Wilcox County Courthouse, After 9/11/2001.

Abbeville, Georgia

c. Brian Brown

In response to the attacks on America on September 11, 2001, Americans began hoisting the flag in a frenzy unseen since WWII. Passing through Abbeville en route to the Georgia/Arkansas Game in Athens the weekend after the disaster, I was taken aback by the stark realities of what had happened, when I saw this single large flag hanging over one of the front windows of the courthouse. Built in the first decade of the twentieth century, the Wilcox County courthouse sits just up from the Ocmulgee River, on US Highway 129. Abbeville has never been much of a big town, but has always been a favorite of swampers and river folk, with its easy access to the Ocmulgee, and great fishing in all directions. Each year it hosts the increasingly popular Ocmulgee Wild Hog Festival. A while back, Ian Frazier also wrote an article, which focused on wild hog culture in South Georgia for The New Yorker. It isn't every day that a little town like Abbeville gets coverage in The New Yorker.

LINKS

www.hogfestival.com for the Ocmulgee Wild Hog Festival

www.wesjones.com/hogswild.htm#source for The New Yorker article