The town, which was originally called Johnston Station, had its beginnings in the 1840s when the Atlantic and Gulf Railroad established a stop referred to as "Four and a Half".

The Long County Courthouse and Ludowici Well Pavilion are listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

[8] H. F. McKay, an African American Republican, was elected to the Georgia Senate to represent Liberty County the same year.

[9][10] In 1905, when the town erected a new high school, the Ludowici company donated towards its construction costs and provided the roofing tile.

The Ludowici Dixie Plant in its heyday covered more than 1,100 acres (450 ha) and employed most people who resided in Long County.

[11][12] Members of the local police force were allegedly engaging in manipulation of the timing of the traffic signal downtown, so as to catch unsuspecting out-of-area motorists "running" a suddenly changed red light.

[13] Then-Governor Lester Maddox posted billboards warning tourists to avoid the town because ticket-related corruption was so bad.

Tourists no longer had to run a gauntlet of cops and flim-flam men to reach Florida's sunnier climes, and the town faded into well-deserved obscurity.