Valdosta is a small city situated in South Georgia, approximately 400 kilometers south of Atlanta-the state capital. The city serves as the administrative center of Lowndes County and the heart of the Valdosta Metro Area. As of 2018, the population of Valdosta was estimated to be around 56,000 residents. Part of Valdosta extends slightly into Brooks County.
Valdosta has been a popular settlement area since time immemorial. Starting with the Seminole and Creek Indians who were the native inhabitants of the area, to the Spanish settlers and the American pioneers who came after them, the city has a certain kind of appeal that keeps drawing people to the area.
Although Valdosta was a prominent farming community and an important crossroads throughout the mid-1800s, it remained quite rural until the year 1860 when it was selected to replace Troupville as the capital of Lowndes County. The relocation was steered by the construction of the Atlantic and Gulf Railroad which passed through Valdosta. Most of Troupville’s residents also moved to Valdosta.
The civil war, which heavily devastated the deep southern states, erupted less than one year after the incorporation of Valdosta. Luckily, the city’s location towards the southernmost end of Georgia meant that it was well out of the war zone. As a result, the city became a safe zone for people fleeing the war hotspots in Georgia. After the war, at least 100 former slaves moved to Liberia from Lowndes County in search of a better life.
Valdosta’s Coca Cola bottling plant became operational in 1897. Remerton, a former milling town which is currently encircled by the Valdosta’s urban sprawl, was established in 1899 about two miles away from what was then the city center.
In the early part of the 20th century, the city was marred lynchings with most victims being black former slaves and their families. When the Second World War erupted in 1939, a military airbase was established in Valdosta as the nation prepared for any potential involvement in the war. Future U.S. president George W. Bush was one of the National Guard recruits who underwent training at the Moody Air Force Base in Valdosta.
Currently, the city of Valdosta remains an important crossroads and a thriving commercial center. It is home to Valdosta Mall, Wild Adventures, Valdosta State University, Valdosta Regional Airport, and Moody Air Force Base. The city has previously been named as one of the best small towns in the United States by Site Selection magazine and a top business and career center by Forbes.
