OHC NEWSLETTER

October, November, and December 2025
The Waycross Post Office Building: A Century of Service & History
By Kemberly Stephens-Cone

Did you know that the handsome brick building at 605 Elizabeth Street once stood at the very heart of Waycross’s civic life? For more than six decades, it served as both Post Office and U.S. District Courthouse, a hub for communication, justice, and the growing rail-town community.

1911 – A Grand Federal Presence
Designed by James Knox Taylor, the U.S. Treasury’s Supervising Architect, the building opened with elegant Renaissance Revival / Romano-Tuscan styling. With red-tile roof over one-story brick & basement structure, terrazzo and maple floors, oak woodwork, marble stairs & wainscoting and rows of brass postal boxes gleaming in the lobby. It was built to show that Waycross had become an important regional center.

1936 – Expansion for a Growing City
Architect G. W. Stone designed a major addition. This expansion reflected Waycross’s rise during the railroad-era boom.

1911-1975 – Federal Service Era
For decades the building bustled with mail clerks, postmasters, and daily customers at the counters. Federal judges and juries workded upstairs in the courtroom. Shipments arriving and departing by rail, binding South Georgia to the nation

1964 – Regional Sectional Center
A new mail-sorting hub on Frances Street handled increasing volumes of regional mail, signaling a shift in operations. …

Find out more in our Newsletter, click the link below:

OHC Newsletter

April, May and June 2026 Jackson’s Folly
By Jessica Bennett
In the late nineteenth century, an ambitious plan was devised to tame one of the most mysterious landscapes in the American South—the Okefenokee Swamp. Located in southeastern Georgia, the vast wetland had long been regarded by locals as a place that resisted human control. Yet in 1889, investors and lawmakers believed they could transform it into a profitable enterprise. What followed became one of the most notable failures
in the region’s history, remembered as “Jackson’s Folly.” …

OHC Newsletter

Jan, Feb and March 2026
Okefenokee Heritage Center In Review
By EJ Pond

2025 was a rewarding, exciting, and memorable year that saw the OHC celebrate a landmark anniversary, receive a highly prestigious cultural award, and install striking new signage. Among the components of the center, art is among the driving forces of OHC. …

OHC Newsletter

October, November, and December 2025
The Waycross Post Office Building: A Century of Service & History
By Kemberly Stephens-Cone

Did you know that the handsome brick building at 605 Elizabeth Street once stood at the very heart of Waycross’s civic life? For more than six decades, it served as both Post Office and U.S. District Courthouse, a hub for communication, justice, and the growing rail-town community. …

OHC Newsletter

July, August and Sept 2025
50th Anniversary

The Okefenokee Heritage Center celebrated its 50th anniversary on Saturday evening, May 31st, with a Golden Bowl Celebration. In true OHC spirit, the evening was family-friendly, casual, and tailored toward community connections.

OHC Newsletter

April, May and June 2025
The Unusual Story of the Okefenokee Heritage Center and Southern Forest World,
written by Susan Lott Clark
(Article abridged by Carla Cornett)

An appreciation for the arts in their various forms – visual, music, and drama – first gave support to having the Okefenokee Heritage Center. We recognized the importance for cultural enrichment and enhancing the quality of life in this area.

OHC Newsletter

Jan, Feb and March 2025
Okefenokee Heritage Center turns 50!
An excerpt from the book:
“The Unusual Story of the Okefenokee Heritage Center and Southern Forest World”, written by Susan Lott Clark
(Article abridged by Carla Cornett)

How it all began!

At the regular meeting of the Waycross Service League, on May 5, 1964, the following came as a recommendation from the executive committee: …