Cotton Gin

Historical marker location:

2355 Etheridge Road, Jefferson, Georgia

( Marker can be reached from Etheridge Road just south of Johnson Mill Road, on the right when traveling south.)

Shields-Ethridge Heritage Farm.

Georgia was the site of the first American gold rush, but it was also the site of the first American oil rush. In 1905, oil was discovered in Bibb County, and the state's oil industry began to grow rapidly.