Photos by:
Kelsie Posey
Staff Photographer
Story by:
Jade Gay
Senior Reporter
“It used to be the talk of the town,” Misty said.
Now the employee of the local gas station sits across the street from what used to be the Paradise restaurant in Cooperville. The only things left of the popular restaurant and motel are the memories that the locals have and a huge old sign that reads, in large letters, “PARADISE."
The sign sits in an empty field across from where it once stood. At one time, it beckoned in locals and weary travelers alike. Now it lays in the grass and slowly rusts.
A newly built Dollar General sits where the restaurant used to be.
***
Some things in small towns never change, and when they finally do, it can be difficult for the locals to come to terms with. This is the case for the locals of Cooperville and the Paradise sign. The 58-year-old sign was once an iconic emblem of the small town that runs along Highway-301.
The restaurant and motel got its start back in the late 1950s. The motel was built first, and the construction for the restaurant began soon after. During a conversation with locals at the gas station, I was directed to the home of Danny and Becky Anderson.
“You see, you going to make a right out of this gas station and down that road. You pass a sign that says Freeman Farm. Just past that sign, on the right-hand side you’ll see a log cabin house. That is where Danny and his wife Becky lives,” Mike Smith said.
As I intently followed the road, it led to a sign that read “Freemans Farm.” Shortly after passing the landmark, there stood a quaint log cabin. Apprehensive of what was ahead, I knocked on the front door. When no one answered after some time, I got in my car and drove away. I couldn’t stop thinking about the deserted Paradise sign, so I searched on Google for the phone number for the Freeman’s Farm. As I anxiously waited for an answer, my hands began to sweat against the phone. The ringing came to a sudden stop, and the strong southern accent of Becky Anderson answered.
***
After explaining who I was, Anderson uncovered the intricate story of this mysterious sign. The Paradise restaurant and motel started when Joanne McDonald’s family bought a motel and named it Paradise in the late 50s. Joanne’s father was a business man in Claxton at the time, and he decided to start a motel, Anderson said.
“When Joanne McDonald’s husband died, she fell sick and gave up her family business to a woman named Margret Hamm,” Anderson said.
Hamm ran the restaurant and motel until she came across financial issues that forced her to close in 1999. That was the last time the restaurant and motel was operated.
Shortly after the closing of the motel, a man named Jason Dykes bought the sign, Anderson said.
When Dykes purchased the sign he never did anything with it, Anderson said. He soon grew tired of the sign and left it for anyone’s keep.
Greg and Melissa Birmingham moved to the town and opened a restaurant, The Copperville Caboose, and decided to use the iconic sign as their own. The Birmingham’s later ran into similar financial problems and after six months they were forced to close their restaurant.
***
With nowhere to go, the sign soon became nothing more than a piece of metal. It was moved to the adjacent field where it now rests. The sun beats down with indifference, fading its once vibrant color.
For individuals that pass through Cooperville, the sign is easily overlooked.
For the locals of Cooperville, it’s a piece of history.
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