It’s taken some time to come to fruition, but now a portion of U.S. 68/Kentucky 80 in Trigg County has been renamed ‘Golden Pond G.C. Atwood Highway.’
During a sign unveiling ceremony held Thursday morning, Donnie Holland shared the story of George Conroy Atwood.
Atwood, a WWII veteran, fought the Tennessee Valley Authority to not have to move from his home in what is now Land Between the Lakes. Because of his refusal, federal agents handcuffed him inside his home in 1969, took him to jail in Louisville, and a few days later bulldozed down his home with all his belongings still inside.
Trigg County Judge-Executive Stan Humphries said this re-naming of the roadway does not take away any wrongdoing of the situation.
Former Trigg County Judge-Executive Hollis Alexander also spoke at the event, as a resolution to change a two-mile stretch of the roadway came during his time in office.
Atwood’s daughter Mae Lou Lancaster told Your News Edge the dedication means the world to her family.
During a meeting of Trigg County Fiscal Court in 2021, then-Judge Alexander mentioned that Atwood never crossed the bridge to visit the area where his home once stood before his death in 1981.
