Rare roadside folk art by a woman is tucked away on quiet street
When you follow directions to get to the nation’s oldest folk-art installation located in Ochlocknee, Ga., you’ll arrive on a quiet street much like those in any subdivision in the south.
There, in a neat yard off Georgia Highway 111, is some of the nation’s most important art. Not only is it made by a woman, Laura Pope Forester (1873-1953), it is the oldest known surviving folk art garden in the U.S.
An unusual concrete entryway leads to a home whose façade was embellished by Pope. The property, which includes a house and a small cottage, was once home to more than 200 statues and bas reliefs, but the majority were tragically destroyed, leaving the entry gate, the decorated home and a few other pieces of art inside and around the house.
A detail of some of the folk art that remains in Laura Pope Forester’s yard in Georgia. (Kelly Kazek)Kelly Kazek
The farm became a tourist attraction during Pope’s lifetime – it was featured on postcards and referred to as “Pope’s Museum.”
These days, Pope’s Store Museum is a wedding and entertainment venue, as well as a museum and short-term rental. You can tour the museum by appointment. Check here for reservations and pricing. Pope’s Store Museum has recently added space for RVs. If you need a rental, check out RVshare.com.
About the site
Forester made the impressive archway leading to her home, which bears a series of sculpted faces, in the 1940s. The 15-foot high, 100-foot-long entry gate is decorated with “lacework” made from cast-iron sewing machine legs, wagon wheels and other items.
Part of the front wall in Laura Pope Forester’s yard in Georgia. (Kelly Kazek)Kelly Kazek
The majority of the statues and busts were of women but sometimes men were featured, including Douglas MacArthur and Dwight Eisenhower. She added marble slabs engraved with the names of all local people who died in World War II on one side and the authors of the 1945 Georgia Constitution on the other.
In addition to the gate, a surviving sculpture is a monument to the Red Cross nurses of World War I that was sculpted in 1920. It features the life-size figure of a nurse, a list of Grady County men who died in WWI, and the bust of a woman from Atlanta who Pope said was “killed on the Marne.” Forester’s unique installation is definitely worth the detour, especially if you love folk art and/or women’s history.