Pictures of Colbert, GA03-02-2007Jeannemarie and I went camping at Watson Mill State Park, which is east of Athens. We spent one morning traveling to various towns in the area. On the list of places we visited was the town Colbert in Madison County. Colbert was once known as Five Forks. It was incorporated in 1900, and in 1909 changed its name to honor a prominent citizen named James Fletcher Coblert. It's a railroad town situated in the middle of a historic cotton area. City hall appears to be a converted Train Depot. It also bears the nickname "the City of Red Cannas" based on a flower that grows in the downtown area. About 20 years ago, it was added to the National Register of Historic Places. Each year it attracts visitors for it's Forth of July celebration. There is also veteran's memorial at one end of the historic district. It seems more concerned with Confederate soldiers, but sports an American Flag. The plaque states: "In memory of the 400+ Gallant Madison county confederates who sacrificed so much for southern independence" In 1895, a man named James M. Smith built a rail line, called the SD&C, from Smithsonia, a town a few miles to the south that connected with the Seaboard Air Line Railway here. The offices for the SD&C were located in Colber. After Smith Died in 1915, the line was abandoned. At one end of the historic district is a an old cabin called the Jacob Eberhart Cabin which was build by one of Colberts early settlers. The cabin was apparently moved to be in the downtown area. It looked well maintained. I imagine it is open during the week for school field trips. Just next to the cabin is a garden called the "Garden of Rememberance". The plaque in the middle of the garden says that it was built in 1972 by the Colbert Garden Club. Much of the historic district appears to be under construction. It looks like it was mostly owned by the Hart Mercantile Company which dealt in Cotton and Fertilizer until it was Donated in 2003. Some of the building faces were nothing more than a facade, others had a rather significant amount of contrustion materials on the other side of the window. In front of the historic district, there is an old fasion fire truck parked in the middle of the town on display.
Category: [Colbert]
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