Dairy Festival and Benjamin Hunt
Excitement is growing in Eatonton-Putnam County as people of all ages look forward to the return of the beloved Dairy Festival on June 4th! Canceled for the past two years due to Covid-19, this all-day event is sponsored by the Pilot Club and features a 5k Road Race and Fun Run, a parade, the Dairy Family of the year, a Dairy Festival Queen and her court, delicious food, good music, an array of arts and crafts, children’s activities, and even a few speeches! It’s also the perfect day to remember Dr. Benjamin Hunt, the man without whom an Eatonton dairy festival might never have been!
A former New York banker, Benjamin Weeks Hunt became known for his contributions to the dairy industry and livestock improvement in Putnam County. Born in 1847 to prosperous Quakers, Hunt decided to make Putnam his home in 1876, shortly after his marriage to Louise Prudden, a member of a prominent Eatonton family. In 1891, Hunt purchased Panola Hall on North Madison Avenue and lived there until his death in 1934. Hunt’s poet wife, Louise, was the first to tell the stories of Sylvia the Ghost, who allegedly haunts Panola Hall.
Hunt brought the first registered Jersey cow, “Madame Roland,” to Georgia. He organized the Putnam County Anti-Tick Association, thus successfully immunizing the cattle against Tick Fever. He also built the first silo in Georgia and developed phosphate lime treatments for bovine osteoporosis.
Hunt was friends with the famous French doctor, Louis Pasteur, who developed the process of pasteurization and the rabies vaccine. In 1898 a rabid cat bit Hunt, and he went to the Pasteur Institute in France for treatment. There he was given double doses of the rabies vaccination in half the time of the normal procedure. Fully recovered, Hunt returned home inspired to establish a similar facility in Georgia. Established in 1901, the Pasteur Institute in Atlanta provided all Georgians with needed rabies treatment. Hunt also brought along the pasteurization process for the dairy industry.
The Hunt Fig Tree was bred in the 1920’s in Georgia and is one of the most cold hardy varieties for Southeastern growers. Hunt figs require a long, hot season to ripen so are recommended for warmer climates. Figs are long-necked with violet-brown skin and a beautiful light red flesh. The flavor is richly sweet and amazing for fresh eating.
He was one of the driving forces behind the Middle Georgia Bank, the Imperial Cotton Mill, and the Eatonton Carnegie Library, becoming its curator. Encouraging farmers to grow a variety of fruits that could be sold in the North, he achieved national recognition as a horticulturist and originated the “Hunt Fig”, a hearty hybrid that could withstand Georgia winters. He also developed the “Hunt Grape.”
In 1922 he received an honorary doctorate from the University of Georgia. He was also a leader in the successful promotion of a railroad line from Eatonton to Covington to help export the farmer’s produce and cotton. (This line was later dug up.)
Hunt served as an assistant to the US Department of Agriculture by receiving exotic plants to observe. The palmetto palms that still grace Panola Hall were part of his research.
So, after you have enjoyed the day at the Dairy Festival, you might want to take a stroll or a drive past Panola Hall and remember the amazing man who gave so much to all of us!
Partially reprinted from the Outstanding Citizens Wall in the Old School History Museum’s History Gallery.
For more information about Benjamin Hunt, visit the New Georgia Encyclopedia website.
To learn more about the 2022 Dairy Festival, visit this website.