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History
of the Georgia FFA-FCCLA Center
as of November 2004
From the time that the first FFA chapters
in Georgia joined together in 1929 to form a state association,
vocational agriculture leaders envisioned a camp where rural boys
could gather during the summers for wholesome recreation. Their
hopes began to materialize in 1937.
A hillside site overlooking the headwaters
of Lake Jackson in Newton County was chosen, and in August 1937,
a 150-acre tract with approximately one and one-half miles of lake
shoreline was purchased from Mr. S.C. Candler of Madison, Georgia,
for $1000.00. Because the FFA treasury contained only this amount,
Mr. Candler agreed to retain four acres of the tract and grant a
ten-year option for the Georgia FFA Association to buy this property.
In that same year, the vocational agriculture
teachers in their annual conference voted to accept a proposal whereby
funds for the development of the property would be raised through
chapter pledges. Each chapter pledged three dollars per member,
and over a period of years, some $45,000 was raised in this fashion.
When the property was purchased, it was
inaccessible by automobile. The Newton County commissioners agreed
to grade a road to the proposed campsite.
Officials of the National Youth Administration
(NYA) accompanied FFA leaders on a visit to the site and arrangements
were made for a cooperative project to improve the property and
erect buildings. Work actually began in October 1937 with a group
of NYA students being transported to and from the site daily. When
the first buildings were completed, NYA students took up residence
at the camp.
Granite was discovered on the property
and stone was quarried for use in the erection of several of the
main buildings. Students were asked to find rocks out of Lake Jackson.
These rocks were then used to construct the dining hall fireplace.
Some fifty years later, these same students revisited the camp and
pointed out the rock that they had found. Some timber on the site
was cut and milled. Additional materials were purchased as money
trickled in from the FFA chapter pledges. In 1938, Mrs. Franklin
D. Roosevelt visited the camp. She saw a need for an infirmary and
provided funds for this building.
Because the NYA could only
provide labor, the need for materials to keep construction underway
steadily grew. It began to look as though the project might have
to be discontinued, or at best delayed, pending the accumulation
of more funds from FFA chapters. In light of this situation, Dr.
M. D. Mobley, then State Director of Vocational Education and State
Advisor of FFA, went to Governor E.D. Rivers and to the State Board
of Education seeking financial help. He was authorized to spend
up to $35,000 from the annual budget for vocational education to
purchase supplies essential to keeping the building program going.
During the administration of Governor
Eugene Talmadge (1941-42), convict labor was used to grade an improved
road into the camp and clear the area for a three-acre swimming
lake. Equipment to do the grading was furnished by the State Highway
Department. However, all the fuel used for the trucks and tractors
and all of pipe and cement for culverts was paid for out of FFA
funds. The convict labor was used for approximately thirty days.
In the administration of Governor Ellis Arnall, the highway department
surfaced the camp road.
 Initial
construction was completed in 1943. The camp now had an Infirmary,
a dining hall, assembly halls, and ten cottages. Completion of the
buildings presented another problem, because they now had to be
furnished. Using FFA funds, lumber was purchased, and NYA students
made the oak tables that are still being used in the Dining Hall.
Chairs were also bought with FFA money. This resulted in a dining
hall with seating for up to 300 persons.
To furnish the auditorium in the assembly
hall, delegates at the State Future Farmers of America Convention
voted that each chapter would buy two cushion-bottomed folding chairs.
The chairs cost $11 each, and more than 500 were bought at a cost
exceeding $6,000. This money was raised by chapters as a supplement
to their original pledges. A gift of $1,200 was received from the
Eugene Talmadge Memorial Fund. These funds were used to buy a curtain
and scenic background painting to furnish the stage in Mobley Hall.
 Following
World War II, delegates to the annual FFA Convention voted to erect
a memorial to former members and advisors who were killed in the
defense of their country. They decided the memorial should take
the form of an amphitheater at the camp. For this project, they
raised funds in excess of $8,000.
Funds accumulated in the operation of
the camp were used to take the option on the four-acre tract which
Mr. Candler had retained when the property was originally purchased
in 1937. Later, Mr. Samp Aiken offered a 212-acre farm adjoining
the camp for sale. It was considered necessary to purchase this
in order to control the watershed for the swimming lake. The purchase
of this land brought the camp property to approximately 373 acres.
During the years following World War II
when beef was in short supply and prices were high, the additional
camp lands were used to produce grain and pasture for producing
cattle to slaughter for use at the camp. In 1947, an education project
for visitors and campers was begun by purchase of four registered
Hereford cows with calves at their side and one bred heifer. A bull
from the Mill Iron Ranch in Texas was obtained through the Sears,
Roebuck Foundation. All of the beef used during the summer camping
seasons was produced and slaughtered on the farm. Except for the
replacement of herd bulls, no additional purebred cattle have been
introduced to the herd.
In 1945, the Georgia Future Homemakers
of America Organization was formed. Two years later, the FHA members
were invited to a "test" week of joint camping with the
FFA. The joint camping program proved so successful that in 1953,
the delegates at the State FFA Convention voted to make this a permanent
arrangement.
In 1956, upon the approval of the staff
and teachers of vocational agriculture, the official name of the
camp was changed to the State FFA-FHA Camp. In 1959, the Future
Homemakers chose as their state project the development of a Reading
and Library Room in Mobley Hall. In September 1960, the members
selected as a state project to provide curtains for all of the girls'
cottages, the Guest Cottage, and the living rooms of the boys' cottages.
By August 1961, Future Homemakers had
raised $42,030.00 for the improvement of the camp. The first $25,000
contributed by FHA members was matched by Governor Herman Talmadge.
(He also matched $10,000.00 raised by FFA members.) This grant enabled
FHAers to build, furnish, and landscape the Homemakers Cottage and
Girls' Cottage One and Two. After the completion of the Homemakers
Cottage and Cottages One and Two, Future Homemakers selected as
their state project for three years the improvement of other facilities
at the camp. These improvements included water coolers for boys'
and girls' cottages, the Guest Cottage, a complete change of shower
curtains for the entire camp, and the purchase of some mattresses
between 1957 and 1958.
Even with their untiring efforts in raising
money for camp improvements, the Future Farmers and Future Homemakers
associations realized they would need outside help. In 1956, friends
of the two organizations viewed the camp facilities and found them
inadequate to accommodate the number of boys and girls wishing to
attend camp each summer. Therefore, a committee made up of lay people
was formed and named the FFA-FHA Camp Development Committee. These
men and women worked with other people throughout the state in a
drive to raise funds to build new and better facilities at the camp.
They set their goal for $100,000.00, which they not only met but
surpassed. The total amount of money expended in the camp improvement
program exceeded $300,000.00. A state grant awarded by Governor
Marvin Griffin accounted for $118,000.00 of this expenditure.
Over the years, a number of well-known
firms throughout Georgia have contributed $10,000 or more for the
construction of a cottage. These cottages in turn were named for
the company donating the money. For example, Pebble Hill cottage
was built from funds donated by Mrs. Parker B. Poe of the Pebble
Hill Plantation in Thomasville, Georgia. Other firms donating money
were the Southeast Ford Tractor Company, the Union Bag-Camp Paper
Corporation, the Georgia Bankers Association, and the Georgia Rural
Electric Membership Association. During these years, improvements
of the camp facilities include the construction of nine more cottages,
and the remodeling of all old cottages and other buildings. The
Infirmary has been renovated to handle more patients more efficiently.
The baseball diamond has been regraded; security lights have been
placed throughout the camp, and additional sewage lines have been
installed. A patio outside Mobley Hall was constructed, and a small
kitchen and dining area was built in the basement of the large dining
hall so that smaller groups could be served without using the larger
area. 
A small conference type building was constructed
in 1960.The Georgia Power Company donated $25,000 of the $50,000
that was used to construct this facility. This building houses a
semi-circular auditorium with raised tiers of seats for 158 people.
It has a thrust stage and a complete electric kitchen. The auditorium
has an electric heat pump for year-round air conditioning and heating.
Adjoining the auditorium is a laboratory area.
During the years of the Camp Development
Committee, the state provided $118,000 to aid in developing the
camp. This money was used to build other cottages that have been
dedicated to outstanding Georgians who have help enhance vocational
education. Bowdoin-Randolph cabin was named in honor of the first
Georgia FFA and FHA presidents. The George-Deen and Smith Hughes
cabins were named for the four U.S. Congressmen and Senators that
co-authored acts establishing and expanding vocational education.
Utilizing camp development money, a home
for the camp director and his family was built on the property.
Lumber for the house came from the camp forestry area. Next door
to the director's home is another house reserved for the assistant
director.
In the 70's, the FFA and FHA chapters
wanted a pool instead of the swimming pond. The chapters sold candy
to raise funds to construct an olympic size pool.
In the 80's, the dining hall was expanded.
The kitchen was renovated and enlarged, additional restrooms were
added, and a smaller dining room was added adjacent to the main
dining room. The downstairs portion of the dining hall was converted
into meeting room space, including the Newton County conference
room. The Brown Center, also below the dining hall, houses the displays
of the History of The Georgia FFA-FCCLA Center, The Georgia FFA
Association, and The Georgia FHA Association. The old shop was converted
into a conference center, now known as Walters Hall. Girls' Cabins
One and Two, and the Infirmary were converted into semi-private
lodging facilities.
In 1994, the educational program was expanded
with the construction of an arboretum. This facility has an educational
pavilion and restrooms. It is located on the camp road near the
cattle pastures.
In 1995, the camp had the opportunity
to purchase 46 acres of adjoining lake front property. Because of
the rapid development of Lake Jackson and the closeness of this
land to the facility, it was necessary for the camp to obtain this
land. Timber from the camp was sold to provide the funds for this
property purchase.
 When
the Olympics came to Atlanta in 1996, a German delegation of over
3200 campers used the facility for the majority of the summer. The
accumulation of funds from this project allowed the camp to expand
with the addition of new cabins and buildings. This brought the
camp lodging capacity to over 800. The camp was also able to purchase
95 acres of land adjoining the pastures and Highway 36. This purchase
brought the total camp property to approximately 500 acres.
In 1996, Camp Director Melvin Johnson became the State Director
of Agricultural Education. Todd Teasley was chosen as the new Camp
Director.
Over the years, the camp evolved into a year round educational
conference center. The Camp Administrative Committee decided to
change the name of the facility to the Georgia FFA-FHA Center in
March 1997.
On May 14, 2001, the Camp Administrative Committee voted to
change the name to the Georgia FFA-FCCLA Center to reflect the name
change of the FHA organization to FCCLA (Family Career and Community
Leaders of America).
In 2002, the Oconee FFA Chapter built the Leadership Course
on the softball field. The course is used for low-ropes teambuilding
programs and as an obstacle course. Not only was the course a great
addition to the FFA and FCCLA programs, the course is used to teach
leadership to other organizations that utilize the Center.
Two cabins were completed and dedicated in 2003. Pulliam Cottage,
the  replacement
of Gray Cottage, contains 14 semi-private rooms, office space, and
a conference room. McAllister Cabin was rededicated after a complete
renovation, changing it from a deteriorating bunk cabin to a three
room semi-private cabin. Both buildings were constructed by the
Department of Corrections. Pulliam Cottage was built with the financial
assistance of the H.M. Pulliam Family and many donors who purchased
a room for $1,000 each.
Also in 2003, the Center began the FFA Wildlife Camp Program,
a hands-on outdoor education summer camp open to the public.
In 2004, the Center opened the renovated FFA Archives in the
Brown Center. Construction of the FCCLA Archives and the Georgia
FFA-FCCLA Center Archives is scheduled to begin in 2004.
The facility is open year round serving over 20,000 campers
and preparing approximately 100,000 meals annually. All of the funds
generated through the Center's daily operations are put back into
the facility for improvements. These improvements have included
air conditioning all cabins, replacing windows in the stone cabins,
replacing all curtains, adding handrails and guardrails, painting
cabins, and improving emergency exits.
As part of a long-range development plan, the Center has obtained
plans for a 1600 seat auditorium, a new dining hall, educational
building, and additional semi-private lodging.
For more information on the Georgia FFA-FCCLA Center please
call Todd Teasley, Director at (770) 786-6926.
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