Valdosta was incorporated on 7 December, 1860, at which time the county government was moved from nearby Troupville, GeorgiaTroupville. Valdosta was founded in 1860 by residents of Troupville, Georgia. Troupville was a steamboat landing on the Withlacoochee River (North)Withlacoochee River, but when the Gulf and Atlantic Railroad was built four miles (about 6kilometrekm) away, the inhabitants simply picked up the town and moved it to the railroad. There are still buildings in Valdosta that made the move. The county's courthouse was built around 1905, and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The now virtually abandoned Troupville had been named after Governor George Troup, for whom Troup County, Georgia was also named. Valdosta was named after Troup's estate (house)estate, Val d'Osta, which itself was named after the Aosta Valley (Valle d'Aosta) in Italy. Recipes such as Fonduta alla Valdostana and Pollo alla Valdostana refer to the Italian region and use cheeseFontina cheese made there, and not to the south Georgia city. The city is located on the coastal plain and has no valley. Valdosta was once the center of long-staple cotton growing in the United States until the Boll Weevil finally killed the crop in 1917 and agriculture turned to tobacco and pine trees. The world's second Coca-Cola bottling plant is located in Valdosta. One of the most important boosts to the Valdosta economy was when Interstate 75 was routed and built near Valdosta. Many vacationing United StatesAmericans on their way to Florida make Valdosta a convenient "last stop" on their way to Disney World and the Orlando, FloridaOrlando area, especially those coming from the Midwest and Ontario, Canada. A high school oratory contest once held in Valdosta was notable for the second place winner, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. President George W. Bush received his National Guard flight training at Valdosta's Moody Air Force Base in November 1968. According to some sources, the first Automated teller machineATM machine was installed at C&S Bank in Valdosta. http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1153/is_n8_v119/ai_18749022 Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Valdosta%2C_Georgia