WILCOX COUNTY, Ga. — When you think of tourist attractions, you may not think of Pitts down in Wilcox County.
It has less than 400 people and it is mostly farmland, but one couple is offering a tour and it’s got some surprisingly cool stuff that’s left a mark in history.
Clay and Valerie Oliver began inviting people to see their sunflower fields in 2020 and this year, they’ve put together an adventure. It all starts with a QR code.
"People come here, they pay for the pass, and that includes the whole tour. If the flowers are in bloom, that includes that and it loads all the points on their phone," said Valerie.
They’re piggybacking off their sunflower fields that produce the sunflower oil they bottle and sell, but when it comes to the tour, think about something a bit more rustic.
Next to the field is a vintage mule barn with an American flag hanging from the roof. Clay says it was his great-grandfather’s from back in the Great Depression era.
There’s another log cabin on the tour that’s also got some age to it – the timbers date back to before 1912.
There is no guarantee you'll see wildlife, but Gopher Ridge is a stop. Tons of turtles live there and you’ll also see a cypress pond full of waterlilies.
"My favorite is the jail because I lived here forever and didn't know the jail was behind the water tower," Valerie said with a smile.
It’s tiny and nestled behind some trees. Inside you can imagine folks in the slammer didn’t have much space. The bars and beds date back to 1856.
"One thing cool about this is the door still shuts," Clay said.
The town's biggest claim to historic fame happened in what is now a corn field. Shawn Rhodes is native of the town and a magistrate judge.
"How many cities have their own meteorite, you know,” asked Rhodes.
He heard the stories of the 1921 meteor from his great-grandfather.
"It's an iron meteorite and it's very rare. It's only one of 61 in the world with that classification that have been recovered," said Rhodes.
The bulk of the rock is now at the Smithsonian Museum, but Phil Conner’s got a picture with the fragment recovered from his land.
It may seem uncommon to make this little town with rundown buildings something to come and see, but places like the old gas station are history and pure gold for folks that want cool Instagram shots or a way to show kids what rural life is like.
"Don't want to see it fade away or be a ghost town or be just rundown with nothing going on. We want people to come here and have a good time," Clay said.
The sunflowers are fleeting, but taking in the history at Pitts can happen year-round. The self-guided tour will run you $10.
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