Barrow Area Conservation & Historic Preservation

08/31/2026

Dolly said it well, like she did so many things. We need to do better.

08/16/2026

What a great project from our young farmers! Submit your Barns of Barrow photos to [email protected]. Help support their initiative and be a part of sharing our local history!!

We would love to feature a barn you know!

08/14/2026

Soil erosion awareness! Does anyone know the story of the 3-story deep gulley that once existed in Winder on a local farm due to soil erosion? Drop a comment if you know it!!

08/12/2026

: On August 12, 1890 was the earliest-known telling of the story behind the infamous Tree That Owns Itself's, from a front-page article titled "Deeded to Itself" in the Athens Weekly Banner.

Down the narrow cobblestone street on the corner of Dearing and Finley Street stands the Tree That Owns Itself, a beloved piece of Athens folklore. This great white oak famously has legal ownership of itself and of all land within eight feet of its base where in the early 19th century UGA professor William Henry Jackson was so fond of the tree that he deeded the land on which it stood—and the tree itself—to the tree.

The deed stated: “I, W. H. Jackson, of the county of Clarke, of the one part, and the oak tree… of the county of Clarke, of the other part: Witnessed, that the said W. H. Jackson, for and in consideration of the great affection which he bears said tree and his great desire to see it protected, has conveyed, and by these presents do convey unto the said oak tree entire possession of itself and of all land within eight feet of it on all sides.”

Though the original tree fell during a storm in 1942, a new tree, grown from one of its acorns, was planted in the same spot and this "son" is considered to have inherited the ownership of the property from its predecessor.

08/10/2026

Four litters of red wolf pups were born in the wild this spring in eastern North Carolina, bringing new hope for one of the rarest and most endangered wolf species on Earth.

The pups came from four litters in the only place where red wolves still survive in the wild. Biologists currently estimate that around 12 to 16 of the pups have survived their first few months.

With only about 23 to 24 adult and subadult red wolves remaining in the wild, every new pup is incredibly important for the species’ future.

Once found across much of the southeastern United States, red wolves were pushed to the brink of extinction. These new litters are an encouraging sign that dedicated conservation efforts are helping give this remarkable species another chance.

08/06/2026

08/01/2026

07/30/2026