SAVANNE – The Georgia Historical Society announced the unveiling of a new historic marker for the Houston County’s Civil Rights Trail honoring the Jody Town community in Warner Robins. The marker was sponsored by the Georgia Historical Society, the Jody Town Community Reunion Committee, and the City of Warner Robins.
“The Jody Town Community historical marker tells the story of segregation during World War II and how the Jody Town ‘Plant View’ community emerged from the need to house black civilian workers at Robins Air Force Base,” said GHS Marker Manager Elyse Butler. “Although urban regeneration efforts have resulted in the relocation of residents of Jody Town, anyone can simply walk to this marker in Memorial Park to learn more about the individuals and companies who helped create Warner Robins.”
Speakers for the inauguration included Jody Town Reunion Committee Chair Shirlyn Johnson-Granville; Warner Robins Mayor Randy Toms; Margaret Sanks Grayer, Kal Daniels, and Butler of the Georgia Historical Society. Dorothy Johnson Tolliver sang the “Battle Hymn of the Republic”.
Jody Town, originally known as the Plant View Subdivision, was a segregated community for the black civilian workers at Robins Air Force Base.
By developing churches, salons, schools, restaurants, and other small businesses, residents created a thriving community that also encouraged extracurricular activities such as scouting and recreational sports that encouraged youth and family engagement in the community. With the end of segregation, Jody Town’s services became racially integrated and the community received more money from the city of Warner Robins to modernize public facilities. However, in the early 1970s, the city began to displace the original parish of Jody Town as part of the Federal Urban Renewal Program.
“Warner Robins has a rich history that includes many people from different backgrounds, and some of that diversity comes from the black families who were present in Wellston and those who came after they got the news for the location of the new Army Heard of air depots, ”said Shirlyn Johnson-Granville, chair of the Jody Town Reunion Committee. “You can’t accurately tell the story of Warner Robins, the state of Georgia, or the country without considering the families who have contributed to its growth and success. … The residents of Jody Town and their descendants played a vital role in the development, growth and success of Warner Robins. “
The Georgia Civil Rights Trail Initiative was founded in 2015 as part of the ongoing work of the Georgia Historical Marker Program to recognize the rich diversity of the state’s past and generally focuses on the economic, social, political, and cultural history of the civil rights movement. This is the newest mark on the way.
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The marker is located at the entrance to Memorial Park, 800 South First St., Warner Robins. For more information on Jody Town’s historic marker or the Georgia Civil Rights Trail marker program, contact Patricia Meagher, GHS Director of Communications at (912) 651-2125, ext 153 or email pmeagher @ georgiahistory. com.
Originally known as the plant view subdivision
The community of Jody Town emerged from the need for shelter for “colored” (black) civilian workers at Robins Air Force Base during the segregation. Military bases built as part of the war effort for World War II brought regional economic advancement and the transition from agriculture to industrialism. Black workers from across the southeast bought affordable housing in Jody Town, which may have got its name from the Afro-American blues character “Joe de Grinder” and the military cadences he inspired. Jody Town became a cultural hub for residents and black military personnel, with churches, corporations, organizations, and recreational leagues and teams like the Warner Robins Jets playing here in Memorial Park. In the 1970s, urban renewal led to the resettlement of residents and the demolition of the neighborhood.
Erected by the Georgia Historical Society, the Jody Town Community Reunion Committee, and the City of Warner Robins
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