DOUGHERTY COUNTY, Ga. (WALB) — The late Ted Turner, who passed away on Wednesday, May 6, owned nearly 9,000 acres in Dougherty County, a property known as Nonami Plantation. His employees remember his impact in South Georgia.

Property manager, Ray Pearce, said Turner first visited the land as a guest in 1993. He and the previous owner were good friends, and if the owner ever wanted to sell the property, Turner wanted to buy it.

Turner bought the land in 2010 with plans to conserve it. Turner used the property for quail hunting, a popular pastime in South Georgia, drawing visitors from across the country.

“Ted loves to quail hunt. And this is primarily a quail hunting property, and it’s wild quail, and it’s one of the best quail hunting properties in the nation,” Pearce said.

Pearce said Turner was proud to call Nonami Plantation his favorite property out of the millions of acres he owned in the United States. Turner owned almost 2 million acres in the United States and was one of the largest landowners in the country.

“Ted was fiercely loyal to his property and his employees, and he was a great person to work for,” Pearce said. “He was one of the largest landowners in the country. But Nonami was one of his favorites, given the fact of how much time he spent here every year.”

Pearce said Turner spent 40 to 50 days a year at Nonami and visited the property just two weeks before his death.

“He knew it was probably going to be his last visit. His health had been failing. But he was here, and he was in great spirits, and he loved this place,” he said.

Nonami Plantation employs 14 full-time workers and contributes to Dougherty County’s economy, the property manager said.

Pearce said he will always remember Turner as a friend to Dougherty County.

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