On the northwest outskirts of Cleveland, Georgia, you will drive past a sign that says, “You just passed BabyLand.” When I passed the sign, I immediately looked to my right to see through the trees an abandoned building. The allure of an abandoned building and the possible former home of the Cabbage Patch Kids caused me to turn around immediately.

As someone who did not collect Cabbage Patch Dolls, I was unaware of what BabyLand looked like, but I was immediately perplexed by what the building was. It did not seem to be a place where baby dolls could be adopted. It turns out this mid-century modern building with its breezeblock window and octagonal bay windows started out as the Cleveland Deluxe Cottages.

An article in The New York Times about the filming of I’d Climb the Highest Mountain in the north Georgia mountains sent me to research more about the Cleveland DeLuxe Cottages. Grady Johnson (1950) writes that the population of White County doubled its population of 6,000 during filming. He shares, “Incidentally, these headquarters, the Cleveland DeLuxe Cottages, are a story in themselves–a $300,000 anomaly in the mountains built by reckless Grady Carpenter, who was lured back from Augusta to help save his home town [sic] from financial ruin.”

So, why did the author state he was reckless? My guess is that it is because of Carpenter’s storied past. It seems Carpenter got himself into a bit of trouble in Augusta. In 1934, the feds shut down his business for illegally selling alcohol and not paying taxes. By 1942, he was in trouble again with the federal government. This time, Solicitor General George Hains was trying to tackle the issue of “the war-aggravated problem of venereal disease.” He was trying to close down Carpenter’s tourist camp, Big Oak, in Augusta, which he described as ‘the last word in an up-to-date lewd house’ (The Macon Telegraph). Judge A. L. Franklin called it a ‘filthy cesspool of indecency.’ Carpenter challenged the ruling to the Richmond Superior Court, but they supported the decision. In 1944, Grady Carpenter was fined $10,000 and sentenced to two years in prison for violating whiskey sale laws.

By 1946, Carpenter seemed to be out of prison because the tax records indicate that the main building of the DeLuxe Cottage was built and opened. By the 1960s, it was named Holiday Manor and became a place for locals to eat and have a good time. The dance floor was situated on a sand bar in the middle of the Little Tesnatee River. In 1988, Xavier Roberts (Harman, 1988), the designer and owner of the Cabbage Patch doll empire and Cleveland native, purchased Holiday Manor and renamed it the Villagio di Montagna. Roberts restored the motel and created a resort with an Olympic-sized pool, jacuzzi, and other amenities. Supposedly, no clocks were on the premises so guests could focus on the ultimate getaway. I am uncertain when the Villagio closed. Comments I’ve received elsewhere on social media was that it closed in late 1996.

The land is still owned by Original Appalachian Works, the company owned by Xavier Roberts.