Lawrence Arthur Wisenbaker deeded right-of-way to the Georgia Southern & Florida Railroad in the 1880s, insuring the success of the community, which was known as Twin Lakes until 1890. In the early 20th century, the Palmer Brothers’ Turpentine Still and Ewell Brown’s Lake Park Manufacturing Company, a cotton gin, were two of the largest businesses. Lake Park’s history is largely tied to agriculture and cotton has made a comeback, but the big crop here is carrots. Along with nearby Echols County, Lake Park is the “Carrot Capital of the South”.
Can anyone help me? My great-grandfather, Samuel Crews, operated a “general store” in Lake Park around 1910 (he is listed as a “merchant” in the 1910 census) Family folk-lore says “he had a general store at the fork in the road in Lake Park”. I also heard recently he was a mayor in Lake Park. My grandfather (Leo) was born there in 1902 and his sister Laura in 1908. Sam was married to Sallie Carter and they are interred within the Carter Cemetery in Echols. Thank you!
It was the Suwanee Store in the 70’s. As children we would trade in bottles for store credit and buy penny candy, yahoo’s and RC colas..lol Heck we could even buy cigarettes for our Mom, she just had to call.
I’m sorry the store and thrift store was in the left side if you are looking at the building. The Fender home on Railroad Ave. next door to Aunt Lillie’s house is a beautiful place too.
Years ago there was a grocery store in the right side of the building. In the 90’s on up until the early 2000’s there was a thrift store there that was run by my aunt Lillie Sandlin. It was supported by her church Lake Park Christian. I still have many family members there but I live in Effingham county now. I wish you’d got a picture of her house on Railroad Ave. before it was modernized.