Snapshot: Confederate Cemetery (Milner, Lamar County, GA)

November 2012

Snapshot: Taliaferro County Courthouse (Crawfordville, Taliaferro County, GA)

January 2012

Snapshot: Randolph County Courthouse (Cuthbert, GA)

Built in 1886, the Randolph County Courthouse in Cuthbert, Georgia has fallen into disrepair with the construction of a more modern courthouse elsewhere in town. Last year, the Georgia Trust placed the Randolph County Courthouse on its list of Places in Peril for 2012. While efforts are underway to restore this unique building, the courthouse remains in a fragile state (note the chain-link fence and boarded up windows).

Welcome to the CountyTrip Blog!

We greatly appreciate your visit, and hope that you will soon be inspired to become one of our regular readers. We have no doubt that you will come to enjoy our journey, documenting and examining places both well-known and obscure. But before diving into the details of this project, let’s make a few things clear.

What is a county? And what is a CountyTrip?

The word county, first used in the 14th century, derives from the Old French term conté or cunté, denoting a jurisdiction in mainland Europe under the sovereignty of a count or a viscount. However, for our purposes, and according to Webster’s Dictionary, a county represents “the largest territorial division for local government within a state of the United States”. This simple unit of measurement and governance will constitute the lifeblood of the CountyTrip blog.

So we know what a county is, but what is a CountyTrip? Yes, we made up the word and the definition, but here goes:

“CountyTrip” (noun) – a deliberate trip to visit, explore, and appreciate previously unvisited counties, with the ultimate goal of “counting” the county in one’s grand total of counties visited

You get the picture. We like to travel to explore new counties, document the trip and process, and ultimately check off the county. But why? How? What’s the point? Please, let us provide some background.

Who is behind these posts?

We are John and Nate, college pals (and history majors) residing in Atlanta, Georgia, a place we have christened the best launching point for a county trip in the country, both in terms of NUMBER and QUALITY of counties within a few hour’s drive (those reading from Texas, sorry, you may match the number, but not the quality). Georgia is truly blessed when it comes to counties, boasting the second most of any U.S. state at 159, as well as easy access to counties in five neighboring states. But more (much, much more) about that later.

From a county perspective, Georgia was the first state with which we both became enamored. The reasons for this will become clearer as the blog progresses. While each of us has independently explored counties in other states across the country, you may find this blog has a slight bias toward Georgia and the Southeast more generally. But fear not, as other areas of the country will most certainly be covered.

How did this habit develop?

It is a long, meandering story, but here are the basic facts. In college, we became friends with a gentleman who hailed from historic Thomaston, Georgia, the county seat of Upson County, about an hour south of Atlanta. He was prone to complain about Thomaston’s isolation, backwardness, and lack of culture, but we remained intrigued and wanted to someday visit for ourselves. Eventually we set out from Atlanta on a mini-Georgia road trip, with a final destination of Savannah. We decided to stop in Thomaston on the way, along with a few even more obscure haunts, and had some unforgettable adventures, encounters, and experiences. Both of us were hooked, and thus, the CountyTrip was born.

Why on Earth do we do this?

You might ask why we do this, and you may argue that we are trivializing what it means to travel. Rest assured that is not the case. Below are each of our genuine reasons why we do this, and just why we find it so addicting:

John:

Some people collect stamps. Others collect coins or cars. We collect counties. Sure, counties aren’t tangible. Other than pictures or the occasional  souvenir, there’s nothing I can put on display. But county collecting is a hobby that has developed into a passion, an interest that has grown into an obsession.

I have often returned from a trip thinking the most recent batch of counties will satisfy my appetite for a while. And every time I find myself only hungrier for more counties, looking for the next opportunity to take a turn into uncharted territory. Saying that I like to travel doesn’t do justice to the singular satisfaction of stepping foot in a new county. But saying that it’s all about checking something off a list isn’t right either.

Really, it’s not about the county, essentially nothing more than lines on a map. It’s about discovering a sense of place – and that means the geography, the history, the people, the culture, and everything else that makes every place – in its own way – different from every other.

Nate:

What I have begun to call “CountyTripping” comes from a strong sense of place, and a lifelong study of history and geography. Caught amidst the everyday hustle and bustle of a city like Atlanta, it is easy to forget that monumental events in history occurred right under your nose, right on the outskirts of town, and in places you least expect. Most importantly, I have always desired to visit those unique and far-flung places on the maps that captured the imagination of my childhood. Every town, hamlet, and county, no matter how small or insignificant, has a story and deserves a chance to be appreciated. From personal experience, so many communities often overlooked offer such surprising rewards when investigated slightly below the surface.

I certainly inherited a part of this bug from my maternal grandparents, both avid amateur genealogists who spent countless hours of their retirements researching their ancestors in a dusty room at the city library. However, the pivotal moment occurred in 2010, when my grandfather dragged my cousin and me through the backwoods and dirt roads of western Virginia and West Virginia to commit to memory where our pioneer ancestors were born, lived, and currently rest. While my cousin was indifferent, I was captivated, and the rest is history.

What can you expect from this blog?

Along the way, we will post entries both individually and together and will provide:

• Anecdotes, vignettes, misadventures, and humorous tales and occurrences from our many travels

• The “Methods to Our Madness”, or in other words, how our trips are planned and executed

• Side projects we have undertaken related to counties and historical sites

• Profiles of various counties and points of interest, whether large or small

• Rankings of various county-related sites

• Random historical projects

• Trivia, perfect for cocktail parties

• Colorful snapshots and photographs

Thanks again for reading and joining us on this “CountyTrip”!

 

John & Nate