MOULTRIE, Ga. (WALB) - Each South Georgia town has a landmark that is a symbol of the city’s charm and contributions to the state overall.

In 1963, a 38-and-a-half-foot tall totem pole stood here in downtown Moultrie. Now all that’s left is this plaque and the memory of the man that carved it.

That memory is being preserved by local historians like Faye Bridwell. She is a volunteer for the Museum of Colquitt County.

“Mr. William E. He went by Bill Aycock, born 1875 in Whitesburg. he actually served in the Spanish American War, came here, 1890-1900, to begin with the booming lumber business. He became involved with creating the Chamber of Commerce, served as first president about 1910,” said Bridwell.

From that point on, Mr. Aycock became a fixture in the community. Putting the town of Moultrie on the map with the creation of the first county fair and the famous celebration of lights in Moultrie in 1934. In addition to the chamber of commerce, Aycock was involved with the cattle and stockyard association. As the city continued to grow and make a name for itself, he wanted to create a symbol that encapsulated Moultrie’s contribution to Georgia’s number one industry.

“He made a trip years early out to Washington state and became impressed with the Native American totem poles that he would see on that trip. He came back with the idea, adapting it to our agriculture and livestock businesses here,” said Bridwell.

“Back then, we were raising a lot of cattle. Peanuts were huge. Tobacco was a huge cash crop at the time. So, to look at the totem pole was our history. That’s what he wanted to highlight,” said Caroline Barber, Main Street manager in Moultrie.

He brought the idea to the chamber of commerce to create this new symbol for the city of Moultrie. Aycock then found a 302-year-old Cypress tree along the Ochlocknee River, and he knew it was the perfect fit for his vision. He began carving the totem pole at the age of 88.

“It took him 4 1/2 months. At the top and going down, a carving of a polled heifer bull’s head, followed by the head of an Aberdeen Angus Bull. Next was a short horn and a hosting calf. Next comes a 2-foot-long peanut, stalk of corn, leaf of tobacco, stalk of cotton, and finally, at the bottom, a glass-enclosed bulletin board,” said Barber.

Barber also told me that on October 17th, 1963, this symbol of agricultural diversity stood in the center of the town, on the lawn of the Moultrie courthouse. For about 12 years, it was a main attraction in Colquitt County, that was until the pole had to be taken down for repairs. However, it was never restored.

“It is a mystery,” said Bridewell.

“They took it down for some maintenance, but when they got it down, they realized it was in worse shape than they thought it was. It was really rotten on the inside, and it had termites,” said Barber.

The totem pole was supposed to be taken to pest control to get rid of those termites and then to a high school to be repainted, but...

“They never said where its final resting place was, so it’s still a mystery to this day where exactly this totem pole ended. So I would really love to see somebody come forward after this story, you know, airs, say I have a piece of the totem pole,” said Barber.

You can help solve the mystery of the missing Moultrie totem pole by contacting downtown Moultrie or the Museum of Colquitt County if you know where a piece of the totem pole is.

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