(Image courtesy Carl Vinson Institute of Government. For a map of all Georgia congressional districts, click here.)
Georgia's First Congressional District is comprised of 25 counties in south Georgia. It's a large District extending from south of Savannah to the Florida border, west to Adel and north to Alamo.
The 25 counties of the First District are: Appling, Atkinson, Bacon, Berrien, Brantley, Bryan, Camden, Charlton, Chatham, Clinch, Coffee, Cook, Echols, Glynn, Jeff Davis, Lanier, Liberty, Long, Lowndes, McIntosh, Pierce, Telfair, Ware, Wayne, and Wheeler.
The First District has:
*Georgia's coastline, including the Golden Isles of St. Simons Island (home of historic Fort Frederica National Monument), Jekyll Island State Park, and Sea Island (home of the "5-star" resort hotel The Cloister), also Cumberland Island National Seashore and many miles of beautiful marshes. Sidney Lanier's famous poem "The Marshes of Glynn" was written about the marshes around coastal Glynn County.
* Kings Bay Naval Submarine Base, at Kings Bay in Camden County, Fort Stewart, near Hinesville in Liberty County, Hunter Army Airfield in Savannah, and Moody Air Force Base near Valdosta.
* FLETC, the Federal Law Enforcement Training Center, at Glynco (outside Brunswick) is the training facility for more than 70 federal law enforcement agencies including the Capitol police force, Secret Service, White House police and DEA.
* The Okefenokee Swamp, the largest swamp in North America and one of America's most fascinating natural areas.
Here's some additional information about our District:
* The First District is a literary haven. Best selling authors William Diehl (Sharkey's Machine, which became a Burt Reynolds film, "27", Primal Fear and its sequel, Show of Evil, made into a film starring Richard Gere)
* George Dawes Green (Edgar Award winner for his top mystery The Caveman's Valentine, and best-seller The Juror, which was made into a film starring Demi Moore.
* Tina McElroy Ansa (best-selling black author of A Baby in the Family and Ugly Ways) all call St. Simons Island their home. In what is probably unprecedented for what can be considered a small town, Diehl, Price, and Green all had best selling books at the same time (summer of 1995).
* The First District has also a been a background for top films including Academy Award Winning Best Picture Forrest Gump, filmed in and around Savannah. Other movies that filmed in various areas of the District include Glory (Morgan Freeman, Denzel Washington), Camilla (Jessica Tandy, Bridget Fonda), and Gator (Burt Reynolds) which was filmed at Banks Lake in Lanier County as well as in Savannah.
Summary:
From Georgia pines and massive oaks with hanging Spanish moss, to the marshes, river inlets and ocean, the First District has an abundance of natural beauty. The First District is rich with historic sites, cozy rural communities and farms, and the southern hospitality of warm-hearted people espousing old-fashioned family values.