Kathy Powell notes that this Jesup icon was originally located on Cherry Street, which becomes U. S. Highway 341 and eventually ends up in Brunswick. She said when you crossed under this arch, you were in Jesup. It was removed due to traffic safety issues in the 1960s and later replaced by a replica in front of what is now Jesup City Hall. This restoration of the old town arch is now located beside Jesup’s newly restored depot. It’s a really nice symbol for the city, so well loved that the town holds an annual festival in its honor
One thing worth separating, since the note above actually covers two different objects: the arch in this photograph is the restoration that stands beside the depot, not the one that spanned East Cherry Street. That original is the one that came down when traffic outgrew it.
I went looking for the paper trail on both last month and found less than I expected. What does exist: the depot’s own plaque, placed by the Wayne County Historical Society, reads “Originally built in 1903; rebuilt, 1926 after a fire / Second structure burned in 2003; Restored, 2014.” So the arch arrived beside a restored depot, which puts it at 2014 or after.
What I could not find: who built the original arch, when it went up, or how wide the span was. The only date anywhere for the removal is “the 1960s,” and it rests on a memory rather than a document. If anyone here has a newspaper account or a photo of the arch going up, that would close the gap.
– Riordan
Very nice!!