Last Thursday, I had lunch with a couple in the community who live at Wolf Pit. I explained to them that for months I had been trying to find out if the legend of the area was true and if there actually was a place called, “Wolf Pit.” The wife said, “Oh, my, yes! We live there!” She went on to tell me that years ago wolves really did roam the countryside. The population grew to the point that it could not be controlled, and livestock owners were losing sheep and cattle. The wolves were beginning to “run the show” and something had to be done.

In her colorful book, The History of Stephens County, Kathryn Trogdon wrote: “In Stephens County the Wolf Pit District received its name because of a pit dug by farmers. They covered the pit with brush, then placed meat in the center of the brush and trapped wolves that roamed the countryside destroying their livestock.” According to my luncheon friends, there was more than one pit, and they were located in the area to the right of this photo.

Last Thursday evening, the dogs and I found Wolf Pit. As we stood quietly taking in the beauty of the late afternoon scene, Chipley looked up at me and said, “If I was a wolf, I could never hurt a cow.”

I reached down and gave him a pat of reassurance. “I don’t think you could,” I said. Then as we turned and began to walk back to the car, Cocoa said, “Maybe we could skip our nightly chapter from one of Jack London’s books. This adventure to Wolf Pit is a chapter in and of itself.” I nodded thinking she was right and also realizing this was not the place or the time to tell them that many years ago, their ancestors were wolves much like the ones that had lived here in Stephens County roaming the countryside looking for food.

Pin It