Farm bells toll 39 times as Jimmy Carter’s funeral motorcade pulls to a halt in front of his childhood home

Jimmy Carter visited for the last time the place where his story began.

On Saturday, January 4, funeral plans began for the former president, who died on Sunday, December 29 at the age of 100.

After the Carter family arrived at Phoebe Sumter Medical Center in Americus, Georgia, Secret Service agents loaded Carter’s body into a hearse and then traveled with a motorcade to the politician’s hometown of Plains.

The motorcade passed through town, stopping briefly at Carter’s childhood farm. There, the National Park Service paid tribute to the late president and rang the historic farm bell 39 times – symbolizing Carter’s role as the 39th president of the United States.

Carter and others in the motorcade then headed to the Carter Presidential Center in Atlanta, where the Nobel Peace Prize winner will lie in state until 6 a.m. local time on Tuesday, January 7.

RELATED: How Jimmy Carter Helped Me Believe the Impossible: Reflections on Death of the Plainsman (Exclusive)

Carter was born on October 1, 1924, to mother Bessie Lillian Carter and father James Earl Carter Sr. The family’s father moved the family to a home in the Archery community, a few miles from Plains.

Carter grew up there and eventually left home to attend college in 1941, according to the National Park Service (NPS).

According to the NPS, his father sold the home and nearby farmland in 1949, and the organization later purchased the home and 17 surrounding acres in 1994.

After a years-long restoration project, the National Park Service said the home and farm were “restored to their 1937 appearance” before the area opened to the public in 2000 as Jimmy Carter’s Boyhood Farm.

Never miss a story — sign up for PEOPLE’s free daily newsletter to get the latest from PEOPLE, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.

In his 2001 memoir, One hour before dawn: memories of rural childhoodCarter recalled moving into the home with his family.

“When we got there, the front door was locked and Dad realized he’d forgotten the key. He tried to open a window to the front porch, but a bar inside would only allow it to open about six o’clock. So he left I slid through the crack in the door, I opened it from the inside, and my father’s approval of my first useful act remains one of my most vivid memories.

according to new york timesCarter recalled the happiness he felt when he and his family first got electricity a few years after moving into their home.

“The greatest day of my life was not being inaugurated as president; [and] It wasn’t even marrying Rosalynn — it was when they turned it on,” Carter said, according to the publication.

Related: Jimmy Carter responded to my letter in college. Lessons He Taught Me That Changed My Perspective (Exclusive)

Carter died at his home in Plains after spending nearly two years in hospice care. His funeral will last for several days, culminating in burial at his home on January 9, where he will be buried next to his late wife, Rosalynn Carter, who died in November 2023 at the age of 96.

After being laid to rest at the Carter Presidential Center, Carter will be transported to Washington, D.C., on Tuesday, January 7, where members of Congress will pay their respects during a ceremony in the Rotunda of the U.S. Capitol. Soon, visitors will be able to pay their respects.

Carter will remain there until the early hours of Thursday, January 9, when he will be transferred to Washington National Cathedral, where his state funeral will be held.

Carter will be flown back to Georgia later that day for a private funeral at Maranatha Baptist Church and then be buried at his home.

Following Carter’s death, flags at all federal buildings will be flown at half-mast for 30 days, including during Donald Trump’s inauguration on January 20.

Read the original article about the character