What Valdosta is known for

The city of Valdosta, which is the namesake of the Valdosta Region, is known for its events and activities. A compound in the city, called the Valdosta Wake Compound, was the first in the country to contain a "natural" land pool gap. The city is also home to the oldest Asian elephant on record, who is named Shirley. The downtown of the city is home to around 120 restaurants, government agencies, churches, and shops. As Summers Die, a 1986 movie that stars Jamie Lee Curtis and Bette Davis, was filmed in Valdosta. The city has also been named "Georgia's Best Adventure Town" by National Geographic.[8]

The most popular time to visit the city of Valdosta is in August, with other popular times being in July and September.[5] Activities within and around the city include Wild Adventures, the Valdosta Wake Compound, Lowndes County Historical Society and Museum, the Crescent, and the Grand Bay Wetland Education Center. Wild Adventures is an amusement park with eight roller coasters, along with other rides and attractions. Wild Adventures also has a Polynesian-themed water park that is called Splash Island. On the property of Wild Adventures, there is a zoo containing various animals. 

The Crescent was built in 1898 by a United States Senator and was almost demolished in the 1950s. On the property are the house, a chapel, and a schoolhouse shaped in an octagon. The small chapel is often used for weddings and other events. The house has thirteen columns that represent the first thirteen states of the United State of America. The Grand Bay Wetland Education Center covers around 3,500 hectares that is divided into cypress wetlands, hardwood forests, and upland pines. Within the area is a boardwalk and lookout tower. There are also multiple walking trails that go through the landscape that guests are welcome to explore.

In the city of Albany, which is located close to Valdosta in the Valdosta Region, there are many ventures that people can participate in. Some of these include the Albany Museum of Art, Flint RiverQuarium, the Riverfront Greenway Trail, the Zoo at Chehaw Park, Ray Charles Plaza, Radium Springs, and the Old St Teresa Church. The Flint RiverQuarium is a 5,000 square meter aquarium that houses about 100 different species of fish. The largest tank in the building is an open-air tank that is 6.5 meters deep. The tank contains more than 600,000 liters of water and displays a wide variety of fish that can be found in the river. In addition to the aquarium tanks, the property also has displays on Flint River's cave systems, an aviary housing local birds, and an alligator enclosure. 

The Riverfront Greenway Trail is a paved path that goes for three miles along the Flint River from Riverfront Park. The trail is often busy with joggers, walkers, and bicyclists. Along the path are benches and observation decks where people can stop and enjoy the scenery. Radium Springs is one of the Seven Natural Wonders in Georgia, and it lies on the south-eastern outskirts of Albany. It is the largest natural spring in Georgia and has deep blue waters that contain a small amount of naturally occurring radium. This was first discovered by Marie Curie in 1898. The spring disgorges 265,000 liters of water per minute. The water pours into the Flint River, which is home to various species of fish.[4]

Geography

The Valdosta Destination is located in Georgia. The destination is a circular shape that curves around the cities of Americus, Cordele, Douglas, Lake Park, Donalsonville, and Blakely. The west side of the border goes along the state line between Georgia and Alabama, while the south side of the border goes along the state line between Georgia and Florida. Cities within the district include Albany, Valdosta, Dawson, Leesburg, Tifton, Adel, Moultrie, Cairo, Thomasville, and Bainbridge. The Valdosta Destination has many fields and trees, along with a few lakes and rivers. 

The weather in the area is relatively warm, with the average high temperature being around 83 degrees Fahrenheit and an average low of about 50 degrees. The warmest month of the year is August, while the coldest is January. The zone gets rain throughout the year, with the highest chance of rain in July, August, and June. It does not snow in the city of Valdosta, along with the rest of the region. The surrounding landscape is relatively humid, with the most humid time of the year being August. Because of the weather, the best time to visit the region is from the beginning of March to the middle of May.[5]

Valdosta is home to many different types of animals, most of which are labeled as pests or rodents. Animals in the city include raccoons, squirrels, skunks, rats, and mice.[6] Outside of the city, there are multiple animals such as deer, turkeys, waterfowls, bears, alligators, and smaller animals like rabbits. There are also various species of birds and fish in the area.[9] Plants in the region include flowering tobacco, umbrella trees, airplane plants, beach wormwood, aloe vera, dumbcane, wishbone flowers, corn poppies, and Aztec marigolds.[7]

History

The first people to inhabit the area that now makes up the Valdosta Destination were the Creek and Seminole Indians. After they lived in the area for years, Spanish missionaries and American pioneers came to the area. Eventually, Lowndes County was established in 1825. In 1828 the first county seat, Frankville, was established. Later in 1837, the city of Troupville became the county seat. Because of the entrance of the Gulf and Atlantic Railroad, the Troupville moved and was renamed Valdosta. Valdosta was incorporated as the new county government seat in 1860.[1]

Valdosta is located on the Gulf Coastal Plain of Georgia. It has a virtually flat landscape with trees and other plants growing in the area. For a time, it was the center of long-staple cotton growing in the U.S. both before and after the Civil War, which occurred soon after Valdosta was established. During the war, the city of Valdosta was far away from the battles. It became a place of refuge for those fleeing the wars going on in other parts of Georgia. The Reconstruction era came after the Civil War, and many people emigrated from Lowndes County in 1871 and 1872. 

During the Reconstruction era, a man named J. W. Clift was running for Congress. He looked to the former slaves for support and gave a speech in front of the courthouse. During his speech, he verbally attacked the whites of Valdosta. As a response, five men placed explosives around the courthouse and planned to set them off at Clift's next political rally. However, when whites came to the rally, the men decided not to set off the explosives. Some of the explosives still managed to go off, causing a small explosion that injured no one. 

The five men who set the explosives were arrested and tried in court. In 1897 the world's second Coca-Cola bottling company plant was put into operations in Valdosta. Later, in 1899, the cotton mill town of Remerton was established two miles from the center of the city of Valdosta. A new courthouse was planned in 1900, and reconstruction began in 1904. In March of 1904, the old courthouse was torn down, while the new courthouse was completed the same year. The first session of the court took place in the new courthouse in 1905.[10]