Image Credit: Catherine Kilburg
Year Erected: 2025
Marker Text: Byrd Cookie Company was started by Benjamin Tillman “Pop” Byrd, Sr. in 1924. The bakery was relocated near Pop’s home in Sandfly on Norwood Avenue in 1929. Pop’s son, BT “Cookie” Byrd, Jr., inherited the company in 1949. Opening a new bakery, Cookie began packing the cookies in six-inch decorated metal tins that became synonymous with Byrd’s Famous Cookies. He later opened the “Cookie Shanty,” Byrd’s first retail store, drawing attention from locals and tourists. Cookie’s eldest daughter Kay Byrd Curl and husband Benny Curl took over in 1988, with daughter Stephanie Lindley leading the company’s expansion to its current headquarters on Waters Avenue. Under the leadership of fourth- and fifth-generation family members, Byrd Cookie Company continues to bake cookies over 100 years after its founding, operating five bakeries and twenty stores in five states.
Erected by the Georgia Historical Society and Byrd Cookie Company
Tips for Finding This Site: Near Byrd’s Famous Cookies, 6710 Waters Avenue in Savannah
Explore this marker and more through the Georgia Historical Society's interactive database.
Learn more here:
- Business History Initiative Markers
- Business History Initiative Educator Resource: Byrd Cookie Company