George Washington Carver State Park was a

state park State parks are parks or other protected areas managed at the sub-national level within those nations which use "state" as a political subdivision. State parks are typically established by a state to preserve a location on account of its natural ...

in the U.S. state of Georgia. It existed from 1950 to 1975, when it was then leased to

Bartow County Bartow County is located in the northwestern part of the U.S. state of Georgia. As of the 2020 census, the population was 108,901, up from 100,157 in 2010. The county seat is Cartersville. Traditionally considered part of northwest Georgia, B ...

as a county park known as Bartow Carver Park, and since 2017 as George Washington Carver Park. Red Top Mountain, located on

Lake Allatoona Lake Allatoona (officially called Allatoona Lake) is a U.S. Army Corps of Engineers reservoir on the Etowah River in northwestern part of the State of Georgia. This reservoir is mostly in southeastern Bartow County and southwestern Cherokee Coun ...

, consists of and derives its name from the rich red color of the soil that comes from the high iron content in the ground. In 1950, the state initially leased the land for 25 years from the

U.S. Army Corps of Engineers , colors = , anniversaries = 16 June (Organization Day) , battles = , battles_label = Wars , website = , commander1 = ...

. The park served not only to preserve the area’s history, but also boost Bartow County’s growth and agricultural economy.

History

In 1950, Atlanta resident and former

Tuskegee Airman The Tuskegee Airmen were a group of primarily African American military pilots (fighter and bomber) and airmen who fought in World War II. They formed the 332d Fighter Group and the 477th Fighter Group, 477th Bombardment Group (Medium) of the ...

John Loyd Atkinson Sr. was instrumental in establishing

George Washington Carver George Washington Carver ( 1864 – January 5, 1943) was an American agricultural scientist and inventor who promoted alternative crops to cotton and methods to prevent soil depletion. He was one of the most prominent black scientists of the ea ...

State Park (1950–1975), the state’s only park ever named for an African American. Atkinson had leased the adjacent to

Red Top Mountain State Park Red Top Mountain State Park is a state park in the U.S. state of Georgia. It is located in the northwestern part of the state, on the northwestern edge of metro Atlanta, in southeastern Bartow County near Cartersville. Named for iron-rich Red T ...

from the Corps of Engineers with the intention of establishing a private resort for blacks, like

American Beach, Florida American Beach is a historic beach community in northeastern Florida once popular with African-American vacationers. It is located north of Jacksonville, Florida, Jacksonville on Amelia Island in Nassau County, Florida, Nassau County. During the t ...

. Georgia Governor Herman Talmadge helped establish the park and open it next to Red Top Mountain State Park, although operated and maintained separately. Atkinson became the park superintendent, the first African-American park manager in the state, serving from 1950 to 1958. James Clarence Benham, father of Georgia Supreme Court Justice Robert Benham, became Carver Park's second park manager, serving for three years.

External links

History of George Washington Carver State Park
{{authority control Protected areas of Bartow County, Georgia State parks of Georgia (U.S. state) 1950 establishments in Georgia (U.S. state)