Plains in Sumter County, Georgia — The American South (South Atlantic)
Rosalynn Smith Carter
First Lady of the United States of America, 1977-1981
— First Lady of Georgia, 1971-1975 —
Photographed By David Seibert, January 24, 2011
1. Rosalynn Smith Carter Marker
Inscription.
Rosalynn Smith Carter. First Lady of the United States of America, 1977-1981. Eleanor Rosalynn Smith was born in Plains on August 18, 1927 and grew up in this house. Her parents were Edgar and Allie Smith. She had two younger brothers and a sister: Jerry Smith, Murray Smith, and Allethea Smith Wall.
Rosalynn graduated from Plains High School in 1944 and earned a degree from Georgia Southwestern College in 1946. She Married Jimmy Carter on July 7, 1946. Their children are Jack, Chip, Jeff and Amy. Jimmy Carter served as the 76th Governor of Georgia from 1971-1975 and as the 39th President of the United States from 1977-1981. As First Lady for both her state and her nation, Rosalynn was actively committed to issues affecting women and children and devoted her greatest efforts to improving mental health care. After the presidency, the Carters returned to Plains and in 1982 founded The Carter Center in Atlanta to advance human rights and alleviate human suffering. The Rosalynn Carter Institute for Caregiving was established in 1987 in her honor at her alma mater in Americus to support professional and family caregivers.
Widely esteemed for her work to help all those in need, Rosalynn Carter will be remembered for her compassion and dedication the well-being of people around the world.
Eleanor Rosalynn Smith was born in Plains on August 18, 1927 and grew up in this house. Her parents were Edgar and Allie Smith. She had two younger brothers and a sister: Jerry Smith, Murray Smith, and Allethea Smith Wall.
Rosalynn graduated from Plains High School in 1944 and earned a degree from Georgia Southwestern College in 1946. She Married Jimmy Carter on July 7, 1946. Their children are Jack, Chip, Jeff and Amy. Jimmy Carter served as the 76th Governor of Georgia from 1971-1975 and as the 39th President of the United States from 1977-1981. As First Lady for both her state and her nation, Rosalynn was actively committed to issues affecting women and children and devoted her greatest efforts to improving mental health care. After the presidency, the Carters returned to Plains and in 1982 founded The Carter Center in Atlanta to advance human rights and alleviate human suffering. The Rosalynn Carter Institute for Caregiving was established in 1987 in her honor at her alma mater in Americus to support professional and family caregivers.
Widely esteemed for her work to help all those in need, Rosalynn Carter will be remembered for her compassion and dedication the well-being of people around the world.
Location. 32° 1.842′ N, 84° 23.467′ W. Marker is in Plains, Georgia, in Sumter County. Marker is at the intersection of South Bond Street (Georgia Route 308) and Botsford Road (Georgia Route 45), on the right when traveling north on South Bond Street. Touch for map. Marker is in this post office area: Plains GA 31780, United States of America. Touch for directions.
This 1977 pastel portrait of Rosalyn Carter (b. 1927) by Robert Templeton hangs in the National Portrait Gallery in Washington, DC.
“During her years in the White House (1977-81), First lady Rosalynn Carter expanded the role of the presidential spouse, regularly attending cabinet meetings and representing her husband, Jimmy Carter, in political forums at home and abroad. A committed and effective campaigner, she posed for this portrait a few days before embarking on a whistle-stop tour from Pittsburgh to Chicago during her husband's successful first run for the presidency.
Carter has devoted much of her life to public service. For more than four decades she has championed the needs of people with mental illness while also advocating on behalf of numerous other causes, including the Equal Rights Amendment, early childhood immunization, Cambodian refugees, and homeless. In 1982 she and her husband co-founded the Carter Center to promote peace and human rights around the globe. They jointly received the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1999.” — National Portrait Gallery
Credits. This page was last revised on October 21, 2020. It was originally submitted on February 16, 2011, by David Seibert of Sandy Springs, Georgia. This page has been viewed 998 times since then and 19 times this year. Photos:1, 2, 3, 4, 5. submitted on February 16, 2011, by David Seibert of Sandy Springs, Georgia. 6. submitted on August 3, 2017, by Allen C. Browne of Silver Spring, Maryland. • Bill Pfingsten was the editor who published this page.