One of the highlights of downtown Toccoa is Paul Anderson Park, a welcoming greenspace nestled at the intersection of Georgia Highway 17 and Tugalo Street, heading south out of town. It’s a moving tribute to Toccoa’s most famous resident, Paul Anderson (1932-1994). Anyone who’s ever flipped through a copy of the Guinness Book of World Records knows that he made the “Greatest Lift. The Greatest Weight Ever Raised by a Human Being…6,270lbs in a back lift.” This led to Anderson being known as the strongest man in the world. He was a national and world heavyweight champion and won a gold medal at the 1956 Melbourne Olympics, but was proudest of his youth home in Vidalia. The home, founded by Paul and his wife, Glenda, “works with juveniles who would otherwise be incarcerated. The young men are first and foremost taught about the saving grace and enduring love of Jesus Christ. The Paul Anderson Youth Home, located on a 50- acre campus, offers to its students the opportunity of completing their education at the Home’s accredited high school which more than adequately prepares the young men for college, vocational school, or a career in the military. Paul believed that if a troubled boy learned to love himself rather than striking out at others that he would instead reach out to help others. And Paul Anderson also strove to instill in each boy a strong work ethic.”
The park was originally the idea of Mrs. Cynthia Sanders’s fourth grade gifted class, in 1999. Students presented the idea of a park to the city commission, which adopted the suggestion the same year. It was dedicated in 2008. Jim A. Pollock was the landscape architect and the excellent statue is the work of renowned sculptor Jerry McKenna.
