Early: Courthouse, Murals and Coheelee Creek Covered Bridge
Accommodation in Early
Local history comes into view at specific landmarks in Early. The courthouse, Court Square, and several murals give local history concrete settings. This offers two different focuses for planning your trip: the town center and a visit to Coheelee Creek Covered Bridge.
Courthouse and Court Square
The Early County Courthouse was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1980. The Blakely Court Square Historic District is a small business district in the city center, clustered around the courthouse. A stone peanut monument, erected in 1954, also stands on Court Square. The two dates serve different purposes: 1954 marks the monument’s construction, while 1980 marks the courthouse’s addition to the register.
Murals and Local Art
The murals also depict local history. The oldest mural in Early County is in the Blakely Post Office and was commissioned in 1937. Access to the interior may depend on the post office’s opening hours. The Coheelee Creek Bridge mural is on the side wall of Tom’s Barber Shop, opposite the post office. The Birdsong Peanuts warehouse mural is right next to Court Square, between City Hall and the County Administration Building. The Cornerstone Insurance Group mural features a timeline titled “Life on the Square.” The works thus differ in how they portray their subjects: the 1937 commission date provides a specific point in time for the mural in the post office, while “Life on the Square” makes the square itself the subject of a timeline.
The Early County Museum gift shop offers paintings and handicrafts by local artists. Alongside the murals on specific buildings, the museum shop offers another perspective on local art, with paintings and crafted works as distinct art forms.
Bridge, Waterfalls, and County Orientation
Coheelee Creek Covered Bridge is located nine miles southwest of Blakely in Early County and is the southernmost covered bridge in the United States. Fannie Askew Williams Park, a picnic area, is located beside the bridge on Old River Road. Check the current condition of the area before your visit. Coheelee Creek Falls are among the notable waterfalls in Early County; their beauty can be viewed from the respective public roads.
As a geographic reference at the county level, the Chattahoochee River forms Early County’s western boundary. The bridge’s location southwest of Blakely is a local reference point, while the river marks the western edge of the entire county. These provide two different scales for orientation: the location of an attraction relative to Blakely and a county boundary.
Flight Operations Information
Early County Airport (BIJ) has a runway 5,494 feet long and 98 feet wide. If you need these measurements for operational use, confirm the specifications beforehand.
Discover more destinations: Blakely, Burke County, Bulloch, Cook, Evans County, Mitchell County, Bibb, Columbia
For the broader travel overview: Georgia.
