Tifton, Georgia, USA
Created | Updated Mar 7, 2006
Tifton is a small town in the Southeastern United States with a population around 20,000 but a business district worth millions of dollars.
It's strategically placed on Interstate 75 (Atlanta to Orlando), Highway 82 (Brunswick to Columbus), and Highway 319 (Talahassee to Atlanta). Due to their immense amount of travelers, most of the town's business is centered around the intersection of these three. Many people either run out of gas, feel hungry, or get sleepy just close enough to make it to a gas station, restaurant, or hotel in Tifton. It has been theorized that the city council constructed some paranormal device situated outside of town to make this happen, but no such device has been found.
Founded in the 1872 as a steel mill, Tifton quickly became "The gateway to Florida" as the main railroad from GA to FL was built through the town. Tifton remained a small town until Interstate 75 was built through it. Realising that Tifton was the only suitable town directly in between Atlanta and Orlando, buisiness moved in like wildfire.
Suddenly the small farming town became a bustling, congested, small farming town. In a desperate attempt to protect small businesses, the town created "Historic Downtown Tifton" where no buildings could be torn down. This part of town quickly became what locals called "Ghostown" after Wal-Mart moved in and remained that until the downtown revitalisation began in 2000.
Tifton has a surprisingly large high wealth population considering it's area. Most of these people are doctors or pre I-75 land owners who got rich selling their property. Tifton has a large medical center that serves the immediately surrounding area, which, luckily for the doctors, is filled with aging locals who refuse to move to the "Northern-ised" Florida.
Another small money maker for the town is its tourist trap, The Agirama. It's a "Living History Museum", which means it's full of buildings from the 1890's, vehicles from the 1890's, and miraculously, people from the 1890's. Every year the Agirama holds its Independence Day Celebration with one of the largest fireworks shows in the are which brings out thousands of Tiftonians and pulls people off the interstate in droves (the Agirama is conveniently situated on I-75).
Along with the Agirama, poor unsuspecting tourists visit "The Great Magnolia," the World's second largest Magnolia tree. The Great Magnolia, surprisingly, is one of Tifton's most urban objects; The trunk is covered with grafitti. It's also surrounded by a large industrial park which found it's way (perplexingly) into the small town.
Although it doesn't really draw people off the road, Tifton does have a fairly nice "Historic Downtown" featuring actual buildings from the 20's, old style sidewalks, and large murals. There are some very nice Mom and Pop Operations, and trip-back-in-time fashion stores. If your interested in guns, hunting, and that sort of thing, Tifton is Heaven. There are many gun stores and an army surplus depot that sells what an animal rights activist would consider strange and horrific objects.
If your a tourist, avoid all areas south of Highway 82 and East of I-75. This is a crime plagued area that includes up to 25 gangs, an astounding amount for such a small town. It also contains one of the largest middle schools in town. This was one of the "Black Schools." Tifton remained segregated until the late 70's.
But this is the big cash-cow, the reason the roads are clogged for miles and the town has millions of dollars it can throw around on a whim: Wal-Mart. Tifton has the second largest and most succesful Wal-Mart in the area and it's rumored to make a million dollars a week. People from all over South Georgia come to Tifton's Wal-Mart to stock up their foods stores for the incoming Japanese invasion (and yes, I've met people who do still believe that an invasion is imminent). Over 100,000 people are projected to be dependent on Tifton's Wal-Mart.
But their are also many restaurants and hotels. Most restaurants are in fact fast food places but since they are the towns main eateries they are considered restaurants by the locals. The most classy establishment in Tifton is a contested title but the front runners are New China Buffet, Red Lobster, Longhorn Stekhouse, and Chicago's Italian Food. Of course all the usual fast food places are present, including 5 Subways, 3 Waffle Houses, 2 Mcdonalds, 2 Burger Kings, and an extremely oversized Wendy's.
Realising it's potential, many hotel's have fought bitterly over land in Tifton. The land the Marriot is on cost over one million dollars. Though there are many estimates as to how many hotels are actually in Tifton, most range between 40 and 50,000. There are plenty of nice hotels for people to stay at, the finest of course is the marriot, conveniently next to a Applebees, however the Days Inn does feature a very fine Country Style restaurant and a Starbucks.
Nightlife in Tifton consists of the young people driving around the mall yelling obscenities at each other. This happens on Friday and Saturday nights and is best to be avoided.
As Far as living in Tifton goes, it's only half reccomended. The crime rate in most of the city is fairly low, there are plenty of nice services for the wealthy and an unfashionable amount of services for the very un-wealthy. Tifton features a nice two-year agricultural college, ABAC, andbut generally has a poor education system. Traffic is horrendous for such a small town, but certainly better than any town over 100,000.
For More Information go to www.tifton.net, or www.tiftontourism.com.
It's strategically placed on Interstate 75 (Atlanta to Orlando), Highway 82 (Brunswick to Columbus), and Highway 319 (Talahassee to Atlanta). Due to their immense amount of travelers, most of the town's business is centered around the intersection of these three. Many people either run out of gas, feel hungry, or get sleepy just close enough to make it to a gas station, restaurant, or hotel in Tifton. It has been theorized that the city council constructed some paranormal device situated outside of town to make this happen, but no such device has been found.
Founded in the 1872 as a steel mill, Tifton quickly became "The gateway to Florida" as the main railroad from GA to FL was built through the town. Tifton remained a small town until Interstate 75 was built through it. Realising that Tifton was the only suitable town directly in between Atlanta and Orlando, buisiness moved in like wildfire.
Suddenly the small farming town became a bustling, congested, small farming town. In a desperate attempt to protect small businesses, the town created "Historic Downtown Tifton" where no buildings could be torn down. This part of town quickly became what locals called "Ghostown" after Wal-Mart moved in and remained that until the downtown revitalisation began in 2000.
Tifton has a surprisingly large high wealth population considering it's area. Most of these people are doctors or pre I-75 land owners who got rich selling their property. Tifton has a large medical center that serves the immediately surrounding area, which, luckily for the doctors, is filled with aging locals who refuse to move to the "Northern-ised" Florida.
Another small money maker for the town is its tourist trap, The Agirama. It's a "Living History Museum", which means it's full of buildings from the 1890's, vehicles from the 1890's, and miraculously, people from the 1890's. Every year the Agirama holds its Independence Day Celebration with one of the largest fireworks shows in the are which brings out thousands of Tiftonians and pulls people off the interstate in droves (the Agirama is conveniently situated on I-75).
Along with the Agirama, poor unsuspecting tourists visit "The Great Magnolia," the World's second largest Magnolia tree. The Great Magnolia, surprisingly, is one of Tifton's most urban objects; The trunk is covered with grafitti. It's also surrounded by a large industrial park which found it's way (perplexingly) into the small town.
Although it doesn't really draw people off the road, Tifton does have a fairly nice "Historic Downtown" featuring actual buildings from the 20's, old style sidewalks, and large murals. There are some very nice Mom and Pop Operations, and trip-back-in-time fashion stores. If your interested in guns, hunting, and that sort of thing, Tifton is Heaven. There are many gun stores and an army surplus depot that sells what an animal rights activist would consider strange and horrific objects.
If your a tourist, avoid all areas south of Highway 82 and East of I-75. This is a crime plagued area that includes up to 25 gangs, an astounding amount for such a small town. It also contains one of the largest middle schools in town. This was one of the "Black Schools." Tifton remained segregated until the late 70's.
But this is the big cash-cow, the reason the roads are clogged for miles and the town has millions of dollars it can throw around on a whim: Wal-Mart. Tifton has the second largest and most succesful Wal-Mart in the area and it's rumored to make a million dollars a week. People from all over South Georgia come to Tifton's Wal-Mart to stock up their foods stores for the incoming Japanese invasion (and yes, I've met people who do still believe that an invasion is imminent). Over 100,000 people are projected to be dependent on Tifton's Wal-Mart.
But their are also many restaurants and hotels. Most restaurants are in fact fast food places but since they are the towns main eateries they are considered restaurants by the locals. The most classy establishment in Tifton is a contested title but the front runners are New China Buffet, Red Lobster, Longhorn Stekhouse, and Chicago's Italian Food. Of course all the usual fast food places are present, including 5 Subways, 3 Waffle Houses, 2 Mcdonalds, 2 Burger Kings, and an extremely oversized Wendy's.
Realising it's potential, many hotel's have fought bitterly over land in Tifton. The land the Marriot is on cost over one million dollars. Though there are many estimates as to how many hotels are actually in Tifton, most range between 40 and 50,000. There are plenty of nice hotels for people to stay at, the finest of course is the marriot, conveniently next to a Applebees, however the Days Inn does feature a very fine Country Style restaurant and a Starbucks.
Nightlife in Tifton consists of the young people driving around the mall yelling obscenities at each other. This happens on Friday and Saturday nights and is best to be avoided.
As Far as living in Tifton goes, it's only half reccomended. The crime rate in most of the city is fairly low, there are plenty of nice services for the wealthy and an unfashionable amount of services for the very un-wealthy. Tifton features a nice two-year agricultural college, ABAC, andbut generally has a poor education system. Traffic is horrendous for such a small town, but certainly better than any town over 100,000.
For More Information go to www.tifton.net, or www.tiftontourism.com.
