Georgia > Central Region > Bibb County >Macon

Ocmulgee National Monument in Macon in Central Georgia preserves a remarkable continuous record of human life in the Southeast from the earliest times to the present.

Ocmulgee National Monument preserves and displays a collection of archeological artifacts dating back more than 12,000 years. From early Clovis points through colonial bells and a 300-year-old sword, the collection demonstrates our historic connection to all cultures from Stone Age to Space Age.

Ocmulgee National Monument is a memorial to the relationship of people and natural resources in this corner of North America. It preserves a continuous record of human life in the Southeast from the earliest times to the present. There is evidence here of more than 12,000 years of human habitation. A diversity of natural and cultural resources combines to provide an abundance of reasons to visit.

All of the many histories preserved at Ocmulgee National Monument have one lesson for us that we see time and again - ALL THINGS ARE CONNECTED. This idea reminds us of our personal connections to the natural resource of the planet Earth and all of the people who have worked to create a society back through time.

Links:

•  Read more about Macon’s Ocmulgee National Monument.
• See Emily Gomez’s striking black and white photographs of Ocmulgee National Monument and other Native American sites in Georgia in the Brown’s Guides Gallery.

 Georgia > Central Region > Bibb County > Macon

Smiley’s Flea Market is Georgia’s largest with over 1,000 selling spaces and a incredible variety of merchandise for every taste and pocketbook.

Smiley’s, Flea Market, about 4 miles south of Macon is Georgia’s largest and finest flea market with over 1,000 selling spaces. You are sure to find whatever it is that you are looking for, all at bargain prices! It’s conveniently located off I-75 on GA Hwy 247 about halfway between Macon and Warner Robins and open every Saturday and Sunday, 6 am to 5 pm.

Smiley’s Markets & Malls was formed in 1984 by Ben Campen, Sr. He had a vision of providing a place where anyone and everyone could sell their merchandise at an affordable price to the public. Ben has had experience in the flea market business since 1975. In the early 80’s, he wanted to build flea markets throughout the Southeast. When pondering about a name for the flea markets, he wanted something that would reflect a positive light on the business and the people that operated it. Smiley’s was the obvious choice. Contrary to what some people believe, his last name is not Smiley, but he will answer to it almost every time you see him.

That dream came true in the fall of 1984 in Fletcher, NC. Smiley’s opened its doors to a record crowd in the Fall of 1984. Starting on 20 acres and with just over 50,000 square feet of covered selling area, Smiley’s has now grown to well over 100,000 square feet, 700 outside selling spaces, and an antique mall that is longer than a football field. Smiley’s Flea Market in Fletcher, NC is known as the best and biggest flea market in all of the Carolina’s.

The following year, Ben kept his dream alive and opened another flea market in Macon, GA. Smiley’s opened up on July 4, 1985 on 30 acres. Starting with just two buildings totaling 18,000 square feet, it now consists of a facility on 60 acres and making up well over 100,000 square feet of covered selling stalls with 400 outside selling spaces.

In the mid 1990’s, Ben’s children, Ashley and Ben, Jr., came to work for him and Smiley’s Markets & Malls. Both have continued to follow the dreams and goals of their father and have grown the business to new heights. With their new ideas and their exuberant energy, Smiley’s will continue to be the best Flea Markets in the Southeast.

Since 1985 Smiley’s Markets & Malls has grown to be known as the premier Flea Market in the Southeast. Smiley’s is constantly growing and striving to provide a successful venue for people to buy and sell merchandise to the public.

Links:

• Read more about Smiley’s Flea Market.

 Georgia > Central Region > Newton County > Mansfield

Fly fishing is among the many outdoor recreational activities avaiable at the Charlie Elliott Wildlife Center. Others include hunting, hiking, biking, archery and a shooting range.

The 6,400-acre Charlie Elliott Wildlife Center, managed by the Georgia Department of Natural Resources, offers a variety of activities and programs. This beautiful area is centrally located in the state in a wooded setting near Mansfield, Georgia, making it easily accessible from Atlanta, Athens and Macon. An area map is available by clicking here.
Some of the opportunities available include:

• Fishing
• Hunting
• Hiking
• Biking
• Archery Range
• Self-Guided Driving Tour
• Shooting Range
• Bird Watching
• Boat Access
• Horseback Riding
• Picnicking

Who was Charlie Elliott?
Charles Newton Elliott (1906-2000) lived in Covington, Georgia, and served as the first Director of Georgia State Parks in 1937-38. He became the Commissioner of Natural Resources in 1938-41, then was the first Director of the Game and Fish Commission (now known as the Georgia Department of Natural Resources, Wildlife Resources Division) in 1943-49. Elliott also was Southeastern Field Editor for Outdoor Life magazine from 1950 until his passing. His dedication to the conservation of the natural world and wildlife was evident to those who knew him personally and those who read his many writings.

Whatever your reason for being there, the outdoors is a world apart, a creation unique with its own colors, its special music, and its matchless variety of fragrance. No human paint brush could ever duplicate its beauty, no musical instrument its blended symphonies, and there is no way to match its fragrance with chemicals. Charlie Elliott

Links:

• Read more about Charlie Elliott Wildlife Center.

Georgia > Central Region > Morgan County > Madison

“The town Sherman refused to burn,” Madison abounds in antebellum homes. The city has the largest designated historic district in Georgia, which encompasses most of the town. During the Civil War,  Sherman’s Army spared Madison because it was the home of pro-union Senator Joshua Hill.

Stepping into Madison, Georgia, is like stepping back in time. It lies between the mountains and the plains in the heart of Georgia’s Piedmont country, located in Georgia’s Historic Heartland. It is a living museum containing some of America’s most treasured architecture, the shining gem of Georgia’s Antebellum Trail. A dream like vision of a world gone by, a reminder of a more tranquil, less hurried time. A place where the best of the past merges with the hope of the future. This is the city of Madison, Georgia. Truly “America’s #1 Small Town.”

Top Must Do / Must See / Must Experience in and around Madison

• James Madison Inn (including the spa)
• Heritage Hall
• Madison-Morgan Cultural Center

Links:

• Read more about Madison.

Find organically grown food,  farmers markets and restaurants that use organically grown food using the Local Food Guide.

The Local Food Guide 2009-2010, produced by the Georgia Organics and edited by Suzanne Welander is the state’s most complete guide to organic farms, farmers markets and restaurants that have involvement with organically grown food.

The organic farms and farmers markets and restaurants are organized geographically by county into five regions – Mountain, Atlanta Metro, Piedmont, East Coastal Plain and West Coastal Plain. So, using the guide you can organize a tour close to home or around a location to which you are traveling.

Here for example is a typical Farm listing:
Holt Heritage Farm and Supply, LLC
1235 Euharlee Road, Euharlee, GA 30145
Chaz & Georgia Holt, 770.386.8305
chaz@holtfarmsupply.com
www.holtfarmsupply.com
We offer: over 40 herb/vegetable/fruit crops throughout the year; children’s summer farm camps and school field trips on our farm; and a farm store selling exclusively organic farming supplies, plants, and sustainable living supplies.

The farmers’ markets in the Guide are all producer markets where you can buy fresh produce, meats, and dairy directly from the farmer who grew the food. The Guide does not include markets that predominately feature brokers or resellers, or markets that do not feature local producers selling locally grown food products.

Here is a typical Farmers Market Listing
Riverside Farmers Market
Riverside Park, Roswell, GA 30050
Louise Estabrook, 404.613.7670
laesta@uga.edu
The Riverside Farmers Market brings together vendors and shoppers in a celebration of farming and wholesome Georgia-grown produce. Enjoy events such as music, cook’s tours, chili cook-offs, watermelon eating contests, and a harvest festival! Open Saturdays 8am until noon, late May through October.

RESTAURANTS
All restaurants in the Guide are business level members of Georgia Organics. Some of the listed restaurants are committed to featuring fresh, locally produced food on their menus every day, year-round. Others purchase locally produced food occasionally. Georgia Organics urges you to contact the restaurants directly to find out more about their commitment
to feature sustainable and local food.

Here is a typical Restaurant Listing
Beechwood Inn
220 Beechwood Drive P.O. Box 429
Clayton, GA 30525
David G. Darugh, 706.782.5485
david-gayle@beechwoodinn.ws
www.beechwoodinn.ws
Most of our seasonal foods are from local and sustainable farms, orchards, and gardens, and much of it is organic and natural. Most of our dinner entrée meats are natural (organic, no hormones, no antibiotics, no feed lots). We are proud of our local suppliers.

Links

• Download a 88-page copy of Georgia Organics Local Food Guide.
• Read more about Georgia Organics.

Winding along the Ocmulgee River in Central Georgia, the Ocmulgee Heritage Trail provides an environment for walking, biking, boating, bird watching and many other activities.

The Ocmulgee Heritage Trail is the only riverside trail and park system in Middle Georgia. The Trail is first and foremost a recreational resource providing an exceptional environment for walking, biking, boating, bird watching and many other activities. Easily accessible from Interstates 16 and 75 and downtown Macon, the Ocmulgee Heritage Trail provides a peaceful respite from the bustle of urban life.

The Trail is also a cultural resource that connects people and places to celebrate our shared history of life along the Ocmulgee River. Many of our community’s historic treasures can be discovered along the Trail: the Ocmulgee National Monument, Historic Rose Hill Cemetery, and Macon’s original water works. On any given day, people of all walks of life can share at least one thing in common – the pleasure of recreating and relaxing on the Ocmulgee Heritage Trail.

The Trail is a public-private partnership managed by NewTown Macon in cooperation with the Macon-Bibb County Parks & Recreation department. Other key partners include the Georgia Department of Natural Resources, Georgia Department of Transportation, Macon Water Authority, Ocmulgee National Monument, Urban Development Authority, and generous businesses, individuals and foundations.

Links

• Read more about the Ocmulgee Heritage Trail.
• Read more about the Ocmulgee River.
• Download a poster of the Ocmulgee River showing historical and envonmental features of the entire watershed.

The Museum of Aviation in Warner Robins is the second largest museum in the U.S. Air Force with a collection of over 100 aircraft, missiles and cockpits

The Museum of Aviation in Warner Robins is one of the largest aviation museums in the United States and a major Air Force heritage, exhibit and education center in the Southeast.

Informative and interesting exhibits tell the story of aviation events from World War II to the present. One will find displays on the achievements of visionary civilian and military men and women who made significant contributions to aviation in Georgia.

Situated on a 51-acre site on Robins Air Force Base, the museum is the second largest museum in the U.S. Air Force with a collection of over 100 aircraft, missiles and cockpits dating from a replica of an early 1896 glider to modern-era aircraft, such as the B-1B bomber, the SR-71 Blackbird, the U-2 Dragon Lady and F-15 Eagle. The Museum has been accredited by the American Association of Museums – one of only nine aviation museums in the United States to receive such an honor.

Since it opened to the public in November 1984, more than 9.7 million people from all over the world have visited the Museum, including more than 758,000 children who have participated in Museum education programs. The Museum of Aviation has the honor of being the fourth most visited Department of Defense museum in the United States.

Admission is Free
Admission is free and the museum is open 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily except Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year’s Day. Guided tours are available for a small fee.

The museum is located 10 miles east of I-75 exit 144 at the end of Russell Parkway.

Links:

• Read more about the Museum of Aviation in Warner Robins.

The Jarrell Plantation, originally built in 1847, survived Sherman’s devastating march through Georgia and continued to operate until 1945.

This middle Georgia Jarrell Plantation, which is listed on the National Register of Historic Places, consists of 20 buildings dating between 1847 and 1945. It has one of the largest and most complete collections of original family artifacts from this time period in Georgia. (more…)

The University of Georgia campus is one of the most beautiful in the United States. Stately, noble trees provide human scale, a sense of place, cooling shade, and tranquility for students, faculty, staff and visitors. To walk this hallowed campus is to sense the pride in its heritage and hope for the future. The designation of the campus as an arboretum not only insures sustained, energetic tree planting and maintenance, but also presents opportunities for studying trees. This “Tree Walk” is the first project of the University of Georgia Campus Arboretum initiative.

The online Tree Tour Brochure arranges campus into three sections: North, Central and South. A tree identification plaque is attached either directly to the tree or on a stake near the tree. Each plaque identifies the tree by name and has a number to correspond to the map. Those who are not familiar with campus may want to obtain a map from the Visitor’s Center or Tate Center. (more…)

The Whistle Stop Cafe in Juliette on the banks of the Ocmulgee River. Once a bustling agricultural community, Juliette was on the verge of disappearing, then along came Jon Avnet and “Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe.” See this Google map for  an overview of Juliette and the specific tour points below. ++ the map and click on “Satellite.” for best views.

Whistle stops and mill towns along Georgia rivers were a vital part of the agricultural economy. Surrounded by farms and plantations, they were the place where the local farmers brought their cotton and grains for processing and shipping, bought their supplies, and caught up on county events. (more…)