The mid-1800s saw Atlanta gradually become the transportation hub for the entire state, but proved less eventful in the largely agricultural countryside beyond the city limits. A good day’s buggy ride from downtown took travelers to small towns where life moved at a pace set by the seasons. Much of that changed forever with the onset of the Civil War, and many of the historic sites in the area around Atlanta commemorate that conflict. Here are a few other destinations within an hour’s drive that reflect different facets of Georgia’s past.
This story originally appeared in theMarch/April 2016 edition of Living Intown Magazine.
Stone Mountain
It’s a theme park, a natural wonder of granite and a site of controversy. Stone Mountain, a massive outcropping of igneous rock believed to be the largest of its kind in the world, towers 825 feet above the DeKalb County village that shares its name. The site became a tourist attraction in 1838, when visitors paid 50 cents to climb to the top of a wooden viewing tower at the summit. In the post-Civil War era, the area was mined for its granite, and in 1887, the Venable family bought the mountain as part of its quarry operations. The Venables were also believed to have ties to the Ku Klux Klan, which held meetings on the mountain. Approached by the United Daughters of the Confederacy to erect a Confederate monument there, the family leased the north side of the mountain to the group in 1916, but it was another 56 years before the memorial to Robert E. Lee, Stonewall Jackson and Jefferson Davis was unveiled in 1972. Recently, the 3-acre carving has been under scrutiny for its glorification of the Confederacy.
The state bought the mountain and more than 3,000 acres around it in 1958 and over the years added a variety of attractions, including an antebellum plantation house, a steam train, and a beach and sports complex. In 1996, the Centennial Summer Olympics events in tennis, cycling and archery were held at the park.
1000 Robert E. Lee Blvd., Stone Mountain. 800-401-2407. stonemountainpark.com
Etowah Indian Mounds
This state park located near Cartersville occupies land that formerly provided a home to Native Americans from the Mississippian culture from 1000-1550 A.D. Artifacts of their presence, including stone effigies and wood carvings, were excavated from the 54-acre site and are now displayed in the visitors center and museum. Outside are six massive mounds that once formed the heart of a vibrant village. Visitors can climb to the top of one mound or stroll along ancient trails beside the Etowah River. The park hosts a variety of events throughout the year, including scavenger hunts, canoe-building workshops and archeological explorations.
813 Indian Mound Road, Cartersville. 770-387-3747. gastateparks.org/EtowahMounds
Kennesaw Mountain
The mountain anchors a national battlefield park on land where Union troops led by Gen. William Sherman and Confederate forces under Gen. Joseph Johnston engaged in bloody fighting in June and July 1864. When it was over, the Union had lost 3,000 men; the Confederates, 1,000. A visitors center features interactive maps, displays and a film about the confrontations, and park rangers present programs throughout the year that explain the battle and demonstrate cannons and other artillery. Paths winding up to the 708-foot summit provide popular hikes and stunning views on clear days. Nearby, the town of Kennesaw is home to the Southern Museum of Civil War and Locomotive History, which examines the role railroads played in the war.
900 Kennesaw Mountain Drive, Kennesaw. 770-427-4686. nps.gov/kemo
Pickett’s Mill
Before they met at Kennesaw Mountain, troops under Sherman and Johnston faced off at this Paulding County site in May 1864.The brutal fighting claimed 2,100 Union and 500 Confederate soldiers, and left its mark on the land. Today, visitors can walk the paths, follow the roads and stand beside the earthworks left behind. A visitors center and museum give an overview of the fighting, while the wooded grounds offer a serene place to commune with nature. The park also includes an 1800s pioneer cabin outfitted to evoke life in rural Georgia before the war. Among the park’s many popular activities are living-history demonstrations by re-enactors and candlelight tours led by costumed guides.
4432 Mt. Tabor Church Road, Dallas. 770-443-7850. gastateparks.org/PickettsMillBattlefield
Jonesboro
As the story goes, “Gone With the Wind” author Margaret Mitchell placed her fictitious plantation on the outskirts of this Clayton County town — an area she knew from visits to relatives. While Tara never existed, Jonesboro has one house reminiscent of that antebellum era: Stately Oaks, an 1839 white-frame, double-porched home at the center of a small historic complex with a country store, schoolhouse and kitchen. It’s one of the stops on the Gone With the Wind tour, a guided minibus ride to sites with connections to the book and the Mitchell family. The town’s old train depot has been reconfigured as the Road to Tara museum, packed with artifacts from the movie and book as well as maps and mementos from the Battle of Jonesboro in September of 1864. That decisive face-off claimed the lives of 1,149 Union and 2,200 Confederate men, and gave Sherman the opening he needed to enter Atlanta. Jonesboro is also home to the National Archives, which stores federal records from Georgia and seven surrounding states dating back to the 1700s.
Clayton County Convention and Visitors Bureau, 104 N. Main St., Jonesboro. 770-478-4800. atlantastruesouth.com
Historic homes of Roswell
This north Fulton town claims three outstanding examples of historic architecture: Barrington Hall, Bulloch Hall and the Smith Plantation. Barrington Hall was erected in 1842 and has often been hailed as a stunning example of the Greek Revival architectural style. Bulloch Hall, built in 1839 by one of the town’s founding fathers, was the site of a historic wedding in 1853, when Mittie Bulloch married Theodore Roosevelt Sr.; their son Theodore became the 26th U.S. president and made frequent treks to his ancestral home. Every year, Bulloch Hall restages the wedding with refreshments and dancing. In 1845, the Smith Plantation was built by slaves on 300 acres beyond the town square. The restored property features servants’ quarters, a separate kitchen and smokehouse, a barn, a carriage house and a well that tell the story of plantation life in the pre-Civil War era.
Bulloch Hall, 180 Bulloch Ave.; Barrington Hall, 535 Barrington Drive; Smith Plantation, 935 Alpharetta St., Roswell. 770-641-3727. roswellgov.com
Insider tip
History and Civil War buffs can follow the path of the Union forces as they fought their way through Georgia by following the Blue and Gray Trail. Starting in Chickamauga, the trail winds south through 61 sites connected to the conflict, including battlefields, cemeteries and museums. For more information, call 706-272-2945. civilwar.org
