Old Hell Lake
Old Hell Lake is a body of water in Long County, Georgia, United States, occurring at an elevation of roughly 15 feet above mean sea level.[1][2]
| Old Hell Lake | |
|---|---|
  Old Hell Lake  Old Hell Lake | |
| Location | Long County, Georgia |
| Coordinates | 31°33′23″N 081°41′18″W |
| Basin countries | United States |
Location
The lake is located approximately 11 miles from the city of Ludowici. Water flows from the lake into a tributary of the Altamaha River. The point where that short tributary flows into the Altamaha is known as Old Hell Bight.
Etymology
There are a number of possible origins for the name. One suggests that it refers to the adjacent great "hellish" swamp. But the more likely source is thought to be from a time in Georgia history when timber rafts where a common sight on the Altamaha River.[3] It would be a "riverman's moniker" referencing the Bight as a particularly troublesome bend in the river, with associated dangerous currents, where a pilot and crew might lose "their wages, their timber, and occasionally their lives".[3][4] So it is most likely that Old Hell Bight was named first, then influenced the naming of the adjacent lake. The name was collected by the United States Geological Survey between 1976 and 1979 and entered into the Geographic Names Information System on September 25, 1979.[2]
See also
References
- "Map of Long County, Georgia" (PDF).
- U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Old Hell Lake
- Delma E. Presley (June 4, 2013). "Rafting Folklore". New Georgia Encyclopedia. Retrieved 25 June 2020.
- John H. Goff (1 December 2007). Placenames of Georgia. University of Georgia Press. pp. 403–404. ISBN 978-0-8203-3129-4.