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
Location of Old Hell Lake in Georgia, USA.
Location of Old Hell Lake in Georgia, USA.
Old Hell Lake
Location of Old Hell Lake in Georgia, USA.
Location of Old Hell Lake in Georgia, USA.
Old Hell Lake
LocationLong County, Georgia
Coordinates31°33′23″N 081°41′18″W
Basin countriesUnited 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
Timber Raft 1880

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.

See also

References
  1. "Map of Long County, Georgia" (PDF).
  2. U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Old Hell Lake
  3. Delma E. Presley (June 4, 2013). "Rafting Folklore". New Georgia Encyclopedia. Retrieved 25 June 2020.
  4. John H. Goff (1 December 2007). Placenames of Georgia. University of Georgia Press. pp. 403–404. ISBN 978-0-8203-3129-4.
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