6 Georgia facts you might not know

1. Georgia was the last of the original thirteen colonies, but it was the fourth to ratify the U.S. Constitution. It was also one of the seven original Confederate states, seceding on January 19, 1861. It was the last of the Confederate states to be restored to the Union (on July 15, 1870). Slavery was prohibited under the Oglethorpe Plan, the original English plan for settlement of the area.

2. Roughly one in five Civil War soldiers from Georgia died in the war. However, from 1872 - 2003, managed to nominate and elect only white, Democratic governors. Blacks were essentially disenfranchised from 1877 until 1965. A major site in the Civil Rights movement, Ebenezer Baptist Church in downtown Atlanta, was Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King's home church; his funeral was held there in 1968.

3. The northern portion of the state is in the Blue Ridge Mountains, which is part of the Appalachian Mountain chain. The southernmost area of the state is coastal plains.

4. Stone Mountain, Georgia, near Atlanta, is Georgia's most popular tourist attraction, with over four million visitors per year.

5. Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport is the world's busiest airport. Our cat spent some time there when she missed her flight and had to stay in Atlanta over New Year's Day in 2016.

6. The state motto is "Wisdom, Justice, Moderation."