T he Apalachicola National Forest consists of a half-million acres of land, of which one-half is located in Liberty County. This forest is a land of swamps and hammocks untouched by man, as primitive still as when the Indians for whom it is named trod its many trails and canoed in its many waters. For recreational purposes ten areas have been developed. The most extensive being Camel Lake, a few miles south of the city of Bristol. At the lake there is swimming, boating and skiing and throughout the forest are many acres for fishing and hunting for such game as deer, bear and the American gobbler. Here, too, is the Florida panther, the only state in the eastern United States where the panther is found, although hunting it is forbidden. Many dirt roads be-sect the great forest making access quite easy for the visitor.

T he great river of Apalachicola, (from the Indian tribal name Apalachee), flows southward from Georgia to the Gulf of Mexico and it's waters wash the entire western border of Liberty County. It has been a fishing paradise for the Indians of old and also for modern man, and it has been a transportation route to carry agricultural goods, industrial products and military goods during the Civil War. The central crossing of the river has always been at Bristol, accomplished first by hand ferry, then powered ferry and then by a bridge span. Construction of a new bridge and renovation of the old bridge has been completed to accommodate the heavy traffic flow of State Route 20.

F orming the eastern boundary of Liberty County, the Ochlockonee River, (an Indian word meaning yellow water) flows southward a distance of 62 miles to the Gulf of Mexico. The river is noted for its fine stock of fish including bass, bream and perch. Along both sides of the river large sycamore trees populate the shores and a diverse variety of native birds live in the foliage of trees and brush. Where the Ochlockonee passes the North East corner of Liberty County there is a dam that controls the flow of water. It also backs-up the water to form Lake Talquin, a recreational area, and contains the hydroelectric equipment to supply power to the city of Tallahassee.

T he biblical Garden of Eden has been lost in the wilderness of time but there is a claim of discovery and it exists in Liberty County. Here, it is claimed, along the shores of the Apalachicola River, in a stretch of scrub-filled land, is the site of the true Garden of Eden. Some say that this assertion is fiction, without foundation, while others say that it is true and a book has been written to support the claim. There is scientific evidence that the adjacent river bluffs and ravines are the same today as they were a million years ago but evidence of a garden environment has not been affirmed. But if the claim is true, then here in the pleasant clime of Liberty County, Florida, the first human beings were created and here was the home of Adam and Eve.

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