ASHBURN, Ga. — Georgia may be known as “The Peach State,” but peanuts are really the state’s cash crop.
In fact, about 50 percent of the nation’s peanuts come from Georgia. The state legislature in 1995 made the peanut the state’s official crop.
So, it’s no surprise that Turner County — located in the co-called “Peanut Belt” — in 1975 erected a monument to the peanut. After all, Turner County is nicknamed “The Peanut Capital of the World” since it is home to a Golden Peanut Co. shelling plant — said to be the largest peanut processing plant in the world.
The 20-foot-tall monument, built atop a crown on a brick base, was made the state’s official peanut monument in 1998. The slogan painted on the side of the monument reads: “Georgia 1st in Peanuts.”
The monument, located along Interstate 75, is dedicated to Nora Lawrence Smith, a member of Georgia Journalism’s Hall of Fame, according to a plaque on the side of the monument. Interestingly, until the boll weevil struck in the 1920s, cotton was the county’s major crop; peanuts have been a major crop for the county since the Great Depression.
The city is also famous for its Crime and Punishment Museum and the Fire Ant Festival held annually.
IF YOU GO: From Atlanta, take Interstate 75 south to Exit 82.
