Cool little place that I checked out while I was in Valdosta, Georgia. Well this downtown is not…read moregoing to make New York City envious, there is a certain charm to it. It definitely screams Deep South in a good way. There are multiple restaurants, small businesses and more in the downtown area. If you find yourself in Valdosta, Georgia, I would definitely recommend coming to check the downtown area out.

In the downtown section of Valdosta, Georgia they buried a time capsule back on July 8, 1976. It is…read moreto be opened on July 4, 2026. How much the world has changed in this forty years. I was walking around the downtown area and came across this. It makes me almost want to come here on July 4, 2026. Regardless, I am glad that I am here now.

Such a fun monument to see when entering and exiting Florida! We noticed other neighboring states…read moredidn't have a fun monument when you entered or exited the state.

I saw a pic of the monument that was taken on 9/14/2024. It's so dirty, Fl should be embarrassed…read more Best part? It's illegal to stop there, so volunteers can't even go clean it. Bad Dog, guys, bad dog...

Erected a full fifty years after the end of the Civil War, this monument stands on what was, at the…read moretime, the Lowndes County Courthouse. Standing thirty or so feet tall, the obelisk has a Confederate soldier at the top. He stands in uniform, hands clasped at the top of his upward-pointed rifle. He seems to be looking south, with his back to the courthouse. The main inscription reads, "Erected by Valdosta Chapter, U.D.C. No. 471. 1911 'Lest We Forget.'" with "Comrades" below and "Our Confederate Dead" below that. At this time, there are no other context plaques. There has been discussion lately about the continued presence of the statue but it's still standing here in 2024. [Review 1042 of 2024 - 711 in Georgia - 22070 overall]

Last review of my 2022 February Black History Series & I honestly don't know how to rate it. This…read moreis by far the most difficult piece of history to digest and the most uncomfortable to write & read. It is so difficult in fact, that I don't think I'm capable of presenting it without myself becoming upset. Here are the words from the historic marker that was removed and place in the National Center for Civil & Human Rights because was constantly being defaced and pierced with high caliber BULLETS. It reads: [ historic marker ] MARY TURNER AND THE LYNCHING RAMPAGE OF 1918 Near this site on May 19, 1918, twenty-one year-old Mary Turner, eight months pregnant, was burned, mutilated, and shot to death by a local mob after publicly denouncing her husband's lynching the previous day. In the days immediately following the murder of a white planter by a Black employee on May 16, 1918, at least eleven local African Americans including the Turners died at the hands of a lynch mob in one of the deadliest waves of vigilantism in Georgia's history. No charges were ever brought against known or suspected participants in these crimes. From 1880-1930, as many as 550 people were killed in Georgia in these illegal acts of mob violence. Erected by the Georgia Historical Society, the People's Temple, Valdosta State University - Woman and Gender Studies Program, and The Mary Turner Project. *** [ missing details of the sign ] What the sign does not describe is the circumstances of the death of the white planter by his black "employee". While the emancipation proclamation freed enslaved blacks in the United States, the 13th amendment allowed for one loophole. Penal labor in the United States is explicitly allowed: "Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted, shall exist within the United States, or any place subject to their jurisdiction." That amendment gave rise to CONVICT LEASING, a system of forced penal labor that provided prisoner labor to private parties, such as plantation owners and corporations (e.g. Tennessee Coal and Iron Company, Chattahoochee Brick Company). The lessee was responsible for feeding, clothing, and housing the prisoners AND could punish or discipline them as they saw fit. Considering slavery had barely been outlawed, the treatment of these mostly black inmates was often bitterly WORSE that of their previous slave status. These convicts were actually profitable for state revenue. In 1898, 73% of Alabama's entire annual state revenue came from convict leasing. Corruption, lack of accountability, and racial violence resulted in "one of the harshest and most exploitative labor systems known in American history." TheConversation.com writes this in a February 2017 article: "They lived in squalid conditions, chained, starved, beaten, flogged and sexually violated. They died by the thousands from injury, disease and torture. For both the state and private corporations, the opportunities for profit were enormous. For the state, convict lease generated revenue and provided a powerful tool to subjugate African-Americans and intimidate them into behaving in accordance with the new social order. It also greatly reduced state expenses in housing and caring for convicts. For the corporations, convict lease provided droves of cheap, disposable laborers who could be worked to the extremes of human cruelty." link: https://theconversation.com/exploiting-black-labor-after-the-abolition-of-slavery-72482 *** These were the conditions of the "employee" that killed the white "planter". This killing set off a manhunt that swept southern Georgia killing more than a dozen innocent black men. When Mary went to the courthouse to complain and demand justice for her husband who was wrongfully slain, the crowd turned their anger on Mary, and, well... she and her unborn baby lost their lives in a horrifically brutal act that you can learn about here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=St1maRFmP8o [ side note ] I should mention the correlation between the end of slavery and the rise of the incarcerated population are practically successive. Many of these men were being sent to prison for the smallest of infractions... most commonly for being unemployed (vagrancy). [ FINAL THOUGHTS ] Mary Turner went to the courthouse to seek justice for the murder of her innocent husband, and the same irrational violence that took him took her at the sheer complaint of unfairness. There is so much to unpack in this American History tragedy, including how even a modern day sign erected in 2010 is treated as violently as Mary. Many have left flowers at the base of the metal cross now standing at the site. Rest in Power Turner family, my heart weeps for you all. May God repay you 100 fold for every act of violence against you. Thank you for following my month of Black History reviews! 2022 / 60

if I could give a negative number I would. absolutely the worst company to deal with. they took a…read moreyear to install my sons stone and it was damaged but yet still installed it. I had to call multiple times and they never called me back. now I come to visit him today on a rare half day at work and they are removing it with no notice nothing!!! I called and the women sound like I was an inconvenience to her and didn't tell me how they are fixing it. I asked for a call back but won't hold my breath. I would never use this company ever!!!

From the owner: Specializing in: - Mausoleums…read more- Monuments - Cemetery Equipment & Supplies

I was told by a regular that this place had fallen into disrepair not too long ago but maybe it's…read morecome back around. We took our two kids here on a break from long road trip and while it's not right on 75, it's a perfect pit stop. I would recommend this to all as it's a really short hike with some beautiful views and it's free. We did not see any of the land/water wildlife while we were here such as alligators or lizards, snakes, and frogs, but we did see some beautiful birds and considering it was the dead of winter, we were happy. The boardwalk is in decent condition and you don't have to worry about a gator jumping up eating you. The tower you get to climb at the end offers great views and a nice finish to the short (approximately .5 miles each way) trip.

We made this our first pit stop on a road trip north from Florida. Seems like it is in the middle…read moreof nowhere and signs say it is closed to the public when school groups visit Monday through Friday. It was awesome to be thrust into nature in the swamp while still staying somewhat safe on a boardwalk above it. The tower at the end of the boardwalk was like the prize at the end... it was quite a climb up the stairs but the view was so worth it. The boardwalk is in need of some major repairs as there were parts where the railing had fallen over and other parts where boards were warped and/or rotted. As long as you are careful I think this is a good place to bring kids. Mine really enjoyed themselves and the bugs weren't bad. Beware of giant spiders in webs that may be at face level! We didn't see any gators but saw plenty of butterflies, dragonflies, birds, ducks, and beautiful flowers.