Valdosta

Valdosta offers exhilarating roller coasters and rides, water park family fun, exotic animals from around the world and under the sea, and much more. Whether you want to have a family adventure or more adult outdoor sporting expedition Valdosta is your adventure destination. Valdosta Tourism Authority is here to help you plan your vacation and point out some of the great activities Valdosta has to offer like a driving tour of the city’s Historic Register homes, updates on the Peach State Summer Theatre Series and share the interesting History of our city. For example, did you know that Valdosta is the boyhood home of the legendary gambler and gunfighter Doc Holiday. There are also many places to sample fine southern cuisine and shop for that unique souvenir of your travels. Come experience Antebellum to Adventure, whether it’s one day or three, South Georgia’s the place to be.

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Valdosta Information
Valdosta is Georgia’s 11th largest municipality, boasting a population of 48,000 people. Located on I-75 & Highway 84, at the Florida border, four hours from Atlanta and Orlando, the mild climate and beautiful landscapes have made this rich, lush area a favorite among travelers and residents alike. The city is named after a scenic estate owned by Governor George Troup, he signed an act that created Lowndes County in 1825. The unique Americanized name is thought to be derived from a district in the Alpine mountains of Italy called Val de Aosta. The English translation means vale of beauty. Our destination is the perfect combination of big city amenities and unique attractions along with activities that will make your event memorable while giving family members plenty to do.

Valdosta activities:
Receptions at Wild Adventures or the Annette Howell Turner Center for the Arts

Dinner at the Crescent House & Gardens while by entertained by a Doc Holliday look alike

Golf excursions

Twilight downtown dine arounds

Dinner at the Lowndes Valdosta historical museum while listening to bluegrass.

Valdosta Family Activities:
Visiting one of the 36 public parks in Valdosta Lowndes County & having an afternoon picnic
Shopping at one of the many retail opportunities
Touring the Crescent House & Gardens
Heading over to Wild Adventures for the day

Valdosta History
The Valdosta/Lowndes County area has always been a popular gathering place. Beginning with the Creek and Seminole Indians, the Spanish missionaries and the American pioneers, the fertile and beautiful land of this area has enticed people to make their homes here. Lowndes County was established in 1825. Its first county seat, Franklinville, was established in 1828. In 1837, the city of Troupville became the county seat. When the Gulf and Atlantic Railroad decided to put a right-of-way four miles south of Troupville, the citizens of Troupville made an interesting move to ensure the future prosperity of their town–they picked it up and moved it four miles. The town was then renamed Valdosta, in honor of “Val d’Aosta,” the plantation home of former Governor George Troup. In 1860, Valdosta was incorporated as the new seat of county government. Valdosta’s history has been closely tied to the soil. The sandy loam allowed the city to become the inland capital for Sea Island cotton. When cotton crops were devastated by the boll weevil in the early 1900s, other crops such as pecans, peanuts, and tobacco rose in popularity.

Valdosta is the boyhood home of the legendary gambler and gunfighter Doc Holiday. After developing TB, Holiday moved from Valdosta out West to seek drier climate for his condition. It is in the west he joined the Tombstone gang of the Earp brothers. Holiday died of consumption in 1889.

James Lord Pierpont (1822-1893) who wrote ‘Jingle Bells’. Though from the north, he served in the Confederate Army. Pierpont once lived in Valdosta.

Learn more about Valdosta History at the Valdosta Museum.

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