Plains in Sumter County, Georgia — The American South (South Atlantic)
Jimmy Carter's Boyhood Farm / From Here To Plains
Jimmy Carter National Historic Site
— National Park Service, U.S. Department of the Interior —
Photographed By Sandra Hughes, June 19, 2012
1. Jimmy Carter's Boyhood Farm Marker
Just down this path is the shady, swept-sand yard where the 39th President of the United States played as a boy, during the years of the Great Depression. This plain white farmhouse, these tangled woods, and these broad fields were home to Jimmy Carter until he left for college. Surrounded by a close family, here young Carter developed the character and values that would carry him to success as a naval officer, engineer, farmer, businessman, lawmaker, author, governor, president, and world statesman.
In the early years of my life on the farm… we always had enough to eat… but no money to waste. We felt close to nature, close to the members of our family and close to God.
Jimmy Carter 1975, Why not the Best?
Erected by National Park Service, U.S. Department of the Interior.
Topics and series. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Agriculture • 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 1975.
Location. 32° 1.62′ N, 84° 26.006′ W. Marker is in Plains, Georgia, in Sumter County. Marker can be reached from Old Plains Highway
this page online
Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker. Jimmy Carter Slept Here (within shouting distance of this marker); Always a Reckoning (within shouting distance of this marker); Winds of Change (about 400 feet away, measured in a direct line); The Earl and Lillian Carter Home (about 400 feet away); The Carter Family Garden (about 400 feet away); Tennis Court (about 400 feet away); Legacy of an Outdoor Childhood (about 400 feet away); Never Far from Home (about 400 feet away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Plains.
Photographed By Sandra Hughes, June 19, 2012
2. From Here to Plains
Three miles is a long way to walk on railroad tracks in the hot sun- especially for a small boy. Even before he started first grade, Jimmy Carter would take a basket full of boiled peanuts to downtown Plains, which he later said "was for me a center of commerce, education, and religion."
During peanut season, he could sell enough to earn a dollar a day - by walking six miles round trip.
Trips into Plains were young Jimmy Carter's first steps off this farm and into a wider world.
Photographed By Sandra Hughes, June 19, 2012
3. Jimmy Carter's Boyhood Farm
This is the farm where Jimmy Carter spent his youth. On this farm he learned the value of hard work, honesty, and woking with others regardless of the color of their skin. These lessons would serve him well later in life.
Great Depression
The Great Depression affected the South deeply. Farmers and their hired hands were forced to work harder and plant more cotton, and other cash crops in an effort to make their mortgage payments. After the election of Franklin D. Roosevelt his New Deal programs changed the lives of the ordinary citizen. One of these "New Deal" programs was production control, where by young animals and farm crops were destroyed. "My Daddy felt this was a sin and never voted for Franklin Roosevelt again." Jimmy Carter recalls.
Photographed By Sandra Hughes, June 19, 2012
4. Jimmy Carter's Boyhood Farm -From Here to Plains
Photographed By Sandra Hughes, June 19, 2012
5. Jimmy Carter's Boyhood Farm Marker
Operating hours
10 A.M. - 5 P.M.
Every Day
Closed
New Year's Day, Thanksgiving, and Christmas Day
Photographed By Sandra Hughes, June 19, 2012
6. Jimmy Carter's Boyhood Farm Markers and Rest Rooms
Credits. This page was last revised on December 14, 2021. It was originally submitted on June 25, 2012, by Sandra Hughes Tidwell of Killen, Alabama, USA. This page has been viewed 538 times since then and 16 times this year. Photos: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6. submitted on June 25, 2012, by Sandra Hughes Tidwell of Killen, Alabama, USA. • Craig Swain was the editor who published this page.
