Grady County, GA

Grady County was created in 1905 from portions of Decatur and Thomas counties. It was named for Henry W. Grady, who was editor of the Atlanta Constitution and an advocate of the "New South."

Accounts of Hernando DeSoto's trek through the southeast in 1540 indicate that he entered Georgia in what is now Grady County.

Cairo, the county seat, was named for either the city in Egypt or the town of Cairo, Illinois. The city's name, however, is pronounced "Kayro."

The Birdsong Nature Center is located in Grady County. Dedicated to providing natural history education programs for the public and preserving the natural environment of the area, the center is located on a 565-acre tract that was formerly known as Birdsong Plantation. The center features several nature trails and exhibits that highlight the diverse wildlife of the area. Herons, bluebirds, anhingas, wood ducks, otters, and alligators inhabit the center's grounds.

Grady County is located in the heart of South Georgia's famed "Plantation Trace" and is only 60 miles from the beaches on the Gulf of Mexico.

Several famous individuals hail from Grady County. These include football standouts Rosie Grier and Bill Stanfill; Teresa Edwards, a gold medalist in Olympic basketball; and baseball great Jackie Robinson, who was born in Cairo. Mack Robinson, Jackie's older brother, took the 200-meter dash silver medal behind Jessie Owens at the 1936 Olympics held in Munich.

Annual events in Grady County include the Rattlesnake Roundup, held in Whigham each January; the Great Southern Antique Car Rally, held in Cairo every May; and Calvary's annual Mule Day in November. All of the events feature arts and crafts and local cuisine, and the Mule Day's parade often attracts close to 40,000 spectators.