Welcome to Plathville: Where The TLC Show Is Filmed

TLC’s Welcome to Plathville is set on an isolated 55-acre farm in Georgia, but “Plathville” is not a real town. The name Plathville originated from the Plath family’s isolated style of living, which makes them seem like their own little community. However, we now know where the Plaths actually live, and it’s a small town named after an ancient city.

In season one of Welcome to Plathville, viewers were introduced to the Plath family, which consists of Kim and Barry Plath, and their nine, toe-headed children. Although mom Kim did not grow up conservatively, she decided to raise her children in a religious and socially conservative environment, in order to protect them from the outside world. Kim was haunted by the mistakes she made in her youth and decided to protect her children from the dangers of life, including soda, TV, and the big city. Kim and Barry’s fundamentalism and strict rules led to a rift in the family. In season two, the three oldest Plath children – Ethan, Micah, and Moriah – became more and more independent. In addition, the Plaths left their 55-acre farm and now live in the “big city” near their oldest son, Ethan, and his wife, Olivia. Micah and Moriah have moved out, meaning only the six youngest Plaths remain under Kim and Barry’s roof. But where is that roof, exactly? It seems the Plaths didn’t go far, and still live in the small town of Cairo, Georgia.

Cairo, Georgia was named after the Egyptian capital, but that’s where the similarities end. Cairo, Georgia is made up of just 9,607 people, according to the 2010 census. Cairo is about fifteen miles from Thomasville, a town twice the size of Cairo with about 18,000 people. Physically, the town is tiny, at just 9.8 square miles. For context, Georgia’s capital of Atlanta is 136.8 square miles.

Cairo’s small size helps explain how the Plaths remain so isolated from the world, even while living thirty minutes from a big city. Cairo is only about thirty miles from Flordia’s capital, Tallahassee. Despite moving onto a smaller property, the Plaths still have quite a large home while residing in a rural area. You can see the Plath’s new home on this season of Welcome to Plathville.

The Plath family hasn’t been able to keep their children away from the modern world, despite their best efforts. While living in Cairo certainly helps to keep the family accustomed to an isolated life, the real world has crept in, thanks to the children’s determination and Ethan’s wife, who recently showed Ethan classic Christmas movies for the first time. It goes to show that, despite the family’s best efforts and their small-town life, it’s impossible to completely avoid the outside world.

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