Old Car City: The World's Largest Classic Car Junkyard

Nov 3, 2015 11 comments

If you drive 50 miles north of Atlanta, in the U.S. state of Georgia, along Interstate-75 and then turn right for U.S. Route 411 towards Chatsworth White, you will arrive at a patch of forest with acres upon acres of old rusting cars. A sign in the front reads “The world’s oldest junkyard jungle, here 80 years.”

Old Car City contains over 4,000 classic cars from the mid century — most of them from year 1972 or older — strewn over 34 acres of forested property. There are old Fords, big-finned Cadillacs and even the rare 1941 Mack milk truck. Visiting all of them will take you over six miles of walking.

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The roots of Old Car City goes back to 1931 when the Lewis family opened a general store in a small town called White, formed only a few years earlier. They sold various items ranging from clothing to car parts, tires, and gasoline. When the United States entered World War II, and resources such as steel and tires became scarce, the Lewis family smartly added a scrapyard business. They bought junk cars, scrapped them and sold the parts. By the late 1940s, the general store had turned into a full fledged auto salvage yard. It was in this environment that Dean Lewis, the current owner of Old Car City, was born.

Dean spent his entire childhood playing with the cars. One day he is on the racetrack, the next day he is a school bus driver. “I drove 'em a million miles. Never moved an inch!," he told CBS News. Cars and trucks was all he knew. So when Dean finally acquired the business from his parents, in 1970, he had an entirely different plan. Dean decided that he would preserve the cars rather than scrap it.

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For the next several decades, Dean spent thousands of dollars acquiring various junked and wrecked vehicles from auctions, private parties and recycling yards. One of Lewis' more popular vehicles is a 1946 Ford truck used in "Murder in Coweta County," a 1983 film starring Johnny Cash and Andy Griffith.

In the following years, Old Car City grew so much that he had to buy more land to keep everything on. Initially, Dean sold some scraps, but it wasn’t the place where collectors could score a bargain. Every car had a nostalgic value and Dean refused to let go until he felt the money was worth it. Many visitors looking for parts left the place grumbling and dissatisfied. But if you asked him, he would say “Everything is for sale.”

Dean doesn’t say that any more. He realized that he could make more money charging visitors for admission and for taking photographs than selling off the displays.

Today Old Car City is visited by hundreds of visitors each year who pay $15 to stroll around, or $25 if they want to take photographs. Dean no longer sells parts. They are now part of this fantastic museum.

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Sources: Hotrod / Sometimes Interesting

Comments

  1. This is just so wrong. People should be allowed to rescue these cars, or salvage parts, rather than let these classics slowly rust away. Remember, these vehicles were created for the purpose of being driven, not to be museum pieces.

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    1. The owner saved them from being scrapped in the first place. They wouldn't exist even in this state if it weren't for him. Maybe after he dies, they'll let people buy parts again.

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  2. Too bad he wasn't a multi-millionaire when he started collecting. Build a few warehouses or buy old airplane hangars and store those cars there. To generate $, he can charge admissions, charge for guided tours, have classic vending machines that work with today's prices (e.g., $2 of a bottle of water), drum up donations from various clubs/orgs/companies/etc.

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    1. did you not read the article? He charges $15 dollars general admission and if you want to take photos, he charges $25 admission. Little steep in my opinion.

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  3. What a fantastic list of cars, hidden over the years. I love them all! A highly impressive 'old car city', really hope to see those cars restored to their former glory if possible.

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  4. I am a classic car collector. I can understand his interest in keeping these cars but letting them rust away and deteriorate is something I will never understand.

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  5. Another example of hoarding as a mental illness.

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  6. What a waste, going to rust, better to bring them alive. another stingy cracker going crackers.

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  7. People should be allowed to buy and restore them to showroom condition that are still people who would put in the elbow grease to do so

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  8. There was a yard in Mitchell Indiana. The old guy had everything from model A to 57 ford retractable and tri 5 chevys . The old ass wouldn't sell a car or any parts . He croaked in the late 90s and his family brought in a portable crusher and scrapped around 3,000 vehicles . He just couldn't stand the thought of someone restoring one of them . I just don't get people like him.

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  9. There was this old man that lived out front of my parents on maybe 10-15 acres. The entre property was covered in this long buildings that were 60-100ft long. Probably a couple dozen on the property in total. I remember there were always rumors about what the guy kept in there.

    In 2008 or so he passed and they had an auction. Hundreds of old cars. A couple Firetrucks from the 30s-40s, a few tractors, a really cool old truck from the 50s. The problem was they hadn't been touched in 40 years. Almost all the buildings leaked and all of them had a dirt floor. The cars were not even worth saving. I think the most expensive car that was sold went for 2k because there was something special about it - I dunno I'm not a Mustang guy. Most went for a couple hundred probably for scrap. It wasn't for lack of turn out - it was a major event that drew thousands of people all told.

    The point I'm getting at is most of these cars in the article are so far beyond saving. I'm not saying "practically speaking" - no - there is no way to save them without it being more new car than old.

    To wrap up my story the cars in the old mans shed that he probably loved and hoarded were in far worse shape than any of these even. There seems to be a generation that really likes turning their yard into a junkyard just to say "Look what I got".

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