Entertaining my son, daughter and granddaughter during their summer visit from Thomasville, we found much to see at little cost. Two trips to Talking Rock’s beautiful creek-side park gave my granddaughter (13) a chance to wade in a creek, which she loved. The park is adjacent to a seldom-used railroad track and the town has a brewery restaurant among its few but endearing attractions.

THE TINY TOWN OF TALKING ROCK IS JUST OFF I-575 A FEW MILES ABOVE JASPER, GEORGIA.
THOMASVILLE, GEORGIA IS ABOUT 300 MILES SOUTH OF TALKING ROCK AND MY NEARBY HOME IN TATE. ONE OF THE LOVELIEST SMALL TOWNS IN THE STATE, ITS DOWNTOWN VICTORIAN STREETSCAPE IS INTACT AND RESTORED AND MAIN STREET IS A DELIGHT FOR WEEKEN BROWSERS FROM THE NEARBY FLORIDA STATE CAPITAL IN TALLAHASSEEE. ABOVE IS THE COURT HOUSE FOR THOMAS COUNTY, DESIGNED BY JOHN WIND, WHO ALSO DESIGNED SEVERAL PLANTATIONS IN THE AREA, INCLUDING THE ORIGINAL HOUSE AT STORIED PEBBLE HILL.

ON MY WAY HOME UP GA 300, I STOPPED TO TAKE A PHOTO OF THE BARN AT MERCER MILL PLANTATION. ALBANY, LIKE THOMASVILLE HAS MANY “QUAIL PLANTATIONS.’ AND THE HORSE CULTURE STILL THRIVES ON THESE HUNTING PRESERVES.

ON MY RETURN TRIP TO TAKE MY SON BACK TO THOMASVILLE WHERE HE LIVES, I STOPPED TO VISIT A FRIEND AND HAD LUNCH IN DOWNTOWN CORDELE. THE DOWNTOWN IS FRANKLY RUN DOWN, COMMERCE HAVING MOVED OUT 16TH STREET TOWARD I-75. THE TOWN WAS A REGIONAL AGRICULTURAL AND RAIL TRANSPORT HUB BY THE TURN OF THE LAST CENTURY AND HAS MANY SURVIVING ARCHETECTURAL GEMS, INCLUDING ITS ORIGINAL CARNEGIE LIBRARY (ABOVE), AND AN ENORMOUS AND VERY IMPRESSIVE POST OFFICE.

I am not too far from the truth when I say that South Georgia might just as well be the dark side of the moon so far as most Atlanta-area residents are concerned. About 90% of the row crops in Georgia are produced in the southwestern section around Albany. Yet much of the region is without broadband and infrastructure consists mostly of the four lanes that transport travelers effortlessly through the region, no more aware of their surroundings than if they had flown over. This is, I feel, a tragedy. Agriculture is the largest industry in the state and tourism is second. The potential-as Thomasville has demonstrated-is great for revitalization using the leverage of tourism to bolster local economies. Frequently, the downtown districts are ghost towns (Cordele, Lumpkin, Americus are examples struggling to keep their main streets alive). Still, it is worth driving through the region to see what has (often remarkably) survived. And the open spaces are a welcome change from the unmanaged woods that have replaced so many farms in north Georgia, blocking the once pastoral view from our many “rural” subdivisions. Take a drive south and avoid the crowds and traffic.