Nestled in the gentle swells of south Georgia are Lowndes County and the charming town of Lake Park. Both are steeped in beauty and history where proverbial "moonlight and magnolias" enchant the senses.

First to enjoy the region were Native Americans who ceded Georgia territories to the United States through a succession of treaties. Lowndes County existed only as a part of Irwin County until after 1820. That year settlers were eager to launch their homesteads. Pioneer descendant Mrs. Faye Cook Wisenbaker recalls how numerous 490 acre parcels were distributed by luck of the draw from two barrels. One barrel held settlers names and other contained land lots. Names and lots were drawn and matched and the new land owners were given nine years to pay their $8 deed fees.

In 1825 Georgia's General Assembly carved off a portion of south Irwin County to create a new county. It would be named Lowndes in tribute to William J. Lowndes, the popular South Carolina statesman and Presidential nominee who had died during an 1822 sea voyage to England.

Finalizing a name and place to serve as the fledgling Lowndes seat of government however would test the decades.

First, Franklinville gained the honor in 1827. Then in 1833 the seat was moved to Lowndesville, which was renamed Troupville in 1837 to salute Georgia Governor George Troup. But by 1859 enterprising locals were sufficiently influenced by the Atlantic & Gulf Railroad's arrival four miles south to purchase 140 acres from William Wisenbaker. Thus a fourth county seat, Valdosta, was born. It's name, a variation of the governor's home plantation, Val D'Osta, meant "Valley of Gold".

The 1840 census counted 6,200 residents in Lowndes County, including the settler families of Christian Herman Dasher and William's son James Wisenbaker. The populace was prospering. Cotton was a choice crop and the mild climate favored a variety of fruits, vegetables, and robust livestock. General mercantile's well as saw and grist mills satisfied a steady flow of customers.

Within a brief two decades that peace and prosperity was wiped out by the War Between The States. Thannie Smith Wisenbaker's diary attests to the hardships: "From 1863 to 1865 no stores were open for business". Farming likewise was hard hit as livestock and crops, especially cotton, were lost.

In 1878 the community's first church, The Lake Park Christian Church, was organized. It became a social and spiritual force in the community. The old Lake park Cemetery marks the church's original site.