Harris Neck National Wildlife Refuge was established in 1962. It consists of of saltwater marsh, grassland, mixed deciduous woods, and cropland located on an abandoned military airfield in

McIntosh County, Georgia McIntosh County is a county located in the U.S. state of Georgia. As of the 2020 census, the population was 10,975, a drop of 23.4 percent since the 2010 census. The county seat is Darien. McIntosh County is included in the Brunswick, GA ...

, north of the intersection of Route 131 and Harris Neck Airport Road, about 30 miles (48 km) southwest of

Savannah, Georgia Savannah ( ) is the oldest city in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia and is the county seat of Chatham County, Georgia, Chatham County. Established in 1733 on the Savannah River, the city of Savannah became the Kingdom of Great Br ...

Early history

Harris Neck is a coastal

peninsula A peninsula (; ) is a landform that extends from a mainland and is surrounded by water on most, but not all of its borders. A peninsula is also sometimes defined as a piece of land bordered by water on three of its sides. Peninsulas exist on all ...

located south of Savannah, Georgia in McIntosh County. The nearest town is South Newport, six miles (10 km) to the west. Originally named Dickinson's Neck, the peninsula was renamed when William Thomas Harris became the principal land owner in the mid-18th century. The land was deeded to a former slave in 1865 by a plantation owner. Black families settled in the area and built houses as well as oyster and crab processing factories.Dewan, Shaila
Black Landowners Fight to Reclaim Georgia Home.
''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

.'' June 30, 2010. The original Harris Neck airfield was built sometime between 1929-32. Named "Harris Neck Intermediate Field Site #8", it was an emergency airfield for commercial planes on the

Richmond Richmond most often refers to: * Richmond, Virginia, the capital of Virginia, United States * Richmond, London, a part of London * Richmond, North Yorkshire, a town in England * Richmond, British Columbia, a city in Canada * Richmond, California, ...

Jacksonville Jacksonville is a city located on the Atlantic coast of northeast Florida, the most populous city proper in the state and is the List of United States cities by area, largest city by area in the contiguous United States as of 2020. It is the co ...

air route. The field consisted of an irregularly-shaped

sod Sod, also known as turf, is the upper layer of soil with the grass growing on it that is often harvested into rolls. In Australian and British English, sod is more commonly known as ''turf'', and the word "sod" is limited mainly to agricult ...

parcel, with two sod runways 2,600' east/west & 2,550' north/south in a criss-cross pattern. The field was said to be illuminated, but to offer no services. Harris Neck airfield closed to the public on 1 January 1942 when the

Civil Air Patrol Civil Air Patrol (CAP) is a congressionally chartered, federally supported non-profit corporation that serves as the official civilian auxiliary of the United States Air Force (USAF). CAP is a volunteer organization with an aviation-minded mem ...

began anti-submarine flights. It was evidently abandoned later that same year, when a new military airfield was built a half-mile north. There is no trace of its existence today.

Army airfield

In mid-1942, the

Army Air Force The United States Army Air Forces (USAAF or AAF) was the major land-based aerial warfare service component of the United States Army and ''de facto'' aerial warfare service branch of the United States during and immediately after World War II ...

decided to build a base at Harris Neck. The land was expropriated and families were given two weeks to remove themselves. At the time of transfer, black families (who owned 1,102 acres) were given $26.90 per acre and the white families (who owned 1,532 acres) were given $37.31 per acre. This included the Livingston estate which included the Lorillard mansion and a deep-water dock. Construction was started on 15 July 1942 by the

United States Army Air Forces The United States Army Air Forces (USAAF or AAF) was the major land-based aerial warfare service component of the United States Army and ''de facto'' aerial warfare service branch of the United States during and immediately after World War II ...

First Air Force The First Air Force (Air Forces Northern; 1 AF-AFNORTH) is a numbered air force of the United States Air Force Air Combat Command (ACC). It is headquartered at Tyndall Air Force Base, Florida. Its primary mission is the air defense of the Co ...

. The original plan provided for two runways. The Army's decision to add a third runway required the acquisition of additional land. A detachment of men from the 855th Guard Squadron, stationed at

Hunter Army Air Field Hunter Army Airfield , located in Savannah, Georgia, United States, is a military airfield and subordinate installation to Fort Stewart located in Hinesville, Georgia. Hunter features a runway that is 11,375 feet (3,468 m) long and an aircr ...

occupied the Harris Neck facility on 7 December 1942. It was activated on 28 January 1943 as an auxiliary of

Dale Mabry Army Airfield Dale Mabry Army Airfield, was a World War II United States Army Air Force located at the Dale Mabry Field airport in Tallahassee, Florida. The military airfield closed in 1946 and the airport was returned to civil use. History The military u ...

Tallahassee, Florida Tallahassee ( ) is the capital city of the U.S. state of Florida. It is the county seat and only incorporated municipality in Leon County, Florida, Leon County. Tallahassee became the capital of Florida, then the Florida Territory, in 1824. In ...

. Today, there is very little left to show that the area was once an airfield. Other than the overgrown runways, taxiways, revetments, munitions bunkers and the bore sighting range, the only structure that still exists on the former military airfield is a water fountain which must have belonged to Livingston House. The area is very overgrown, access is limited by "keep out" signs. Former residents of the displaced community and their descendants are attempting to work out a compromise with the federal government to allow them to return to their land, without significantly disrupting the wildlife refuge.

Wildlife refuge established

The Harris Neck National Wildlife Refuge (HNNWR) was established in 1962 by transfer of federal lands and the

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

Army airfield formerly managed by the Federal Aviation Administration. The refuge consists of of saltwater marsh, grassland, mixed deciduous woods, and cropland. HNNWR is located in McIntosh County,

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States Georgia may also refer to: Places Historical states and entities * Related to the ...

. In the summer, thousands of

egret Egrets ( ) are herons, generally long-legged wading birds, that have white or buff plumage, developing fine plumes (usually milky white) during the breeding season. Egrets are not a biologically distinct group from herons and have the same build ...

s and

heron The herons are long-legged, long-necked, freshwater and coastal birds in the family Ardeidae, with 72 recognised species, some of which are referred to as egrets or bitterns rather than herons. Members of the genera ''Botaurus'' and ''Ixobrychus ...

s nest in the

swamp A swamp is a forested wetland.Keddy, P.A. 2010. Wetland Ecology: Principles and Conservation (2nd edition). Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK. 497 p. Swamps are considered to be transition zones because both land and water play a role in ...

s, while in the winter, large concentrations of

duck Duck is the common name for numerous species of waterfowl in the family Anatidae. Ducks are generally smaller and shorter-necked than swans and geese, which are members of the same family. Divided among several subfamilies, they are a form t ...

s (especially

mallard The mallard () or wild duck (''Anas platyrhynchos'') is a dabbling duck that breeds throughout the temperate and subtropical Americas, Eurasia, and North Africa, and has been introduced to New Zealand, Australia, Peru, Brazil, Uruguay, Arge ...

gadwall The gadwall (''Mareca strepera'') is a common and widespread dabbling duck in the family Anatidae. Taxonomy The gadwall was first described by Carl Linnaeus in his landmark 1758 10th edition of ''Systema Naturae''. DNA studies have shown that ...

, and

green-winged teal The green-winged teal (''Anas carolinensis'') is a common and widespread duck that breeds in the northern areas of North America except on the Aleutian Islands. It was considered Conspecificity, conspecific with the Eurasian teal (''A. crecca'') ...

) gather in the

marshland A marsh is a wetland that is dominated by herbaceous rather than woody plant species.Keddy, P.A. 2010. Wetland Ecology: Principles and Conservation (2nd edition). Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK. 497 p Marshes can often be found at ...

and freshwater pools. Harris Neck NWR is also an important nesting area for the

wood stork The wood stork (''Mycteria americana'') is a large American wading bird in the family Ciconiidae (storks), the only member of the family to breed in North America. It was formerly called the "wood ibis", though it is not an ibis. It is found in ...

. The public access to the refuge consists of over of paved roads and trails provide the visitor easy access to the many different habitats. Chosen for its accessibility and bird diversity, Harris Neck is one of 18 sites forming the Colonial Coast Birding Trail, inaugurated in 2000.

References

External links

*
Harris Neck National Wildlife Refuge website
{{authority control National Wildlife Refuges in Georgia (U.S. state) Protected areas of McIntosh County, Georgia Protected areas established in 1962 Wetlands of Georgia (U.S. state) Landforms of McIntosh County, Georgia Peninsulas of Georgia (U.S. state) Landforms of Georgia (U.S. state)