Georgia Travel Information Guide to
Historic Sites, Trails, & Parks
(by county)
Milledgeville-Baldwin County Convention and Visitors Bureau: The only city built exclusively to be a state capitol. Laid out in 84, 4-acre squares. The Governor's Mansion and Old Capitol, built about 1807, are open to the public. St. Stephens Episcopal Church and stetson-Sanford House. Lockerly Arboretum and Lockerly Hall, built about 1839. Etowah Indian Mounds: Home to several thousand Native Americans between 1000 A.D. to 1550 A.D., this 54-acre site contains six earthen mounds, a plaza, village area, borrow pits and defensive ditch. This is the most intact Mississippian Culture site in the Southeastern US. Around Town Tours of Historic Macon: Tubman African American Museum, Georgia Sports Hall of Fame, and Georgia Music Hall of Fame. Historic Douglass Theatre. St. Joseph's Catholic Church. Historic Terminal Station. Ocmulgee National Monument. Wesleyan College, the oldest chartered women's college in the world. The Cannonball House: Tour and museum. Hay House: Italian Renaissance Revival Mansion built from 1855-1859. A property of The Georgia Trust for Historic Preservation and a National Historic Landmark. Sidney Lanier Cottage/Middle Georgia Historical Society: National Register 1840 Victorian House. Birthplace of noted poet, Sidney lanier. Period furnishings and memorabilia. Guided tours. Ft. McAllister: Located on the south bank of the Great Ogeechee River. Home of the best preserved earthwork fortification of the Confederacy. The sand and mud earthworks were attacked seven times by Union ironclads, but did not fall until captured in 1864 by Gen. William T. Sherman during his infamous "March to the Sea." Indian Springs State Park: The Creek Indians used the springs to heal the sick. First state park in the US. High Falls State Park: Located in Jackson, Georgia. Athens Welcome Center: Athens' oldest residence, the church-Waddel-Brumby House (built in 1820) serves as the Athens Welcome Center. Athens is home to the "Tree That Owns Itself," located at the corner of Dearing and Filney Streets. Professor W. H. JACKSON deeded the tree and 8 feet of land on all sides in the late 1800s because he enjoyed the shade. Athens has the only double barrell cannon ever made. It was manufactured to protect the city from Sherman's troops. It stands on the lawn of Athens City Hall (pointing North). Taylor-Grady House: Located at 634 Prince Avenue. It was declared a National Historic Landmark in 1976. The Taylor-Grady House was built in the 1840s by General Robert TAYLOR. Clayton County Convention and Visitors Bureau: Stately Oaks Plantation. Margaret Mitchell House and Museum. Gone With the Wind Tour. Atlanta Cyclorama. Road to Tara Museum. Roberta-Crawford county Chamber of Commerce: Benjamin HAWKINS' Gravesite. Museum of Southeastern Inidans. Oldest operating cotton gin in Musella. National Register of Historic Places. The Town of Knoxville: Old Jail Museum. Georgia's oldest courthouse, still in use. SAM Shortline Excursion Train: Begins at Georgia Veterans State Park in Cordele and stops at Leslie, Americus, and Plains. Autrey Mill Nature Preserve and Heritage Center: Offers animal life and old cotton-plantation buildings from 1800s. Historic Mansell House and Gardens: Queen Anne-style Victorian home built in 1910. Filled with period antiques and houses the records and archives of Old Milton County. Milton Log Cabin: Located on the Milton High School campus. Built by Future Farmers of America students in the 1934-1935 school year and is the only remaining FFA-built log cabin still in use today. Showcases period tools and furnishings fromlate 1800s and early 1900s. Panola Mountain State Conservation Park: 100-acre granite mountain featuring guided hikes and trails. A National Natural Landmark. Museum of Aviation and Georgia Aviation Hall of Fame: From early 1900s to today. 7,000 year-old Native American artifacts. Nation's largest exhibit on the World War II Tuskegee Airmen. New Perry Hotel: Victorian-styled inn originally built in early 1800s. Includes authentically enchanted rooms and traditional Southern cuisine. The City of Monticello: Stately plantation homes and Civil War monuments. National Register of Historic Places. Old Clinton Historical Society: Old Clinton Historic District includes 12 houses built 1808-1830 and a Methodist church built in 1821. Tarleton Oaks Bed and Breakfast: Home of Gone With the Wind's Brent Tarleton. A Greek Revival mansion with all guest rooms featuring period antiques. The City of Barnesville: Barnesville Buggy Days Festival. They manufactured buggies for US Presidents, including Franklin Roosevelt. Old Jail Museum. Farm Tours available. Historic Train Depot. Dahlonega Gold Museum: In 1829 thousands of gold seekers flocked into the Cherokee Nation in North Georgia, beginning the nation's first major gold rush. The towns of Auraria and Dahlonega grew and prospered with this mining activity. Between 1838 and 1861, more than $6 million in gold was coined by the U.S. Branch Mint in Dahlonega. The museum, located in the old Lumpkin County Courthouse, offers visitors a look at the mining history of Georgia. Gold coins minted in Dahlonega and nuggets - one weighing more than 5 ounces - are on display. A 23-minute film describes the mining techniques and lifestyles of the prospectors through interviews with members of the long-time mining families. In town, visitors can shop for gold nuggets and pan for gold. Ft. King George: Was the southern outpost of the British Empire in North America from 1721-1736. A cypress blockhouse, barracks and palisaded earthen fort were constructed in 1721 by scoutmen led by Colonel John "Tuscarora Jack" BARNWELL. For the next seven years, His Majesty's Independent Company garrisoned the fort. They endured incredible hardships from disease, threats of Spanish and Indian attacks, and the harsh, unfamiliar coastal environment. After the fort was abandoned, General James OGLETHORPE brought Scottish Highlanders to the site in 1736. The settlement, called Darien, eventually became a foremost export center of lumber until 1925. Forsyth-Monroe County Chamber of Commerce: County Museum and Genealogy Room. Forsyth Courthouse Square National Register Historic District. Highland Games and Scottish Festival, and the Oldest Brick Methodist Church in Georgia in Culloden. Jarrell Platation State Historic Site: Movie set of "Fried Green Tomatoes." Madison Farm Bed and Breakfast: 1880s Farmhouse. The Madison-Morgan Cultural Center: Located in Madison's restored 1895 Graded School. Features exhibits on reagional history. Heritage Hall: Greek Revival home built in 1811 by Dr. William JOHNSTON, a prominent physician in Madison. The Rogers House: Built by Reuben ROGERS in 1809-1810, the house is a fine example of Piedmont Plain style architecture seen throughout the rural southern United States. Rose Cottage: Adeline ROSE (a woman who was born into slavery) built her house in 1891. She earned her living by taking in washing and ironing at 50 cents a load. Most of her early work was done for the boarders of the Hardy House, which was owned by the mother of the famous comedian Oliver HARDY. Morgan County African-American Museum: Preserving African-American heritage and promoting awareness of the contributions the African-American has made to the culture of the South. Located in the Horace Moore House, built about 1895. Madison Convention and Visitors Bureau/Welcome Center: Antebellum Home Tours and carriage rides. Chief Vann House: Two-story classic mansion is one of the best-preserved Cherokee plantation homes. Built by James Vann in 1804, it was the first brick home within the Cherokee Nation. Covington-Newton County Convention and Visitors Bureau: Covington is home to the award-winning tv show "In the Heat of the Night" plus 30 other feature films. Oconee County Visitors Bureau and Eagle Tavern Welcome Center: Still standing as it did in 1801. The City of Byron: Has a walking tour and antebellum homes. It hosts the annual Battle Of Byron war reenactment in May. Byron is also home of the Byron Depot, Caboose and Museum (part of the walking tour). Eatonton-Putnam Chamber of Commerce: There are over 100 historic homes throughout the community. A self-guided walking tour is available. Oconee National Forest. The birthplace of Alice Walker, Pulitzer Prize winning author of The Color Purple. Uncle Remus Museum honors author Joel Chandler Harris of Uncle Remus Stories. It's housed in slave cabins used during the plantation era. The City of Griffin: Downtown Historical District. Stonewall Confederate Cemetery. Monroe Recreation and Parks Department: Antebellum homes and historic downtown district. Kilgore's Mill Covered Bridge and Walton County Courthouse. Blue Williow Inn Restaurant: Authentic Southern cuisine in a Greek Revival mansion. A. H. Stephens Historic State Park: Named after the vice president of the Confederacy and governor of Georgia, features a Confederate museum with one of the finest collections of Civil War artifacts in Georgia, including uniforms and documents. Stephens' home, Liberty Hall, is renovated to its 1875 style, fully furnished and open for tours.