated woodpecker.
Missy Rentz: What is the greatest gift that parks give to us?
Jason Carter: I think they just give us the opportunity to not only make memories with our friends and family currently, but it brings back memories of, years past when you were able to. Go out with your friends and family when you were younger enjoy the same things. that’s my biggest thing here, is just I try to teach all my, tell all my staff that you know, these people, we, these people are paying us money to come here and recreate. They’re trying to have great memories. We are in the memory making business, so let’s do everything that we can sure that. We’re fostering that type of environment. yeah, I think that’s the greatest thing that parks can give, is give everybody an opportunity to get out, get away from, the stress of everyday life, make some great memories with your friends and family, but also give you a chance to recollect about all the things that got you interested in parts when you were little,
Missy Rentz: jason, thank you so much for taking time to chat today. You have given me like an opportunity to. Live the time that I spent at Fort McAllister’cause it is a really special place. Thank you.
Jason Carter: Thank you for having me. Very much
Missy Rentz: That’s it for today’s episode. Until next time, we’ll see you in the parks. Thanks for listening. If you enjoyed today’s episode, please be sure to like and share on your favorite podcast platform. Music for the parks podcast is performed and produced by Porter Hardy. For more information, please follow us on Instagram at the parks podcast. Or visit our website@theparkspodcast.com.