Giant Peanut

Ashburn, Georgia, United States

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A 20-foot peanut monument was erected in Ashburn, Turner County, Georgia, in 1975 honoring the local peanut economy, and dedicated to the memory of Nora Lawrence. The Ashburn-Turner County Chamber of Commerce says it was named Georgia's official peanut monument in 1998. Hurricane Michael blew the original down on 10 October 2018. A 16.5-foot sheet-metal replacement was rededicated in July 2023 after fundraising of nearly $80,000, most from the Georgia Department of Agriculture; its builder puts the overall height at more than 40 feet including the brick pylon.

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Giant Peanut

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Site-level location · 31.7093° N, 83.6549° W

FIELD GUIDE

The story

Ashburn, Georgia, built a peanut monument beside Interstate 75, and in 2018 a hurricane blew it down.

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported in 2017 that the 20-foot monument was designed by A.R. Smith Jr., sponsored by the Georgia Peanut Commission and erected in 1975. The paper, citing Roadside America, says it was dedicated in memory of Nora Lawrence Smith, who died in 1971 after serving as editor and publisher of The Wiregrass Farmer; the Chamber describes her as a journalist and co-publisher of the local newspaper. The Ashburn-Turner County Chamber of Commerce says it was named Georgia's official peanut monument in 1998.

Fox 5 Atlanta reported that the original was blown down on 10 October 2018, by Hurricane Michael. The replacement, according to the Chamber, is a 16.5-foot sheet-metal peanut with a new crown, set on the existing base; WRDW gave about 17 feet tall and 8 feet around, and described it as stainless steel. AP, carried by Fox 5, said the original was fiberglass and the replacement is sheet metal, lit by LEDs and weighing about 5,000 pounds. The Chamber's release says it took about 800 man-hours, with each piece of metal hand bent and shaped; AP put it at 700 to 800 hours. Fox 5 reported that the builder, a fabrication shop in Rebecca, Georgia, measures the whole landmark, from the bottom of the brick pylon to the top of the peanut, at more than 40 feet.

Fox 5 reported that nearly $80,000 was raised, most of it from the Georgia Department of Agriculture, with about $70,000 spent on the replacement and the rest held for maintenance.

The monument was rededicated in July 2023, nearly five years after the earlier one fell.

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A roadside monument in Ashburn. Admission, hours and access terms are not documented in the sources reviewed; check locally before visiting.

ACCESS

Ordinary public roadside access at 238 East College Avenue, Ashburn, GA 31714, off Interstate 75; no restrictions identified.

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Giant Topiary Chicken Framework

Fitzgerald, Georgia

A steel frame about 62 feet tall, shaped like a chicken, stands in Fitzgerald, Georgia. The city began the project in 2019 under then-mayor Jim Puckett, aiming for what would have been the world's largest topiary; early plans called for overnight rental accommodation inside. Voters ousted Puckett in November 2021, and by June 2023 the city said the project had cost nearly $300,000. In June 2023 the city council voted to drop the plantings and keep the metal frame rather than demolish it, according to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Wikipedia reports that work restarted in January 2024.

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38 km away

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