A Town Slower than Mayberry
Where the Mules Still Reign!
Life, even today, is much simpler and slower, and at an easier pace, in this very, very small, unincorporated town in Southwest Georgia. A traveler on Highway 111 through Calvary, is likely to see more goats out and about, than he will see people.
Originally established in the late 1800's, Calvary, Georgia has always been an agricultural based community. Today it is perhaps best known for it's once a year event, the Annual Mule Day Celebration. Yes, I said Mules!
This event has been hosted once per year, on the 1st Saturday in November, for over 40 years. A local yearly tradition celebrating the contribution of mules to agriculture.
In the 1940's – 1970's, Calvary had many more residents that it does today. The population in 2010 was 161 and there is not many more residents now, I am sure.
At one time Calvary had a railroad that passed through the town, known as the Pelham & Havana Railroad which was incorporated on March 21, 1908, to build a rail line from Pelham, Georgia, to Havana, Florida.
The oldest existing business in the town was Gerald Thomas Merchantile which has been in operation since 1912. When Mr. Gerald Thomas was alive, he stated there was a Barber Shop in the Calvary Freight Depot, and he remembered getting a haircut there when he was a small boy. There was a Depot at the nearby town of Havana, Florida as it appeared, in the photo below..
Pelham and Havana railroad depot at Havana, Florida.
(State Archives of Florida, Florida Memory)
During the days of the train passing through Calvary, the trains were steam locomotives, like the one pictured above in Albany, Georgia.
The old Thomas Merchantile General Store still stands in Calvary.
Mr. Thomas also stated that when he was a young man he remembered families from the area traveling to the merchantile store by horses, mules and horse drawn wagons. This continued he said, up until the late 1940’s.
The railroad line between Cairo and Calvary was built first, in 1910. By 1914 the railroad had been extended to Darsey, Florida, on the state line. In 1918 it reached Havana, some 25 miles from Cairo. The railroad’s general offices were in Cairo, Georgia. In 1917 it reported 2 locomotives and 3 cars. In 1922, it reported 1 locomotive and 2 cars. The part of the line from Cairo to Pelham was never built. The entire line was abandoned in 1924.
During World War II the railroad track steel was removed for the war effort’s metal salvage to aid in producing war time vehicles.
In it’s early history, continuing to the late 1970’s, Shade tobacco was big in Calvary and it employed a lot of people, as did the one time business of Joe McNair, an ice house, which processed and packed vegetables for many of the big companies.
Joe McNair also operated the Gas Station which is still standing today and still has the coveted “Citizens 77” station sign, hanging on the pole.
At one time the town had four grocery stores, now only one remains, which until the last few years was known as the Thomas Mercantile Store which has been around since 1912. Mr. Gerald Thomas was in his 80's, when he passed away, and his son Bruce, ran the store every day except Sunday.
They continued a family tradition that has existed since Gerald Thomas's father originally opened the store around 1912. Since Gerald’s death, the family sold the store and his son Bruce Thomas has moved on as well.
The Calvary Post Office still operates, but only part time. The original full time post master retired years ago, and the post office never got a full time replacement post master. Currently there is a post master relief, manning the office. If you need to mail something, you need to get to the post office before 12 noon. On Saturday, its only open from 8 – 10 am.
In 2013, the only other business in town was Gunsmith Dwight Angel's, Georgia Gun Factory. Even his business was operated part time, on Monday – Wednesday from 12 – 6 pm. Dwight worked full time for the State of Florida on the evening shift while running the gun shop part time.
A Gun Factory in Calvary, Georgia? Yes, Dwight was a General Gunsmith with over 30 years of experience fixing old guns. He had a building full of gun stocks and gun parts, literally hanging from the ceiling.
Although he did not sell guns from this location, he did repair and refinish any gun that came through the door. The biggest challenge for Dwight was finding parts for guns that were manufactured as far back as the 1800's, many of which come in from all around South Georgia.
Dwight retired from the State of Florida, holding two state retirements, one from the Florida Department of Corrections as a Training Officer Lieutenant and the other retirement is from the Florida Department of Law Enforcement as a Research & Training Specialist.
Upon retiring from the State of Floida in 2015, Dwight closed his business in Calvary and moved everthing to his home which has four workshp and storage buildings for his business.
Dwight said he was looking for a small town lifestyle for his business and he said that he found it in Calvary Georgia.
