By SHERRI SMITH BROWN

Georgia > East Central Georgia > Richmond County > Augusta

28th President of the United States, Woodrow Wilson’s boyhood home in Augusta in a National Historic Landmark and open for tours. 

Woodrow Wilson said, “My earliest recollection is of standing at my father’s gateway in Augusta, Georgia, when I was four years old and hearing someone pass and say that Mr. Lincoln was elected and there was to be war.” Later, in 1865, Wilson would watch as Jefferson Davis, President of the Confederate States of America, was led through the streets of Augusta in chains on his way to prison at Fortress Monroe.

The Boyhood Home of President Woodrow Wilson was the place where he would spend the formative years of his childhood, years that would affect him for the rest of his life. Woodrow “Tommy” Wilson was one year old when he moved to Augusta when his father, Joseph Wilson, became pastor of Augusta’s First Presbyterian Church and three years old when he moved into the 14-room Presbyterian Manse, residing there with his family until 1870. While living in Augusta, Wilson experienced the hardships of the Civil War and Reconstruction. He also began his education, tasted leadership as president of the Lightfoot Baseball Club, and grounded his deep Presbyterian faith.

Thomas Woodrow Wilson was inaugurated as the 28th President of the United States on March 4, 1913. His two-term administration was among the most notable in U.S. history. In 1917, during his second term, the United States entered World War I, and Wilson played an international role in the negotiation of the Treaty of Versailles and the organization of the League of Nations. (more…)

By SHERRI SMITH BROWN

Georgia > Coastal Georgia > Chatham County > Skidaway Island

Soft corals, sponges and invertebrates are a natural habitat for reef and pelagic fish within Gray’s Reef National Marine Sanctuary off the Georgia Coast.

Loggerhead turtles foraging, dolphins, Right Whales, pelagic birds and fish, and a live-bottom reef that supports invertebrates, soft corals and sponges can all be seen on the Georgia Coast in the Gray’s Reef National Marine Sanctuary.

Gray’s Reef National Marine Sanctuary, one of the largest near shore live-bottom reefs of the southeastern United States, is one of the most popular spots off the Georgia coast for recreational fishing and diving. It is just one of 14 marine protected areas that make up the National Marine Sanctuary System, but the only natural area protected off the Georgia coast. The 17 square nautical miles (about 11,000 acres) of Gray’s Reef protects habitat that is recognized both nationally and internationally.

Within the sanctuary, there are rocky ledges and flat and rippled sand plains. Gray’s Reef is not a coral reef, such as those found in the tropics. It is not built by living hard corals. Instead, it is a rock outcropping that stands above the shifting sands of the continental shelf. The wide variety of invertebrates, soft corals and sponges that the reef supports, in turn, supports a wide variety of reef and pelagic fishes, such as king mackerel. This makes Gray’s Reef a popular spot for both diving and recreational fishing.

Also growing in popularity at Gray’s Reef National Marine Sanctuary is pelagic bird watching. Some of the species seen in the Sanctuary include true pelagic birds — such as shearwaters, petrels and bridled terns that spend their entire lives at sea except when they nest or are blown inshore during heavy storms — as well as seabirds like gulls and royal terns that forage at sea but return regularly to land.

Loggerhead sea turtles are frequently seen resting and foraging at Gray’s Reef; other sea turtle species sometimes pass through the sanctuary. Both bottlenose and spotted dolphin are seen in the Sanctuary, and it is possible that you will encounter a highly endangered North Atlantic Right Whale when visiting Gray’s Reef as the Sanctuary is near the only known calving ground for the whales and near an area designated as critical habitat.

Located 32 kilometers (17.5 miles) off Sapelo Island between Savannah and Brunswick and 60-70 feet below the ocean surface, the sanctuary is only accessible by private boat. The Sanctuary does not run boat tours, fishing trips or dive trips. However, independent boat operators run fishing trips and dive trips to the Sanctuary.

The Gray’s Reef administrative offices are on the north end of Skidaway Island near Savannah on the campus of Skidaway Institute of Oceanography.

Read more about National Marine Sanctuaries, barrier islands, Sapelo Island, Skidaway Island, Savannah, Brunswick, and Chatham County, or find other activities in the Coastal Georgia Travel Region here at Brown’s Guides.

By SHERRI SMITH BROWN

Georgia > Atlanta Metro > Fulton County > Atlanta

The Dixie Coca-Cola Bottling Company Plant, a National Historic Landmark, housed the first bottling operation of the Coca-Cola Company.

Earlier this year, I wrote about visiting the World of Coca-Cola, where you can learn the fascinating history about Coca-Cola and view some of the modern technology that goes into bottling it. Another Atlanta site to see in conjunction with a visit to the World of Coca-Cola is the Dixie Coca-Cola Bottling Company Plant on Edgewood Avenue.

Designated a National Historic Landmark in 1983, this building is the oldest surviving building associated with the early days of Coke. From 1900 to 1901, it was the headquarters and plant of the Dixie Coca-Cola Bottling Company, parent of the Coca-Cola Bottling Company.

Outgrown as a bottling facility in just one year, the building represents Coca-Cola’s transformation from strictly a fountain treat to primarily a bottled drink. Until the mid-1890s, Coca-Cola was sold only at soda fountains. At that time, the head of Coca-Cola, Asa Candler, was not interested in bottling. Several individuals approached Candler about bottling the soft drink in different regions. Eventually, Candler gave exclusive rights to Benjamin Thomas and Joseph Whitehead to bottle Coca-Cola for the Southeast, Southwest and Midwest, with Candler supplying the syrup. This contract has been heralded as “one of the most valuable contracts in the annals of American business.” (more…)

By SHERRI SMITH BROWN

Georgia > West Central Georgia > Muscogee County > Columbus

The circa 1851 Eagle and Phenix cotton mill on the Chattahoochee River in Columbus is part of the Columbus Historic Riverfront Industrial District, a National Historic Landmark. 

A trip to Columbus certainly deserves a walk through the Columbus Historic Riverfront Industrial District along the Chattahoochee River. Named a National Historic Landmark in 1978, this district begins in the 800 block of Front Avenue and ends at 38th Street. It encompasses five noncontiguous areas of industrial development. Included in this National Landmark District are the Columbus Iron Works Convention and Trade Center; Eagle and Phenix Mills; City Mills; Muscogee Mills, which was demolished in early 1998; and Bibb Manufacturing, which was destroyed by fire in 2008.

Dating from 1844 to 1900, this area physically documents the evolution of hydrotechnology and its contributions to the growth of an important southern textile center. Here is the best surviving concentration of 19th and early 20th century hydro-mechanical and -electrical engineering systems in the South.

As much as any other city, Columbus has relied on a river for its livelihood. The river here is the focal point of its past and present. In downtown, the river is threaded with old bridges, blocked by stone mill dams and flanked by turn-of-the-century factories. Sunken steamboats lurk beneath its muddy red waters. Old military forts decay on its banks.

In fact, Columbus was founded because in 1827 the Georgia Legislature selected the site near Coweta Falls to become a trading city because it was at the foot of a long series of falls that afforded great potential for water power and at the head of river navigation on the Chattahoochee River.

The first mills didn’t spin thread but ground corn and flour. Seaborn Jones, having won the first lot in the state lottery, a 5.5-acre plot next to Coweta Falls, built a gristmill in 1828. The original dam was of wooden construction, but in 1907 the City Mills Company completed a stone dam at the site. (more…)

By SHERRI SMITH BROWN

Georgia > Coastal Georgia > Chatham County > Savannah

Any railroad enthusiast will find a lot to explore at the Central of Georgia Railroad Shops and Terminal, a National Historic Landmark in Savannah.

Huge transportation complexes with shops and necessary services are not a modern concept. To understand that, just step back in time in Savannah and visit the Central Georgia Railroad Shops and Terminal.

This 32.5-acre complex, a National Historic Landmark, was begun in 1835. It is dominated by the Central of Georgia Depot and Trainshed, which were begun in 1860, before the Civil War broke out. Other notable structures, including a cotton yard and a blacksmith shop.

According to the Coastal Heritage Society:

“The Central Railroad and Canal Company was chartered in 1833. The purpose of the railroad was to bring products of Georgia to Savannah for export, especially cotton. The idea of a canal was soon dismissed, but the railroad grew rapidly. Two years later, this facility was built for the construction and maintenance of the growing fleet of steam locomotives and rail cars. By 1843, the Central Railroad & Banking Company of Georgia had constructed 190 miles of rail forming the longest continuous railroad under one management in the world. The Central also increased their rolling stock to over 50 locomotives and 500 cars, making it the second largest holding in the pre-civil war South. (more…)

By SHERRI SMITH BROWN

Georgia > West Central Georgia > Troup County > LaGrange

Built by Benjamin Harvey Hill in the early 1850s, Bellevue in LaGrange is a National Historic Landmark and one of Georgia’s finest examples of Greek Revival architecture.  

There are numerous lovely antebellum homes across Georgia. Bellevue, listed on the National Register of Historic Places and designated a National Historic Landmark by the National Park Service in 1973, is one of the finest examples of Greek Revival architecture in the state.

Sitting atop a gently sloping hill, the beautifully restored home originally presided over a 1200-acre plantation owned by Georgia orator and statesman Benjamin Harvey Hill. It was built from 1853 to 1855 for his wife, Caroline Holt Hill. Ionic columns grace the wide porticos on three sides of the home. Inside, massive wood cornices around the doorways and large windows were hand carved by slaves. All of the original fireplaces were made of Italian black marble. There are original heart pine floors, carved pediments, and plaster ceiling medallions

The home is furnished in the style of the 1850s. Many donated antiques of the period are on display, including a half-tester bed in one of the upstairs bedrooms. The rosewood piano Hill gave his wife as a wedding present is the only piece of original furniture now in the mansion. Portraits of Hill and Caroline hang in the main drawing room. In the main entry, there is a large oil portrait of the Senator as well. (more…)

By SHERRI SMITH BROWN

Georgia > Atlanta Metro > Fulton County > Atlanta

Kayaking along the Chattahoochee River is just one of the many recreational activities you can enjoy in the Chattahoochee River National Recreation Area. 

In 1997, I co-authored a book with Fred Brown about the Chattahoochee River. The Riverkeeper’s Guide to the Chattahoochee River was a grand learning experience about rivers, in general, and about the wonders of the Chattahoochee, specifically.

One portion of the river that is especially accessible for everyone to explore and enjoy is the Chattahoochee River National Recreation Area (CRNRA), a 48-mile stretch of the river that consists of 16 land units, or parks, along both sides of its banks. The CRNRA begins at Lake Lanier’s Buford Dam, near Buford in Forsyth County, and continues downstream through four counties to Peachtree Creek near downtown Atlanta in Fulton County. The CRNRA provides outdoor recreation for more than three million visitors a year. The parks are day use facilities only, made up of hiking trails and picnic grounds. The river running through the recreation area is a stocked trout stream that includes 19 other game fish.

The Chattahoochee corridor has a colorful and interesting history that has been preserved within the National Recreation Area. Numerous rock shelters, once used by nomadic Indian families and later Indian hunting parties, can be explored on the trails at both Island Ford and Palisades East. During the 19th century, the river was the dividing line between the Cherokee and Creek Indian Nations. The Creeks, on the south side of the line, were forced west to Oklahoma in 1828, and the Cherokees, on the north and west side, were forced out in 1838. (more…)

By SHERRI SMITH BROWN

His grandparents home at 501 Auburn Avenue in Atlanta is where Martin Luther King, Jr., was born and lived until he was 12 years old. It is part of the Martin Luther King Jr. National Historic Site.

Atlanta’s Auburn Avenue, or Sweet Auburn as the neighborhood around it is called, was one of the most prosperous and influential African-American communities in the country in the early 20th century, and the place where Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. was born, raised, lived, worked, and worshiped and where he is buried. Much of the Sweet Auburn area is now part of the Martin Luther King Jr. National Historic Site.

Begin your visit of the historic site at the National Park Service Visitor Center, where you can get a brief orientation of the site, sign up for a Birth Home tour and view various exhibits and videos. One particular exhibit, “Children of Courage,” is geared towards younger children, telling the story of the children of the Civil Rights Movement. Now through July 19, you can see an international art exhibit paying tribute to Dr. King. Seventy artists from every continent are featured in the “I Have a Dream” exhibition, where the common theme of the artwork is “the dream.” (more…)

By SHERRI SMITH BROWN

The Plains Depot, which served as the 1976 campaign headquarters for President Jimmy Carter, is just one of the sites that has been preserved as part of the Jimmy Carter National Historic Site.

One small town in Georgia greatly influenced the character, ideas and policies of a president of the United States. That town is Plains, and the president, of course, is Jimmy Carter. Today, the president’s residence (which is not open to the public), the school he attended from first to eleventh grade, and the railroad depot, which served as his campaign headquarters during the 1976 election, as well as the farm he grew up on in nearby Archery are all part of the 71-acre Jimmy Carter National Historic Site.

I have visited the historic site several times over the years. One time, in particular was the dedication of the restoration of the Carter Farm in Archery. Of the original 108-acre farm, the National Park Service retains 17 acres. It has been restored to its circa 1937 condition, which meant not only recreating the physical appearance of the farm but also restoring the function of the farm’s features. It was surreal to walk through the very rural childhood home of the President, visit the cabin where his black tenant farmer family friends lived and see the spot on the floor where he would sleep and then see the President himself walking around and greeting everyone followed by his detail of secret service.

A visit to the historic site is a real eye opener about growing up on a Depression-era Southwest Georgia farm. On-going living history educational programs at the farm explain the realities of pre-electrical farms. The historic site offers demonstrations that include peanut boiling, blacksmithing and corn shuck mop making.

You might also want to read President Carter’s very engaging memoir, An Hour Before Daylight: Memoirs of a Rural Boyhood. Having a visual of the farm when you read his descriptions about daily chores like cotton mopping, a procedure to protect cotton from boll weevils and worms, and plowing makes the reading even more fascinating. Carter writes, “I preferred to plow without wearing shoes, and I remember vividly the caress of the soft, damp and cool freshly turned earth on my feet.”

Visiting the Jimmy Carter National Historic Site and particularly the Carter farm is an insight into a way of life that is mostly gone. You will also leave with a new understanding about a boy who grew up mostly barefoot in the small-town existence of the rural South to become the President of the United States.

Read more detailed information about Touring Plains and Archery in the Brown’s Guides Tour Blog. Read more about the towns of Plains and Archery and Sumter County, or find more activities in the West Central Georgia Travel Region here at Brown’s Guides.

By SHERRI SMITH BROWN

The suffering of Union prisoners at Andersonville and of POWs in all American wars is the story told at Andersonville National Historic Site.

Where the small stream named Stockade Branch merges with Sweetwater Creek, just six miles west of the Flint River, once stood the most notorious war prison in the Confederacy—Andersonville. From 1864 to 1865, Confederate guards interred 45,000 Union prisoners of war (POW) over a period of 14 months. Of these, 12,914 died from disease, poor sanitation, malnutrition, overcrowding or exposure to the elements. Stockade Branch ran through this 26.5-acre area, surrounded by a 15-foot high stockade of hewed pine logs. When it entered the pen, it carried fresh water; when it exited, it carried human filth and suffering of men living an extremely harsh and miserable existence.

Andersonville, or Camp Sumter as it was officially known, was one of the largest of the many Confederate military prisons established during the Civil War. Today, Andersonville National Historic Site is one of the most moving Civil War shrines in all the South. The white cross Union graves lie in rows in the Andersonville National Cemetery, and the prison site itself stands as a stark reminder of the horrors of that war. (more…)