Tag: ben hill county

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1940s bus, Ben Hill County, Ga.

1940s-era bus, Ben Hill County, Ga.
1940s-era bus, Ben Hill County, Ga.

VanishingSouthGeorgia.com photographer Brian Brown spotted this old Studebaker school bus off a dirt road in rural Ben Hill County, Ga. He notes the front end and engine of the bus were built by Studebaker, while the body may have been manufactured by Bluebird in nearby Fort Valley. “The grill style dates the bus to around 1947, but it was likely used well into the 1950s by Ben Hill County.”

Just over 9,000 people live in Fitzgerald, the county seat of rural Ben Hill County.  Some 31.6 percent of people in the county live in poverty, according to Census figures. More.

Copyrighted photo by Brian Brown. All rights reserved.

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Classics, Ben Hill County, Ga.

Classics from two different centuries, Ben Hill County, Ga.
Classics from two different centuries, Ben Hill County, Ga.

The house, writes photographer VanishingSouthGeorgia.com photographer Brian Brown, is a classic from the 19th century.  The car is a classic from the 1950s.  Both are in Ben Hill County in the central part of the state.

Just over 9,000 people live in Fitzgerald, the county seat of rural Ben Hill County.  Some 31.6 percent of people in the county live in poverty, according to Census figures. More.

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To get to the other side, Fitzgerald, Ga.

13.0625.rooster

Yes, this is a photo of one of those crazy Burmese chickens in Fitzgerald, Ga., crossing the road to, ahem, get to the other side.  These chickens, pests to some and paragons of community pride to others, roam the town’s downtown streets.  While they mostly scamper away from prying photographers, some like this rooster occasionally to taunt vehicles with face-offs on the streets.

Just over 9,000 people live in Fitzgerald, the county seat of rural Ben Hill County.  Some 31.6 percent of people live in poverty, according to Census figures. More.

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Photo by Andy Brack in May 2013.  All rights reserved.

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Burmese chickens of Fitzgerald, Ga.

A Burmese rooster struts its stuff in downtown Fitzgerald, Ga.
A Burmese rooster struts its stuff in downtown Fitzgerald, Ga.

If you want to visit a place where the chickens and roosters roam free in the downtown, check out Fitzgerald in Georgia’s heartland.  Burmese chickens, introduced by state officials in the 1960s to be a game bird like turkeys and quail for hunters, didn’t make it the public’s mind.  And despite an attempt to get rid of the colorful birds, they survived. (More on their history.)

Locals apparently then thought of them as pests for their free-range habits (they’re so, pardon the pun, cocky that they face off with cars in the street), but grew to embrace them so much that there’s now a Wild Chicken Festival in March in the town’s downtown historic district.

Not everyone in Fitzgerald loves the chickens, but talk about an innovative way to bring in tourists and bolster the local economy!

Just over 9,000 people live in Fitzgerald, the county seat of rural Ben Hill County.  Some 31.6 percent of people live in poverty, according to Census figures. More.

Links:

Photo by Andy Brack in May 2013.  All rights reserved.