About Plains
Plains is a small town along the backroads of Sumter County, Georgia, approximately two-and-a-half hours south of Atlanta.
Originally inhabited by the Muscogee, an Indigenous culture known to inhabit the Southern Woodlands of the United States, the city now boasts a vibrant, diverse heartbeat of culture including agriculture, tourism, religious life, and education. Throughout the late 1800’s, Plains experienced expansion and growth primarily as a result of the cotton industry. After the inevitable economic downturn caused by the Great Depression, Plains immersed itself in its now-famous peanut industry. The town remained a quiet homeplace for mainly agriculturally-involved families until town native James Earl Carter, Jr. — now known around the world as Jimmy Carter! — decided to run for President of the United States in 1976.
Winning his campaign for the presidency, Plains’ own born-and-bred peanut farmer Jimmy Carter served the the people of the United States as the leader of the Free World from 1977-1981. Through his own place in American and World history, Jimmy Carter helped put Plains, Georgia on the international map and turned our quiet town into a full-on tourist attraction — bringing in thousands of visitors from across the globe each year. Won’t you join us?
We welcome you, your family, and friends to join us in learning the history of our land, our people, and one unlikely President from Plains.
About Friends of Jimmy Carter
Our goal is to maintain a vibrant community offering personal, hands-on learning opportunities about, as well as virtual encounters with the vivid history inspired by this region of the United States. We would like you to consider joining us in our ongoing efforts to preserve Plains and the Jimmy Carter National Historical Park as the epicenter for these learning experiences, corresponding the stories of days gone by with our ever-evolving community, nation, and world.
An important element of our mission is friendship and collaboration with our partners and the wonderful friends with whom we have worked with throughout the world. We want to be a repository, not only of our own activities, but of these partnerships. We are focused on fundraising to fulfill the needs of our educational programs, interpretive projects, and in-depth research to continue the vibrancy of Plains, the history of this region, and the legacy of President Carter and Mrs. Carter for future generations.
Friends of the Jimmy Carter National Historical Park will be leading this important effort. Please consider joining us in making it a resounding success!
Our Board & Directors
BOARD
Jimmy Carter
Rosalynn Carter
Chip Carter
Eugene Edge
Mark Minick
Mary Minion
John Powell
Paige Simmons
Jimmy Skipper
Jacquelynn Slappy
Cindy Williams
Jan Williams
Phil Wise
DIRECTORS
Executive Director
Kim Fuller
FriendsOfJimmyCarter@Outlook.com
Chairman
Mayor Boze Godwin
Secretary & Treasurer
Penny Smith