I'm having trouble pinpointing the location of Plunkett Town, Georgia.
I first heard about this area from a loquacious old man I met at Clifton Men's Sanctuary. Homer was his name, and he was homeless. We started chatting about growing up near the airport and he told me stories about the black neighborhood north of Mountain View. He called it Plunkytown, and for a long time, I could find almost no information about the place.
Eventually, I interviewed some white people who mentioned Plunkett Town, the neighborhood literally on the other side of the tracks, and the open field that lay between the two communities. Children, both black and white, ventured into the field to hunt rabbits, play baseball, and set off fireworks.
Knowing the official spelling of the place, I was able to dig up these 2 mentions in the archives of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. One article states that Plunkett Town was "located south of Hapeville city limits." Not sure if I have permission to do this, but I wanted share them here as evidence of Plunkett Town's existence.
"Black Crackers Play Hapeville '9' Today" from The Atlanta Constitution, 1938
"Grand Jury to Begin Lottery Racket Probe" from The Atlanta Constitution, 1944
Off topic, but I'm impressed that the 2nd article is written by a woman, Christine Jones.
Posted by: Christy | November 15, 2011 at 01:04 PM
Hello, I originally wrote the Wikipedia article on Plunkytown. Of course it has been deleted twice and rewritten since. I worked with an elderly lady who grew up there. I like your blog. Look up Southside Comics on FB. That is me.
Posted by: Dee Claborn | November 22, 2011 at 11:21 AM
I believe this is the area that made up Plunkett Town. The area is bounded by Old Dixie Highway and I-75 and is now the Tradeport business complex.
http://www.historicaerials.com/aerials.php?scale=1.01129324843772E-05&lat=33.6476235399261&lon=-84.3948622004107&year=1955
Posted by: Emmett | December 26, 2011 at 12:15 AM
on sundays in the 70S my dad would go to plunket town for alcohol,i think he would pass money to someone on the dirt road,then drive up to a big metel trash can and their it was
Posted by: Debera Laird | December 27, 2011 at 07:33 AM
Does anyone remember a lady named Minnie Lee that lived in Plunkett Town?
Posted by: Carol | June 02, 2013 at 10:25 AM