Information
Landmark: Kadie Cow of ColumbusCity: Columbus City
Country: USA Georgia
Continent: North America
Kadie Cow of Columbus, Columbus City, USA Georgia, North America
Overview
Kadie the Cow stands about 20 feet high, a towering fiberglass figure shaped exactly like a real dairy cow, right down to the gentle curve of her back.In Columbus, Georgia, she’s a familiar landmark, a nod to the city’s dairy heritage, and a touchstone of nostalgia for locals and visitors-much like the scent of fresh cream on a warm summer morning.Kadie stands out with her impressive size and a design that blends lifelike detail with a touch of style, capturing the warm, familiar presence of a dairy cow you might see grazing in a sunny pasture.In the early 1960s, Kinnett Dairies-a well-known Columbus dairy-commissioned Kadie the Cow, her paint still fresh under the Georgia sun.John Kinnett, who owns Kinnett Dairies, got the idea after spotting a massive fiberglass cow rumbling past on a flatbed truck headed for Florida.The striking figure caught Kinnett’s attention, and he decided to buy a similar statue-something that could draw travelers in and leave them remembering his dairy every time they passed.A fiberglass company that built massive outdoor advertising sculptures crafted the statue, much like the towering roadside figures that dotted mid‑20th‑century America to catch a passerby’s eye.Kadie stood out along the busy Manchester Expressway in Columbus, right in front of the Kinnett Dairies plant where the scent of fresh cream lingered in the air.The statue doubled as an ad and a proud emblem of the company’s promise to deliver fresh, local dairy-like the milk still cool from the morning churn.Over the decades, Kadie grew from a plain store mascot into a cherished emblem of Columbus’s grit and farmland roots, as familiar as the hum of a mill on a summer afternoon.She embodies a time when the smell of fresh milk drifted from corner dairies, anchoring both the city’s economy and its sense of community.Residents came to love Kadie-not only as a town landmark, but as a quirky slice of Americana, the kind you see in places where a giant cow or towering coffee pot draws tourists and sparks local pride.For generations in Columbus, people knew Kadie-she turned up in family snapshots, on old postcards, even in the stories folks swapped over coffee.She gave the city a character all its own and sparked a sense of pride, the kind you feel when neighbors greet each other on a sunlit morning.In April 2022, Kadie the Cow made the trip from her longtime perch on the Manchester Expressway to Woodruff Riverfront Park, where she now stands in Uptown Columbus beside the slow, shimmering waters of the Chattahoochee River.They made the move in response to shifts in the city’s industrial scene, wanting to keep Kadie alive as a piece of living history instead of watching her crumble under a wrecking ball or fade away in the dust.Local residents, city officials, shop owners, and civic groups all pitched in to make the move happen, united in their aim to honor Columbus’s history-right down to hanging banners along Main Street.Kadie now stands in a brighter, easier-to-reach spot at Woodruff Riverfront Park, greeting people who come for afternoon walks, weekend festivals, and the river’s steady breeze.The move has sparked fresh interest in the statue, pulling in tourists and locals who stop to snap photos of the towering bronze figure.The statue’s crafted from fiberglass, a tough composite that shrugs off rain and wind-perfect for sculptures meant to stand in the open air.Kadie towers about 20 feet high, making her one of the biggest fiberglass cow statues in the country, her white flank catching the afternoon sun.The sculpture is shaped and painted like a Holstein dairy cow, with true-to-life proportions, bold black-and-white patches, and a warm, welcoming face that could make even a child smile.Once perched on a massive base beside the roar of highway traffic, the statue was gently taken apart and lifted by crane to its new home in Woodruff Riverfront Park, where it now stands firmly on a concrete foundation, easy to spot from afar.Kadie draws crowds to Woodruff Riverfront Park, where she’s both a favorite backdrop for snapshots-kids grinning beside her bronze flank-and the centerpiece of local gatherings.She brings the park’s history and culture to life, adding depth to its quiet pathways, and plays a key role in the city’s push to draw visitors through local heritage tourism.Many visitors swing by Kadie, then head for nearby spots like the National Infantry Museum or the shaded curves of the Riverwalk trail, weaving her into the heart of Columbus’s downtown scene.In 2023, Kadie’s tale took a new turn when her fiberglass calf-nicknamed BeBe-was found and brought back, its bright paint still glinting in the sun.BeBe spent nearly ten years apart from Kadie after they were separated, but with the help of local enthusiasts and historic preservation work, she was finally found and brought back to Kadie in Columbus, her bell still faintly echoing from the journey.The community has celebrated Kadie and BeBe’s reunion, giving the statues new sentimental weight-like old friends back in their familiar spot-and strengthening their place as beloved landmarks.Kadie the Cow isn’t just a towering fiberglass figure-she stands as a proud emblem of Columbus, Georgia’s history, its rich culture, and the warmth of its community spirit.Kadie began as a smiling face in a dairy company ad, and today she stands as a beloved piece of public art, embodying the city’s industrial past and its enduring pride in a character all its own.By moving her to Woodruff Riverfront Park, they’ve made sure future generations can gather beneath her towering frame, enjoying and honoring this proud symbol of Columbus’s heritage.Kadie and her calf, BeBe, bring the tale to life, turning the statues into a lasting symbol of the city-like a familiar landmark you pass on your way to work.
