You’ll be happy to know that Georgia’s Runaway Negro Creek in Chatham County has been renamed to Freedom Creek. The small 1.5 mile body of water was named after runaway slaves over 150 years ago.
Freedom Creek is located near Georgia’s Skidaway Island, a tony enclave of golf courses and tennis courts near Savannah, Georgia. Skidaway Island is one of the wealthiest communities in the United States.
The creek runs along the edge of Skidaway Island State Park.
Many of the well-heeled residents were offended by the Runaway Negro Creek name. So the residents proposed a name change.
Last year, Senator Lester Jackson sponsored a bill to rename the creek. Lawmakers approved the new name, according to WJCL.
Then-Georgia Gov. Nathan Deal quietly signed off on the new name for the creek, originally “named after slaves that escaped the Skidaway plantation during the Civil War.”
Now it’s up to Georgia archive leaders to approve the name change. But first they appointed a board to investigate the history of the creek. The board plans to talk to Chatham County leaders about the history and the creek’s importance, according to WJCL.
The board also plans to talk to local Native American Indians, whose ancestors named the creek after runaway slaves.
The board’s investigation could take until next year.
Stock photo by Anton Petrus/Getty Images
