# The goat man.



## 2bbshot (Feb 9, 2013)

Anybody have any memories of the legendary goat man? I'm not old enough to remember him traveling around but I did go with my grandmother to meet him at a nursing home before he died. My grandmother always told me stories about him and I always thought it was interesting.


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## sparky (Feb 9, 2013)

*goat man*

there was a long line of threads about him on the old forum,I used to see him in Andalusia Al,when I was growing up in  the 1960s


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## dick7.62 (Feb 9, 2013)

I never saw him personally when I was a child but it seems like everyone else did because they talked about him a lot.  My wife remembers once her school bus stopped to see him.  She remembers that a goat came on the bus and really scared her(she was in 1st or 2nd grade).
In later years I would see his son on the road(without goats) as I traveled to and from work.  I saw him quite often and he always waved although I had never spoken to him.  Before the goat man died his son was murdered and as far as I know it was never solved.
For articles about the goat man google "Ches McCartney"


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## John I. Shore (Feb 9, 2013)

I remember him well.  Use to go past his place down in Dry Branch several times a yr on family trips.  Dad or Mom would always slow down to see if the "Goat Man" was home, usually he wasn't…..out on the road.  I have seen him all over between Macon and Savannah as a kid.  

I remember when I was 16 working at the Riverside Drive in there in Macon, he pulled up and camped out in the lot under our Marquee, we would bring him food and drinks from the drive in after we closed while he was there.  His little cart that the goats pulled would be his bed at night…..the last time I talked to him he was all upset, someone had run over one of the babies….he thought it was on purpose…..all upset over loosing one of his little goats.
I've seen him setup on the side of the road and "preaching" on Sunday morning to the goats or anyone that would stop and listen.  

I remember we were always excited to see "The Goat Man".

John I.


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## Luckybuck (Feb 9, 2013)

Saw him and his goat wagon several times in Griffin, Ga.


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## doublebarrel (Feb 9, 2013)

Saw him a couple times in Greensboro.


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## 2bbshot (Feb 9, 2013)

Sounds like a neat ole fellow. I heard about his son being murdered. Said he lived in a school bus near jeffersonville.


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## Supercrewzer (Feb 9, 2013)

I remember seeing him back in the 80's several times on hwy 78 in Haralson county.  I also remember the Tallapoosa paper writing articles and one of the TV stations doing an exclusive on him once.


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## fishfryer (Feb 9, 2013)

I saw him going through Cochran,Ga. in the 1950s. His old wagon was being pulled by his goats,he had all kinds of old junk hanging off it. There were old frying pans,cowbells,pots,and about anything you could think of mixed with feedsacks and kid goats too young to pull the wagon,riding on top of all that stuff.


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## Artfuldodger (Feb 9, 2013)

Some people thought he was Jesus. While I don't think he was Jesus, I'm often reminded of the story where Jesus told people they fed & helped him. They said, when did we do this? Jesus said: 'I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.'


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## BriarPatch99 (Feb 9, 2013)

Sometime in the 1970's ...after 1974(started to work at the P.O. that year), he camped at a little roadside park just up from the High there in Alma, GA ....The Elementary School was a block or two down...  lots of kids got to see and talk to him because there was three big playgrounds facing U.S. #1 for the entire front of the schools ... I think he stayed in town most of that day ... I did not get to meet him personally, but saw his camp and all the goats and stuff hanging off his wagon .... it was quite a site to see that coming down US#1 !!


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## MX5HIGH (Feb 10, 2013)

Back in the 50's and 60's I would see him when he came through Rome.  I know there is at least one book written about him , maybe more.


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## olcowman (Feb 10, 2013)

Artfuldodger said:


> Some people thought he was Jesus. While I don't think he was Jesus, I'm often reminded of the story where Jesus told people they fed & helped him. They said, when did we do this? Jesus said: 'I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.'



I ain't sure about that? I'm hoping that Jesus smells a little better than the Goatman? I loved him anyhow... they was only a couple of times a year that I really looked forward to, (we was purty poor so's Christmas wasn't no great big deal to a kid like me) One was the county fair after one of my cousins showed me they was a spot where the power cords ran thru that you could see what went on in the Hootchie-Cootchie tent... and the other was when the Goatman came. 

I told him one time when i was a little feller I wanted to go with him, and he said maybe one day when I was 'older'... I carried on after that so bad that my Pap finally relented and traded for me a couple of baby goats... when we got home Granny wanted to know why we'd come home with some durn goats... I told her I needed to start practicing. 

She told that'n on me to anybody that'd listen for about the next 40 years...


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## blues brother (Feb 10, 2013)

I saw him in Newton Co. on hwy 36...not to far from Heard Mixon school...maybe 1968,1969 or 70. He was camped out down the road from my grandparents farm. I was pretty young, but I do remember the smell....


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## 2bbshot (Feb 10, 2013)

olcowman said:


> I ain't sure about that? I'm hoping that Jesus smells a little better than the Goatman? I loved him anyhow... they was only a couple of times a year that I really looked forward to, (we was purty poor so's Christmas wasn't no great big deal to a kid like me) One was the county fair after one of my cousins showed me they was a spot where the power cords ran thru that you could see what went on in the Hootchie-Cootchie tent... and the other was when the Goatman came.
> 
> I told him one time when i was a little feller I wanted to go with him, and he said maybe one day when I was 'older'... I carried on after that so bad that my Pap finally relented and traded for me a couple of baby goats... when we got home Granny wanted to know why we'd come home with some durn goats... I told her I needed to start practicing.
> 
> She told that'n on me to anybody that'd listen for about the next 40 years...


I got a good laugh out of that! Goatman in training. When I went with my grandmother to see him she had a print of him holding a baby goat in front of his wagon that she has him sign or maybe put his fingerprint on it or both.


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## dotties cutter (Feb 10, 2013)

We used to see him on us1 between jacksinville fla. and waycross georgia in the fifties when I was a boy. We have a video of him from years ago.


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## JustUs4All (Feb 10, 2013)

olcowman said:


> Granny wanted to know why we'd come home with some durn goats... I told her I needed to start practicing.
> 
> She told that'n on me to anybody that'd listen for about the next 40 years...



So, are you opted for olcowman instead of olgoatman?


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## Hooked On Quack (Feb 10, 2013)

JustUs4All said:


> So, are you opted for olcowman instead of olgoatman?


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## rvick (Feb 10, 2013)

his wife was a spanish knife thrower in the circus. listen to the goatman song on you-tube. the goat that got on the school bus probably thought he was home.


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## simpleman30 (Feb 11, 2013)

Spanky's restaurant on Hwy. 80 in Pooler has some old pictures of him.  my dad grew up in Pooler in the 60's and said he remembered seeing him pass through.


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## NCHillbilly (Feb 11, 2013)

He used to swing through western NC every now and then, too-I've heard dad talking about seeing him.


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## K80Shooter (Feb 11, 2013)

I saw him several times traveling between Buford and Lawrenceville Ga. when I was a kid. Any time my dad would hear of him being around we would load up in the car and see if we could see/find him.  Never got to talk to him but it was a real treat seeing him.


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## oops1 (Feb 11, 2013)

Never seen or heard of him. Googled him and read the Bio... Very interesting man.


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## JustUs4All (Feb 11, 2013)

I saw him several times as well.  Each time he was camped along the Gordon Highway between Augusta and Harlem.

Here is a link with a picture:
http://www.thegoatman.com/


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## Lindseys Grandpa (Feb 11, 2013)

He used to come through Newnan ever once in a while. Stopped at the old Newnan plaza(where the new courthouse is)


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## j_seph (Feb 11, 2013)

So, who and what was the goatman. Sounds interesting enough


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## JustUs4All (Feb 11, 2013)

See #24 just above.


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## Hornet22 (Feb 11, 2013)

Saw him on Hwy 301 when I was a youngin, in Allendale, Co. S.C., right near our house. Had his wagon parked on the side of the road at a lil pull-off where some of the locals sold veggies and such. That was in the '60's; not sure xactly when, but it was before 301 was a four lane.


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## Buford_Dawg (Feb 11, 2013)

*Oh yea...*

He visited us at our camp once in Oglethorpe county, bout 30 years ago I think.  We were camped on Sandy Cross Road back in the day deer hunting.  He was traveling from Rayle to Comer that day.  Very interesting person, he stayed about a hour.


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## j_seph (Feb 11, 2013)

My dad is 81 and said he remembered him coming around in the 40's in TN


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## Bilge Rat LT 20 (Feb 12, 2013)

Saw him and his goat wagon on the side of hiway 80 west of Pooler in the mid sixties.


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## Nuttin Better (Feb 12, 2013)

Saw him several times when I was a kid coming through Porterdale and Covington.


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## Mac (Feb 12, 2013)

I saw him on road between Toccoa and Lavonia about 1971

Wagon and goats looked just like the picture on the web page above.


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## ga.farrier (Feb 12, 2013)

*The Goat Man*

Here's an old Picture


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## JustUs4All (Feb 12, 2013)

That is a great picture.

For the younger members the tall silver box in the background below the Budweiser sign is a pay telephone booth.  
They were rendered obsolete by cell phones.


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## Dan DeBord (Feb 12, 2013)

Saw him west of Waleska near the shoal creek bridge on hgy 140 late 50's or early 60's.


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## safebuilder (Feb 12, 2013)

remember seeing him in 60's when i was a kid


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## dick7.62 (Feb 15, 2013)

A fresh article about the goat man:http://www.macon.com/2013/02/14/2357030/bringing-the-goat-man-back-to.html


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## jim8377 (Feb 24, 2013)

Saw him in Shelbyville, TN in the 40's.


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## BobKat (Feb 26, 2013)

Thats really cool i wish i had been around back then!


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## Redbow (Feb 26, 2013)

I remember the Goat Man coming to Smithfield NC one time back in the fifties I was just a kid then..I wanted to see him but as we lived about 7 miles from where he was going to come thru with his wagon and Goats I had no way to get over there...


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## TigerMt123 (Feb 27, 2013)

He came thru Clayton, Rabun Co., during the mountaineer Festival in the late 60's.


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## olcowman (Mar 4, 2013)

JustUs4All said:


> So, are you opted for olcowman instead of olgoatman?





Hooked On Quack said:


>



Heck fellers... I'm still a practicing!







You don't just wake up one morning and say "I'm the Goatman"... No sir, something like this takes time and a heap of thanking on things. I'm a work in progress I figure... plus my wife is a big hinderance in the developement of my 'Goatman Persona'... especially the part about growing out my whiskers and swearing off soap and water.


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## Jody Hawk (Mar 4, 2013)

I'm 46 years old and I can just barely remember my Mama taking me and my brother to see him. I remember he was on Hwy.81 North of Oxford.


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## CreekChub (Mar 4, 2013)

He was camped in the woods behind the Laundrymat and
the Swifti Texaco in Temple, Ga sometime in the middle
1980's.


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## Hooded Merganser (Mar 10, 2013)

Lindseys Grandpa said:


> He used to come through Newnan ever once in a while. Stopped at the old Newnan plaza(where the new courthouse is)



My grandaddy is from Senoia. He was telling me the other day about the goatman coming through Coweta County years and years ago. We reseaerched him, he was really excited to find out just how well travelled the man was.


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## MCBUCK (Mar 12, 2013)

saw him at least every summer of my childhood. We lived not far from US41 9Dixie Highway) and I guess it was a major travel route for him.  That old wagon was always stacked higher than a mans head when we would see him, and it seemed like there were 20 goats pulling it!


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## ospreydog (Apr 21, 2013)

I saw him 2 or 3 times when I was a kid. The first time I saw him I was almost scared to death, then another time we gave him a plate of food. He was a pretty neat guy.


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## Artfuldodger (Apr 21, 2013)

I think he must have lived off Hwy 41. Lots of accounts of him on Hwy 41. I found this article more towards the end of his life.

http://themoonlitroad.com/the-goat-man/


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## holton27596 (Apr 24, 2013)

I remember him coming by my grandaddy's store (ZW Dowdy's store) on Hwy 341 between McRae and Lumber City when I was 6 or 7. heck of a sight him and all them goats.


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## JustUs4All (Apr 24, 2013)

Quite a smell too.


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## southernboy2147 (May 15, 2013)

http://forum.gon.com/showthread.php?t=265990


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## OneCrazyGeek (Sep 9, 2013)

Artfuldodger said:


> I think he must have lived off Hwy 41. Lots of accounts of him on Hwy 41. I found this article more towards the end of his life.
> 
> http://themoonlitroad.com/the-goat-man/



In the 60's, Hwy  41 (Cobb Pkwy) Near lake Allatoona
a novelty store B'Lloyds (like Stuckeys).
He came thru every couple of years.

One day a lady was trying to make him feel bad about being with those smelly goats.  His reply was something like "Ma'am, I had much rather sleep with one of these goats than you." True story.


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## olcop (Sep 9, 2013)

Saw him in Blackshear in the early 50's, bout all the entertainment we had that summer.
olcop


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## MAM65 (Sep 9, 2013)

Hey ga farrier where was that picture took


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## MAM65 (Sep 9, 2013)

Hey ga farrier where was that picture taken


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## FD716 (Sep 10, 2013)

I was too young to ever see him, but I have heard my daddy talk about seeing him come through the Swainsboro area when he was younger. There was a guy that came through Summertown when I was in the second or third grade that had a old red covered wagon pulled by a donkey. He camped out near the caution light in a field for a couple of nights. He also stopped by the school and they let all the kids come out to see him and the donkey. Daddy said he reminded him of the goat man, but it wasn't him. That was 23 years ago, and I have often wondered who he was or what happened to him.


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## mrs. hornet22 (Aug 20, 2015)

ttt for the billy boys.


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## Fuzzy D Fellers (Aug 20, 2015)

Thanks


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## oops1 (Aug 20, 2015)

mrs. hornet22 said:


> ttt for the billy boys.




Ryedirt will be pleased indeed


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## deerhuntingdawg (Aug 20, 2015)

Good thread


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## westcobbdog (Aug 26, 2015)

we were discussing him at work today, so I wikipedia'd him. His last big adventure seems to be traveling on foot to Cali. to meet up with his love Morgan Fairchild in 1985 or so. ( He had good taste) He got mugged and two goats were killed by some punks. He traveled all the lower 48 plus Alaska and Canada.


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## OneCrazyGeek (Sep 8, 2015)

Saw him several times, late 60's early 70's. Hwy 41 at the Cobb Bartow line. I-75 was a pipe dream.

A souvenir shop called B'Loyds  (like Stuckeys), he would stop on the Right of Way, all ways drew a crowd.

One afternoon, a lady asked him how he could sleep with those smelly goats his response "Ma'am, I would rather sleep with these goats than you."


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## brownhounds (Oct 23, 2015)

I know he was in Alpharetta, Ga and Cumming, Ga when I was growing up.  This is getting weird.


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