Legend of Georgia's "Loch Ness Monster"

The Sea Serpent of the Georgia Coast!

by Dale Cox

The marshes near the mouth of the Altamaha River are the
home of a monster dubbed the Altamaha-ha by locals!

Darien - A mysterious river or sea monster has been a fixture of Georgia's Atlantic coast for more than 200 years!

It is called the "Altamaha-ha" ("Altie" for short) after the Altamaha River and is usually seen around Darien and Butler Island. It also appears to roam as far north as Sapelo Sound and as far south as St. Simons and Jekyll Islands. It is undoubtedly one of the most-sighted monsters in North America.

The community Darien, built on the site of earlier Native American, Spanish, and English settlements, was founded by Scot Highlanders. They were recruited in 1735 at Inverness, Scotland, and came as part of Gov. James Oglethorpe's effort to establish the colony of Georgia. Their American settlement was first called New Inverness, a tribute to their birthplace across the ocean.

The original Inverness borders Loch Ness, a massive lake that is famed for its legendary monster. Perhaps it is appropriate that the New World home of the Scot immigrants soon developed a similar reputation!

Darien is a charming coastal community that was founded by
Scot Highlanders in the 1730s. It is rich in history and legend.

The estuary or delta of the Altamaha River is beautiful and mysterious. Vast marshes, multiple river channels, and abandoned 18th and 19th-century rice fields and canals create a stunning coastal landscape. This is the domain of the Altamaha-ha, a 30-foot long monster with flippers like a seal.

The creature made its splash on the national scene in 1981 when former newspaper publisher Larry Gwin saw it while fishing with a friend named Steven Wilson. They said it had two big humps about five feet apart and made a wake like a speedboat.

Newspapers across the United States ran articles about the sighting, and other witnesses started coming forward. Harvey Blackman of Brunswick reported seeing the monster in the 1970s. He said it had a snake-like head and was 15-20 feet long. Frank Culpepper saw a massive wake in the area of Blackman's sighting. A friend ran for a rifle, but whatever caused the disturbance was gone before he could get off a shot.

Fort King George State Historic Site features a beautifully
restored English fort. Several sightings of the Altamaha-ha
have been made nearby.

The 1981 reports followed a rash of publicity about the Loch Ness Monster, and the skeptical were inclined to believe that locals around Darien were trying to cash in on a few tourist dollars. The late 20th century, however, was not the first time that a sea monster was seen in the vicinity.

The Savannah Georgian newspaper first reported a sighting of the Altamaha-ha by Capt. Delano of the schooner Eagle in an article datelined Darien on April 18, 1830. The captain was sailing off St. Simons Island when he saw the monster:

...He repeated the...particulars precisely, describing the animal he saw as being about 70 feet long, and its circumference about that of a sugar hogshead, moving with its head (shaped like an Alligator's) about 8 feet out of the water. - Savannah Georgian, April 22, 1830.

A hogshead is a large barrel or cask.

The cannon of Fort King George aim out over the marshes
of the Altamaha River estuary.

Five other men on the schooner also saw the creature, and their account was verified by several planters from St. Simons Island who reported seeing something similar. In fact, they said that the beast was viewed from shore using telescopes on many occasions.

Disbelievers were quick to point out that North Atlantic Right Whales are often seen in the waters off St. Simons Island, but Capt. Delano was an experienced sailor who told the newspaper that he knew a whale when he saw one:

...Capt. D. also states, that he is acquainted with all kinds of whale, and that he never saw but once before, (about 4 years since, off Doboy bar,) a monster similar to the one above described.  - Charleston Mercury, March 29, 1830.

Doboy Sound, where Delano saw the monster four years before in 1826, separates Sapelo Island from the Georgia mainland and connects to the Altamaha River.

The channels and marshes around Butler Island are the
home of Georgia's "Loch Ness Monster," the Altamaha-ha.

Curiously, a sloop that sailed from the Darien wharves that same year was named the Sea Serpent! Was it coincidence, or did she reflect a legend that was already well-established by that time? Either way, the 1826 and 1830 sightings confirm that people have seen something strange in the waters around the mouth of the Altamaha for a long, long time.

As is usually the case with such stories, legend claims that Native Americans were the first to tell of the creature. The Tama Indians were living on the Darien River, a tributary of the Altamaha when Spanish missionaries built a mission at the site of today's Fort King George. No documentation survives to corroborate such claims, but the Muscogee (Creek) Indians definitely told stories of giant snakes in Georgia's rivers.

Many people have offered theories about the Altamaha-ha, but no one has conclusively solved the mystery. In fact, eyewitnesses continue to come forward. A troop of Boy Scouts, timber workers, fishermen, hunters, and others all say that they have seen something strange in the water. An amateur photographer even captured video of something odd swimming in the channel off Fort King George Historic Site in 2010:

Interested in learning more or visiting beautiful Darien, Georgia? These links will help you out:

Points of Interest in Darien, Georgia

Butler Island Plantation

Fort King George State Historic Site

Fort Darien Marker

Union Raid on Darien, Georgia

City of Darien Official Website

www.visitdarien.com

GHOSTS, MONSTERS, & MYSTERIES OF THE SOUTH!