What Georgia Is Famous For

Georgia is the Peach State, the home of Coca-Cola and the Masters, and the place Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was born. Here’s what the state is best known for, most famous first.

Checked November 13, 2026

• Peaches
• Savannah’s Squares
• Coca-Cola
• Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and Sweet Auburn
• The Masters
• Peanuts
• The Okefenokee Swamp
• Georgia Music

Peaches

Georgia earned the Peach State name in the decades after the Civil War, and the New Georgia Encyclopedia says it led the nation in peaches by the early 1900s. Other states grow more now: by 2014 Georgia ranked third, behind California and South Carolina. Macon County, in peach country, says fresh Georgia peaches are around for about 16 weeks, mid-May to mid-August.

See it: Vidalia Onions and Georgia Peaches

Sources: New Georgia Encyclopedia, “Peaches”; Macon County, Georgia, “Macon County Peaches”

Savannah’s Squares

James Oglethorpe laid out Savannah in 1733 as a grid of wards, each built around a public square. The city grew to 24 squares, and 22 remain. The Savannah Historic District became a National Historic Landmark District in 1966.

See it: Savannah’s Squares

Sources: The Cultural Landscape Foundation, “Savannah Squares”; American Planning Association, “The Squares of Savannah”

Coca-Cola

Coca-Cola was born in Atlanta. On May 8, 1886, pharmacist John Pemberton brought his syrup to Jacobs’ Pharmacy downtown, where it was mixed with soda water and sold for five cents a glass. His bookkeeper, Frank Robinson, came up with the name.

See it: World of Coca-Cola

Sources: The Coca-Cola Company, “History”; Atlanta Magazine, “The first glass of Coca-Cola is served”

Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and Sweet Auburn

Martin Luther King Jr. was born in Atlanta on January 15, 1929, in a house on Auburn Avenue. A short walk away is Ebenezer Baptist Church, where he, his father and his grandfather preached. The birth home, the church and the tombs of Dr. and Mrs. King are all part of the Martin Luther King, Jr. National Historical Park.

See it: Martin Luther King Jr. National Historical Park

Sources: National Park Service, “Martin Luther King, Jr. National Historical Park”; Britannica, “Martin Luther King, Jr. Birth Home”

The Masters

Golf’s Masters Tournament, first played in 1934, is held at Augusta National every April. Atlanta’s Bobby Jones co-founded the club with Clifford Roberts. Since 1949 the winner has been helped into a green jacket.

See it: The Masters in Augusta

Sources: New Georgia Encyclopedia, “Masters Tournament”; NBC Sports, “Masters Tournament”

Peanuts

Georgia grows about half of America’s peanuts, more than any other state. Most come from the Coastal Plain in the south of the state. Jimmy Carter’s family farmed them for decades in Sumter County.

See it: Georgia Peanuts

Sources: New Georgia Encyclopedia, “Peanuts”; USDA Economic Research Service, Chart of Note

The Okefenokee Swamp

The Okefenokee spreads across the Georgia and Florida line and is full of American alligators. Most of it sits inside Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge, set up in 1937 and covering about 407,000 acres, and it feeds the headwaters of the Suwannee and St. Marys rivers. You’ll often hear the name translated as “land of trembling earth,” but it more likely comes from a Hitchiti phrase for “bubbling water.”

See it: Okefenokee Swamp Guide

Sources: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge “About Us”; Wikipedia, “Okefenokee Swamp”

Georgia Music

Georgia’s state song is Ray Charles’s “Georgia on My Mind.” Charles was born in Albany, and the legislature made the song official in 1979 after he sang it for them. Macon gave the world Little Richard and Otis Redding, and Capricorn Records there launched the Allman Brothers Band and Southern rock.

See it: Mercer Music at Capricorn

Sources: New Georgia Encyclopedia, “Ray Charles”; GALILEO, “This Day in Georgia History: April 24, 1979”; Rolling Stone, “Inside the Rebirth of Capricorn Sound Studios”; NPR, “Capricorn in Retrograde”

Frequently Asked Questions

What is Georgia most famous for?

Peaches, which gave it the Peach State name, along with Coca-Cola, the Masters and Savannah’s squares.

Is Georgia still the top peach state?

No. Georgia was the top grower in the early 1900s, according to the New Georgia Encyclopedia, but by 2014 California and South Carolina grew more. Georgia does lead the country in peanuts, with about half the U.S. crop.

Where was Coca-Cola invented?

In Atlanta. The first glass was served at Jacobs’ Pharmacy on May 8, 1886.