Oconee River

The Oconee River is a river in the U.S. state of Georgia. Its origin is in Hall County and it terminates where it joins the Ocmulgee River to form the Altamaha River near Lumber City at the borders of Montgomery County, Wheeler County, and Jeff Davis County. South of Athens, two forks, known as the Middle Oconee River and North Oconee River, which flow for upstream, converge to form the Oconee River. Milledgeville, the former capital city of Georgia, lies on the Oconee River. The Oconee River Greenway along the Oconee River in Milledgeville opened in 2008; the North Oconee River Greenway is in Athens, Georgia. J.W. McMillan's brick factory was located along the river. Course The Oconee River passes through the Oconee National Forest into Lake Oconee, a man made lake, near the towns of Madison and Greensboro off Interstate 20. From Lake Oconee, the river travels to Lake Sinclair, another manmade lake near Milledgeville, the town founded on Georgia's Fall Line and former state capital. South of Milledgeville, the river flows unobstructed until merging with the Ocmulgee River to form the Altamaha River. Along the river there are many sandbars and oxbow lakes while the forest bottomland swamp surrounding the Oconee extends for miles, creating a very remote setting. Swamps along the Oconee river include Cow Hell Swamp in Laurens County. Name origin The river's name derives from the Oconee, a Muskogean people of central Georgia. The Oconee lived in present-day Baldwin County, Georgia at a settlement known as Oconee Old Town, later moving to the Chattahoochee River in the early 18th century. The name exists in several variations, including Ocone, Oconi, Ocony, and Ekwoni.