The public farewell to Jimmy Carter, the 39th president of the United States, began Saturday in southern Georgia, where he was born.

The motorcade with the flag covering Carter’s body headed to his hometown of Plains, passing his childhood home on the way to Atlanta.

His family, his four children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren, accompanied him on this six-day march that marked his state funeral. Carter, the longest-serving U.S. president, died at his home in Plains on Dec. 29 at the age of 100.

Area residents gathered along the procession route in downtown Plains, near the historic train station that was the center of his 1976 campaign. Some held bouquets of flowers or wore commemorative buttons with Carter’s photo. “We wanted to pay tribute,” said 12-year-old Will Porter Selbrock, who was born more than three decades after Carter left the White House in 1981. “He was a pioneer in everything he was trying to accomplish.”

Shelbrock suggested to his grandmother, Susan Cohn, 66, that they travel from Gainesville, Florida, to Plains to watch the start of Carter’s final journey, according to the Guardian.

Carter and his wife, Rosalyn, who passed away in November 2023, were born in Plains and spent most of their lives in the area, in addition to his naval career and his terms as governor of Georgia and president of the United States.