Montezuma moves at a leisurely pace
When Angie Peaster relocated back to her hometown of Montezuma after years living outside Atlanta, she traded sitting in interstate gridlock for waiting behind tractors. “It’s a little bit different than traffic, which is so frustrating,” says Peaster, Montezuma’s economic development, tourism and special projects coordinator. “When I’m behind a tractor, I’m like, ‘You know, these people are working for a living to provide what we live off of.’ I try to be patient with it.” Like the tractors on Montezuma’s streets, the pace of life moves slowly in the Georgia city of less than 3,500 people. Its small downtown and clusters of homes are interruptions in the surrounding landscape of peach farms, pecan orchards and pastures of dairy cows.
Shaded lots that get bigger along Montezuma’s outskirts
Most of Montezuma’s residential areas are crisscrossed by straight roads lined with pines, oaks and occasional magnolias. Bungalows, Craftsman homes and ranch-style houses are sprinkled along these streets, standing on moderately sized lots with a median size of about a third of an acre. On the edges of town, houses come with bigger lots, whether it’s a home with 5 wooded acres or a farm with rows of pecan trees. Prices range from $75,000 to $375,000.
Flood zones surround the Flint River, but the zones generally cover undeveloped land without homes or businesses. A tropical storm caused the river and a nearby creek to overflow and flood Montezuma in 1994, but the community hasn’t experienced severe flooding since.
Students zoned to Macon County School System
Children can go to Macon County Elementary, Macon County Middle and Macon County High, all of which are in Montezuma or neighboring Oglethorpe. Niche gives all three schools C-minus grades. Macon County High’s football team has featured multiple future NFL players over the years, including All-Pro linebacker Roquan Smith, who returns to Montezuma every year to host a youth football camp.
Students zoned to any of the three schools are eligible for the Georgia Promise Scholarship, a statewide voucher program that provides students with up to $6,500 to use for private school tuition.
Tubing, camping and fishing on the Flint River
The Flint River snakes past Montezuma, creating a popular tubing route. Tubers get in the water at an area called Crooks Landing, floating downriver and getting out at the Hooks Landing boat ramp. People also fish the river and camp on its exposed sandbars. Deer hunters use the Montezuma Bluffs Wildlife Management Area, a 500-acre state preserve along the Flint River, or private land. Peaster says Macon County draws out-of-town hunters ranging from Florida farmers to former Atlanta Braves star Chipper Jones.
Biscuits and burgers downtown, with stores on Spaulding Road
Three rows of brick Italianate buildings make up the downtown, home to most of Montezuma’s locally owned businesses. They include Troy’s Snack Shack, where locals have stopped for biscuits and burgers since the 1950s. “By the time you get to the car, the grease is starting to come through your bag,” Peaster says. “You sit it on the floorboard on the rubber mat, because if you sit in your seat, you’re going to destroy it.”
Stores such as Piggly Wiggly, Dollar General and Kountry Hardware & Sporting Goods line Spaulding Road, south of downtown. Produce is available at local farms. For example, Howard Brown Farms runs a market six days a week, selling peaches, butterbeans and tomatoes. Flint River Hospital provides checkups, X-rays and lab services. The closest emergency room is about 25 miles away at Phoebe Sumter Medical Center.
Plenty of churches, including Mennonite congregations
The small town is packed with several churches, from Montezuma Methodist Church to St. Michael Catholic Mission Church. Montezuma is also home to a sizeable community of Mennonites; there are a couple of Mennonite churches and two private Mennonite schools just outside of Montezuma.
Within 90 minutes of Albany, Columbus and Macon
Most residents drive, but Macon County Transit offers shuttle rides around town if given at least 24 hours’ notice. While traffic is rare, two railroad tracks run through Montezuma, and passing trains can hold up drivers. “Sometimes I’ll be caught between trains, one on one track and one on the other,” Peaster says. State Route 26 extends 15 miles east of Montezuma to Interstate 75. When locals want to go to a bigger city, it’s about 50 miles to Macon, 60 miles to Albany and 70 miles to Columbus. Passengers can catch nonstop flights to Washington Dulles International Airport and Ft. Lauderdale from Middle Georgia Regional Airport in Macon.
Written By
Alex Soderstrom
