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Liberty was at center of naval store industry
History of Liberty
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In the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, Georgia was the world's leading producer of naval stores, which are materials removed from southern pine forests and then used in the construction and repair of sailing vessels. Classic naval stores include lumber, railroad ties, rosin and turpentine.
In the early 1870s, North Carolina naval store producers began migrating to southeast Georgia's coastal plain to take advantage of the unexploited pine forests in the region. They brought their equipment and black laborers and established residential villages on large turpentine farms.
The industry grew so rapidly that by 1890, Georgia was the national leader in naval stores production, which lasted until 1905. Reliable labor was important to any successful naval stores operation. At the top of the turpentine farm was a superintendent and a woods rider, who coordinated the work of the laborers who boxed pine trees and chipped and dipped the pine gum. Other workers operated the turpentine distilleries, while coopers made the barrels to transport rosin and turpentine, and teamsters transported the products to the markets. The superintendent and woods rider were usually white men, while the majority of the laborers, called woodsmen, were African American. Crude turpentine was distilled throughout the eight-month dipping season. A crop might produce as much as 83,000 pounds of crude turpentine during the first two years of harvesting.
Longleaf yellow pine and slash pine produced the highest grade of turpentine. The distillation process began with log fires heating the turpentine still, while the stiller and his crew charged a copper kettle with five to eight barrels of gum. Each barrel of crude dip produced six to seven gallons of spirits of turpentine. The remaining rosin, which formed a hot residue at the bottom of the kettle, drained through a mesh into a vat and was then ladled into barrels. The peak of distilling activity occurred in the summer, when the flow of gum was greatest. Accidental fires at the stills were frequent and often seriously injured the workers.
     After two or three years, naval stores crews dismantled their stills, commissaries, and other facilities and moved their laborers and equipment to areas where virgin dip was more plentiful. The growth of the industry attracted increasing numbers of migrants to the Georgia wiregrass and Pine Barrens. Cutover pinelands available for purchase or lease also attracted new settlers, particularly African Americans, who farmed the lands as tenants or owners. Much of the acreage that had been tapped for turpentine was subsequently cut for timber and then turned over for a third commercial use, agriculture.
By 1900 the Georgia turpentine industry began to decline as the primitive harvesting methods continued to damage and destroy pine trees. At that time University of Georgia chemist Charles Herty revolutionized turpentine production by designing a clay pot known as the Herty cup, which could be suspended from a nail in the tree. This allowed shallower tree cuts to be made above the cup. Gum dripped into metal gutters tacked to the tree, and then flowed into the cup. The Herty cup-and-gutter system was patented in 1902 and quickly replaced the more primitive box method of resin collection. The turpentine industry saw renewed productivity, and Georgia regained its leading position in the world naval stores market in 1923. From the 1890s through World War II, Savannah and Brunswick were the world's leading ports for the shipment of naval stores.

 Carroll B. Butler, Treasures of the Longleaf Pines: Naval Stores (Shalimar, Fla.: Tarkel Publishing, 1998).
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Visit with children a real eye-opener
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One of my favorite activities as a state senator is when I get to speak to students at our local schools. This year, I spoke to third-grade students at May Howard Elementary and Marshpoint Elementary in Chatham County and Button Gwinnett Elementary in Liberty County.
The students from each of the schools had been studying civics and were familiar with the three branches of government — executive, judicial and legislative. I explained my role as a senator in the legislative process and told the children how the citizen legislature in the state of Georgia works.
Presenting each of the schools with a Georgia state flag, I explained the three principles for which the state flag stands — wisdom, justice and moderation — and had them recite the pledge to the flag with me. 
The students at all three schools were bright, respectful and well-disciplined — a tribute to their families and especially to their teachers, who had prepared the students for my visit with ideas for great questions.
The students in Ms. Hutchinson’s class at Marshpoint Elementary were impressive in singing the preamble to the Constitution during my visit. What a great way to learn such an important part of our nation’s history — another wonderful example of the great job our teachers are doing.
I was delighted last week to receive thank-you letters from some of the students. Here are excerpts from a few of their letters:
 
Dear Mr. Carter,
Thank you for taking the time out of your busy schedule to come speak to us. I learned so much! I learned that there are two kinds of Pledge of Allegiances. That is pretty cool.
Do you travel all over the world do you? I really like that you taught me more about the three branches of government.
— Megan
 
Dear Sen. Carter,
Thank you for telling us about your job and your favorite thing about your job. I liked the Georgia state flag. I still have more questions. Do you have to work on Saturday and Sunday? Are you the only one who makes the laws?
Yours truly,
Ryleigh 


Dear Sen. Buddy Carter,
Thank you for coming and letting us have a little bit of your time. I want you to know that I learned something new. The Georgia pledge! Justice, wisdom and modesty! Thanks again!
— Liam
 
Dear Sen. Buddy Carter,
Thank you for coming and helping us learn more about the government and some of your job. Thank you for giving us a Georgia flag. It was fun when you came. Thank you for giving us some questions so we could answer them.
P.S. Did you ride in a limousine? I was going to ask you a question but then I forgot. But now I remember. How many rooms are there where you work? You can send me a note if you can.
Your friend,
Erin
 
I’m uncertain whether the students learned as much from me during my visit as I learned from them. One thing that I was reminded of was the honesty that comes from the innocence of childhood. I wasn’t quite sure how to interpret some of the questions, such as the one asked in this letter:
 
Dear Sen. Carter,
I loved your speech. Thanks for coming to our school. I think my favorite part was when we held the flag. It was so fun! I have a question: How many people voted for you?
Sincerely,
Shelly
 
I also was more than a little concerned about a recurring question in the thank-you notes that was posed to me during one of my visits by a beautiful, brown-eyed girl who, with a very serious look on her face, asked “Did you ever get re-elected be-fore?”


What a great group of young people! My faith and hope in our future has been reassured. What an amazing job our families and teachers are doing on a daily basis to support and encourage our next generation. Thank you for your dedication to teaching our leaders of tomor-row.

Sen. Buddy Carter can be reached at Coverdell Legislative Office Building (C.L.O.B.) Room 301-A, Atlanta, GA, 30334. His Capitol office number is 404-656-5109

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