Gum Pond Community

Named for the nearby cypress swamp, stood here along the Albany to Thomasville section of the Florida Stage Coach Road from the 1840 to the 1880's. A stage relay station, the Byrd Crawford inn, Turpin's General Store, a blacksmith shop, post office and a voting precinct were located at this crossroads. Gristmills and sawmills were located at neighboring plantations to complete the community. Mt. Enon Baptist Church, the last remnant of the nineteenth century community (one mile north) supplied the spiritual, cultural and educational needs of the surrounding plantations. The church was constituted in 1856 and the current building built in 1888. General Joseph Wheeler's troops once stopped here while returning Federal prisoners to Andersonville. The church also housed "Ravenwood," the first academy in Mitchell County. After the coming of the railroad in 1869, Gum Pond declined and many of the residents moved west to establish the town of Baconton.