Discover 9 hidden attractions, cool sights, and unusual things to do in Waycross (United States). Don't miss out on these must-see attractions: Okefenokee Swamp Park, Downtown Waycross Historic District, and First African Baptist Church and Parsonage. Also, be sure to include Laura S. Walker State Park in your itinerary.
Below, you can find the list of the most amazing places you should visit in Waycross (Georgia).
Table of Contents
Okefenokee Swamp Park
Park in Ware County, Georgia. Okefenokee Swamp Park, is located 12 miles south of Waycross, Georgia, United States. The Okefenokee Swamp Park is accessed by taking the Vereen Bell Memorial Highway to the southern side of the Cowhouse Island. This is the northernmost entry point to the Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge. The Okefenokee Swamp is the most extensive blackwater swamp in North America and covers over 438,000 acres.
The Okefenokee Swamp Park is headquarters for its founding and administrative body, the Okefenokee Association, Inc. which was granted a sublease to Land Lot 20 in the Dixon Memorial Forest from the U.S. Department of Interior in 1945. The private nonprofit organization (501.c.3) has operated as a concession since 1946. In 1955, ownership of Georgia Coastal Flatwoods Upland Game Project property, including Waycross State Forest (Dixon Memorial State Forest), Laura S. Walker State Park and the Okefenokee Swamp Park, was transferred to the state of Georgia. The Association's current lease is with the Georgia Department of Natural Resources.
“The park’s mission is to promote ecological tourism and education by providing a convenient point of entry into the Okefenokee Swamp.” Millions of visitors from all over the world have passed through the park's gates.
The Association utilized and improved access to already existing original Indian waterways; structures built by the Civilian Conservation Corp in 1937; a game corral built in 1938; and boardwalks built in 1940, leading to a 75-foot wooden observation tower. Skull Lake is within the park's 1200 acre property. Several million dollars’ worth of improvements are in the park.
The aerial view of the swamp was enhanced in 1965 by replacing the original tower with a 90-foot steel structure, making it the tallest observation point in the Okefenokee Swamp. Visitors can experience the Okefenokee via boat tours, extensive nature boardwalks, wildlife (Eye on Nature) shows, live animal exhibits, and wildlife and cultural displays. Extensive renovations and the addition of structures occurred in the 1970s: new Gift Shop (1970); Pioneer Island (1971); new boat dock, Swamp Creation Building and Living Swamp Building (1972); Ole Roy & Swamp Creation exhibits (1973); Serpentarium/Nature Center (1974); and the Country Store (1975). The Amphitheater Stage and seating were added in 1981; a Wetlands Exhibit in 1990. The only railroad system allowed to operate within the Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge opened at the park in 1999, taking visitors on a 1.5-mile journey through the swamp. Its presence is reminiscent of a time during the late 19th and early 20th centuries when the voices of track layers, loggers and turpentine workers could be heard working to harvest the Okefenokee’s resources for local and world markets.
A point of interest on the rail route is a stop at Pioneer Island. Featured is a recreated swamp homestead centered around an authentic swamp residence, the Highsmith Cabin, with essential outbuildings. The Country Store/Museum showcases photos and a bounty of artifacts chronicling some of the major events occurring in the Okefenokee Swamp and the Okefenokee Swamp Park. A replica of the Wildes Cabin on Pioneer Island is now a memorial to Maximillian Wildes and those who perished with him at the hands of Seminole warriors in the 1838 Wildes Massacre. The structure was dedicated in 1988, marking the 150th anniversary of the last Indian Massacre in the State of Georgia.
Oscar the Alligator made his home at the Okefenokee Swamp Park until his death in 2007. His reconstructed skeleton is on display in the Gift Shop.
An admission charge goes towards operating and developing the park, as do donations of time and money by the members of the Osprey Society. While overnight camping on the property is not allowed, nearby Laura S. Walker State Park has camping accommodations.[1]
Address: 5700 Okefenokee Swamp Park Rd, 31503-7925 Waycross
Downtown Waycross Historic District
The Downtown Waycross Historic District in Waycross, Georgia is a 50-acre historic district which was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1992.
It includes the Post Office, the Phoenix Hotel among totals of 47 contributing buildings, two other contributing structures, two contributing sites, and three contributing objects in the district.
Also the Bunn Building was Waycross's first "skyscraper", among the first reinforced concrete buildings in the state. It is a five-story building which was home for offices and a Masonic Lodge.[2]
Address: 309 Pendleton St, Waycross
First African Baptist Church and Parsonage
First African Baptist Church and Parsonage is a historic church and its parsonage in a traditionally African-American neighborhood of Waycross, Georgia. The church is now known as First Antioch Missionary Baptist Church. The property was added to the National Register of Historic Places on April 11, 2003. It is located at 615 Knight Street and 407 Satilla Boulevard.
The church was constructed c.1905 and is Gothic Revival in style, wood-framed on a brick pier foundation. The front entrance to the church was changed sometime before 1957. The parsonage, built c.1910, is a Queen Anne cottage with clapboard siding.[3]
Laura S. Walker State Park
State park, Body of water, Park, Relax in park
Address: 5653 Laura Walker Rd, 31503-6489 Waycross
Southern Forest World
History museum, Museum
Address: 1440 N Augusta Ave, Waycross
Phoenix Hotel
Hotel. The Phoenix Hotel is a historic hotel in Waycross, Georgia, built about 1890. It is a three-story brick building that occupies a 200 by 111 feet block of the city. Businesses occupied the first floor, which has been modernized, but the other two floors retain their original configuration. The building originally had two stories and the third floor was added in 1913. It is near the train depot and catered to travelers. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1986.[4]
Lott Cemetery
Cemetery in Waycross, Georgia. Lott Cemetery is a cemetery in Waycross, Georgia that was established in 1877. It occupies the block bounded by Butler, Tebeau, Quarterman, and Pendleton streets. There were no areas designated for religious or ethnic groups. African-American graves are along the western edge. Several veterans of the Confederate States Army are also buried there. It was the main cemetery in the city until the Oakland Cemetery was created in 1901 and the Aftican-American Pine Hill Cemetery in 1907. There is a wide variety of funerary art in the cemetery.
It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2008.[5]
United States Post Office and Courthouse
Courthouse. The former U.S. Post Office and Courthouse in Waycross, Georgia was built in 1911 and expanded in 1936. It is occupied in 2016 by the Southeast Antique Exchange business. The building reflects Renaissance architecture and "Romano-Tuscan" architecture. It served historically as a courthouse of the United States District Court for the Southern District of Georgia and as a post office until 1975.
It is a two-story building with basement of approximately 21,700 square feet in size. The original building of 1911, designed by James Knox Taylor, was one story with basement and with a tile roof. The 1936 expansion, designed by G. W. Stone, added the second story and two-story wings at each end, and has a composition roof. Floors in the building are terrazzo and maple hardwood, except the second floor courtroom's floor is cork tile. Stairs, door facings and wainscoting are in marble. Woodwork is oak.
The building was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1980. It was only ever used as a courthouse and post office, and the building had been empty from 1975 until at least 1980. It now houses the Southeast Antique Exchange.[6]
Waycross Historic District
The Waycross Historic District is a 178-acre historic district which was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1976.
The district then included 237 contributing buildings and one contributing structure.[7]