Georgia’s Antebellum Trail Day One-Eatonton and Milledgeville

This Antebellum heritage trail begins in Macon, follows 441 North to Rt. 129 to Milledgeville to Eatonton to Madison, and then, Watkinsville, and finally, Athens.

Georgia’s Antebellum Trail – by mycitywalkabout.com

For our most recent southern adventure… we did a little customizing from the recommended Antebellum Visitor’s Guide

After a wonderful day and evening exploring Augusta, We begin our journey further driving about 90 minutes south to the start of Georgia’s Antebellum Trail exploring two small historical towns, Eatonton and Milledgeville (Milly for short).

The Uncle Remus Museum

This little find is worth a visit just to listen to the docents tell the stories. It bigger than the image depicts. The museum is dedicated to the works of Joel Chandler Harris, author of the Uncle Remus stories and features artifacts from his life.

The downtown area of this very small town is just rather small, but with a quick review of its Antebellum style homes.

Andalusia

If you are fan of American author Flannery O’Connor, the Andalusia cotton plantation and farm where she spent the few years of her life could be of interest to you. We stopped in and found the site a pleasant surprise. The cost of admission is reasonable at $7.00 for adults. This gives you a guided tour of the house. Walking the grounds is free.

Find out more about Andalusia by click here

Milledgeville (Milly)

The next stop on our first day’s driving adventure along the Antebellum Trail is Milledgeville, which about 20 minutes NE of Eatonton on our way to Macon.

Old Governors’ Mansion (circa: 1839)

(Image courteous of http://www.exploregeorgia.org/)

This is definitely worth a couple hours of your day as this Mansion was home to many governors of Georgia. The architecture and style both outside and inside will make you wanting more from this era of the Antebellum heritage and you will find them just a short walk from the Mansion.

There is something of a hidden gem that can’t be seen from anywhere outside. Here is an image. My description will not do this justice, but here it is: the ceiling is 50 feet tall with 23 karats of gold in this circular waiting area for guests who wish to meet with the governor.

Check out the Visitor’s Guide to Milledgeville—Visitor’s Guide

Rose Hill at Lockerly Aboretum (circa 1852)

Continuing our journey south, we arrived mid-afternoon on this very hot and humid to the Lockerly Aboretum. First, we we disappointed with the weather being so hot with heat indexes above 100, but the attendant offered an alternative- self-guided tour of Rose Hill. We jumped at the chance to explore another Georgian home during our visit.