Plains in Sumter County, Georgia — The American South (South Atlantic)
Never Far from Home
Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it.
Proverbs 22:6
With a short walk around this farm you can just take a glimpse of the small, enclosed world that nurtured a future president.
Here Jimmy Carter mastered the rules and the roles he would carry all the way to world leadership. In these sun-baked fields and weathered buildings, a young boy worked hard, played fair, and shouldered responsibility: His parents, "Mr. Earl" and "Miss Lillian", raised four children to value education, community service, their Christian faith, and each other.
Jimmy Carter left his parents' farm after high school, intending to spend his life as a naval officer. When his father died of cancer in 1953, Jimmy Carter came back to his Georgia roots - but not to this home of his boyhood.
Ensign Carter married Rosalynn Smith, his sister Ruth's close friend, just after his graduation. When the Carters left their hometown for Norfolk and the Navy, neither expected that life would bring them back to Plains in seven years.
Erected by National Park Service, U.S. Department of the Interior.
Topics and series. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Agriculture • Churches & Religion • Government & Politics. In addition, it is included in the Former U.S. Presidents: #39 James Earl "Jimmy" Carter, Jr. series list. A significant historical year for this entry is 1953.
Location. 32° 1.579′ N, 84° 25.934′ W. Marker is in Plains, Georgia, in Sumter County. Marker can be reached from Old Plains Highway, on the right when traveling west. Marker is located in Plains, Georgia on Carter Boy Hood Farm Jimmy Carter National Historic Site United States Department of Interior. Touch for map. Marker is in this post office area: Plains GA 31780, United States of America. Touch for directions.
Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker. Legacy of an Outdoor Childhood (here, next to this marker); Cash Crops (within shouting distance of this marker); Catch the Mules (within shouting distance of this marker); Blacksmith Shop (within shouting distance of this marker); The Carter Family Garden (about 300 feet away, measured in a direct line); Winds of Change (about 300 feet away); Next-door Neighbors (about 400 feet away); Always a Reckoning (about 400 feet away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Plains.
Credits. This page was last revised on June 12, 2020. It was originally submitted on June 25, 2012, by Sandra Hughes Tidwell of Killen, Alabama, USA. This page has been viewed 374 times since then and 6 times this year. Photos: 1, 2, 3. submitted on June 25, 2012, by Sandra Hughes Tidwell of Killen, Alabama, USA. • Craig Swain was the editor who published this page.