Editing Valdosta, Georgia (section)

==History==
===Incorporation===
Valdosta was incorporated on December 7, 1860,<ref>{{Cite web |last=Thomas |first=Malia |date=2023-01-07 |title=Welcome Back: Tours fund Roberts House work |url=https://www.valdostadailytimes.com/news/welcome-back-tours-fund-roberts-house-work/article_58ad7f6a-8bb3-11ed-bba1-77dc6e0e9bed.html |access-date=2024-01-30 |website=Valdosta Daily Times |language=en |quote=Many Troupville residents migrated to nearby Valdosta due to the railroad’s growing potential. Valdosta, a completely new town, was incorporated Dec. 7, 1860.}}</ref> when it was designated by the state legislature as the new county seat, formerly at nearby [[Troupville, Georgia|Troupville]]. The railroad was built to Valdosta that year, rather than Troupville, stimulating development in the new county seat.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://valdosta.georgia.gov/05/home/0,2230,8612891,00.html;jsessionid=2AA6BDE2C6D608095EC9E4AACF298E81 |title=Valdosta &#124; Georgia.gov |publisher=Valdosta.georgia.gov |access-date=September 6, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120217004555/http://valdosta.georgia.gov/05/home/0,2230,8612891,00.html;jsessionid=2AA6BDE2C6D608095EC9E4AACF298E81 |archive-date=February 17, 2012 |url-status=dead }}</ref> Many citizens of Troupville had already relocated to Valdosta when the [[Atlantic and Gulf Railroad (1856–1879)|Atlantic and Gulf Railroad]] was built {{convert|4|mi|0}} away. The engine known as Satilla No. 3 pulled the first train into Valdosta on the Atlantic and Gulf Railroad on either July 4, 1860, or on July 20, 1860.<ref>{{cite book |last= Shelton|first= Jane|date= 2007|title= Pines and Pioneers|location= Valdosta, Georgia|publisher= Lowndes County Historical Society|page= 131}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last= Screven|first= John|date= 15 February 1861|title= Second Report of the President of the Atlantic and Gulf Railroad|newspaper= Daily Morning News|location= Savannah, Georgia}}</ref>

===Civil War to Reconstruction===
The [[American Civil War]] began the year after the establishment of Valdosta. During the war, many of its male residents served in the [[Confederate States Army]].<ref name=":2">{{Cite web |title=Reconstruction |url=https://www.valdosta.edu/academics/library/depts/archives-and-special-collections/regional-history/reconstruction.php |access-date=2024-01-30 |website=Valdosta State University}}</ref> Three years after the beginning of the war, women rioted in the city after the refusal of [[Confederate States dollar|Confederate dollars]] as legal tender.<ref>{{Cite web |last=McClure |first=Britanny |date=2012-09-04 |title=Valdosta riots! The untold history of the Civil War |url=https://www.valdostadailytimes.com/news/local_news/valdosta-riots-the-untold-history-of-the-civil-war/article_c93a79dc-59cc-5251-881e-ad6083b9bbb9.html |access-date=2024-01-30 |website=Valdosta Daily Times |language=en}}</ref>

During the [[Reconstruction era]], more than 100 [[freedmen]], families of farmers, craftsmen, and laborers, emigrated from Lowndes County to [[Arthington, Liberia]], in 1871 and 1872, looking for a better life.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Antebellum to Reconstruction |url=https://valdostamuseum.com/exhibitions/online-exhibits-2/people/african-american-history-in-lowndes-county/antebellum-to-reconstruction/ |access-date=2024-01-30 |website=Lowndes County Historical Society Museum}}</ref> Since before the war, the [[American Colonization Society]] had supported the relocation of free blacks to Liberia, an American colony in West Africa established for this purpose. The first group from Lowndes County left in 1871, and were led by Jefferson Bracewell; the second group was led in 1872 by Aaron Miller.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.valdosta.edu/academics/library/depts/archives-and-special-collections/regional-history/liberia-emigrants.php |title=Lowndes County Georgia List of Emigrants to Arithington, Liberia |access-date=8 January 2008 |author=Eric Dewayne Jackson |year=2003}}</ref>

[[Image:Lowndes1915.jpg|thumb|[[Lowndes County Courthouse (Valdosta, Georgia)|Lowndes County Courthouse]] and Confederate Monument {{Circa|1915|lk=no}}|left]]

One notable event during Reconstruction was at a political meeting in front of the courthouse. A [[carpetbagger]] named J. W. Clift was running for United States Congress and was looking for support from former slaves. During Clift's speech he verbally attacked whites of Valdosta. In response five men planted explosives at the courthouse, planning on setting them off at Clift's next political rally. When other whites arrived at the courthouse unaware of the explosives the five men decided to stop the explosives but some still managed to go off. The explosion was small and no injuries occurred. The five men were arrested and were going to go on trial, but [[United States Army|federal soldiers]] took them to [[Savannah, Georgia|Savannah]] for trial, which was seen by residents as an overreach of authority and an endangerment for self-government.<ref name=":2" />

As mechanization was introduced, the number of agricultural jobs decreased and Valdosta became more industrialized by the 20th century. The world's second [[Coca-Cola]] bottling plant began bottling Coca-Cola in Valdosta in 1897.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.valdostadailytimes.com/local/local_story_272230343.html |archive-url=https://archive.today/20130205160028/http://www.valdostadailytimes.com/local/local_story_272230343.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=2013-02-05 |title=A trip through time |access-date=January 1, 2008 |author=Jessica Pope |date=2007-09-29 |work=The Valdosta Daily Times}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.valdostadailytimes.com/business/local_story_356231757.html |archive-url=https://archive.today/20130209000340/http://www.valdostadailytimes.com/business/local_story_356231757.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=2013-02-09 |title=Breathing fresh life into Downtown |access-date=January 1, 2008 |author=Billy Bruce |date=2007-12-22 |work=The Valdosta Daily Times}}</ref> In 1899, the [[cotton mill]] town of [[Remerton, Georgia|Remerton]] was established {{convert|2|mi|0}} from the center of Valdosta.

===First half of the 20th century===
[[File:ValdostaGA1900.jpg|thumb|Downtown Valdosta {{Circa|1900|lk=no}}|left]]

A new courthouse was planned in 1900 to replace the smaller courthouse. Construction began in 1904 for around $75,000. The old courthouse was torn down in March 1904. The new courthouse was completed in 1904, and on April 14, 1905, the first session of court took place in the new courthouse.<ref>{{cite web |title=Lowndes County Courthouse |url=http://valdostamuseum.com/exhibitions/online-exhibits-2/places/lowndes-county-courthouse/ |access-date=13 April 2017 |website=Lowndes County Historical Society Museum}}</ref>

In November 1902, the Harris Nickel-Plate Circus' prize elephant, Gypsy, went on a rampage and killed her trainer James O'Rourke. After terrorizing the town for a couple of hours, she ran off to Cherry Creek, north of Valdosta. Gypsy was chased by Police Chief Calvin Dampier and a posse. Gypsy was [[Elephant execution in the United States|shot and killed]] and buried on site. James O'Rourke was buried in Sunset Hill Cemetery in Valdosta.<ref>{{cite encyclopedia|url=http://www.georgiaencyclopedia.org/nge/Multimedia.jsp?id=m-2467|title=Gypsy|access-date=December 31, 2007 |encyclopedia=The New Georgia Encyclopedia}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1902/11/24/117983485.pdf|title=Elephant Kills Keeper |date=1902-11-24 |work=The New York Times |access-date=January 13, 2014}}</ref>

On July 28, 1907, Valdosta voted to become a [[Dry county|dry city]]; a record $10,000 worth of whiskey was sold on the last day. The city had been wet since its founding.<ref>{{cite news |author=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.--> |title= Valdosta's Bars Are Now Closed|newspaper= Atlanta Constitution|location= Atlanta, Georgia|date= 29 July 1907}}</ref>

In 1910, cotton was still important to the economy, and [[Fortune (magazine)|''Fortune'']] magazine ranked Valdosta as the richest city in America by per capita income.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.georgiaretire.com/main1/staticpages/index.php?page=20040406113914704 |title=Triple Crown Hometowns|access-date=January 8, 2008  |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20071021071002/http://www.georgiaretire.com/main1/staticpages/index.php?page=20040406113914704 |archive-date = 2007-10-21}}</ref> Soon after that, the [[boll weevil]] invaded the South, moving east through the states and killing much of the cotton crop in this area in 1917. Agriculture in this area turned to [[tobacco]] and [[pine]] [[timber]]. In January 1913, the South Georgia State Normal College opened in Valdosta on the edge of town. Over the course of the following century, it evolved into [[Valdosta State University]].<ref name=":3">{{Cite web |title=History |url=https://www.valdosta.edu/about/facts/history.php |access-date=2024-01-30 |website=Valdosta State University}}</ref>

[[File:ValdostaStreetcar1912.jpg|thumb|right|Valdosta streetcar in 1912]]

On May 16, 1918, a white planter named Hampton Smith was shot and killed at his house near [[Morven, Georgia]], by a black farm worker named Sidney Johnson who was routinely mistreated by Smith. Johnson also shot Smith's wife but she later recovered. Johnson hid for several days in Valdosta without discovery.<ref name="meyers2006killing">{{cite journal| author=Meyers, Christopher C.| title='Killing Them by the Wholesale': A Lynching Rampage in South Georgia| journal=The Georgia Historical Quarterly| year=2006| volume=90| number=2| pages=214–235| publisher=JSTOR| url=https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B_q6VhhkczIYU2hSTHJtbHFmWGc/view?usp=sharing |access-date=14 May 2013}}</ref> [[Lynching|Lynch mobs]] formed in Valdosta ransacking Lowndes and Brooks counties for a week looking for Johnson and his alleged accomplices. These mobs lynched at least 13 African Americans, among them [[Mary Turner (lynching victim)|Mary Turner]] and her unborn eight-month-old baby who was cut from her body and murdered. Mary Turner's husband [[Hazel Turner]] was also lynched the day before.<ref name="meyers2006killing"/>

Sidney Johnson was turned in by an acquaintance, and on May 22 Police Chief Calvin Dampier led a shootout at the Valdosta house where he was hiding. Following his death, a crowd of more than 700 castrated Johnson's body, then dragged it behind a vehicle down Patterson Street and all the way to Morven, Georgia, near the site of Smith's murder. There the body of Johnson was hanged and burned on a tree. That afternoon, Governor [[Hugh Dorsey]] ordered the state militia to be dispatched to Valdosta to halt the lynch mobs, but they arrived too late for many victims. Dorsey later denounced the lynchings, but none of the participants were ever prosecuted.<ref name="meyers2006killing"/>

Following the violence, more than 500 African Americans fled from Lowndes and Brooks counties to escape such oppressive conditions and violence. From 1880 to 1930, Brooks County had the highest number of lynchings in the state of Georgia.<ref name="meyers2006killing"/> By 1922 local chapters of the [[Ku Klux Klan]], which had been revived starting in 1915, were holding rallies openly in Valdosta.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.maryturner.org/ |title=Remembering Mary Turner |publisher=Maryturner.org |date=1918-07-10 |access-date=2016-07-13}}</ref>

===Second half of the 20th century===
[[Image:Moody-retreat-1943.jpg|thumb|[[Moody Air Force Base]] in 1943]]

On June 26, 1941, [[Moody Air Force Base|Moody Army Airfield]] opened {{convert|10|mi|0}} northeast of town as part of the United States' preparation for the country's potential involvement in [[World War II]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Moody Air Force Base |url=https://www.georgiaencyclopedia.org/articles/government-politics/moody-air-force-base/ |access-date=2024-01-30 |website=New Georgia Encyclopedia |language=en-US}}</ref>

The local economy received an important boost in the mid-20th century when [[Interstate 75]] was routed and built through the area. Many vacationers on their way to [[Florida]] found Valdosta a convenient "last stop" on their way to [[Walt Disney World]] and the [[Orlando, Florida|Orlando]] area. The Interstate's route to the west of the city has contributed to its commercial district shifting from the historic downtown area to near the Interstate.

[[Image:Giraffes at Wild Adventures.JPG|thumb|right|[[Cheetah (Wild Adventures)|Cheetah]] roller coaster and giraffes at [[Wild Adventures]]]]

[[Valdosta State University|Valdosta State College]] was [[Desegregation|integrated]] in September 1963.<ref name=":3" /> In 1969, [[Valdosta High School]] (the formerly all-white school) and Pinevale High School (the formerly all-black school) were merged into one system; integration had begun at Valdosta High School about 1966.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Floyd |first=Adam |date=2015-05-24 |title=VHS 1965 desegregated class remembered |url=https://www.valdostadailytimes.com/news/local_news/vhs-1965-desegregated-class-remembered/article_6282ed5a-01b3-11e5-b042-c7187999dcea.html |access-date=2024-01-30 |website=Valdosta Daily Times |language=en}}</ref>

During the [[Vietnam War]], future president [[George W. Bush]] entered the [[National Guard of the United States|National Guard]], receiving flight training at Valdosta's [[Moody Air Force Base]] in November 1968.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2011-05-20 |title=The heritage of President Bush |url=https://www.moody.af.mil/News/Article-Display/Article/210292/the-heritage-of-president-bush/https://www.moody.af.mil/News/Article-Display/Article/210292/the-heritage-of-president-bush/ |access-date=2024-01-30 |website=Moody Air Force Base |language=en-US}}{{dead link|date=March 2025|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}}</ref>

In 1994, Kent and Dawn Buescher opened Liberty Farms Animal Park with a playground, entertainment venue and a collection of animals. An amusement park was added, and in 1996 Liberty Farms Animal Park was renamed [[Wild Adventures]]. Wild Adventures expanded with Splash Island Water Park in 2002. The Buescher family purchased a botanical garden and theme park called [[Cypress Gardens]] in 2004. Due to damage from three hurricanes and a financial struggle in repairing Cypress Gardens, the Buescher family were forced to sell [[Wild Adventures]] to [[Herschend Family Entertainment]] in 2007.<ref>{{cite news|last1=Flaisig|first1=Liz|title=Wild Adventures theme park is sold, but fun will continue|url=http://jacksonville.com/tu-online/stories/100207/met_204530833.shtml#.WO7UAIjytPY|access-date=13 April 2017|newspaper=The Florida Times-Union|date=October 2, 2007|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170413153843/http://jacksonville.com/tu-online/stories/100207/met_204530833.shtml#.WO7UAIjytPY|archive-date=April 13, 2017|url-status=dead|df=mdy-all}}</ref>

According to the [[Bureau of Labor Statistics]]' ''[[Monthly Labor Review]]'', the first [[automated teller machine]] (ATM) was installed at a [[Citizens & Southern National Bank|C&S Bank]] in Valdosta in 1971.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.bls.gov/mlr/1996/08/art4full.pdf |title=Commercial banking transformed by computer technology |author=Teresa L. Morisi|date=August 1996 |work=Monthly Labor Review |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111022123131/http://bls.gov/mlr/1996/08/art4full.pdf |archive-date=2011-10-22 |access-date=January 13, 2014}}</ref> That ATM was preceded by one installed in [[Rockville Centre, New York]], in 1969.<ref>{{cite book |first=Rob |last=Kirkpatrick |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=XZMrIchANY4C&pg=PA266 |title=1969: The Year Everything Changed |publisher=Skyhorse Publishing Inc. |date=2009 |page=266 |isbn=9781602393660}}</ref>