...July 7, 2008...
Below is a copy of the page as it was on April 30, 2008... I'll leave it up for those who might have questions about the use of our property along the Holt Bridge Road and at the Cartecay River... Some of the text might explain why things have changed somewhat from the old days...
For the benefit of those with questions of Georgia's Property Rights as it pertains to streams... Click the LexisNexis link and after finding the Georgia Code, Table of Contents, please refer to the following two Chapters under Title 44 of the Georgia Code for a quick review... They're short and concise...
You might want to read the entire Title 44, but please see Chapters 8.1 and 8.3 especially as all of our properties have non-navigable streams on them... Then drop us a line for further explanations...
…Holt Bridge Road Public Notice, April 30, 2006…
…Gilmer County, Georgia…
“All good things must come to an end.”
That sounds like something Ben Franklin or Grandma Pyle probably said… and isn’t something that I should have to include in my website…
Elsewhere on rholt.com is a link to another piece of my Family’s property that has notices and notes of fact that sound more like legal phrases instead of anything else… Comments and other notices like this are necessary to inform people, who once had free run of a piece of property, that an owner change has happened and that uses of the property are changing too…
This Internet information is one way to inform the public and let them know who they can contact if they have any questions about the property…
Traffic across the Holt Bridge has been stopped since the remnants of Hurricane Ivan crossed North Georgia in late September of 2004… Flood waters undermined one of the old pillars that supported the bridge causing it to be unsafe for traffic…
A new bridge is in the planning stages and is slated to start construction this year…
Now to the point of this web page…
The river property on all four corners of the intersection of the Cartecay River and the Holt Bridge Road is privately owned…
The Holt Bridge Road has a 30’ public right of way… The pavement is almost that wide…
The property that borders the entire northwest side of Holt Bridge Road from Big Creek Road to the center of the river, belongs to my Family… and has continually been in the Family since my Great-Grandfather, Jasper L. Holt acquired it in the early 1890’s…
The Holt Bridge, named after Jasper, was once a covered wooden bridge that was burned… then in later years was a wooden bridge that had logs for beams which were covered with boards… That bridge was not covered and also had no sides… It may have been the repaired remnants of the old covered bridge... I believe that only the covered part of the bridge burned… This one lane bridge had a long span to have had no sides and was about 13 feet above the water...
It was an interesting ride across that bridge when Gram, Dad’s Mother was along… She hated crossing bridges of any kind and definitely not one that moved and made lots of creaking noises… She would make a fuss about not riding over the bridge and of course She was in the back seat with me and Rebecca… Grandmothers are supposed to be calm and collected... which She was at most any other time when She wasn't riding across the old Holt Bridge...
Maybe She knew that there were just a few logs holding up that board decking… Looking back on it now… it was pretty amazing it lasted as long as it did and did as good of a job as it did…
Now fast forward to today… It has become a gathering spot where people, who are up to no good, can come and park… and do things that those who are up to no good, do…
Ending a personal labor strike, I have again taken on the task of gathering their litter, of almost everything imaginable, trying to maintain a respectable appearance…
In a time of rampant litigation and liability risks, I would like to ask you to receive permission before using our property…
I also invite you to keep up with the definitions of Georgia State waters… and the land ownership of the bordering lands and the rocks and river bottom that is under the State waters…
Please email me with any questions or other concerns involving this or any of my Family’s property… and if you'd like to use the property... contact me and I'll put you in touch with the property owners... They'd love to meet you and fully discuss your request...