In Jaunary of 1962, on US 301/GA 73 near the South Carolina state line, the State of Georgia opened its very first official welcome center.

Until I-95 was completed in the 1970s, thousands of Florida-bound motorists drove down US 301 and Georgia saw this as an opportunity to showcase itself and encourage travelers to "Stay and See Georgia" (an old slogan Georgia used to use in its tourism promotions).

On the other side of the Savannah River, South Carolina had its own official welcome center on northbound US 301. It remained open until 2000.

In light of Georgia's $2,000,000,000 budget deficit, the US 301 welcome center was initially targeted for closure, but thankfully, the state put in $100,000 in the budget so that it would remain open. Screven County, the City of Sylvania, and Ogeechee Technical College (OTC) partnered with the state to provide an additional $39,400. Much of the maintenance will be done by the local governments and OTC. (Source: "Plan To Save State Welcome Center Could Become Prototype For Other Programs", Sylvania Telephone, May 29, 2009).

In a prior blog, I admit to questioning whether or not the state should keep this particular welcome center open, but just this week on Facebook, I saw several US 301 photos that my good friend and fellow roadgeek Russell Wells of Savannah had posted.

After looking at these photos and reading the article published this past May by the Sylvania Telephone, I had a sort of "road to Damascus" experience. In the end, my love of history and welcome centers won out. Here are Russell's photos of America's oldest operating official state welcome center...







Kudos to Russell on the photos, and the partnership among the State of Georgia, Screven County, City of Sylvania, and OTC for working together to save this piece of American roadside history for all to enjoy.

BTW, I have yet to "clinch" Screven County, but when I make it there, I will stop by this historic spot to show my support in person. I also encourage each of you to visit there as well.

For more information on the Georgia Welcome Center on US 301, please click here.

That's it for now. Thanks for reading and please come back often.

        

 

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