Dr.  Fred Brogdon Leads Constitution Day Presentation

Dr. Fred Brogdon gives the Constitution Day lecture Sept. 17 in Gilder Recital Hall on the Mount Vernon Campus.

BPC students listen and take notes during the Constitution Day presentation. (Photos by Gracie Henderson)

MOUNT VERNON— Local historian and Executive Director of the Altamaha Heritage Center, Dr. Fred Brogdon, spoke at a special presentation at Brewton-Parker College for Constitution Day, Monday, Sept. 17 in Gilder Recital Hall on the Mount Vernon campus.

According to Dr. Mary Waalkes, Associate Professor of History, “The event was well attended, and the audience asked a number of questions at the end of the presentation.” Brogdon spoke to a group of students, faculty, and staff about how the land in this area gradually became open for settlement between about 1783 and 1810, and he explained why the area was not as enthusiastically settled as the Georgia area north of the fall line, mainly due to poor soil, tangled land deeds, and Indian resistance. He mentioned the courage and resourcefulness of those settlers who did come, and said that many of them originally lived in North Carolina. He further explained that rivers formed natural highways for settlers and were usually good sites for farms. The Forks area where the Oconee and Okmulgee rivers form the Altamaha River drew a lot of attention from Indians and settlers, and it is a rich source of history. Professor Brogdon illustrated how the joint efforts of federal and state governments opened Georgia to westward expansion, which meant opportunity to start new homes and livelihoods on an ever-shifting frontier. He encouraged people to come to the Altamaha Old River Road tour on Saturday, October 27, where they can learn more about the importance of this part of Georgia in its early history.”

Constitution Day is held annually on the Brewton-Parker College campus. Congress established Constitution Day in 2004, requiring educational institutions to commemorate the signing of the Constitution on September 17, 1787.

Brewton-Parker College is the only accredited four-year Christian college south of Macon and north of Jacksonville, FL.

-BPC-

The mission of Brewton-Parker College, a Georgia Baptist college, is to develop the whole student through the application of Biblically-centered truth to a liberal arts curriculum in a community of shared Christian values.

www.bpc.edu