In Plains, Ga., the hometown of Jimmy Carter, officials are busy converting the former President’s old school into the visitors’ center of the Jimmy Carter National Historic Site.
Visitors to the center at the now-unused Plains School can view exhibits and films about Mr. Carter and the community he lives in. The center’s purpose is not only to tell the story of Jimmy Carter, “but also to tell the story of Plains as a typical rural community,’' said Fred Boyles, the superintendent of the site.
The school was closed in 1979 during a consolidation of local school programs.
The center will also house an unusual education program. Though still in the early stages of development, officials plan on having a full-time teacher on site to provide classes for visiting school groups. The teacher will integrate the center’s themes of science, agriculture, education, civil rights, government, history, and the electoral process into the regular Georgia curriculum, according to Mr. Boyles.
The $3-million site, operated by the National Park Service, will also include Mr. Carter’s current and childhood homes and the train depot used as a stop in Mr. Carter’s Presidential campaigns.
Mr. Boyles expects the site to once again attract the attention of tourists.
“In the summer of 1976, literally thousands were flocking to this tiny little town to see where he was coming from,’' said Mr. Boyles.
