<body><div><figure><img src="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?type=thumbnail_580x000&amp;url=3MykKR_1DwgJ4up00" alt="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?url=3MykKR_1DwgJ4up00" width="1994" height="1039" ></figure>The Oglethorpe monument in downtown Jasper was severely damaged during a thunderstorm on July 28, with chunks of marble being separated from the structure and scattered around the nearby streets, possibly by being struck by lightning.According to CBS News Atlanta, the City of Jasper reached out to the Blue Ridge Marble &amp; Granite Company to assess damages. Jasper Mayor Kirk Raffield told them, "This is part of our identity. This moment has not always been here. It was moved in the late 90s to downtown, but for those of us that live here in Jasper, this is quickly become part of our identity, and it's also part of our history. So, for us, it's integral that we get this rehabbed."<figure><img src="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?type=thumbnail_580x000&amp;url=4gJmLp_1DwgJ4up00" alt="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?url=4gJmLp_1DwgJ4up00" width="1247" height="1663" ><figcaption>The monument may have been struck by lightning during the violent storm that hit the heart of Pickens County. Credit: Chris Feldt</figcaption></figure>Local historian Chris Feldt tells the story behind the Oglethorpe monumentMoving of the Appalachian Trail, the Oglethorpe Monument and Free-Range ChickensIn 1930, Colonel Sam Tate had just built his Tate Mountain Estates – which included his stunning Connahaynee Lodge, Lake Sequoyah and a beautiful 18-hole golf course.That October, Colonel Tate gathered with state legislators, Georgia’s Governor Hardman and the Mayor of Atlanta, to unveil the monument dedicated to the founder of the Colony of Georgia, General James Oglethorpe, and to celebrate the changing of the name of Grassy Knob to Mount Oglethorpe.It also served another function, beginning that same day, the southern terminus of the Appalachian Trail began at the monument. From there, one could begin the 2,050 plus mile trek to Mount Katahdin in Maine. And people did just that. Thousands of people arrived to start their journey from two ways.Some would travel east from Tate and then approach from the south, coming through what would later be Bent Tree Drive to the Dude Ranch (located where the Bent Tree 6th hole is) and then up Hendrix Mountain to Mt. Oglethorpe. Others would travel from Jasper up Highway 136 to what then was known as Firetower Rd., known today as Monument Rd.As years passed, The Georgia Appalachian Trail Club began “blazing the trees” for markers along the way, and hikers stayed at a shelter beneath the Firetower (where the present day Firestation on Monument Road is) that was built by our local Civilian Conservation Corps in 1934.<figure><img src="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?type=thumbnail_580x000&amp;url=40P4EJ_1DwgJ4up00" alt="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?url=40P4EJ_1DwgJ4up00" width="478" height="575" ><figcaption>The monument was unveiled in October 1930. Courtesy of Chris Feldt</figcaption></figure>In 1938, the GATC assembled the first sign marking the Southern Terminus of the AT, after carrying it up in segments from the then abandoned Dude Ranch to Mount Oglethorpe.But the logging industry, vandals and the elaborate growth of the chicken breeding industry in North Georgia ended up destroying most of the viability of the Oglethorpe section of the trail. I’ve read accounts online about Moonshiners being a part of the problem, but in all the historical literature, they are not mentioned.World War II had created an agricultural demand for chickens. President Roosevelt went as far as to seize control over part of the chicken industry with his War Food Administration, and by the time the war was over, Americans were eating nearly three times as much chicken as before.<h2>Chicken of Tomorrow</h2>In 1951, a Chicken of Tomorrow contest was held in 42 states to see who could produce a broiler that would be able to make chickens so thick you could cut them like steaks.Charles Vantress, a farmer from California, won the contest. In fact, his chicken breeding method (crossing California Cornish males with New Hampshire females) is still employed today.By the early 1950’s, the start of the trail was overrun by 40,000 thousand free-range chickens that were being bred on the east side of Oglethorpe Rd at the 3,000-acre Vantress Poultry Experiment Farm, named for the above-named Charles Vantress and his successful hybrid chicken. The free-range chickens allowed Vantress to test the growth, livability and disease resistance in actual field conditions.<h2>Vantress Experimental Poultry Farm</h2><figure><img src="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?type=thumbnail_580x000&amp;url=0vCdba_1DwgJ4up00" alt="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?url=0vCdba_1DwgJ4up00" width="1331" height="1125" ><figcaption>The only known photo of the chicken farm in the mountains of North Georgia. Photos courtesy of Chris Feldt</figcaption></figure>The chickens had left so much detritus on the ground that many hikers simply could not make it to the monument without falling into the mess. Additionally, its remote location had made the monument a partying spot for the locals and some 50,000 discarded cans of beer and other drinks littered around the area.People were known to use the monument for target practice. General Oglethorpe’s face was damaged badly. Horses had done their business on the base of it, and as a final, albeit logical blow, it was struck by lightning repeatedly.<figure><img src="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?type=thumbnail_580x000&amp;url=1Etkld_1DwgJ4up00" alt="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?url=1Etkld_1DwgJ4up00" width="596" height="676" ><figcaption>Vandalized face of James Oglethorpe on the obelisk. Photos courtesy of Chris Feldt</figcaption></figure>In 1958, because of the above-mentioned problems (and because the start of the trail was on private land – meaning they couldn’t force the owners to keep up the property) the Southern terminus of the Appalachian Trail was moved to Springer Mountain, with the new approach trail, instead of being through Pickens County (Bent Tree land) was now through Dawson County beginning at Amicalola State Park.<figure><img src="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?type=thumbnail_580x000&amp;url=3f3A2s_1DwgJ4up00" alt="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?url=3f3A2s_1DwgJ4up00" width="1054" height="805" ><figcaption>The Appalachian Trail begins in Georgia and goes to Maine. Courtesy of Chris Feldt</figcaption></figure>By the 1970’s, the poultry farm was long gone as were its thousands of chickens. But the spire sat next to an AT&amp;T tower and other FCC equipment at the top of the mountain. It had become a non-important relic of a bygone age.Spire next to FCC towers<figure><img src="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?type=thumbnail_580x000&amp;url=0IFyyb_1DwgJ4up00" alt="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?url=0IFyyb_1DwgJ4up00" width="753" height="911" ><figcaption>The spire as it was originally placed on the top of Mount Oglethorpe next to FCC towers.</figcaption></figure>Finally, after 60 years of being abused atop Mount Oglethorpe, the marble spire was brought down to Jasper in 1998 and restored by a Finnish marble artist named Eino. The once front-facing face of Oglethorpe now looked to the side, and a marble ball that once stood atop the monument (missing since the 1960’s) was eventually replaced.Chris Feldt is a history teacher at Mountain Laurel Academy. His website is https://www.northgeorgiahistory.com/.</div></body>

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The Oglethorpe monument in downtown Jasper was severely damaged during a thunderstorm on July 28, with chunks of marble being separated from the structure and scattered around the nearby streets, possibly by being struck by lightning. According to CBS News Atlanta, the City of Jasper reached out to the Blue...

Historic Georgia monument damaged by lightning

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The Oglethorpe monument in downtown Jasper was severely damaged during a thunderstorm on July 28, with chunks of marble being separated from the structure 

Historic Georgia monument damaged by lightning

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