Radium Springs a different place after the Flood of 1994

ALBANY — After flood waters came through in July 1994, the Radium Springs area of East Albany was a different place. The Radium Country Club eventually closed down, the Radium Springs Casino site was turned into a botanical garden and many of the residents who used to live in the area have moved on.

Go here to see the 20th anniversary special section on the Flood of 1994.

Among the most noticeable differences is the absence of the landmark casino. After being deluged by the floods in 1994 and 1998, causing significant structural damage, the 76-year-old building was demolished in October 2003 despite multiple efforts to save it. With the footprint of the casino still there, a 2004 study was done on the area resulting in the development of the Radium Gardens master plan.

In 2010, the first phase of that project was opened to the public following an $830,000 investment. A $76,500 contract was later approved for the second phase of the project. It has since become home to various forms of plant life and a butterfly pollinator garden. A plan was recommended late last year for a series of hiking, biking and horse-riding trails on what was previously the golf course.

During the flood, Dougherty County School Board member Darrel Ealum hosted in his home several families from that area who had been displaced. While not in ownership of the Radium Country Club at the time, Ealum did see the aftermath of the flood on the golf course when it came into his hands six years later. Before the 1994 flood, he said, the club was debt free. After, it borrowed money to help repair the damage and, following the 1998 flood, the decision was made to build a dam nearby that cost hundreds of dollars to build.

The golf course had gone from being owned by the membership, operating by a board and debt free, to being deep in debt. Ealum said the club was $1 million in debt when he acquired the property and attempted to revive it.

The golf course was at a disadvantage in that half of it sat on lower ground, which caused a problem anytime there was significant rainfall.

“Anytime they had a hard rain, it would come back southside and close down the bottom nine,” he said. “The top nine was played twice. … The ’94 flood everyone remembers, but the ’98 flood was very serious. Areas like Radium got hammered twice. Radium Springs is lower in the flood plain.”

In the period after the flood, new golf courses were being built in the Dougherty and Lee County area, causing some of those who had been loyal to Radium to play elsewhere. Meanwhile, Ealum was putting in $10,000 a month of his money to help keep it afloat. In 2008, the roughly 200 acres comprising what used to be the golf course, were purchased by Dougherty County, resulting in a corridor of protected land along the Flint River.

As with some of the other businesses in the area, one thing learned was the impact flood waters could have on an area, such as Radium Springs that is already low-lying.

“It is definitely a flood-prone area,” Ealum said. “This day and time, nobody would think of building a golf course there.

“My house was close to the golf course, and it was totally blocked. You couldn’t even get to the west side of town. It totally froze this area.”

Now that much of the land in Radium Springs cannot be built upon, the argument can be made that the inability to develop it is a blessing.

“It is all gone, but we have the natural beauty of the land now,” Ealum said. “The public owns the natural area and its beauty. We have a lot of natural beauty in that area.

“It’s never going to be back like it was. The population is not there. There is the natural terrain and springs. … It belongs to the public, and there is a plan in place to enhance its beauty.”

The residents of Radium Springs pulled together during the flood, but in the weeks and months that followed, many of those living there moved elsewhere because they couldn’t rebuild. Some abandoned homes are still standing.

David Fuller, a former journalist and Southwest Georgia native, has lived in the Radium Springs area since 1989. He lost what he had in 1994, and most of those who were living there at the time have long moved on. He, however, chose to stay and rebuild, even after more than 5 feet of water got into his home.

The damage from the water put him in a trailer in his backyard for two to three months while his belongings were all pulled out and his home — about a mile from the Flint River — was torn up and rebuilt. Many in the neighborhood, Fuller said, got buyouts. Some of those who stayed had to have their houses elevated, and Fuller said he saw his flood insurance quadruple.

“We hadn’t been in the home long enough, so we refinanced and we stayed,” he said.

The dynamic has changed somewhat near where he lives, but not necessarily because of vacancies. The change was positive in that after the flood, the neighborhood became a more diverse melting pot, Fuller said.

“When we moved out here, the homes were mostly occupied by whites. Now there are black families in four of the six houses (that used to be occupied by whites),” he said. “The population reflects Albany at large. People have moved on, opening up more space.

“Homes became more affordable for folks. It is a good place to live with a good reputation. People saw an opportunity. … It just provided an opportunity for families to get single-family houses.”

As far as the recovery efforts were concerned, it did bring the community together for a while, but aside from changes to the landscape at Radium Springs, there was not much of a lasting impact, Fuller said.

“We did,” he said when asked if he thought the community had recovered well. “The casino was torn down and the garden is there. Overall, things turned out pretty well.”