Ludowici, Georgia 5.15

Ludowici is a city in Long County, Georgia, United States. The population was 1,440 at the 2000 census. The city is the county seat of Long County. It is a part of the Hinesville-Fort Stewart metropolitan statistical area.The town, which was originally called Johnston Station, had its beginnings in the 1840s when the Atlantic and Gulf Railroad established a stop referred to as "Four and a Half". The station was constructed across from the house of a landowner named Allen Johnston.The Long County Courthouse and Ludowici Well Pavilion are listed on the National Register of Historic Places listings in Long County, Georgia.HistoryIn 1904, German entrepreneur Carl Ludowici built the “Dixie” plant for the Ludowici Roofing Tile Co., in Johnson Station. In 1905, when the town erected a new high school, the Ludowici family donated towards its construction costs and provided the roofing tile. In return, on August 23, 1905 the town was renamed and incorporated as Ludowici.The Ludowici Dixie Plant in its heyday covered more than 1,100 acres and employed most people who resided in Long County. Tiles manufactured from this plant were stamped "Ludowici Dixie”. "Dixie" tile can still be found throughout Georgia and Florida, on such prominent buildings as the U.S. Federal Building in Savannah and Flagler College in St. Augustine, Florida, as well as numerous homes in Ludowici and the surrounding communities. The plant closed in 1914. The Ludowici Roof Tile Company still exists but the company's plant is in New Lexington, Ohio.