Courtesy Elke Milner, Barnes Health CarePatterson Street as it appeared in the early years of the 20th century.

VALDOSTA — While it has been 100 years since the roaring 1920s, Valdosta can trace its beginnings back to the mid 1800s.

Since its incorporation in 1861, the city of Valdosta has welcomed retail establishments and tourist concerns as a boost to the local economy.

The building of the Atlantic and Gulf Railroad across South Georgia in the 1850s was the spur for the creation of Valdosta, named after Val d’Aosta, a plantation owned by former governor George Troup. The railroad finally reached the city on July 4, 1860.

In the late 19th century, the city became a major inland market for sea island cotton and a major producer of “ship’s stores” — timber, turpentine and other goods needed by seafarers.

As the 20th century dawned, Valdosta played host to the Georgia State Fair. The fair was expected to draw large crowds and was primarily agricultural in design.

A “Wiregrass Parade” launched the exhibition down “Joy Avenue,” the fair’s main lane, and diving horses and elk were among the more unusual attractions, according to the book “The Courthouse and the Depot” by Wilbur W. Caldwell.

Valdosta’s inclusion on the Dixie Highway (U.S. 41), a national road linking Chicago with Miami, brought tourism to the forefront, as more motels and restaurants catering to travelers opened. This pattern would repeat itself in the 1960s as Interstate 75, running down Valdosta’s west side, spurred more retail growth around its exits.

In the 1960s, business districts began to grow away from the traditional downtown venue with the growth of such shopping areas a Castle Park, Brookwood Plaza (now owned by Valdosta State University) and Five Points.

In 1983, the Valdosta Mall opened, the first covered shopping space in the region, spurring the growth of retail operations around the St. Augustine Road area and contributing to the decline of Brookwood Plaza and Five Points as several of those shopping centers’ major anchor stores — including Sears, Belk’s and J.C. Penney — moved to the mall.

In 1996, the opening of Liberty Farms, a small petting zoo, was the start of something bigger. Today, its descendant, Wild Adventures Theme Park, plays host to large crowds riding its roller coasters and splashing in its water park.

Other draws for travelers include a number of restored historic buildings, such as the Barber-Pittman House, the Converse-Dalton-Ferrell House and Valdosta’s centerpiece, The Crescent, owned by local garden clubs; the Valdosta Symphony Orchestra; Dosta Playhouse, a former downtown movie theater built in 1941 and now home to the Theatre Guild Valdosta.

 

Terry Richards is senior reporter at The Valdosta Daily Times.