History

Grady County was established January 1, 1906, from portions of Decatur and Thomas Counties and was named in honor of Henry Woodfin Grady, a brilliant editor of the Atlanta Constitution and a famed southern orator who widely prophesied “The New South.”

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

Famous People

"Georgians by birth...Grady Countians by the Grace of God!"

This statement might well apply to the amazing fact that Cairo and Grady County has supplied more than its share of famous folks who have made their mark on a statewide and even a national level.

Sports Heroes

Jackie Robinson, Baseball

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.

Highway 93 has been named Jackie Robinson Parkway and the Cairo High School Baseball field is named Jackie Robinson field.

Teresa Edwards

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.

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. In the southwest side of Cairo Teresa Edwards street where she grew up.

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.

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.

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.

Arts & Entertainment

Vereen Bell

Son of Judge R.C. Bell was an accomplished author famed for his stores about quail hunting and bird dogs.

Brag Dog and other Stories: The Best of Vereen Bell

ISBN: 188510684

Thomas C. Chubb

Chub lived on Grady County’s Springhill Plantation and was a Pulitzer Prize winning author.

Bailey White

Bailey White is a current local author who is making waves with books like “Mama Makes Up Her Mind and other Dangers of Southern Living” (ISBN 0679751602) and “Sleeping at the Starlight Motel.” (ISBN 0679770151) 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.

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.

Daryle Singletary

Daryle Singletary rose to fame in early 1996 with his back-to-back Top 5 hits “I Let Her Lie” and “Too Much Fun.” He has guest starred on Touched By An Angel and toured with some of country’s biggest celebrities. He has released two albums, the second of which is All Because of You.

Business

A.L.”Art” Williams

In the midst of a rewarding career as a winning high school football coach, Art Williams made a decision that would change his life dramatically. He became a crusader for term insurance and went on to found his own company, A.L. Williams, in 1977. In twelve years, the company became the first in the entire life insurance industry to have more than $300 billion of individual life insurance in force.

Since retiring in 1990, Art Williams now spends his time teaching the management skills he perfected to other business leaders across the United States and Canada. He has written two very popular books The Winning Edge, All You Can Do is All You can Do, But All You Can Do Is Enough, and Pushing Up People.

Art Williams has continued to contribute to his hometown of Cairo by making major contributions to finance the fieldhouse and library at Cairo High School.

Dr. Seaborn Anderson Roddenbery

Dr. Seaborn Anderson Roddenbery was a jack of all trades and started the Roddenbery business in 1862. He practiced medicine by horseback and buggy and made open kettle sugar cane syrup. In 1867, Dr. Roddenbery opened his office and general store. He put his syrup in large cypress barrels in the store. People would bring their own jars and fill them with his cane syrup. The company began marketing the first pure Georgia cane syrup in 1889 under the Roddenbery label.

Syrup was such a vital part of the community in the early twentieth century that when the local high school opened in 1910, the athletic teams were nicknamed the Cairo High Syrupmakers and Syrupmaids. The teams still have those nicknames today.

Around 1920 the company became known as the WB Roddenbery Company. Pickles were added in 1936, peanut butter in 1937 and boiled peanuts in 1960. Dean Foods acquired the WB Roddenbery Company in 1993.

Source: http://www.deanpickle.com/subpages/subchild/subgrandchild/cairo.shtml