Yellow River Post Office Hudson-Nash Park

Yellow River Post Office Gwinnett County Park

“I feel like the Lord has blessed us greatly as a family and also as a nation, and yet we are not as humble as I think we ought to be. But when we get in our proper places, I believe He has greater blessings waiting for us.” George Bayliss Hudson 4/13/1863
“I am indeed blessed with family, friends, and community members who love this land as much as me!” Kim Hudson-Hall 6/19/2012

Today, I had the privilege of photographing and reporting on the opening of Gwinnett County’s newest park. The Yellow River Post Office Hudson-Nash Farm is a passive use park featuring many historic buildings that were integral to the growth of Gwinnett County. The very idea of a post office being the absolute “last word” in news of the day…aside from the roadside tavern…is almost lost in the speed of today’s technology. News that took weeks to reach the outermost parts of our nation can now be viewed instantly. Communities depended upon that news no matter how slow or fast that it was delivered.

The park is a testament to the will and drive of communities to provide all that was needed to not only survive, but thrive and grow. School children will be able to visit this park and learn what life was like when Gwinnett County had dirt roads, limited schools, sparse population and few centers of commerce. Those children in attendance today listened to the speakers tell of the family histories connecting them to this land and the surrounding area.

Mrs. Kim Hudson-Hall spoke of the hard work and family values established by her ancestors. Commission Chair, Charlotte (Hall) Nash spoke of history as a lesson to be taught to our children for the purposes of knowing that the county did not always look the way it does today. “I appreciate the leadership shown by Wayne Hill’s efforts in the past to preserve a bit of history amidst considerable growth,” said Ms. Nash. In addition to Hudson-Hall and Nash’s comments, Commissioner, Mike Beaudreau spoke to his own connection to the land in the area and thanked the Hudson and Nash families for their efforts to preserve and maintain family ties to an area affected by massive growth in the previous three decades. “We are temporary stewards of where we live and must leave it better than when we found it,” said Beaudreau.

Overall, it was a beautiful day under a canopy of hardwoods and Georgia pine brought to a fine peak with a performance by Civil War Soldiers firing vintage rifles and a booming cannon. The most beautiful words of the day may have been spoken by the Boy Scouts offering prayer for the guidance of those who are charged with preserving such lands. Simple words from a child made all the difference in the day; for the lessons that the speakers sought to hand down as a legacy were indeed learned by those for whom they were intended.

Hudson Allen Schmidt is the 5th Great Grandson of Thomas Hudson

Ribbon Cutting for New Yellow River Post Office Hudson-Nash Park