Southlands Plantation

5,747 +/- acres High-Quality Sporting Property Decatur County, GA 4.5 +/- miles frontage on Lake Seminole w Army Corp managed frontage 230 feet of elevation change Less than 3% wetlands 200-ft Bluff overlooking Lake Seminole 30,515 ft of high fence (approx 6.5 Miles) 20-acre Eagle Lake, stocked 30-acre floodable duck pond 60-acre irrigated field 12-inch well that pumps 1,000 gals per minute, and has piping to the lake with a pumping station on the lake 4,884 sq ft Main Lodge (8Br, 5.5 BA completely remodeled with hardwood floors, 2-story, beautiful setting overlooking Lake Seminole/Flint River, huge view scape overlooking lake with approx. 200 ft plus) A new 4-stall horse barn 1,800 sq ft built in 2021 A new managers house 2,696 sq ft built in 2021 Old Managers house 1,552 sq ft, completely remodeled/updated Guest house 1,916 sq ft completely remodeled and updated 3.5 +/- miles of paved driveway, CAT generator, & Underground Utilities Electric gate entrance w landscape/irrigation Shop, Pavillion, Equipment Shed Cooler building and deer cleaning Enclosed building/dog kennel with 11 runs and 4 runs 3,000+ Ft of horse barn fencing Two grain bins, 6-inch well and 4-inch well 187 B&C buck has been harvested on this property with a 162 B&C harvested just next door numerous B&C bucks on camera now Quail woods with mature pine timber & a year-round quail feeding program in place Winding creek beds with 15-ft banks, 3-4-ft waterfalls, Steephead ravines, natural springs & beautiful mountain laurel that you do not see anywhere else in this region Located less than 8 miles to Bainbridge, 18 minutes to County Airport and 14 min to new Publix Equipment Included With 4.5 miles of Lake Seminole frontage, this is a once-in-a-lifetime investment for the ultimate sportsmans retreat. Unparalleled ecological diversity and wildlife preservation coupled with immaculate improvements make this property a fully immersive outdoor lifestyle experience, perfect for recreation and relaxation. Southlands 5,747 acres is one of the Souths A ranked High-Quality Recreational Properties. It has been under quality management going back 87 years. Its history is impeccable. Today, its regarded as one of the few places in the South where one can consistently have and harvest B&C Whitetails. From wild quail and turkey to waterfowl, the wing-shooting here is exceptional. It boasts a 30-acre duck pond and 20-acre fishing lake. Elevations run from 80 to 310 feet with the property literally standing at the beginning of the Appalachian Mountains. With 4.5 miles of frontage on Army Corp Lands, the adjacent 37,500-acre Lake Seminole provides recreational opportunities throughout the year making this truly a year-round destination. Bainbridge is the sister city to Thomasville, and this small Georgia town is a shining light. Not only is this property surrounded by an abundance of recreational and social opportunities, but it has also been owned and managed by a whos who in terms of landowners. Southlands Story:   Southlands started out as 26,000 acres originally assembled by none other than Herbert Stoddard himself, co-founder of Tall Timbers and father of prescribed burning. Houghton Metcalf, a wealthy industrialist from Rhode Island, purchased the rights from Stoddard in 1937 and built his lodge on the 200-foot bluff overlooking what is now Lake Seminole. He turned Southlands into a sportsman's paradise, and its stories have become legendary.   It was then acquired by International Paper to be used as a teaching forest. It then became world-renowned as the Southlands Experiment Forest and was the flagship property of their 12M acre empire. One of the reasons is because of the vast diversity of timber types. Few, if any, places have the ecological diversity of this one property. In fact, there is even a book making a case that this area was the original Garden of Eden. Following the exceptional stewardship of International Paper, one of the most fascinating land acquisition stories ever told came to be.  A tale so remarkable that if Walter and I weren't involved I wouldnt be able to describe it. In 2010, a philanthropist and multi-plantation landowner, Jim Dahl, set his sights on the 5,747-acre Southlands; but in order to entice IP to sell its prized headquarters, he made an offer to buy the 140,000 acres in one purchase.which he did. After all the dust settled and we resold most of the balance (which in itself was $142M and regarded as the largest timberland sale in the south for nearly a decade), Jim and his partner, now owned the gem and became owners of one of America's most iconic properties. Modern wildlife management techniques were implemented on a huge scale. A 20-acre private lake and 30-acre flooded duck pond were built, improvements were added to and recapitalized, and they even built a high fence along the north and south boundaries. As a result, numerous B&C record book bucks are on the property, including one that was recently harvested scoring a whopping 187in. The current Chairman of the Board of Tall Timbers personally hunts here, and he will tell us that he regularly moves 8-12 coveys in an afternoon and has moved as many as 25! Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia completed the Georgia leg of his Turkey Grand Slam here. Today, this property is the epitome of what a highly managed recreational property should be. Herbert Stoddard would be proud. Fast forward almost a quarter century, time ages on. Jim was discussing the possibility of selling it with those in his inner circle. The current landowner heard a whisper, quickly stepped in, and paid our valuations worth. Southlands was sold again before it was even placed on the market! Today, this is the first time since 1937 that it has made a public appearance on the market... 87 years since Stoddard himself brokered the original sale.   A signed copy of Herbert Stoddard's book - The Bob White Quail: Its Habits, Preservation and Increase The Land:   Southlands contains 5,747+/- acres of the best of the best of the original 26,000 acres. The property sits on the edge of Curry Hill with 230 feet of elevation change. Essentially, this is the southernmost point of the Appalachian Mountains. The Flint River flows south into Bainbridge where it hits Curry hill, and then flows west along the property line for 4.5 miles. Elevations here reach as high as 310 feet; whereas, the Dougherty Plain across the river is less than 100 feet. Its Class I and II soils are exceptional. There are around 2.5% wetlands (122 acres of 5,747), and that includes a 20-acre lake. Yet, there are over 5 miles of spring creeks originating from the steep heads distributed throughout the property with additional smaller spring-fed feeder creeks. The ground cover is exceptional given, its long-term prescribed fire rotation. Once titled "Southlands Experiment Forest," this allowed for the highest quality timber genetics to be planted here 30+ years ago, and that is evident today. The diversity of hardwoods and pine species are greater here than in almost any other location. In fact, there is so much diversity here, it is one reason the late E.E. Calloway declared this area to be the site of the original Garden of Eden. Southwest Georgia and a small portion of north Florida are the only areas in the world where the Gopher Wood tree that Noah used to build the ark has ever been found. There are no public roads or hardly any power lines crossing the property. Its shape is almost a complete square. When one compares the price per acre of plantation land it typically contains about 20-25% wetlands, in some places as high as 30% is normal. As such, this fact is factored across the sales price per acre. However, here, there is only about 2.5% or about 17% less, which means the value here is 17% better than other lands apples to apples. - Jon Kohler Here, you have two of the top land brokers in America, consistently finishing in the top 20, and both are testifying that this is the #1 property they have worked on. Thats saying something. - Jon Kohler The best, simplest way, for me to describe this property is that over the $1.57B acres we have closed, of the finest lands in the South, with the experience of selling more of these great lands than any other broker - it says a lot that this property is the highlight of both Walters and my careers. Given the types of properties we represent, thats a bold statement. - Jon Kohler This place is one-of-a-kind. The 37,500-acre lake with 4.5 miles of frontage makes this truly a year-round property. It's almost a resort feel. It reminds me of the 10,000-acre A-Cross Ranch that we sold in Saratoga, Wyoming. We made an unsolicited offer, which at that sale was the 1st time the ranch had been sold since the Treaty of Laramie. It is regarded as one of the top 3 fly fishing ranches in the lower 48. A billionaire with a vision to share it bought it, set records, and turned it into Brush Creek Ranch. Today, the ranch is universally regarded as the top recreational ranch resort in the world. I could see the same thing happening here in SWGA. Southlands is the one property, large enough, the right location, and with all the year-round amenities one needs. It's really more than a recreational plantation. - Jon Kohler I remember the first time driving onto 10,000-acre A Cross Ranch and viewing the river valley below. I was blown away by the majestic views. I can say the same thing about Southlands. As you come through the private entrance and begin the 3-mile private drive, you will be blown away." - Walter Hatchett This is a big place. It's one of the largest of all the quail plantations. To put it in perspective, Cades Cove in Great Smokey Mountains National Park is 4,000 acres (32% smaller) and has 2M visitors a year. Here it's only one family and friends. - Jon Kohler "Very rarely do you see a property of this size that does not contain any land in-