Tag Archives: Georgia Curiosities

Kingsland Clinical Laboratory

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This seems to be where it all began, in 1949. When blood tests were required for marriage licenses,  Kingsland saw an opportunity. Make it easy to get a blood test and a license  and reap the revenue. It was a good idea and it led to Kingsland’s distinction as the “Marriage Capital of the South”. Georgia hasn’t required blood tests for licenses since 2003, so the old sign is just a nice reminder of what helped put Kingsland on the map.

Kingsland Commercial Historic District, National Register of Historic Places

The Original Kingsland Wedding Chapel

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I believe this was the first one-stop wedding business in Kingsland, opened some time in the early 1960s.

Kingsland Commercial Historic District, National Register of Historic Places

Heritage Gardens Gazebo, Kingsland

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Heritage Gardens, where this gazebo is located, was the brainchild of florist Pauline Butler, who saw opportunity in the hordes of Floridians who come to Kingsland to circumvent their state’s more complicated marriage laws. In 2005 she told Florida Times-Union columnist Roger Bull a great story of an 81-year-old groom and 75-year-old bride from Melbourne who came up to avoid their wedding announcement being published in their local paper. “They didn’t want anyone to know,” she stated. The gazebo is modeled after Rome’s Pantheon…the Latin on the frieze reads: M. Agrippa L. F. Cos. Tertium.Fecit (trans. Marcus Agrippa, son of Lucius, in his third consulate, made it)

Elephant Tombstone, Colquitt County

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Ask anyone in Moultrie about the “elephant” and they’ll gladly direct you to the Pleasant Grove Primitive Baptist Church , where you’ll find the final resting place of William F. Duggan, Sr. (18 January 1899-22 December 1950). Locals contend that this is the most famous landmark in Colquitt County and since it’s thought to be the only life-sized elephant tombstone in the world, the distinction seems appropriate. The life-size sculpture depicts Nancy, a baby elephant owned by Duggan, who had just bought a circus at the time of his death. As a boy, Duggan worked with elephants in various circuses and always favored them. His son had this sculpture commissioned after his death. Athens-based photographer Dagmar Nelson shares a bit more of the history here.

Paradise Park Fishing Camp, Wayne County

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Paradise Park is a pay-per-day fishing camp, located just off the Altamaha River.

There are a few cabins and trailers on land and these floating fishing cabins.

 

 

Santa Claus City Hall

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Originally spelled Santa Clause, this hamlet outside Lyons was the brainchild of a farmer and businessman by the name of Greene. His classic Art Deco “Futuristic Motor Hotel” was called simply Farmer Greene. In 1941, to attract the steady stream of tourists who passed through on U. S. Highway 1, he named the area around his motel and pecan orchards Santa Clause. Streets have names like Rudolph Way and Candy Cane Street.

Cooper’s Memorial, Tattnall County

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According to his descendant Erbie James, Jerry M. Tootle (10 August 1877-8 March 1956) was a cooper, or barrel-maker. He and his wife Eliza V. Tootle (21 March 1880-4 August 1968) are buried here. Their shared headstone at Harmony United Methodist Church is a fascinating occupational memorial.

 

 

Chicken Sculpture, Stillmore

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Marietta may have the iconic “Big Chicken”, but Stillmore has this artsy tribute to the poultry industry, which is the largest employer in the community.

Unknown Union Soldier, Fitzgerald

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Fitzgerald was founded by Union Veterans, and there is a Union section in Evergreen Cemetery, with several unknown soldiers resting beside established founders of the colony.