Valdosta

Many people pass by this dam every day on Jerry Jones Drive in Valdosta in Lowndes County, not realizing just how much history it is hiding behind it. The area used to be a large plantation owned by Barry Jones. The plantation house sat about 1/2 a mile from the spot pictured in this photo, in the exact spot where an LDS church stands today. Barry had his slaves build an earthen dam in a nearby sw...amp in the mid 1800's to create a mill pond to power a grist mill to grind corn. The mill is long gone, but the pond is still in use by the city as a stormwater reservoir & the earthen dam is still in place today and can be seen in the right of this photo. Jerry Jones Drive is named after Barry's son- it runs through land that was once part of the plantation that was split up & given to Jerry after Barry died.

Jay Blanton