Santa Claus, Georgia is a real town, located in Toombs County, not far from Vidalia.  While the area is known worldwide for the famous Georgia-grown sweet Vidalia Onion, a farmer who sold pecans at a roadside stand was looking for a way to attract more tourists to buy his pecans that he sold.

Calvin Greene started telling folks that the area was known as “Santa Claus” and the name stuck.

Greene was a jolly fellow who kind of favored jolly old St. Nick, and was always laughing and smiling.  People would stop at his roadside farm stand and go away telling folks about it, which is exactly what Greene hoped they would do.

In 1941, the community sought legislation to incorporate and the Town of Santa Claus, Georgia received its charter from the state and was officially incorporated just in time for Christmas.  The town was actually founded on a sixty-acre plot of a pecan grove owned by Greene.

Greene served as the town’s first mayor, and streets were given names like Noel Street, Reindeer Drive, and Candy Cane Lane.  In fact, City Hall in Santa Clause is located at 25 December Street.

The tiny town of around 200 people has a busy post office come Christmas season.  Each year, thousands of people bring cards and Christmas gifts to be shipped with the post mark “Santa Claus”.