Pavey: Georgia Guidestones are one of strangest backroad attractions

I've always enjoyed the eccentric oddities that seem to abound along Georgia's rural backroads.

One of the strangest sights has to be the Georgia Guidestones, tucked off a desolate stretch of State Hwy. 77 between Elberton and Hartwell.

I encountered them recently while driving to Lake Hartwell for a fishing trip, and couldn't resist a taking a peek.

The monument, which includes six astronomically aligned slabs of granite standing 19 feet, 3 inches tall, looks a little bit like Stonehenge. It is inscribed - in eight separate languages - with recommendations to guide our planet into an "Age of Reason."

The cryptic commandments seem to peer into a dystopian, post-apocalyptic world similar to the one Charlton Heston faced in the 1970s sci-fi classic Soylent Green. In addition to English, they are all copied in Hebrew, Swahili, Spanish, Hindi, Arabic, Chinese and Russian.

One of the 10 guidelines, in particular, is quite disturbing: "Maintain humanity under 500,000,000 in perpetual balance with nature."

In a planet with 7 billion people, that would mean 6.5 billion of us have to go.

The other guidelines are a bit less distressing:

"Guide reproduction wisely - improving fitness and diversity."

"Unite humanity with a living new language."

"Rule passion - faith - tradition - and all things with tempered reason."

"Protect people and nations with fair laws and just courts."

"Let all nations rule internally resolving external disputes in a world court."

"Avoid petty laws and useless officials."

"Balance personal rights with social duties."

"Prize truth - beauty - love - seeking harmony with the infinite."

"Be not a cancer on the earth - Leave room for nature - Leave room for nature."

But who devised and commissioned such a mysterious, thought-inspiring landmark, and chose the highest hilltop in rural Georgia's Elbert County for its location?

The story of the guidestones goes back to 1979, when a tall stranger using the pseudonym "R.C. Christian" wandered into a monument company in Elberton, which is known as the "Granite Capital of the World," and told the proprietor he wanted to place a tall order.

Mr. Christian said he represented a group whose members wished to remain anonymous.

He then conveyed a sum of cash to cover the project with the town's Granite City Bank - and work began immediately.

The bank's president, Wyatt Martin, arranged for the county to acquire a small parcel on a local farm to house the guidestones, which were dedicated March 22, 1980.

Since then, the identities of the monument's designers and benefactors seem to have eluded everyone, with Internet theories abounding all over the world. Rumors have suggested everything from ancient societies like the Masons or Rosicrucians to doomsday cults and even time travelers from the future.

Today, it remains a tourist attraction of sorts, still centered on the hilltop the county acquired in the midst of Mildred and Wayne Mullenix's family farm. If you are passing that way, stop and take a look. If nothing else, it will give you something to think about as you complete your travels.

FLY FISHERS MEET: The CSRA Fly Fishers will meet Monday at 7 p.m., at the Club House of the River Island Community in Evans. Discussion topics include planning for 2015 fishing trips and meetings. Visitors are welcome. For more information see www.csraflyfishers.org.

TROUT RULE CHANGES: The Georgia Department of Natural Resources is proposing changes to fishing regulations that include eliminating the "mountain" trout season and open all trout water to year-round angling.

"Previously, the 'mountain' trout season was kept from late March through the end of October each year, making streams designated as seasonal unavailable during that period of time," says John Biagi, chief of the Fisheries Management Section. "This change would allow that 'seasonal' regulation to be removed, opening up these streams to trout angling all year."

The department is holding public meetings in Acworth and Gainesville to discuss the proposal, but welcomes written or emailed comments too.

Written statements should be mailed to: GA DNR, Wildlife Resources Division, Fisheries Management Section; Attn: Thomas Litts; 2065 U.S. Highway 278, S.E.; Social Circle, Georgia 30025.

To submit comments electronically or view the proposed changes and additional information, visit www.gofishgeorgia.com/fishing/proposedregulations. The comment period ends Feb. 28.