Spotlight on Crisp County

 Crisp County, located in south-central Georgia, covers 274 square miles and was the first county in the nation to own and operate its own electrical power plant.  It was built in 1930 and used the Flint River as its power source.  Created in 1905 from a part of Dooly County, Crisp County is named for statesman Charles Crisp, Georgia lawyer, judge, congressman and speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives from 1891 to 1894.  The county is bordered by Dooly, Wilcox, Worth, Turner, Lee and Sumter Counties.  The city of Cordele is the county seat.

 This area of Georgia was once inhabited by the Lower Creek division of the Muskogee Indians.  The first Europeans here were Spanish explorer Hernado de Soto and his followers in 1540. 

A foggy morning on Lake Blackshear in Crisp County.

The construction of railroads in the 1880s led to the formation of several towns at railroad stops along the tracks.  Arabi and Cordele were both founded along the railroad in 1888.  Cordele was named for the daughter of the president of the Savannah, Americus and Montgomery Railroad and was known originally as “Hub City” because it was located at the junction of several railroad lines. 

 In November, 1864, the Georgia Governor Joseph E. Brown fled to his farmhouse near Cordele to steer clear of Sherman’s troops; so for a few days Cordele was the temporary capital of Confederate Georgia. 

 Unincorporated communities in the county today include Hatley, Raines and Wenona. 

Construction of the Crisp County Hydroelectric Power Dam on the Flint River, begun in 1923, created Lake Blackshear, named for David Blackshear, the founder of Fort Early.  The 8,700-acre lake shelters the Georgia Veterans State Park, a permanent memorial to the U.S. Veterans who served, fought and died for freedom.  The park has two museums that include exhibits of American war artifacts.  It also offers fishing, boating and other water sports, camping, picnic shelters and golfing.  Lake Blackshear is the site of national bass fishing tournaments that bring participants from all over the nation.

 Fort Early was built during the War of 1812 and was used in 1818 by Andrew Jackson during his campaign against the Seminole and Creek Indians. 

Planted pines are a common sight along the roadways in Crisp County.

Cordele is home to the fastest 3/8 mile paved oval speedway in the south.  Watermelon Capital Speedway is located at exit 104 off Interstate 75 and features races every other Saturday night. 

 Known as the “Watermelon Capital of the World”, Crisp County had 4,500 acres planted in watermelons in 2002.  Revenue from watermelon in 2000 was $12 million and Crisp County is the #1 watermelon growing county in the state; it is the #4 watermelon growing county in the U.S.  More melons go through the Cordele State Farmer’s Market than any other market.  In celebration of the watermelon Cordele hosts the Watermelon Days Festival for 4 weeks every summer.  Events during the festival include entertainment, seed spitting contests, a watermelon chunking contest, dances, talent shows, a parade, displays of antique tractors, equipment, cars and trucks, gospel sings, a fishing rodeo and many other attractions.

 In addition to watermelon, Crisp County produces cotton, peanuts, corn, soybeans, wheat and cattle.  In 2004 the county had 36,800 acres planted in cotton, which produced 41,300 bales and 12,400 acres of peanuts, yielding 29 million pounds harvested.

Cotton is an important crop in Crisp County.

 Crisp County is served by the AgGeorgia Farm Credit office located at 1207 South Greer Street in Cordele.  Call Tommy Davidson and his staff at (229) 273-3927 to see how they can help you with your land, farm or home financing.