Editing Camden County, Georgia (section)

===Since the 1830s===
Earlier plans for railways in the area dated back to the 1830s, but construction was never begun. In 1893, [[Florida Central and Peninsular Railroad]] built a Savannah-Jacksonville line through Camden County. In 1923 the county seat of Camden County was moved from St. Marys to Woodbine, a reflection of the shift from the water transportation to railways. In 1927, [[U.S. Route 17 in Georgia|U.S. Route 17]] was constructed through Woodbine and Kingsland.<ref name=":1">Reddick, Margurite. ''Camden's Challenge''. WH Wolfe Associates, Alpharetta, Georgia, 1994.</ref>

From 1917 to 1937, a [[pogy]] plant producing oil for [[Procter & Gamble]] and fertilizer for the Southern Fertilizer and Chemical Company was one of the major economic activities of the area. The layoffs from the pogy plant found relief when the [[Gilman Paper Company]] came to the county in 1939. The company was sold to Durango Paper Co. in 1999, and went out of business in 2002, resulting in 900 workers losing their jobs.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://onlineathens.com/stories/091402/bus_20020914026.shtml|title=Durango paper mill closing, 900 workers lose jobs {{!}} Online Athens|date=April 6, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160406122011/http://onlineathens.com/stories/091402/bus_20020914026.shtml|archive-date=April 6, 2016|access-date=April 2, 2018}}</ref>

In 1965, [[Thiokol|Thiokol Chemical]] launched a {{convert|13|ft|adj=on}}-diameter, {{convert|3000000|lbf|kN|adj=on}}-thrust rocket from their chemical plant in the eastern part of the county.<ref name=t&g201409/>
On February 3, 1971, a [[Thiokol-Woodbine Explosion|fire and explosion]] occurred at the plant, located 12 miles southeast of Woodbine. The industrial accident killed 29 workers and seriously injured 50 others.<ref name=":2" />

During World War II, the Georgia State Guard and local Home Guard held bases on Cumberland Island.<ref name=":1"/> The island and surrounding waters were also patrolled by the [[United States Coast Guard]].<ref name=":4">Bullard. Cumberland Island: A History. University of Georgia Press 2001.</ref> The U.S. Army began to acquire land south of [[Crooked River (Georgia)|Crooked River]] in 1954 to build a military ocean terminal to ship ammunition in case of a national emergency.
In November 1976, the area of Kings Bay was selected for a submarine base. Soon afterward, the first Navy personnel arrived in the Kings Bay area and started preparations for the orderly transfer of property from the Army to the Navy. [[Naval Submarine Base Kings Bay]] not only occupies the former Army terminal land, but several thousand additional acres. Camden County's population grew enormously after the military took an interest in the area, and during the 1980s, was the fourth fastest growing county in the United States.<ref name=":1"/>

[[Cumberland Island National Seashore]] was established in 1970 to protect and preserve the natural and historic resources of the island. [[Crooked River State Park]] was established in 1985.

In 2009, the Camden County Sheriff's Office was ordered by the [[United States Department of Justice|Justice Department]] to repay $662,000 of improperly spent [[Asset forfeiture|funds seized]] from alleged criminals before it would be allowed to participate in the Justice Department's [[equitable sharing]] program. Items that were determined to have been purchased by the Camden County Sheriff's Department improperly included a [[Dodge Viper]] purchased for approximately $90,000 which the Sheriff's Office intended to use in [[Drug Abuse Resistance Education|anti-drug programs]].<ref>{{Cite news|title=Sheriff Under Scrutiny over Drug Money Spending|language=en|work=NPR.org|url=https://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=91638378|access-date=February 22, 2022}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|last=Dickson|first=Terry|title=Camden County works way back into federal seized assets program|url=https://www.jacksonville.com/story/news/crime/2011/12/07/camden-county-works-way-back-federal-seized-assets-program/15881806007/|access-date=February 22, 2022|website=The Florida Times-Union|language=en-US}}</ref>

In 2012, the Camden County Joint Development Authority began considering developing a [[spaceport]] for both [[HTHL|horizontal]] and [[VTVL|vertical]] spacecraft operations. Options included moving the [[St. Marys, Georgia|St. Marys']] airport to the [[coastal|Atlantic coastal]] site<ref name=tribune20121115>
{{cite news |last=Rush |first=Johna Strickland |title=Spaceport could land in Camden |url=http://www.tribune-georgian.com/articles/2012/11/16/news/top_stories/1topstory11.16.txt |access-date=November 20, 2012 |newspaper=Tribune & Georgian |date=November 15, 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://archive.today/20130204234425/http://www.tribune-georgian.com/articles/2012/11/16/news/top_stories/1topstory11.16.txt |archive-date=February 4, 2013 }}</ref>
which had previously been used for a rocket launch in 1965.<ref name=t&g201409/>
In 2013, the authority contracted for an [[Environmental Impact Statement]] to be completed on {{convert|200|acre}} of authority-owned land, part of a larger {{convert|4200|acre}} site, in order to build a commercial launch site.<ref name=tbh20140106>{{cite news |last=Perez-Trevino |first=Emma |title=Brownsville, SpaceX await FAA ruling |url=http://www.brownsvilleherald.com/news/local/article_ed5b6e4e-75b8-11e3-86f4-0019bb30f31a.html |archive-url=https://archive.today/20140110104554/http://www.brownsvilleherald.com/news/local/article_ed5b6e4e-75b8-11e3-86f4-0019bb30f31a.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=January 10, 2014 |access-date=January 10, 2014 |newspaper=Brownsville Herald |date=January 6, 2014 }}</ref>
{{as of|2014|09}}, the county was investigating options to purchase {{convert|11000|acre}} of land from landowners who own the land formerly occupied by Thiokol Chemical and [[Bayer CropScience]] at [[Harrietts Bluff]]. If an agreement is reached with landowners, then another 18-month-long environmental impact process could begin on the larger parcel of land. Georgia state legislators would likely offer tax incentives for commercial development in the project. If development were to proceed, the earliest launch possible would have been in 2018, according to the 2014 projections.<ref name=t&g201409>
{{cite news |last1=Heglund |first1=Emily |title=Camden spaceport could be 'turning point' for Ga. |url=http://www.tribune-georgian.com/view/full_story_free/25909619/article-Camden-spaceport-could-be--turning-point--for-Ga-?instance=main_image_top |access-date=January 31, 2015 |work=Tribune & Georgian |date=September 2014 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150122092524/http://www.tribune-georgian.com/view/full_story_free/25909619/article-Camden-spaceport-could-be--turning-point--for-Ga-?instance=main_image_top |archive-date=January 22, 2015 }}</ref>{{update after|2018|1|15}}

In June 2015, the Camden board decided to formally advance the [[Spaceport Camden]] project by initiating an [[FAA]] [[Environmental Impact Assessment]] of the 4000+ acre facility.<ref name=sc20150603>
{{cite web |title=Camden County Board of Commissioners Approves Option Agreement for Real Estate |url=http://www.spaceportcamden.us/news.php |website=Spaceport Camden |access-date=June 3, 2015 |quote=''On June 3, 2015, The Board of County Commissioners unanimously approved an option agreement to purchase 4,011 acres, more or less. The subject property was the former location where the world's most powerful rocket motor was test fired in the 1960s. The county will be commencing soon the next milestone of the project whereby the Federal Aviation Administration prepares an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) to address the potential environmental impacts of constructing and operating a commercial launch site in Camden County, Georgia.  "This exciting announcement advances the project forward and aligns with the county's vision of developing a world-class spaceport," stated Steve Howard, County Administrator.''}}</ref>{{update after|2018|1|15}}