Grady County is situated in the lower coastal plain in southwest Georgia. The county has a rolling terrain and numerous small streams and rich soil. A favorable climate affords natural resources for one of the richest farming areas in the nation. There are local processing plants for many of the major crops. It was the original diversified farming center of the southeast.

In the early 1800s, William Hawthorne, a Baptist preacher and explorer, blazed a trail through forty miles of wilderness in what is now the Grady county area. Finding the area to his liking, he and his family settled along the area of Tired Creek about three miles south of the present location of Cairo.

A number of Hawthorne’s friends, hearing about the area, sold their holdings in North Carolina and ventured down the Hawthorne Trail settling ten miles farther south of Tired Creek.

Cairo is the county seat of Grady County. First charted as a town in 1870 and as a city in 1906, the city is located between Thomasville in Thomas County and Bainbridge in Decatur County. One of the earliest settlements was at Miller's Station, a stage coach stop between Thomasville and Bainbridge.

Whigham, a thriving community, is nine miles from Cairo on Highway 84 west. According to records in the National Archives in Washington, the first post office was established in Harrell, Georgia, on May 26, 1868. In April of 1880, the U. S. Postal Service made the name change from Harrell, Georgia to Whigham, Georgia.

Calvary, known for years as the "North Carolina Settlement," is located south of Whigham.Calvary probably had its start a few years before either Cairo or Whigham. The North Carolinians reportedly had heard of "a nature's garden spot" down toward Northwest Florida, and chose the area where Calvary now is to get back away from the gulf coastal area.

Other places in Grady County include Duncanville (now Beachton) settled in 1827, Blowing Cave, Live Oak, Pine Park (formerly Leb), Pawnee, Reno, Elpino, Lime Sink, Gradyville, and Boydville.

In 1906, when the county was established, these were the districts: Lime Sink District, Blowing Cave District, Spence District, Spring Hill District, Cairo District, Pine Park District, Whigham District, Ragan's District, Duncanville District and Higdon District

taken from “Grady County; Pride of Place,” by Wessie Connell and Barbara Williams

The great baseball hero, Jackie Robinson leads the list. He became the first African American player to break the color barrier in professional baseball in 1947. He maintained a lifetime batting average of .311 and stole 197 bases during his ten-year career with the Dodgers. In 1962 he was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame. 

 

 

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Teresa Edwards, Basketball 

 

During her four seasons at the University of Georgia (1983-1986), the college compiled a 116-17 record and participated in four NCAA Tournaments, reaching the NCAA Final Four twice in 1985 and 1983. She was named an all american in 1986 and 1985 and is one of the only three Georgia women’s basketball players to have her number retired.

 

Four-time USA Basketball Female Athlete of the Year

Teresa Edwards has been called the finest woman basketball player in the world (Chicago Tribune) and the Michael Jordan of women’s basketball. Teresa is a five time Olympian and the first American basketbal player - male or female, to compete in five Olympics (84, 88, 92, 96,00) and has won four gold medals and one bronze medal.

She has been profiled by Britannica online as one of the Women in American History.

 

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Bill Stanfill, Football

Bill Stanfill excelled in basketball and football when he played for Cairo High School from 1961 to 1965. He went on to an impressive career at the University of Georgia where he won the Outland Trophy as the nations top lineman in 1968.

Stanfill was inducted into the National College Hall of Fame in 1998.

He went on to play with the Miami Dolphins from 1969 to 1976 where the team won two superbowls during 1972 and 1973 seasons when Stanfill was starting. His first year, he was named the AFL Rookie of the Year Runner up. While playing professionally, he was named All-Pro four times in 1971, 1972, 1973 and 1974.

Bill Stanfill still holds the Miami Dolphins record for sacks in a career (67 1/2) and sacks in a season (18 1/2) in 1973. Highway 84 has been named Bill Stanfill Highway.

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Bobby Walden, Football

Bobby Walden is known as the “Big Toe from Cairo.” He still holds the record for the most career punts with 716 for the Pittsburg Steelers between the years of 1968 to 1977 and also has the third highest career average. Beginning in 1969 he ranked third or higher in the NFL for four straight years and never had a punt blocked until 1972. He played in Superbowl IX in 1975 where the Steelers beat Minnesota 16-6.

 

In College he played for the University of Georgia and was a three year letterman as a runningback and punter. He led the nation in punting in 1958 with a 45.3 average and is still has the second leading punting average for UGA for a season and career. He was named to the all SEC team in 1959.

 

 

 

 

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Political

George T. Smith
George T. Smith served as Lt. Governor for the state of Georgia from 1967-1970 and Speaker for the Georgia House of Representatives from 1963-1966. He served in the Georgia House of Representatives from 1959-67 and was on the Georgia Court of Appeals from 1976-80 and on the Georgia Supreme Court from 1980-91.

He graduated from the University of Georgia in 1947 with his law degree and began practicing law in Cairo in 1947. In World War II he volunteered for the US Navy and was commissioned as an ensign in 1941 and retired in 1945 with the rank of Lieutenant Commander with three War Theater ribbons, the Secretary of the Navy citation, and the Victory medal.

A portion of the Georgia Highways 112 and 93 are designated as the “Georgia T. Smith Highway”

Judge R.C. Bell
Served as Chief Justice for the State of Georgia from 1943-1946.

Judge W.H. Duckworth
Served as Chief Justice for the State of Georgia from 1948-1969.

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Arts & Entertainment

Vereen Bell

Vereen Bell was a journalist and author who enjoyed a brief period of success during the late '30s and early '40s. His contribution to movies was limited to his first novel, Swamp Water, which was filmed twice by 20th Century Fox, the first time brilliantly and the second time well. Vereen McNeill Bell was the product of a rural but patrician Southern upbringing, the son of Reason Chesnutt Bell, an influential Georgia judge, and the former Jennie Vereen.   Bell began making a name for himself as an author of articles and short stories about the subjects he knew and loved best -- hunting, dogs, and other components of rural Southern life, especially as it was led and understood by men; he became a familiar author in the pages of Colliers and the Saturday Evening Post, and both of his novels initially appeared in serialized form in the latter magazine. In 1940, he published his first novel, Swamp Water, a tale of murder, revenge, and redemption set in Georgia's Okefenokee Swamp. The book tells of an encounter between two men, one a fugitive from justice and the other a young hunter, and painted a vivid picture of life as it was lived in rural Georgia. Bell knew his subject well, as he and his family knew the swamp and its surroundings, living in their vicinity. The book was well-received critically and sold well enough to justify being reprinted in an early paperback edition, and its movie rights were purchased by 20th Century Fox.

A volume of his writing was published posthumously, and in 1947, the Vereen Bell Award for creative writing was established at Davidson College. In 1952, eight years after Bell's death, director Jean Negulesco did a remake of Swamp Water under the title Lure of the Wilderness starring Walter Brennan (repeating his role from the earlier version), Jeffrey Hunter, and Jean Peters. Many of Bell's stories about dogs and hunting have been reprinted, most notably in a volume entitled Brag Dog and Other Stories: The Best of Vereen Bell with illustrations by Margaret Kirmse. Swamp Water, which has been reprinted many times, both as a mass-market paperback and in annotated university press editions, remains the book for which he is best remembered, and its story remains so powerful that it's surprising that some quality-minded producer hasn't gone after it as a vehicle for Billy Bob Thornton, Tommy Lee Jones, or Robert Duvall, among other potential leads. ~ Bruce Eder, All Movie Guide

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Bailey White
Bailey White first achieved popularity reading her local color essays on National Public Radio. Her distinctive, gravelly voice and her gift for portraying eccentric people and unusual situations with a gently self-deprecating wit won her a national following.  White has published two essay collections (Mama Makes Up Her Mind and Sleeping at the Starlite Hotel) and one novel (Quite a Year for Plums), and her work has appeared as well in numerous periodicals. Her oral and written stories evoke a vivid picture of life in south Georgia.   Her witty comments can be heard on National Public Radio’s show “All Things Considered”

 

                    

 

In 1997 she was awarded the Fellowship of Southern Writers Award for Non-Fiction.

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Brenda Graham Knight

 

Brenda Graham Knight  is one of ten children home-schooled by their parents in the 1930's-1950's. Brenda draws on her experiences from this Georgia setting for both her inspirational romances and children's novels. She particularly enjoys building a story from snippets of family history as in "Her Name Was Rebekah" (Heartsong Presents 2002). Her nonfiction work is the story of her family's growing up in a big stone house. Brenda's poems and articles have appeared in "Georgia Journal," "Home Life," "Country," and others.

                                           

Active in her church and community, Brenda has directed a language ministry sponsored by area churches and taught individual adults to read and write. For years she taught Bible study to children, but now she assists her husband in adult Bible study. She also enjoys the variety and challenges of fulltime grandmotherhood to two and knitting for a grandchild "on the way." Creating crossword puzzles and making jelly are some other activities that fall in between juggling emergency after-hours appointments for her veterinarian husband, Charles. She assists him in caring for their own small flocks of sheep and goats at their home in Cairo, Georgia. Brenda hopes her stories will give her readers encouragement and hope and will be a testimony to the greatness of God.

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Music

Mickey Thomas

 

 

 

The lead singer of StarShip, one of the hottest rock groups in America was born in Grady County. He’s come a long way since performing with the Inner Souls during High School.