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Stories from the South

People, places, traditions, and details worth knowing, gathered from across the region.

Published stories

Only stories available to read appear here.

Angel monument beneath Spanish moss in Bonaventure Cemetery, Savannah

Southerly Gothic

Familiar places. Darker stories. A new series exploring the history, memory, and legends that linger across the South.

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Tree-framed road into Spectre on Jackson Lake Island

Goats, Ghosts, and the Town of Spectre

On an Alabama island, the town built for Big Fish is still standing, and the goats have made it their own.

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Dunes and coastal vegetation on Cumberland Island

The Choices Shaping Cumberland Island

On National Public Lands Day, Georgia’s largest barrier island reminds us that protecting a place is an ongoing choice.

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The Mayberry Days Parade passing the Historic Earle Theatre in downtown Mount Airy

For One Week, Mount Airy Becomes Mayberry

For one week, Mount Airy becomes Mayberry, with squad cars, pork chop sandwiches, whistling contests, and a celebration of Andy Griffith’s centennial.

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Mist and morning light filling forested valleys in Great Smoky Mountains National Park

The South We Share

This National Public Lands Day, celebrate the Southern places that belong to all of us and the shared responsibility to care for them.

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Angel Oak on Johns Island, South Carolina

Angel Oak: The Lowcountry’s Old Soul

On Johns Island, a sprawling live oak offers a living link to the Lowcountry landscape that grew around it.

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American flags at Kennesaw Mountain in remembrance of September 11

One Life. One Flag.

At Kennesaw Mountain, a field of flags remembers the lives lost on September 11.

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The roofless Chapel of Ease ruins beneath live oaks on St. Helena Island

Chapel of Ease

A roadside ruin on St. Helena Island tells a layered Lowcountry story.

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A child leaping from a dock into a lake at sunset

The South Isn’t Done With Summer Yet

A Labor Day reminder that the Southern season follows its own calendar.

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A herd of bison grazing at Paynes Prairie in Florida

Yes, There Are Bison in Florida

At Paynes Prairie, Florida trades beaches and palms for one unexpected herd.

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Waterfall surrounded by autumn color near Mentone, Alabama

An afternoon in Mentone, Alabama

Tomato pie, a church built around a boulder, and one very good waterfall on Lookout Mountain.

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Spanish moss draped from Southern trees

Spanish moss: it’s neither.

Neither Spanish nor moss, it has become one of the South’s most enduring and unmistakable signatures.

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A live oak avenue draped in Spanish moss

Welcome to The Southerly Way

Why this publication exists and what we hope to notice, preserve, question, and share.

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Coming soon

Stories currently in the works.

Sailboats at sunset on the Beaufort River in Beaufort, South CarolinaComing Soon

Beaufort: The Lowcountry Without an Itinerary

A quieter Lowcountry town of live oaks, tidal water, and streets made for wandering.

Howard Finster's colorful folk-art world in Summerville, GeorgiaComing Soon

Howard Finster’s World

A legacy of art, faith, and imagination in Summerville, Georgia.

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