Georgia Natural Wonders 
H
istoric Blowing Cave has been a natural attraction in South Georgia since the area was first settled in the 1820's.The cave has silted up over the decades and can no longer be entered as a result. By the mid-1960's, the entrance had been closed off to less than about two square feet of space by this siltation.
See Part 2 to learn about proposed development of a pioneer village at Blowing Cave, Georgia.
"Blowing Cave, Decatur County, Georgia. The agitated leaves above the mouth of the cave show the effect of the escaping current of air." A xerox copy of a photo which appeared in "The Underground Waters of Georgia", a bulletin published in 1908 by the Geological Survey of Georgia. Note the outline of a man sitting above the entrance to the cave.
B
lowing Cave is located in the Blowing Cave Georgia Militia District, in northwest Grady County, Georgia. It is about two miles west of the Hawthorne Trail, Ga. Hwy. 112 and about 8 to 9 miles northwest of Cairo, the county seat. It is just west of Mizpah Baptist Church, which is located just west of Hawthorne Trail near the Grady County - Mitchell County boundary. It was clearly located on the "Grady County Soil Map" published by the Georgia Geological Survey in 1908.A photograph published in one of the Survey's bulletins described as Blowing Cave may not actually be Blowing Cave. It could be the small sink where Glory Hole Caverns is located -- due east of Blowing Cave.
L
ike all the other sites in the proposed park area, Blowing Cave is located near the eastern rim of the Flint River valley. Topsoil here lies above a thick layer of limestone rock dated to the period between the Oligocene and Miocene epochs. That means the limestone in this area was created between 7 million and 16 million years ago, very young in Earth's age.B
lowing Cave became well known to the early settlers of the area and by the 1850's had become a prominent curiosity that brought frequent visitors from the surrounding region. The entrance was once apparently much larger.Georgia's counties have political subdivisions called "militia districts". A GMD (for Georgia Militia District) could elect its own justice of the peace (an office which once held much more judicial power than today) and other political officers. The GMD's were first established in the early 1800's and were originally intended to be districts with enough adult male population to be able to produce a full company of the Georgia State Militia.
I have not done any historical research on the subject so I do not know exactly when the Blowing Cave Georgia Militia District was established. However, it was active in the 1880's at least and is still a district today.
I recently came across info on the 'Net about articles in two different publications relating either an envelope and letter or just a stamp which was posted at Blowing Cave in 1855. This would be the oldest existing postmark for the old post office that I know of.
The natural wonders in this area need your help. If you want to see them preserved and restored to their former splendor, then contact your state senator, state representative and Governor Barnes and urge them to establish a major state park for this site to preserve these natural wonders -- and create much needed jobs for our area.
You can send a message to Georgia Governor Barnes and let him know of your support. Take time to send him and the Georgia Parks Division and Tourist Division a note.
These are links to their contact pages:
Continued in Part 2
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