In the Footsteps of Jimmy Carter

In the town of Plains, Georgia, President Jimmy Carter was affectionally referred to as “Mr. Jimmy.” Everybody in the tiny town was related to or knew him personally. Never before has a president devoted so much of himself to his hometown both before and after his presidency.

Carter set many records. Before his death on December 29, 2024, he was the oldest living president, having reached the milestone of 100 years old. He also enjoyed the longest post-White House career of any president. Married for over 77 years, President Carter and Rosalynn earned another first. Other firsts include his work to improve climate problems caused by humans.

Carter was one of only four US presidents awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. Another first, shortly before his death, the White House Historical Association crafted an ornament for him–the first ever for a living president.

Jimmy Carter’s Early Years

Jimmy Carter was born in Plains, Georgia, on October 1, 1924, at Wise Sanitarium, where his mother worked as a registered nurse. Today, the facility bears the name of  The Lillian G. Carter Nursing Center in honor of President Carter’s mother.

The Carter family moved into his boyhood home and farm in 1928. Located near the African American community of Archery, living there helped form many of Carter’s values.

The home is a simple white one-story farmhouse with a screened porch. It was furnished in the 1930s before electricity and running water were available. Carter’s parents, James Earl, who went by Earl, and Lillian Carter, were the second owners.

Inside, we saw Jimmy Carter’s small bedroom, the bedrooms of his two sisters and brother, and his parents.’ In the kitchen, a big wood stove had pride of place. On the back porch, two small hand pumps showed how water was pumped in the early days.

Out back, one innovation influenced young Jimmy’s understanding of alternative energy sources. In 1935, Earl Carter bought a windmill for around $100. The windmill used wind power to pump water from the well into a tank high above the home. It provided the family with running water for a lavatory and commode. The windmill also prevented the family from having to hand pump water for family use and to water the animals.

Jimmy Carter Paintings

Childhood Experiences that Led to Carter’s Support of Equal Rights

A short distance from the family home on the farm, we visited another place that influenced his strong support of equal rights. The small frame tenant farmer home previously belonged to Jack and Rachel Clark, an African American couple who worked on the Carter farm. About the Clarks, Jimmy later said, “Whenever my mother and father were away from home, I stayed with Jack and Rachel. Because of this, I felt at ease in the homes of other Black families in the neighborhood. My childhood world was really theirs.”

There is much to see here that makes you realize what a childhood Jimmy Carter had; a barn, some chickens and goats, a commissary similar to the one Earl Carter had, and lots of farmland planted with seasonal crops.

Carter’s High School

The school attended by all the local children in Plains now serves as the Museum and Education Center of the Jimmy Carter National Historic Site. We met with Jill Stuckey, the site superintendent, who Georgia Public Broadcasting described as Jimmy’s best friend. She led us through the museum.

Inside the museum was a beautiful cherry wood cabinet made by Carter’s grandson, Josh. “I think it took him around 400 hours of work to make this, and then he inscribed a letter to his grandfather and grandmother on the door,” said Stuckey.

On top of the cabinet sit life-sized busts of the Carters made by one of their friends. The Carters gave them to the park, which needed a place to put them. President Carter’s grandson, who had inherited all of President Carter’s woodworking equipment, built the cabinet as an anniversary present in 2021.

Presidential Headquarters for Jimmy Carter

Places Special to Carter

We drove by Maranatha Baptist Church, where Jimmy taught Sunday school well into his 90s, and the Plains United Methodist Church, where Jimmy and Rosalynn were married on July 7th, 1946.

In some ways, Plains Main Street seems to be a typical Georgia small-town main street, but in other ways, it’s unique. Almost every shop on the street boasts a connection to the Carters.

The Historic Inn & Antiques Mall is a step back in time, with each of its seven suites decorated in a period from the 1920s to the 1980s. Roslynn Carter helped with the decorating. Downstairs in the antique mall, I saw everything from jewelry to President Carter’s books and political paraphernalia.

Plains Trading Post features the largest collection of political paraphernalia in the country. You can sample the town’s most well-known product at Plain Peanuts, housed in the old Carter family peanut warehouse. The executive director/CEO of Plains Welcome Center, Kim Carter Fuller is Billy Carter’s eldest daughter. She led us to the 1888 train depot, the oldest building in Plains, used in 1976 as the headquarters for Jimmy Carter’s presidential campaign. Kim explained why “Uncle Jimmy” used it. “It was the only building in town that had public restrooms.”

Across the street, we visited the Billy Carter Museum in his former service station. It shows how he cultivated his redneck image. There are letters from Tom T. Hall and Johnny Cash. One exhibit contains his Hee-Haw costumes.

More Highlights of Plains, Georgia

When Earl Carter died in 1953, Jimmy Carter resigned from the Navy and returned home. Rosalynn was unhappy about the choice. They had little money, so their first home was Apartment 9A in Dura, a Federally subsided housing project.

Things improved financially, and from 1956 to 1961, the Carters rented a Federal-Style home, officially known as the Rylander House but referred to by locals as “the Haunted House.” Believed to be the oldest home in Sumter County, the house built by Matthew Rylander in the mid-1800s, was believed haunted by a ghostly woman who kept a lamp lit in the attic to guide Confederate soldiers to a safe haven. This house is believed to be the oldest house in Sumter County. The Carters admitted seeing some strange occurrences but wanted to buy the home regardless, but the owner wouldn’t sell it.

Jimmy Carter Smiley

The Smiling Peanut

No visit to Plains, Georgia, would be complete without seeing the 13-foot-tall polyurethane peanut wearing the traditional Jimmy Carter grin. Known as the Smiling Peanut, the roadside attraction was used in an Evansville, Indiana, rally and brought to the campaign headquarters afterward. It now sits at 120 Buena Vista Rd in Plains.

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