Meet the Only President Ever Born in Georgia (and Where He Was Raised)

Every four years, the country has the opportunity to elect a person to become President of the United States. Sometimes, that person runs for reelection and the citizens of the US have to decide whether or not to retain said person. In the past fifty years, only four men out of nine have lost their reelection campaigns — Gerald Ford, Jimmy Carter, George H.W. Bush, and Donald Trump.

These four men are unique in that they were born in different states across the nation. Ford was the only one born in Nebraska, but Trump is one of five born in New York. When it comes to Georgia, Jimmy Carter is the only president born in the Peach State.

James Earl Carter, Jr., who served as the 39th President of the United States from 1977 to 1981, was born in Plains, GA. Let’s explore the only president ever born in Georgia and where he was raised. We’ll also include some facts about President Carter and the places in Georgia where he lived.

The Only President Ever Born in Georgia

There are a total of eight presidents born in Virginia and two were born in Texas. But when it comes to Georgia, only one president was born in the Peach State. James Earl Carter, Jr., more famously known as Jimmy Carter, was born in Plains, GA, on October 1, 1924. He also has lived in a few other cities in the state, which include Plains, Archery, Americus, and Atlanta. Carter also lived in various cities throughout the country, most notably Washington D.C. when he was President.

About Plains, Georgia

Plains, GA is a small town that has never exceeded more than a thousand people in its history. The Muscogee natives lived there until the 1840s brought an influx of settlers to the area. A railway was built near Plains, and thus it became accessible to the rest of the state. Businesses came as a result of cotton farming. Plains was incorporated as a city in 1896. Besides President Carter, other notable people from Plains, GA include First Lady Rosalynn Carter.

Let’s take a look at Plains, Georgia back in 1924 when Jimmy Carter was born and Plains in the present day.

Plains Then and Now

At the time of Jimmy Carter’s birth, Plains, GA was a small town that had boomed in the previous decades due to cotton and peanut farming. A school was built in the 1920s, as well as a hospital. Because of the Wise Sanitarium built in the early 1920s, Jimmy Carter was the first president born in a hospital. During the Great Depression, much of the community living in Plains was lower class.

Plains, GA remained a small town without much fanfare. That turned around when Carter became Governor and subsequently, President. Although Plains was a small town, tourism during this time increased substantially. Today, Plains, GA, remains a quaint town of about 573 people. 

Other Places Where Carter Lived

Jimmy Carter lived in other places throughout the state of Georgia. He also lived in other places in the country. Let’s take a look at each of them.

• Archery: He lived here as a child with his parents and siblings after moving from Plains, GA.
• Americus: He attended Georgia Southwestern College from 1941 to 1942 to study engineering.
• Atlanta: He attended the Georgia Institute of Technology from 1942 to 1943 before transferring to the United States Naval Academy. Then, Carter and his family lived here at the Governor’s mansion while he was Governor of Georgia from 1971 to 1975.
• Washington D.C.: Carter lived in the nation’s capital when he was President of the United States from 1977 to 1981.
• Elsewhere: Carte lived in Annapolis, MD while he attended the Naval Academy. While Carter was in the Navy, he and his family lived in various states around the country including New York, California, Hawaii, Virginia, and Connecticut. 

About Jimmy Carter

Jimmy Carter was born James Earl Carter, Jr., on October 1, 1924, in Plains, GA. His parents moved frequently during the 1920s, eventually settling in Archery, GA. His father was a businessman and eventually a peanut farmer. He attended several schools around Georgia before going to the Naval Academy in Annapolis, MD. He married Rosalynn Smith in 1946 and had four children.

Carter started his political career in 1962 when he ran for Georgia State Senate. He won and was in the state legislature for several years before he decided to run for Governor of Georgia in 1966. He lost that race in the Democratic primary but he tried again in 1970 and won. In 1976, he decided to run for President. Carter was a dark horse candidate whom no one besides Georgians knew. But he proved victorious, won the Democratic primary, and subsequently won the general election against incumbent President Gerald R. Ford.

Carter Presidency’s Major Achievements

Throughout his presidency, Jimmy Carter had some impressive accomplishments, but also some failures. Let’s take a look at President Carter’s highlighting achievements in his presidency.

• In 1977, President Carter pardoned all Vietnam War draft dodgers.
• Enacts the Emergency Natural Gas Act for the President to have expanded powers on deregulating natural gas prices.
• Creates the Departments of Energy and Education.
• Signed the Camp David Accords in 1978, which established a peace treaty with Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin and Egyptian President Anwar Sadat.
• Signed the second Strategic Arms Limitation Treaty (SALT II) along with the USSR in 1979.
• During his State of the Union Speech in 1980, he announced the Carter Doctrine, which stated that any threats to the Persian Gulf region were also a threat to US interests.
• For 444 days, negotiated the release of Iran hostages, which upon the signing of the Algiers Accord, were released on January 20, 1981.

Jimmy Carter Today

After leaving the presidency, Jimmy Carter returned to his farm in Plains, GA, with his wife and children. He advocated for world peace and set up the Carter Center to do humanitarian work all around the country and the world. The former president also made diplomacy a crucial aspect of his post-presidency life for the decades that followed. Carter has, at times, been vocal about the domestic and foreign affairs agendas of later presidents.

Carter opened the Carter Presidential Library in 1986. President Carter received the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1999 and the Nobel Peace Prize in 2002. Carter has written two books about the Israel-Palestine conflict. He has also written about women’s rights, faith, and his autobiography.

Today, at age 99, he lives in Plains, GA, and is currently receiving hospice care. His wife, Rosalynn, passed away on November 19, 2023, at age 96.

Conclusion

And there you have it, the only president ever born in Georgia was Jimmy Carter. Although historians note that the Carter Presidency wasn’t as successful as many would have loved, Jimmy Carter is a successful former president. The way he used the office to ensure people had homes to live in has served as an example to others. Carter has been described as a selfless man who only wants to spread kindness and peace, which is why he won the Nobel Peace Prize. Carter is the longest-living former president.