Tag Archives: Georgia Superlatives

St. George, Georgia

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Located near the banks of the St. Marys River, St. George is the southernmost town in Georgia, and being 24 miles south of Folkston, it remains quite isolated. It is sometimes spelled Saint George.

Established in 1904 as a “colony city” by P.H. Fitzgerald [who nine years earlier colonized the city of Fitzgerald] and his son John P. Fitzgerald, St. George was laid out near the forgotten village of Cutler. Some of the streets in the town today bear the same names as streets in Fitzgerald, notably those named for Civil War generals like Grant and Bragg. When St. George was not incorporated nor any improvements made, as Mr. Fitzgerald had promised, some of the colonists filed a lawsuit which led to the founder’s indictment.

 

U. S. Post Office, St. George

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This is Georgia’s southernmost post office.

 

St. George Elementary School, 1938

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Built to replace the original St. George School [1910] which was destroyed by fire, St. George Elementary is the southernmost school in Georgia.

The Peanut Farmer Mural, Colquitt

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Famed mural artist Charlie Johnston created “The Peanut Farmer”, one of the largest murals in the United States. It’s nearly 100 feet tall and covers virtually all 26,700 square feet of the Birdsong Peanut Company’s Colquitt silos. It’s one of numerous excellent murals in this friendly farming town.

 

Coheelee Creek Covered Bridge, 1891, Early County

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Built by J. W. Baughman in 1891, this 121-foot span over McDonald’s Ford was restored by John Cherry in 1984. It is the southernmost covered bridge in the United States. Baughman’s grandson, J. W. Baughman III, writes that he was born in 1861 in Lexington, South Carolina, and died in 1923 in Dothan. Iron gates have now been placed at both ends of the bridge due to graffiti and other damage to the bridge.

 

National Register of Historic Places

 

Former National Champion Turkey Oak, Screven

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Across the street from  Screven United Methodist Church is this great Turkey Oak (Quercus laevis), once the National Champion of its species. The American Forestry Association’s National Registry of Big Trees named it to the listing in 1991, stating its dimensions as: 106″ circumference, 80′ high, with a crown dimension of 55′. Sandee Strickland notes that a tornado in 2005 did damage to some of the crown; another Turkey Oak, in Florida, is the current champion. Turkey Oak is a staple of sandhills and scrublands in the Deep South and most field guides suggest that they are rarely taller than 30′-50′, so this tree may still be the tallest extant of the species.

Poulan Library, 1908

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The early 20th century was a time of vast civic improvements in the United States, and small towns were as involved in these efforts as were larger cities. The Poulan Library and its initial collection of books was a gift from philanthropist and Michigan governor (1911-13) Chase Osborne, who often stayed at his nearby plantation, Possum Poke. Significantly, the Poulan Library was the only public library in Worth County until the Worth County Public Library opened in 1931. The library was also the meeting place of the Poulan Women’s Club from its founding in 1916 until the 1930s. Still open today, it’s said to be the smallest public library in Georgia.

National Register of Historic Places