Facts and Photos

Fun Facts About Valdosta

• Doc Holliday grew up in Valdosta and ran a dental practice prior to becoming a gambler and gunfighter out West.
• The Valdosta Wake Compound is the first in the country to contain a "natural" land pool gap.
• Valdosta is home of Shirley, the oldest Asian elephant on record. She’s 75!
• Downtown is home to more than 120 restaurants, shops, government agencies and churches.
• The second plant in the world to bottle Coca Cola was begun in Valdosta in 1897 by E.R. Barber and J.F. Holmes.
• Sonny Shroyer was born in Valdosta! He is best known for his role as 'Enos' on the 'Dukes of Hazzard.' He has also stared in 'Smokey & The Bandit' and 'Forrest Gump.'
• Pauley Perrette studied criminal justice while attending Valdosta State University? She is an American actress, best known for playing Abby Sciuto on the U.S. TV series NCIS.
• Andrea Powell was born in Valdosta! She is an actress, known for Ender's Game (2013), The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn - Part 2 (2012) and Runaway Jury (2003) along with many more.
• Ray McKinnon ('The Blind Side,' 'Sons of Anarchy' and 'O Brother Where art Thou') graduated from VSU (theatre degree).
• Demond Wilson was born on October 13, 1946 in Valdosta! He is an actor best known for his roles in Sanford and Son (1972), The New Odd Couple (1982) and Baby... I'm Back! (1977).
• Country Music Star Thomas Rhett was born in Valdosta. His Father Rhett Akins grew up in Valdosta before becoming a singer/songwriter in Nashville.
• George H.W. Bush visited Valdosta because his son, George W. Bush, lived here while stationed at Moody Air Force Base for pilot training with the Air National Guard.
• Sixteen famous football players have graduated from Valdosta and Lowndes County High Schools.
• Charlie Daniels, the man behind “The Devil Went Down to Georgia” was once a regular performer at Wild Adventures. Daniels also spent part of his childhood in Valdosta. “We moved there (Valdosta) at the end of the second World War,” Daniels said. “My dad got a job there, and we stayed at the Daniel Ashley Hotel because there was a housing shortage at the time. I remember it well because the day we arrived, World War II ended and everyone was in the streets.”
• Kenny Rogers’ wife, Wanda, is from Lowndes County. Rogers has performed his hits, like “The Gambler,” “Lady” and more, a few times at Wild Adventures and displayed his photographs in an exhibit at the Annette Howell Turner Center for the Arts. 
• James Lord Pierpont, composer of "Jingle Bells" lived many years in Valdosta, where he taught music
• Scenes from the film Zombieland, starring Woody Harrelson, were shot on Valdosta streets and at nearby Wild Adventures theme park.
• The 1986 movie (As Summers Die) starring Bette Davis and Jamie Lee Curtis was filmed in Valdosta.
• Named "Georgia’s Best Adventure Town" by National Geographic.
• Named one of “America’s Friendliest Cities” by Rand McNally.
• Named “Best Place in Georgia” by the Georgia Planning Association.
• One of the “Top 200 Great locations” in the South for Aviation and Aerospace.
• Ranked 38th in “Emerging Metro Areas” in the nation by Sperlings’s Best Places
• Named “Titletown” by ESPN for football heritage.
• Valdosta was named American Defense Community of the Year by the Association of Defense Communities.

Photos

See the dropbox link below for marketing photos of Valdosta and Lowndes County, Georgia. Photo credit should go to the Valdosta Lowndes County Conference Center and Tourism Authority.

Dropbox for Valdosta and Lowndes County, Georgia