Our Chapter

Chartered in December of 1916 in Jesup, Georgia, the Altamaha Chapter NSDAR includes the counties of Wayne, Liberty, and Long. Soon to celebrate our 110th anniversary, the Altamaha Chapter is named for the Altamaha River- “Georgia’s Little Amazon”. Long used by early Native American tribes for transportation and trade, the river was chosen by Mary Musgrove, Queen of the Creeks and interpreter for General Oglethorpe, as the site of one of her trading posts. The river’s basin was originally Muscogee (Creek) land, and later a boundary for the English Colony of Georgia.

Pronounced ALL- tah- ma- HAW, the name has a number of possible origins. The name Altamaha likely comes from an early Native American 16th-century Yamasee or Muscogee Creek Tribe chief named Altamaha who ruled an historic chiefdom (Native American kingdom or large settlement) near Milledgeville and part of the Oconee River Valley’s indigenous tribal lands. The chiefdom was also called Altamaha.

And then there is the tale of the Altamaha-ha or Altie. In Georgia folklore, the Altamaha- ha (or Altie) is a legendary snake-like sea monster said to inhabit the marshes, small streams, and abandoned rice fields along the mouth of the Altamaha River in southeastern Georgia. The Altamaha-ha is described as 20–70 feet long, grayish or greenish in color, with a thin body, bony humps, flippers, and a head resembling a snake or crocodile. Reportedly sighted since the late 1700’s, the creature’s origins are found in Lower Muscogee Creek Tribal lore. In 2018, a monster-like carcass, purported to be the remains of an Altie, appeared on a beach on Wolf Island. After some journalistic investigation, the remains were revealed to be a hoax. A sculpture of Altie can be found in the Darien, Georgia, Visitor’s Center.