Nodoroc
Nodoroc, or Old Nodoroc is a dormant U.S. mud volcano located in Winder, Georgia.[1] It is considered a Barrow County landmark.[2] The last eruption of the volcano most likely occurred in about the year 1800–1810, as the source of the site's flames, Methane gas, went out in 1813 following the New Madrid Earthquake.[3] The volcano was used as a Native American execution site,[4] and it was also the site of a temple.[5]
History[edit]
Native American use[edit]
The time in which the volcano was formed is unknown, as it has never been studied extensively by geologists. However, a study in 1993 found it to be at least 25,000 years old.[6] The name of the site, Nodoroc, is the Creek word for "gateway to hell." The Creek Indians built a stone altar on the edge of the volcano, where they executed criminals threw the corpses in the bog.[7] It was considered a way of sending deserving souls to hell.[1][8] One story states that a mother, who killed and ate her children, was killed at the site.[3] They believed the volcano was protected by the Wog, a mythical dog-like demon.[9] Despite the seemingly great importance of the site,[10] it was sold with the land around it to the English for 14 pounds of beads.
Use by European settlers[edit]
The first European explorers to visit Nodoroc said that it burned and dissolved everything they threw in it.[11] Supposedly, the bog's surface would even evaporate falling rain. In the early 1800s, a settler called John Gosset built a cabin nearby and cleared a field around Nodoroc. One morning, Gosset and his wife witnessed the last eruption of the mud volcano, which was most likely caused my decaying plant matter under the mud. Nodoroc was known as a cattle mire because cows constantly constantly got trapped in the quicksand-like mud.[1] Farmers eventually built a fence to prevent any more losses. Nodoroc was formerly about 5 acres, but circa 1900 a farmer named John Harris drained part of it and grew corn at the site.[5][12]
In 1837, the temple and altar located at the site were dismantled by settlers. The altar was purchased by George R. Gilmer, who placed it in the front lawn of his property in Lexington, Georgia.
The site is currently owned by the Harris Family.
Nodoroc temple[edit]
A stone temple was formerly located at the site.[13] The temple was triangular,[14] with three sides that were about 12 feet (3.7 m), and the temple was 8 feet (2.4 m) in height. It was dismantled in 1837.[5] The temple was used for executions and sacrifices to the Wog.
The Wog[edit]
The Wog, not to be confused with wog, a derogatory and racially offensive word in British and Australian English, is a mythical creature described by the Creek Native Americans as a large, black wolf-like creature with a long forked tongue and red eyes.[15] It is the size of a horse, a head like that of a bear, with large front legs, and an undersized back with small legs.[4] It is said to protect Nodoroc,[16] and sacrifices were made to the beast at the site.[17]
1993 Study[edit]
In 1993, the Nodoroc site was examined through pollen and plant macrofossil analyses and both TAMS and conventional radiocarbon dating, revealed two major depositional episodes from the interstadial period (ca. 26,000-22,000 years B.P.) and the mid- to late Holocene (<3600 years B.P.).
The interstadial pollen assemblages were mostly contained Pinus and Quercus, with notable amounts of Carya, Picea, and Abies, differing from other sites in the southern Appalachians and Coastal Plain by having lower Pinus and higher Quercus percentages. Macrofossils included two needle morphotypes of Pinus, suggesting the local presence of at least two species, potentially including Pinus banksiana. The study also highlighted difficulties in obtaining accurate radiocarbon dating in wetlands due to factors such as shallow water levels, low sedimentation rates, and vegetation on the depositional surface.[6]
References[edit]
- ^ a b c "The Mysterious Nodoroc Site in Winder, Georgia". GeorgiaBeforePeople. 2013-01-09. Retrieved 2024-05-20.
- ^ Georgia House Resolution 1328
- ^ a b alekmountain (2023-02-14). "Nodoroc . . . Dutch traders and Boers on the 17th century Appalachian Frontier". The Americas Revealed. Retrieved 2024-05-20.
- ^ a b Crawford, Wilson. "Supernatural - Local Mysteries & Myths - The Nodoroc & The Wog". Retrieved 2024-05-20.
- ^ a b c Barrow County Georgia Cemeteries. East Georgia Genealogical Society. 2000. p. 5.
- ^ a b "Pollen and Macrofossils from Wisconsinan Interstadial Sediments in Northeastern Georgia". Quaternary Research. 39 (1): 99–106. January 1993 – via Cambridge University Press.
- ^ Miles, Jim; Moran, Mark Moran; Sceurman, Mark (2006). Weird Georgia: Your Travel Guide to Georgia's Local Legends and Best Kept Secrets (illustrated ed.). Sterling Publishing Company. pp. 80–81. ISBN 9781402733888.
- ^ "The Winder Wog | Werewolves". 2021-10-31. Retrieved 2024-05-24.
- ^ "The Wog of Nodoroc". Southern Gothic. 2019-01-29. Retrieved 2024-05-20.
- ^ "Barrow County". New Georgia Encyclopedia. Retrieved 2024-05-24.
- ^ alekmountain (2019-12-18). "The Bohurons . . . a Native American Delta Force on the Southern Frontier". The Americas Revealed. Retrieved 2024-05-24.
- ^ "The Nodoroc". www.science-frontiers.com. Retrieved 2024-05-20.
- ^ Wilson, Gustavus James Nash (1914). The Early History of Jackson County, Georgia ...: The First Settlers, 1784 ; Formation and Boundaries to the Present Time ; Records of the Talasee Colony ; Struggles of the Colonies of Yamacutah, Groaning Rock, Fort Yargo, Stonethrow and Thomocoggan (2 ed.). W.E. White. pp. 145–166.
- ^ Thornton, Richard (2014). The Forgotten History of North Georgia. Lulu.com. p. 31. ISBN 9781312506299.
- ^ Professor, The (2010-05-27). "Georgia Mysteries: Did You Know There Was A Volcano In Georgia? What About the Wog?". Georgia Mysteries. Retrieved 2024-05-24.
- ^ Carmichael, Sherman (2021). Mysterious Georgia. Arcadia Publishing. p. 88. ISBN 9781439673331.
- ^ Pursiful, Darrell J. (2015-07-17). "Nodoroc". Into the Wonder. Retrieved 2024-05-20.