Logging Railroads in the Okefenokee Swamp 1889-1942

Here are maps of logging railroads in the Okefenokee Swamp, and detailed maps of railroads and the town on Billys Island.

[Logging Railroads and Billys Island, Okefenokee Swamp]
Logging Railroads and Billys Island, Okefenokee Swamp

The Billys Island maps are by Chris Trowell or revised from his maps. As the redrawn map says, Billys Island is 1.8 miles from Stephen C. Foster State Park, upstream on the Suwannee River and its East Fork. As you can see by the map, it was quite a bustling place. Until the trees ran out.

I don’t know who drew the map of all the railroads in the Swamp, but I would guess Chris Trowell may have had something to do with it. This is presumably the same C.T. Trowell frequently cited in the documents for Floyds Island in the National Register of Historic Places, and his paper included, “Seeking a Sanctuary: A Chronicle of Efforts to Preserve the Okefenokee,” C.T. Trowell, 1998.

These railroads did not all exist at the same time, since they pulled up tracks from one place to go another place.

These maps came from a ranger at Stephen C. Foster State Park, back in 2021. Naturally, right now I cannot find the email he sent with the maps.

[Logging Railroads in the Okefenokee Swamp 1889-1942]
Logging Railroads in the Okefenokee Swamp 1889-1942

BI

[Billys Island Lumber Camp --CTT 1979]
Billys Island Lumber Camp –CTT 1979

[Billys Island Town 1918-1927 From Original Map by Chris Trowell, Revised by Jane Ellen Schlossberg 1985]
Billys Island Town 1918-1927 From Original Map by Chris Trowell, Revised by Jane Ellen Schlossberg 1985

[Billys Island Town]
Billys Island Town

[Billys Island Town (sepia)]
Billys Island Town (sepia)

 -jsq, John S. Quarterman, Suwannee RIVERKEEPER®

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