Eatonton, Georgia

Episode 111 / 21 March 2019 / 154 min / full

Two Sides Of One Story

"This is in central Georgia, about an hour and 15 minutes southeast of Atlanta; Putnam County, zip code 31024." about 0:09:23

The case: Murder of Patty Diane Fugate (May 4, 1991); Murder of Mark Fugate (November 3, 1993). Read the case file.

The figures, as told in 2019

Population

6,512

Median age

36.2

Median household income

$34,000

Median home value

$169,600

Two-bedroom rent

about $800 a month

Cost of living

93

Religious

34%

Property crime

▼ about 25% under

Violent crime

▲ almost double

History, in brief

• Rock Eagle Effigy Mound is a Native American archaeological site north of the city. about 0:11:17
• It is one of only two such sites east of the Mississippi River, and both are in Putnam County. about 0:11:33
• The mound and related earthworks were made by woodland culture peoples perhaps 1,000 to 3,000 years ago. about 0:11:44
• The site is within a 1,500-acre park cared for by the University of Georgia and is on the National Register of Historic Places. about 0:11:56
• Eatonton was founded in 1807 and is the seat of Putnam County. about 0:12:31
• The town was named after William Eaton, an officer and diplomat involved in the First Barbary War. about 0:13:19
• The First Barbary War ran from 1801 to 1805, with the United States and Sweden fighting four North African Barbary states. about 0:14:27
• After the Revolutionary War the area became a major cotton region. about 0:15:43
• Eatonton was incorporated as a city in 1879. about 0:15:51
• The Richmond Sentinel of December 2, 1864 reported Eatonton agitated a week before Sherman's troops arrived. about 0:16:21
• In May 1919, in a five-hour period, five black churches and two black lodges in Eatonton were burned to the ground; no one was charged. about 0:17:50
• The county population dropped by more than half between 1920 and 1960 as black people moved north and rural people moved to cities. about 0:18:42
• On November 22, 1992 an F4 tornado with winds of 260 miles an hour came through the town. about 0:19:01
• The storm caused $27 million in damages and killed five people and injured 86. about 0:19:25
• In the twenty-first century Eatonton has become known as the dairy capital of Georgia. about 0:19:43

The reviews read out

Open the episode file