Titan I Missile - Cordele, GA
In 1968 Cordele, Georgia, the “Watermelon Capital of the World,” became home to a surplus Titan missile. It was obtained by John Pate, who had spent a decade in the Air Force. He later became the president of the Cordele Rotary Club. When Pate learned that the Titan missiles were being retired, he saw an opportunity for a tourist attraction. The Titan rockets, built as intercontinental ballistic missiles, were originally intended to carry nuclear warheads up to 10,000 miles. They were later commissioned by NASA, in 1960, to launch two-man Gemini space capsules. Pate hoped that bringing a Cold War relic to Cordele would make the area stand out. And it certainly has become an eye-catching attraction. Through the connections Pate had with the military, he arranged for the missile to be flown to Robins Air Force Base in 1968.
www.atlasobscura.com/places/titan-i-missile
www.roadsideamerica.com/story/11706
Just off of I-75, drivers can exit and get up close to a relic of the Cold War: a Titan I missile. This retired delivery system for nuclear payloads has stood outside Cordele since July 17, 1969. Rotary Club president and missile-lover John S. Pate Jr. managed to arrange for the 98-foot-tall ballistic weapon to be donated by the U.S. government, dismantled in California, shipped to Warner Robins Air Force Base, and then trucked here.
A helpful hand-lettered sign at the missile's base relates its history and proclaims that "This is the site of Confederate Air Force Pad No. 1."
There's a Krystal fast food restaurant next door -- another icon of the South.
TL;DR
In 1968, a surplus Titan missile ended up in Cordele, Georgia, the "Watermelon Capital." John Pate, an ex-Air Force guy and Rotary Club president, got the missile and turned it into a tourist attraction. The missile was originally built as a nuke-carrying ICBM, but later used by NASA for Gemini launches. Pate arranged for the 98-foot missile to be flown in, dismantled, and set up in Cordele. There's a Krystal next door.