1884 Lumpkin County Jail and Museum
Type of Attraction
Description

Lumpkin County built its now historic jail in 1884. It features jail cells on the building’s second floor. The sheriff or a deputy lived on the ground floor. The National Register of Historic Places added the building to its list in 1985. Inside, visitors can glimpse the jail’s iron cell doors and scribbles inmates on the cell walls as they passed the time.

Phone Number
(706) 864-6684
Attraction Tags
Address
75 Enota Dr., Dahlonega, GA 30533
30533
20th Century Veterans Memorial
Type of Attraction
Description

The 20th Century Veterans Memorial in downtown Smyrna, Georgia, was dedicated on October 12, 2002. A Veterans Memorial Committee chose the site for the monument in August 1999, and it was expected to be finished by Labor Day 2001 at a cost of between $1 million and $1.5 million. In March 2000, the Smyrna City Council and the Smyrna Downtown Development Authority signed off on the plan despite opposition from nearby residents. However, work was delayed about a year, and officials broke ground on the project in January 2002. Then-Gov. Roy Barnes, U.S. Rep. Johnny Isakson and U.S. Sen. Max Cleland were among the dignitaries at the memorial’s dedication. A mix of private and state money funded the $650,000 memorial.

Attraction Tags
Address
2800 King Street, Smyrna, Georgia 30080
30080
54 Columns
Type of Attraction
Description

54 Columns is a collection of 54 columns ranging from 10 to 20 feet tall. It was created in 1999 by Sol LeWitt, a minimalist artist. Known to some as Ghetto Stonehenge, the columns are supposed to resemble the Atlanta skyline. The art project was commissioned by the Fulton County Arts Council. In 2007, the Atlanta City Council designated the 210-acre Freedom Park, which is home to 54 Columns, as an Atlanta Public Art Project. LeWitt’s works can be seen in a number of museums nationwide, including the High Museum of Art in Atlanta. The Connecticut-born LeWitt died in 2007 at the age of 78.

Attraction Tags
Address
54 Columns, Glen Iris Dr. NE, Atlanta, GA 30312
30312
Type of Attraction
Description

Just south of Adairsville, the raiders stopped to tear up the track, prohibiting their pursuers from continuing the chase in a locomotive. At this point, the pursuers abandoned their second locomotive — the William R. Smith — and continued on foot. Minutes later, they commandeered their third engine. They ran the Texas in reverse for the remainder of the chase. Today, a small museum located in the historic 1847 Western & Atlantic depot interprets the city’s role in the Great Locomotive Chase and features a number of exhibits related to the town’s history.

Website
http://www.exploregeorgia.org/listing/46-adairsville-visitor-center-rail-depot-museum
Attraction Tags
Address
101 Public Square Adairsville, GA 30103
30103
Allatoona Dam
Type of Attraction
Description

The Flood Control Act of 1941 and the Flood Control Act 1944 authorized the construction Allatoona Dam, but World War II delayed the start of work. Construction began in 1946, and reservoir started to fill in during December 1949, eventually flooding the town of Allatoona. In January 1950, the dam and power station were operation in January 1950. Today, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers owns and operates the dam.

Attraction Tags
Address
1052 Old River Rd. SE, Cartersville, GA 30121
30121
Allatoona Pass
Type of Attraction
Description

After Atlanta fell, Confederate Gen. John Bell Hood began marching toward Nashville, Tenn., hoping to break Sherman’s supply line. Hood attacked at Union troops positioned at a railroad pass southeast of Cartersville. The Battle of Allatoona Pass on Oct. 5, 1864, is among the Civil War’s bloodiest battles, and roughly 1,600 soldiers on both sides died. The railroad has been rerouted, but the battle site now sits on the edge of Lake Allatoona and is part of Red Top Mountain State Park.

Website
http://www.exploregeorgia.org/listing/81-allatoona-pass-battlefield
Address
Old Allatoona Rd., Cartersville, GA 30120
30120
Arcade Veterans Memorial
Type of Attraction
Description

The city of Arcade, Georgia, dedicated its Veterans Memorial during the city’s centennial celebration on Aug. 17, 2009. It honors everyone who fought for the country, including those in “the Gulf wars,” the Athens Banner-Herald reported.

Attraction Tags
Address
3325 Athens Highway, Jefferson, Georgia 30549
30549
Arch
Name
Type of Attraction
Description

The Arch was constructed in the 1850s as part of a larger iron fence protecting the university campus. It is generally regarded as the entrance to both the University of Georgia and the city of Athens. The Arch comprises three pillars representing Georgia’s state motto: “Wisdom, Justice, and Moderation.”

Attraction Tags
Address
Athens, Georgia 30602
30602
Athens Music Walk of Fame
Type of Attraction
Description

The Athens Music Walk of Fame, unveiled in 2020 in downtown Athens, highlights the artists, organizations and locations that helped make the Classic City’s music scene legendary. The Walk of Fame is located downtown near some of Athens’ most famous music venues, including the Georgia Theatre and the 40 Watt Club. In 2020, the Athens Music Walk of Fame inducted ten people in downtown Athens, and the Athens Music Walk of Fame Committee selects five inductees each year. The Athens Music Walk of Fame Committee, appointed by the mayor, considers artists’ contributions, historical significance, career span, musical style, and diversity representation. Local designer Allen Sutton designed the plaque. The walk is funded by the Athens Cultural Affairs Commission and supported by the Athens Downtown Development Authority, Athens-Clarke County Leisure Services Arts Division, and Athens-Clarke County Transportation and Public Works Streets & Drainage Division.

Attraction Tags
Address
Athens, Georgia 30601
30601
Atlanta BeltLine
Type of Attraction
Description

The Atlanta BeltLine is a 22-mile multi-use trail along a former railway corridor around the core of Atlanta. A Georgia Tech student proposed transforming the former rail corridor into a trail in a 1999 master’s degree thesis. The Atlanta BeltLine aims to reconnect neighborhoods and communities divided by infrastructure, improve transportation, add green space, promote redevelopment, create affordable housing, and showcase arts and culture. The BeltLine has opened in sections, including the Eastside, Westside and Northside trails.

Website
https://beltline.org/
Attraction Tags
Type of Attraction
Description

The 30-acre garden is home to a number of exhibits, including an edible garden, a rose garden and rare orchid display. In 2010, the Atlanta Botanical Garden opened the Canopy Walk, a 600-foot-long walkway that towers 40 feet above the ground and gives visitors a chance to view a woodland garden from above.

Website
http://atlantabg.org
Phone Number
(404) 876-5859
Attraction Tags
Address
1345 Piedmont Ave NE Atlanta, GA 30309
30309
Atlanta History Center
Type of Attraction
Description

Located in the heart of Atlanta’s trendy Buckhead community, the Atlanta History Center was founded in 1926. The museum, which sits on a 33-acre campus, features six permanent exhibits and temporary exhibits. In addition to the main exhibits, the museum is also home to the historic Swan House, Tullie Smith Farm and Wood Family Cabin. The museum is home to one of the largest collections of Civil War artifacts in the United States.

Website
http://www.atlantahistorycenter.com
Phone Number
(404) 814-4000
Address
130 West Paces Ferry Rd. NW, Atlanta, GA 30305
30305
(Courtesy of the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta)
Type of Attraction
Description

The Atlanta Monetary Museum at the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta in Midtown provides an interesting look into the history of currency. The museum’s collection includes a nice range of historic bills and coins. That includes  $100,000 bills with President Woodrow Wilson and $10,000 bills with O’Hagel printed on them.  It also has on display a rare set of coins from the former U.S. Mint in Dahlonega, Ga.

Website
https://www.frbatlanta.org/about/tours/museum.aspx
Attraction Tags
Address
1000 Peachtree Street, N.E., Atlanta, Georgia 30309-4470
Aunt Fanny’s Cabin
Type of Attraction
Description

IN 2022, THE CITY OF SMYRNA DEMOLISHED AUNT FANNY’S CABIN.

The building that today serves as the Smyrna Welcome Center was once a famous restaurant serving up Southern-themed fare. Isoline Campbell MacKenna opened Aunt Fanny’s Cabin in 1941, turning an 1890s-era cabin into a country store selling food made using the recipes of Fanny Williams, her family’s retired cook. The restaurant, originally located a few miles away from its current location operated until 1994.

Phone Number
(770) 805-4277
Attraction Tags
Address
2875 Atlanta Rd., Smyrna, Georgia 30080
30080
Battlefield Park
Type of Attraction
Description

Battlefield Park commemorates the Oct. 9, 1779, Battle of Savannah during the Revolutionary War. On that day, an allied force of more than 5,000 French and American troops attacked the 2,500 British soldiers defending the city. It was the second bloodiest battle of the American Revolution, and roughly 800 troops were killed or wounded during the fight. The attack failed, and allied forces retreated from Savannah on Oct. 18, 1779; the city remained under British control until 1782. The city of Savannah purchased the land in 2003, and the park built on the site includes a modern recreation of a redoubt.

Bear Hollow Zoo
Type of Attraction
Description

Located inside Memorial Park in the Five Points neighborhood, Bear Hollow is a zoo and natural habitat for rescued animals that cannot be released into the wild. Some are physically disabled, while others cannot care for themselves in the wild or are too trusting and fond of people.

Website
https://www.accgov.com/bearhollow
Phone Number
(706) 613-3580
Attraction Tags
Address
293 Gran Ellen Drive, Athens, Georgia 30606
30606
Ben Epps Statue
Type of Attraction
Description

The Wright Brothers may have all the glory in aviation history. But, when it comes to retelling the story of flight, at least in Georgia, Ben Epps is right there with the brothers from Dayton, Ohio. Four years after the Wright Brothers made history, Epps in 1907 piloted a plane he built. While details of that first flight are few, Epps cemented himself in flying history. In 2011, the Athens community unveiled a statue on Washington Street, across from Epps’ former shop.

Attraction Tags
Big Chicken
Type of Attraction
Description

The Big Chicken, located along Cobb Parkway in southern Marietta, is a true Atlanta landmark. Motorists reference the 56-foot-tall big chicken when giving directions. Radio stations mention it when describing traffic. Airplane pilots even use it as a landmark for navigation. Today, the Big Chicken is a bit of an anomaly, something unique at a fast food restaurant. Cobb Parkway is a string of urban sprawl, one fast food joint after another. Originally built as more or less a marketing gimmick, the chicken has been embraced by locals and has remained a landmark for more than 45 years. After it was damaged by a storm in 1993, KFC debated whether to rebuild the Big Chicken. The community seemed to be in agreement: The Big Chicken was a local landmark, and it needed to remain; KFC shelled out $700,000 to rehabilitate the restaurant and return the giant bird to working order. Today’s incarnation of this local icon features a moving beak and rotating eyes.

Attraction Tags
Address
12 Cobb Pkwy. South, Marietta, GA 30062
30062
Type of Attraction
Description

By the 1920s, apples were becoming an important crop in parts of the state, including Cornelia. Because of the crop diversification, Habersham County skirted the devastating effects of the boll weevil’s destruction of the cotton crop. In 1925, Southern Railway donated to the city a monument dedicated to the fruit that helped save their community. The seven-foot- tall, 5,200-pound apple statue was molded in Winchester, Va., and sits atop an eight-foot- tall concrete pedestal next to the train depot. The apple was dedicated on June 4, 1926, and a number of dignitaries, including U.S. Sen. Walter F. George attended the event. By the mid 1930s, the apple crop nearly spelled doom from the city, but the statue remained as a reminder of the city’s past.

Attraction Tags
Address
141 Clarksville St. NW, Cornelia, GA 30531
30531
Booth Western Art Museum
Type of Attraction
Description

The Booth Western Art Museum opened in August 2003 and showcases Western art. The Smithsonian Institution affiliate is said to be the largest permanent exhibition space for Western art nationwide. The 120,000-square-foot museum is the second-largest art museum in Georgia, featuring works by Frederic Remington, Albert Bierstadt, George Caitlin and Charles Russell. Visitors can explore America’s history through contemporary Western artwork, a Presidential Gallery and a Civil War art gallery.

Directions: Booth Western Art Museum, 501 N. Museum Drive, Cartersville, GA 30120. Take I-75 to exit 288 – Main Street, Cartersville. Head West. Follow Main Street (Highway 113/61) into the business district, approximately 2.2 miles. Turn right on Gilmer Street, travel two blocks under the bridge, and the museum is on the left. Free parking is available in the Tabernacle Baptist Church parking lot on Gilmer Street, across from the Museum entrance.

Hours (as of April 12, 2023): Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday, and Saturday: 10 a.m. – 5 p.m. Thursday: 10 a.m.-8 p.m. Sunday: 1-5 p.m. Closed Mondays, New Year’s Day, July 4, Thanksgiving Day and Christmas Day.

Admission (as of April 12, 2023): Adult: $13.00; Senior (65+): $11.00; Student (with ID): $10.00; Children 12 and under are free (must be accompanied by parent or guardian); Active Military Personnel (with ID): Free (half price regular admission for all immediate family members of the active-duty person); Booth Museum members are free; First Thursday of each month: free admission for all between 4-8 p.m.

Website
http://boothmuseum.org/
Attraction Tags
Address
501 N Museum Dr., Cartersville, GA 30120
30120
Carnegie Education Pavilion
Type of Attraction
Description

The Carnegie Education Pavilion, often called the Carnegie Monument, is a marble Beaux-Arts monument built in 1996 using the exterior facade of the Carnegie Library. From 1899 to 1901, steel magnate Andrew Carnegie donated $145,000 to build and supply a new public library in Atlanta at 126 Carnegie Way. New York architects Ackerman and Ross built the library, which opened in 1902. It was renovated in 1950 and 1966. The central library remained until it was demolished in 1977 to make way for the Marcel Breuer-designed Central Library.

Attraction Tags
Address
Carnegie Education Pavilion, Atlanta, GA 30308
30308
Type of Attraction
Description

The Casimir Pulaski Monument stands in Monterey Square near the battlefield where Polish nobleman Casimir Pulaski died during the siege of Savannah. Pulaski, along with Michael Kovats de Fabriczy, is considered “the father of the American cavalry.” Workers laid the cornerstone for the monument in either 1825 or 1853, depending on the source. The monument’s inscription reads, “Pulaski, the Heroic Pole, who fell mortally wounded, fighting for American Liberty at the siege of Savannah, October 9, 1779.” On October 29, 1779, Congress passed a resolution that a monument should be dedicated to Pulaski, and the Savannah monument was the first monument in the United States dedicated to Pulaski.

Centennial Olympic Park
Type of Attraction
Description

The 21-acre park, today a centerpiece of downtown Atlanta’s tourist district, was built as a central green space and remains a popular place for outdoor events. The park, which helped positively transform downtown Atlanta, is surrounded by some of the city’s biggest tourist destinations, including the Georgia Aquarium and CNN Center.

Website
https://www.gwcca.org/park/
Attraction Tags
Address
265 Park Ave W NW, Atlanta, GA 30313
30313
Character of a Champion
Type of Attraction
Description

In November 2008, Athens dedicated “The Character of a Champion,” a 14-foot-tall bronze statue of Vince Dooley, the legendary former football coach of the Georgia Bulldogs. Athens sculptor Stan Mullins crafted the statue of Dooley, depicting the former coach being hoisted onto the shoulders of his players after winning the 1980 national championship. Dooley was head coach from 1964 until 1988. He was the university’s athletic director from 1979 to 2004 and was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 1994. The memorial was dedicated in 2008 before the annual Georgia-Georgia Tech football game.

Attraction Tags
Address
Intersection of S. Lumpkin Street and Pinecrest Drive, Athens Georgia, 30605
30605
Type of Attraction
Description

Designated as a unit of the National Park System in 1978, the Chattahoochee River National Recreation Area preserves and protects the natural and cultural resources of the 48-mile Chattahoochee River corridor from Buford Dam to Peachtree Creek. The park annually welcomes more than 3,000,000 visitors.

Attraction Tags
Chickamauga and Chattanooga National Military Park
Type of Attraction
Description

Chickamauga and Chattanooga National Military Park preserves the sites of two major battles of the American Civil War: the Battle of Chickamauga and the Chattanooga Campaign.

Website
https://www.nps.gov/chch/index.htm
Phone Number
(706) 866-9241
Address
3370 Lafayette Rd, Fort Oglethorpe, GA 30742
30742
Clermont Lounge
Type of Attraction
Description

Opened in 1965, the Clermont Lounge has the distinction as the first and longest continually operating strip club in Atlanta. The establishment is located in the basement of what was once the Clermont Motor Hotel. As Wikipedia notes: “The Clermont is perhaps best known for featuring some dancers who do not meet the traditional physical standards for strippers, the most famous of whom is Blondie, noted for her ability to crush empty beer cans between her breasts as well as for her poetry.”

Attraction Tags
Address
789 Ponce De Leon Ave NE, Atlanta, GA 30306
College Football Hall of Fame
Type of Attraction
Description

The College Football Hall of Fame opened in Atlanta in August 2014 in Downtown Atlanta next to the Georgia World Congress Center and Centennial Olympic Park. The College Football Hall of Fame was previously located in South Bend, Ind. More than 975 players and more than 210 coaches have been enshrined in the College Football Hall of Fame. More than 300 schools are represented. The 94,256-square-foot facility includes exhibits, interactive displays, event space and a 45-yard indoor football field.

Website
http://www.cfbhall.com
Phone Number
(404) 880-4800
Attraction Tags
Address
250 Marietta St. NW, Atlanta, GA 30313
30313
Concord Covered Bridge
Type of Attraction
Description

The Concord Covered Bridge over Nickajack Creek was built in 1872 to replace an earlier bridge destroyed during the Civil War. The one-lane bridge, also known as Nickajack Creek Covered Bridge, is more than 130 feet long and 16 feet wide and is a part of the Covered Bridge Historic District, so named for the bridge. An earlier bridge was built in the area in 1848, but troops under Union Gen. William T. Sherman burned the span on July 4, 1864. The current bridge was renovated or upgraded in the 1950s and again in 1999. Much of the traffic that used to cross the bridge was diverted to the East-West Connector when it opened in the 1990s. The one-lane bridge has a relatively low clearance, and several times every year motorists driving vehicles too big for the bridge crash into the structure and damage it.

 

Website
http://concordcoveredbridge.org/
Attraction Tags
Address
254 Concord Rd. SW, Smyrna, GA 30082
30082
Concord Woolen Mills
Type of Attraction
Description

Concord Woolen Mills dates to 1847 when Robert Daniell and Martin Ruff opened the mill. The mill was destroyed on July 4, 1864, by Union Gen. William T. Sherman’s troops. The two men rebuilt the mill, which reopened in 1868. By 1870, the mill had 16 workers, making it the largest employer in the area. The two men sold the mill in 1872. The mill went out of business in 1916, and the ruins are located along what is today the Heritage Park Trail and Silver Comet Trail.

Attraction Tags
Address
Heritage Park Trail, Smyrna, GA 30082
30082
Type of Attraction
Description

Along Interstate 75 sits a definite oddity: a Titan missile. The missile, acquired from the Air Force in 1968 after it was declared obsolete, was flown from California to Warner Robins Air Base where it was stored for some time before it was given to the community. Titan I missiles were used between 1959 and 1965 and is considered the country’s first In-tercontinental Ballistic Missile (ICBM). The missile in Cordele stands on what has been dubbed Confederate Air Force Pad No. I.

Attraction Tags
Cooper’s Furnace Day Use Area
Type of Attraction
Description

Coopers Furnace Day Use Park is open seasonally and is situated along the north bank of the Etowah River. The park has lots of single-car parking, and no trailers are allowed. This park also allows a great view of the dam from downstream. Cooper’s Iron Works is the last remaining remnant of the 19th century town of Etowah. Jacob Stroup established the works in the 1830s, and Mark Anthony Cooper purchased the ironworks in the 1840s. In 1862, Cooper sold the iron works. The Confederate States of America subsequently purchased the works, and federal soldiers, on May 22, 1864, destroyed the ironworks and mill, bringing about an end to the city’s livelihood. Following the Civil War, the town never again returned to its antebellum prominence. A smokestack is all that remains of the ironworks.

Website
https://www.sam.usace.army.mil/Missions/Civil-Works/Recreation/Allatoona-Lake/Day-Use/Cooper-Furnace-park/
Phone Number
(678) 721-6700
Attraction Tags
Address
1052 Old River Road SE, Cartersville GA 30121
30121
Crawford W. Long Museum
Type of Attraction
Description

On March 30, 1842, Crawford W. Long stepped into the history books when he used Ether as a surgical anesthesia. His legacy lives on at the museum that bears his name. The Crawford W. Long Museum in the Jackson County city of Jefferson, about 25 miles from Athens, opened in 1957. It reopened in January 2010 following an 18-month renovation.

Website
http://www.crawfordlong.org
Phone Number
706-367-5307
Attraction Tags
Address
28 College Street, Jefferson, Georgia 30549
30549
Type of Attraction
Description

The Crime and Punishment Museum in Ashburn, Georgia, opened in August 2003 in a bucolic community of about 4,100 located along Interstate 75. The building — known to many as “Castle Turner” — served as the county jail from about 1907 until 1993. Miles Cribb was the only inmate hanged inside the jail. Today, visitors to the museum can see the trap door that dropped, sending the condemned Cribb to his death. They can also gaze upon the blood-stained collar he was wearing at the time he was executed and see a replica of an electric chair, affectionately nicknamed “Old Sparky.”

Website
https://crimepunishmentmuseum.com/
Phone Number
(229) 567-9696
Attraction Tags
Address
241 E College Ave., Ashburn, GA 31714
31714
Dahlonega Gold Museum Historic Site
Type of Attraction
Description

The 1836 Lumpkin County Courthouse in downtown Dahlonega, Ga., is home to the Dahlonega Gold Museum Historic Site. Located on the town square, the courthouse is the oldest surviving courthouse building in the state, serving in that capacity until 1965. The state park is a testament to the first major gold rush in the nation. The museum collection includes exhibits about how gold is mined, tools miners used and actual samples of gold. The building features wooden seats from 1889 and the judge’s chambers.

Website
http://www.gastateparks.org/DahlonegaGoldMuseum
Address
1 Public Square NDahlonega, GA 30533
30533
Delta Flight Museum
Type of Attraction
Description

The Delta Flight Museum was established in 1995 and opened publicly in June 2014. Located in a pair of 1940s-era maintenance hangars, the museum is home fleet of rare vintage aircraft and artifacts from more than 40 airlines related to Delta. Among the artifacts is the Spirit of Delta, Delta’s first Boeing 767. Employees, retirees, and friends purchased and donated the plane to Delta in 1982.

Website
http://www.deltamuseum.org/
Phone Number
404-715-2037
Fax
404-715-7886
Attraction Tags
Address
1060 Delta Blvd. B-914, Atlanta, GA 30354
30354
DOGNY (Atlanta)
Type of Attraction
Description

This solid bronze German Shepherd Dog DOGNY sculpture was dedicated on Sept. 11, 2013. The statue is part an American Kennel Club public art initiative. The project, “DOGNY: America’s Tribute to Search and Rescue Dogs,” honors the Canine Search and Rescue dog and handler teams who served following the Sept. 11, 2001, tragedy.

Website
http://www.akc.org/content/news/articles/dogny-statue-dedication-georgia/
Attraction Tags
Address
31 M.L.K. Jr Dr SW, Atlanta, GA 30303
30303
Double-Barreled Cannon
Type of Attraction
Description

The Double-Barreled Cannon was the brainchild of Dr. John Gilleland, a dentist from Jackson County, Ga., and a member of Mitchell’s Thunderbolts. Built in 1862 at the Athens Foundry and Machine Works, the Double-Barreled Cannon is today little more than a bookmark in history and a rather unique relic. The cannon was designed to fire two cannonballs connected by a chain so as to “mow down the enemy somewhat as a scythe cuts wheat.” According one account, the cannon was tested on a site along Newton Bridge Road, but since the two barrels did not have the same range, the chain broke in mid-air. According to some sources, one of the cannon balls killed a cow in a field nearby. According to a number of sources, including books and newspaper accounts, the cannon was not used in battle. But, according to a Confederate Veteran article, the cannon was used during a skirmish, but not as originally designed.

Website
http://www.visitathensga.com/listings/double-barreled-cannon/225/
Phone Number
(800) 653-0603
Attraction Tags
Address
301 College Ave., Athens, GA 30601
Type of Attraction
Description

The Elberton Granite Museum in Elberton, Ga., opened in 1981. The free museum is dedicated to telling the story of how granite is produced and its impact on Elberton, Ga., is on display. The many exhibits at the museum include artifacts, photographs and whimsical anecdotes. While the tools of the trade show how granite is carved from the earth, a seven-foot-tall granite statue tucked away in a backroom of the museum illustrates a lighter side of the granite industry and how people view the monuments produced.

Website
http://www.egaonline.com
Attraction Tags
Etowah Indian Mounds
Type of Attraction
Description

Located on the north shore of the Etowah River and south of modern-day Cartersville, the mounds were inhabited from 1000 to 1550 by Muskogean Native Americans of the Mississippian culture, so named because the culture originated along the banks of the Mississippi River. Designated a National Historic Landmark in the 1960s, this 54-acre state park includes a museum with artifacts discovered at the site, six mounds the natives built, and a number of other related sites. The now 1,000-year-old Native American town is generally believed to be a city Hernando de Soto visited in 1540 when he was exploring the area. By that time, according to historians, the civilization was in decline and the Etowah Indian Mounds may have been abandoned.

Website
http://gastateparks.org/EtowahMounds
Phone Number
(770) 387-3747
Attraction Tags
Address
813 Indian Mound Rd. SE, Cartersville, GA 30120
30120
Fanny Williams Statue
Type of Attraction
Attraction Tags
First Coca-Cola Painted Wall Sign
Type of Attraction
Description

A Coca-Cola syrup salesman named James Couden painted a sign advertising the soda on the side of Young Brothers Pharmacy (known as Young Bros Drug Company at the time). It turns out he made history with his work of art as this was the first Coca-Cola painted wall sign in the world. The pharmacy celebrates the advertisement with a display of Coke memorabilia and collectibles. Interestingly, the Coca-Cola Co. regularly repainted the sign until the late 1970s, but underneath all those paint jobs was the original sign, which was restored in 1989.

Website
http://visitcartersvillega.org/worlds-first-coca-cola-outdoor-wall-advertisement/
Attraction Tags
Address
2 W. Main St., Cartersville, GA 30120
30120
Floyd G. Hoard Memorial
Type of Attraction
Description

Floyd G. Hoard was the solicitor general of the Piedmont Judicial Circuit when he was killed on August 7, 1967, by a car bomb. He was known for aggressively prosecuting organized crime in the area. Local citizens dedicated the monument on the Historic Jackson County Courthouse grounds on April 19, 1997.

Attraction Tags
Address
85 Washington Street, Jefferson, Georgia 30549
30549
Type of Attraction
Description

James Oglethorpe established Fort Frederica on what is today St. Simons Island in 1736, just three years after he founded Georgia.. The goal of the settlement was to to protect the southern boundary of the British colony of Georgia from the Spanish. At times, more than 600 British troops were stationed at the fort. A visitor to the fort in 1745 described it as “a pretty strong fort of tabby,” noting the structure was “surrounded by a quadrangular rampart, with four bastions of earth well stocked and turned, and a palisade ditch.” During the battles of Bloody Marsh and Gully Hole Creek in 1742, Oglethorpe’s successfully repulsed Spanish attempts to invade St. Simons Island.

Website
https://www.nps.gov/fofr/index.htm
Attraction Tags
Address
6515 Frederica Rd., Saint Simons Island, GA 31522
31522
Type of Attraction
Description

Built in 1721, a dozen years before the first city in Georgia, Savannah, was founded, Fort King George was both the first English settlement on Georgia’s coast and the British Empire’s southernmost outpost in North America. It remained the southernmost settlement until 1736 when Fort Frederica was built on what is today St. Simon’s Island. With the help of historic drawings, the Lower Altamaha Historical Society and the Georgia Department of Natural Resources in 1988, a number of the fort’s structures were rebuilt, including the cypress blockhouse. The reconstructed fort is a replica of Barnwell’s original construction. Today, the park highlights the area’s 18th century cultural history, including the Guale Indians, the 17th century Spanish mission Santo Domingo de Talaje, Fort King George and the Scottish colonists. In addition, the state park features information about 19th century sawmilling.

Website
http://gastateparks.org/FortKingGeorge
Phone Number
(912) 437-4770
Attraction Tags
Address
302 McIntosh Road SE Darien, GA 31305
31305
Fort Yargo State Park
Type of Attraction
Description

The first European settlers came to the area in the late 1700s and built a series of forts, including Fort Yargo, to protect themselves from the natives. The 260-acre Fort Yargo State Park is home to a long fort was built in 1792 or 1793. The structure may have been built at the request of the Creek Indians who were then at war with the Cherokees. The Creeks likely were the first Indians to arrive in the area of what is now Barrow County and created the village of Snodon in what is now downtown Winder.

Website
http://gastateparks.org/FortYargo
Phone Number
(770) 867-3489
Attraction Tags
Address
210 South Broad St., Winder, GA 30680
30680
Friendship Monument
Type of Attraction
Description

When Mark Anthony Cooper found himself $100,000 in debt in 1857 and his company, the Etowah Iron and Manufacturing Co., was about to be auctioned, he turned to his friends for help. With the help of 38 friends, Cooper raised $200,000 and purchased back his company. But, he didn’t forget his friends, and in 1860, after he repaid the debt, Cooper built a monument to thank them. The monument was originally erected on the town square of Etowah where his iron company was located. In 1864, the monument survived the wrath of Union soldiers led by Gen. William T. Sherman. In 1927, as the federal government was poised to create Lake Allatoona, the monument was relocated to nearby Cartersville. Three decades later, the monument was moved to the banks of Lake Allatoona to make room for more parking spaces in downtown Cartersville. In 1999, the monument moved to its current location in downtown Cartersville and the aptly renamed Friendship Plaza.

Website
http://visitcartersvillega.org/mark-cooper-the-friendship-monument/
Attraction Tags
GPS Coordinates
N 34° 09.921 W 084° 47.743
Gainesville Midland No. 116
Type of Attraction
Description

Philadelphia-based Baldwin Locomotive Works built Gainesville Midland No. 116, which sits in Jefferson, Georgia, as a memorial to the Gainesville Midland Railroad. The Gainesville Midland bought the class C-3 2-8-0 locomotive from the Central of Georgia Railway, which ordered it in about 1906. The Gainesville Midland used the steamer until its retirement in 1958 following a crack in its boiler. The locomotive is on display outside of Jefferson High School. The railroad donated it to the city in 1959.

Attraction Tags
Georgia Capitol Museum
Type of Attraction
Description

The Georgia Capitol Museum traces its origins to 1889 when the Georgia General Assembly revived the office of state geologist and directed him “to collect, analyze, and classify specimens of minerals, plants and soils.” The following year, the governor designated the corridors of the fourth floor of the Capitol as temporary quarters to house the museum.

Website
http://www.libs.uga.edu/capitolmuseum/
Attraction Tags
Address
206 Washington St. SW, Atlanta, GA 30334
30334
Type of Attraction
Description

IN JULY 2022, A VANDAL DESTROYED THE GEORGIA GUIDESTONES.

Since first unveiled in March 1980, the Georgia Guidestones have confounded and intrigued tourists. An anonymous benefactor, using the name R.C. Christian, showed up in Elbert County in 1979 to build the monument. According to sources, Christian was working on behalf of an anonymous group. The 19-foot-tall monument, comprised of six granite stones, sits along Georgia Highway 77 on one of the highest tracts of land in Elbert County. The monument, known as “America’s Stonehenge,” was built using granite from Elbertson, the “Granite Capital of the World.”

Phone Number
(706) 283-2551
Attraction Tags
Address
Hartwell Hwy., Elberton, GA 30635
30635
Georgia Museum of Art at the University of Georgia
Type of Attraction
Description

The Georgia Museum of Art is located on the University of Georgia campus in Athens and has been the official art museum of the state of Georgia since 1982. It started in 1948 in the basement of the old library on the university’s North Campus. In April 1996, the museum opened a new building in the Performing and Visual Arts Complex on the university’s East Campus. The museum has over 18,000 objects in its permanent collection, an increase from the core of 100 paintings museum founder Alfred Heber Holbrook donated. Its permanent collection includes American paintings from the 19th and 20th centuries, American, European, and Asian works on paper, southern decorative arts, and Asian art.

Phone Number
(706) 542-4662
Attraction Tags
Address
90 Carlton Street Athens, Georgia 30602
30602
Georgia State Railroad Museum
Type of Attraction
Description

The Georgia State Railroad Museum is home to more than 40 railroad locomotives and cars and house in the historic Georgia State Railroad Museum roundhouse. The building dates to 1851, but the railroad demolished about half of the roundhouse in 1926 and re-engineered the facility to accommodate larger steam engines. Southern Railway, successor of the Central of Georgia Railroad, closed the facility in 1963 and subsequently started demolishing buildings on the property. The Coastal Heritage Society in 1989 took over management of the facility to preserve the shops for future generations.

Website
http://www.chsgeorgia.org/gsrm
Phone Number
(912) 651-6823
Attraction Tags
Address
655 Louisville Rd., Savannah, GA 31401
31401
Glover Machine Works Locomotive
Type of Attraction
Description

Marietta’s own Glover Machine works built locomotive No. 81421 was in 1916. Coulbourn Brothers operated the 2-6-0 narrow gauge steam engine as No. 4. The steamer returned to Glover Machine Works in 1921. It has been displayed in Marietta since 1992.

Attraction Tags
GPS Coordinates
N 33° 57.162 W 084° 33.065
Hargrove Cemetery
Type of Attraction
Description

Along a busy stretch of Windy Hill Road lies a 19th century cemetery, the last vestages of the antebellum residence of Asbury Hargrove. Roughly 20 people are buried in the cemetery. Hargrove was born in 1809 and died in 1879. Between July 6-15, 1864, Brig. Gen. Edward M. McCook used the residence as his headquarters.

Attraction Tags
Address
2500 Windy Hill Rd., Smyrna, GA 30067
30067
High Museum of Art
Type of Attraction
Description

The High Museum of Art, the premier art museum in the South, is in the midst of a multi-year partnership with The Museum of Modern Art. Through 2013, the partnership will bring many international exhibitions to Atlanta and past exhibitions have included masterpieces by Claude Monet and Leonardo de Vinci.

Website
http://www.high.org
Phone Number
(404) 733-4400
Attraction Tags
Address
1280 Peachtree St. NE, Atlanta, GA 30309
30309
Type of Attraction
Description

Hurricane Shoals Park is a public park near Commerce and Maysville, Georgia, that showcases exposed granite shoals along the North Oconee River. The park, spanning over 71.3 acres, officially opened to the public in 1978, but its history dates back to the 1780s. Early settlement began at the site, once a Creek and Cherokee Indian camping ground called Yamtrahoochee. Several buildings were constructed, including a fort, schoolhouse, grist mill, and Baptist church. There is a covered bridge that dates back to 1872, which spans across the North Oconee River. The Hurricane Shoals Park Association Inc. was formed in 1962 to protect the historic area as a recreational facility.

Phone Number
(706) 367-6350
Attraction Tags
Address
416 Hurricane Shoals Road, Maysville, Georgia 30558
30558
James Jackson Memorial
Type of Attraction
Description

The James Jackson Memorial in downtown Jefferson, Georgia, honors an American Revolution hero and general of the Georgia Militia. He is also the namesake of Jackson County, Georgia. Jackson served in the U.S. House of Representatives and the U.S. Senate. He also served as the 23rd Governor of Georgia from 1798 to 1801. The Jackson County Bicentennial Committee dedicated the monument, which is on the grounds of the Historic Jackson County Courthouse, on May 11, 1996.

Address
85 Washington Street, Jefferson, Georgia 30549
30549
Jimmy Carter National Historic Site
Type of Attraction
Description

The Jimmy Carter National Historic Site in Plains, Ga., includes sites related to President Jimmy Carter. The site includes his boyhood farm, his former school and the town railroad depot, which served as his campaign headquarters during the 1976 election. Carter, the 39th President of the United States, was born in 1924 in Plains and still lives in the small town.

Website
https://www.nps.gov/nr/travel/presidents/jimmy_carter_nhs.html
Attraction Tags
John Wesley Monument
Type of Attraction
Attraction Tags
Johnny Mercer Statue
Type of Attraction
Attraction Tags
Kennesaw Mountain National Battlefield Park
Type of Attraction
Description

Kennesaw Mountain National Battlefield Park offers the opportunity to connect with an important time in American history and a free outdoor experience. Located between Marietta and Kennesaw, the 2,923-acre national park offers visitors the chance to learn about an important time in history and also enjoy the great outdoors. The national park features 18 miles of walking trails, some rather steep as they approach the top of the mountain. The park features three battlefield areas: one located in front of the Visitor Center, another off Burnt Hickory Road and the main site at Cheatham Hill, which during the Civil War was called the Dead Angle. The visitor center is a logical place to start because it provides an abundance of information about what happened during the battle.

Website
https://www.nps.gov/kemo/index.htm
Kingston Cemetery
Type of Attraction
Description

The cemetery is home to the oldest running Confederate Memorial Day celebration, also known as “Decoration Day.” The celebration started in 1865.

Attraction Tags
Marietta City Cemetery
Type of Attraction
Description

The Marietta City Cemetery, adjacent to Marietta Confederate Cemetery, was established in the 1830s. The city cemetery is the final resting place to a number of the city’s prominent denizens, including S.V. Sanford, the namesake for the University of Georgia’s football stadium. It is also where 13-year-old Mary Phagan was buried after she was killed April 26, 1913.

Attraction Tags
Address
395 Powder Springs Street, Marietta, GA 30064
30064
Marietta Confederate Cemetery
Type of Attraction
Description

As the Civil War dragged on, wounded soldiers from the battles that ravaged North Georgia were taken to Marietta to be buried. That continued until Gen. William T. Sherman took control of the city on July 2, 1864. Following the war, Henry Greene Cole, a Marietta businessman and Unionist, offered land to build a cemetery for both Union and Confederate soldiers, but many city residents wouldn’t entertain the proposal of burying battlefield enemies in the same graveyard. So, in 1867, Jane Glover officially gave the land to a memorial association to create the cemetery for Confederate soldiers. Union troops who were killed throughout North Georgia were re-buried in the nearby Marietta National Cemetery. In addition to the more than 3,000 grave sites, the cemetery is home to a number of monuments, including a six-pound cannon that Union troops captured near Savannah. The cannon resided at the Georgia Military Institute for a number of years.

Attraction Tags
Address
395 Powder Springs Street, Marietta, GA 30064
30064
Marietta Fire Museum
Type of Attraction
Description

The story of fighting fires in Marietta, Ga., from bucket brigades to pumper and ladder trucks, is on display at the Marietta Fire Museum. One of the highlights of the museum is an 1879 horse-drawn Silsby steamer, which is nicknamed “Aurora.” The unit is said to be one of only five of its kind still in existence. The horse-drawn steamer remained in service until 1921 when it was replaced by an American LaFrance Pumper, also on display in the museum. The pumper is famous for being one of the first motorized fire vehicles in North Georgia. Also on display are a 1929 Seagrave pumper, a 1949 Pirsch ladder truck and a 1952 Chevrolet panel truck. In addition to the fire vehicles, a number of antique helmets, firefighting accessories and a “Wall of Flame” featuring photos of some of the city’s larger fires from over the years are on display.

Phone Number
(770) 794-5466
Attraction Tags
Address
112 Haynes St., Marietta, GA 30060
30060
Marietta Museum of History
Type of Attraction
Description

The Marietta Museum of History is housed in a former cotton warehouse and hotel. It is one of the oldest buildings in Marietta and was where the members of the Andrews Raid before stealing a locomotive in Kennesaw, Ga., on April 12, 1862. The museum offers a series of exhibits dedicated to the city’s history and features memorabilia, including photographs and artifacts.

Website
http://www.mariettahistory.org
Phone Number
(770) 794-5710
Attraction Tags
Address
1 Depot St., Marietta, GA 30060
30060
Marietta National Cemetery
Type of Attraction
Attraction Tags
Address
500 Washington Avenue NE, Marietta, Georgia 30060
30060
Martin Luther King Jr. National Historic Site Georgia
Type of Attraction
Description

The Martin Luther King Jr. National Historic Site consists of several buildings and sites connected to King. They include his boyhood home, the original Ebenezer Baptist Church and Fire Station No. 6. The area includes a total of 35 acres and was designated as a  National Historic Site on Oct. 10, 1980. The King Birth Home, located at 501 Auburn Avenue in the Sweet Auburn historic district, was built in 1895 and is located about a block east of Ebenezer Baptist Church. King was born here in 1929, and the King family lived in the house until 1941. Its was later converted into a two-family dwelling. The Rev. A.D. Williams King, the brother of King Jr., lived on the second floor in the 1950s and early 1960s. The visitor center offers free tours of the house led by National Park Service rangers. Fire Station No. 6 was built in 1894 and served the Sweet Auburn community until 1991. The fire station was an important community meeting place. A 1927 American LaFrance fire engine is on display at the museum.

Website
https://www.nps.gov/malu/index.htm
Phone Number
(404) 331-5190x5046
Attraction Tags
Address
450 Auburn Ave. NE, Atlanta, GA 30331
30331
Type of Attraction
Description

The Monastery of the Holy Spirit is located in the eastern Atlanta suburb of Conyers and is often referred to as “Georgia’s Most Remarkable Concrete Building.” The community was started on March 21, 1944, by 21 trappist monks who relocated to land donated by media mogul Henry Luce and the Archdiocese of Atlanta from Gethsemani Abbey in Kentucky. The Monastery itself was built between 1944 and 1949, the Monastery. A 17,000-square-foot Heritage Center, which opened in 2011, includes information about the history of the Monastery, a bonsai nursery and a café. Visitors looking to take home a piece of the experience need to stop by the gift shop or the bonsai nursery.

Website
http://www.trappist.net/
Phone Number
(770) 483-8705
Attraction Tags
Address
2625 GA-212, Conyers, GA 30094
Murmur Trestle
Type of Attraction
Description

The “Murmur Trestle” has for years attracted R.E.M. fans from around the globe. Gracing the back of the band’s 1983 album “Murmur,” the bridge is best known today as the Murmur Trestle. The trestle was built in 1883 and served the Georgia Railroad and later CSX Transportation and was last used in 1998. Athens-Clarke County purchased the trestle in 2000.

Attraction Tags
Address
220-270 S Poplar St., Athens, GA 30601
30601
Type of Attraction
Description

Located on 51 acres next to Robins Air Force Base in Warner Robins, Georgia, the Museum of Aviation is the second-largest aerospace museum of the U.S. Air Force and the fourth most visited Department of Defense museum. The museum, which opened in 1984, has four exhibit buildings displaying U.S. Air Force aircraft, missiles, cockpits and other exhibits. The museum is also home to Georgia Aviation Hall of Fame.

Website
http://www.museumofaviation.org/
Attraction Tags
Address
1942 Heritage Blvd., Warner Robins, Georgia, GA 31098
31098
Type of Attraction
Description

New Hope Cemetery in the Atlanta suburb of Dunwoody dates to 1859, though the first known burial dates to May 1887. Many no doubt overlook the cemetery as it is overshadowed by modern developments and urban sprawl. The cemetery is the final resting place for more than 350 people. It was once part of New Hope Presbyterian Church. The last burial in the cemetery was 2014.

Website
http://dunwoodypreservationtrust.org/properties-houses-cemeteries/new-hope-cemetery/
Attraction Tags
Address
5695 Chamblee-Dunwoody Rd., Dunwoody GA 30338
30338
Norcross City Cemetery
Type of Attraction
Description

Milton C. Lively donated land for the cemetery around the time the city was established in 1870, naming the road leading to Cemetery Street. Initially, two streets connected the town to the cemetery: North Cemetery Street and South Cemetery Street. After Buford Highway was built in the 1930s, South Cemetery Street was renamed Carlyle Street; the portion of North Cemetery Street west of Buford Highway became Holcomb Bridge Road in 2012. In 1916, the city acquired an additional nine acres from Lively’s descendants, expanding the cemetery to its current size of roughly 3.5 acres. The remaining six acres were transformed into Cemetery Field for sporting events in the early 1970s, with renovations completed by Gwinnett County in 1986. Residents erected the pavilion at the cemetery entrance in 1922.

Attraction Tags
Address
343 S Cemetery St., Norcross, Georgia 30071
30071
Oak Hill Cemetery (Cartersville)
Type of Attraction
Description

Ebenezer Methodist Church (now Sam Jones Memorial United Methodist Church) founded Oak Hill Cemetery in 1838. Famous burials include Uriah Stephens, the switch master in Kingston during the Civil War; Pleasant Stovall Shelman, the operator of a Cartersville hotel; and Sam Jones, a famous preacher.

Attraction Tags
Address
330 S. Erwin Street, Cartersville, GA 30120
30120
Oakland Cemetery
Type of Attraction
Description

Oakland Cemetery was founded in 1850. Among the famous people buried in the cemetery are Margaret Mitchell, author of Gone With the Wind; Bobby Jones, one of the best golfers to ever play; and William A. Fuller, the conductor who successfully pursued Union spies during the Civil War’s Great Locomotive Chase.

Website
http://www.oaklandcemetery.com
Phone Number
(404) 688-2107
Attraction Tags
Address
248 Oakland Ave. SE, Atlanta, GA 30312
30312
Type of Attraction
Description

The Ocmulgee National Monument preserves traces of over ten millennia of Southeastern Native American culture. Natives first came to the area during the Paleo-Indian period hunting Ice Age mammals. While many different cultures occupied this land for thousands of years, the centerpiece of the monument is a series of earthworks built before 1000 CE by the South Appalachian Mississippian culture, a regional variation of the Mississippian culture.

Website
https://www.nps.gov/ocmu/index.htm
Attraction Tags
Address
1207 Emery Hwy., Macon, GA 31217
31217
Old City Exchange Bell
Type of Attraction
Description

This bell from the former City Exchange dates to 1802 and may be the oldest in Georgia. The bell, imported from Amsterdam, hung in the cupola of the City Exchange from 1804 until the building was razed to make way for the new Savannah City Hall built in 1905. In addition to signalling the closing time for shops, a watchman would also ring the bell in event of a fire and to welcome distinguished visitors to the city. Today, it hands in a replica of the City Exchange, which was erected in 1957.

Website
https://georgiahistory.com/ghmi_marker_updated/old-city-exchange-bell/
Attraction Tags
GPS Coordinates
N 32° 04.846 W 081° 05.381
Type of Attraction
Description

The old Rockdale County Jail was built in 1897 and was remained in use until 1969. Its exterior walls are three bricks thick, while interior walls are two bricks thick. The floor and ceiling of the second floor are constructed of steel with six inches of concrete above it. The main floor consisted of an office for sheriff and living quarters for his family. Five Rockdale County sheriffs and their families lived in the building between 1897 and 1969. The Rockdale County Historical Society acquired the property in 1975.

Phone Number
(770) 922-3740
Attraction Tags
Address
967 Milstead Ave., Conyers, GA 30012
Piedmont Park
Type of Attraction
Description

The 189-acre Piedmont Park hosted the Piedmont Exposition of 1887 and the Cotton States and International Exposition of 1895. Much like Central Park is to New York City, Piedmont Park is a centerpiece greenspace for the city of Atlanta.

Website
http://www.piedmontpark.org
Attraction Tags
GPS Coordinates
33°47′10″N 84°22′24″W
Red Top Mountain State Park
Type of Attraction
Description

The 12,000-acre Red Top Mountain State Park features more than 15 miles of hiking trails. The park, named for for the soil’s rich red color caused by high iron-ore content, is also home to an 1860s homestead. The park also offers nice views of Lake Allatoona.

Website
http://gastateparks.org/RedTopMountain
Attraction Tags
Address
50 Lodge Rd. SE, Cartersville, GA 30121
30121
Type of Attraction
Description

Rock Hawk Effigy Mound is comprised of thousands of pieces of quartzite. While referred to as a hawk, scholars do not know what type of bird the original builders intended to portray. The mound is one of two such effigy mounds found east of the Mississippi River. Current archaeologists believe Woodland Indians built the site between 1,000 and 3,000 years ago. These Native Americans may have been part of the Adena or Hopewell cultures, or they may have represented a different group.

Attraction Tags
Address
Lawrence Shoals Rd., Eatonton, GA 31024
31024
Type of Attraction
Attraction Tags
Savannah History Museum
Type of Attraction
Description

The Savannah History Museum, housed in the former Central of Georgia Depot, chronicles the history of Savannah from 1733 to modern times. Among the 40,000 artifacts housed in the museum is the bench from the movie Forrest Gump, information about Juliette Gordon Low, founder of the Girl Scouts and a steam locomotive from the early 20th century. The railroad used the building until 1972, and the Coastal Heritage Society opened the museum in 1989.

Website
http://www.chsgeorgia.org/shm
Phone Number
(912) 651-6825
Attraction Tags
Address
303 Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd., Savannah, GA 31401
31401
Shoupade Park
Type of Attraction
Description

Shoupade Park preserves a rare but essential remnant of the Civil War’s River Line. Confederate Brigadier Gen. Francis Shoup in 1864 built a series of earthen forts shaped like arrowheads large enough to hold 80 soldiers. The fortification, known as “Shoupades,” allowed them to fire shots to the right, left and straight ahead as the enemy approached. Confederate troops wanted the shoupades to stop Union troops from crossing the Chattahoochee River and entering Atlanta. Modern development wiped out most of the Shoupades over the years. However, through an agreement with a developer, the city of Smyrna helped preserve one of the works. A shoupade model is on display at the Smyrna Museum.

Website
https://cobbcounty.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=70:shoupade-park&catid=9&Itemid=401
Attraction Tags
Address
4770 Oakdale Rd., Smyrna, GA 30080
30080
Silver Comet Trail
Type of Attraction
Description

The Silver Comet Trail repurposed a former rail line into a popular multi-purpose path. The route dates to the 1890s when a rail line connecting Atlanta and Birmingham, Ala. Seaboard Air Line Railroad operated the line and its successor, CSX, abandoned it in 1987. The trail is named for the Silver Comet passenger train, which ran from May 18, 1947, until 1969. The trail starts in Smyrna, Ga., and passes through Paulding and Polk counties and connects with the Chief Ladiga Trail at the Georgia-Alabama border.

Website
http://www.silvercometga.com/
Attraction Tags
Address
30082
Smyrna First United Methodist Church
Type of Attraction
Description

Smyrna First United Methodist Church in downtown Smyrna, Georgia, is one of the oldest institutions in the Jonquil City, dating to about 1838. The current structure dates to June 1967, replacing a five-and-a-half-decade-old structure. In 1911, the church built its first brick structure, an edifice along Atlanta Road.

Attraction Tags
Address
1315 Concord Road SE, Smyrna, GA 30080
30080
Smyrna Memorial Cemetery
Type of Attraction
Description

According to various sources, Smyrna Methodist Church founded the Smyrna Memorial Cemetery in 1838 near what is today the intersection of Memorial Place and Atlanta Road in the heart of the city. The 170-year-old cemetery lies in the shadows of Smyrna Market Village. The cemetery is home to a number of notable denizens of Smyrna over the years, including John Moore, who served the first mayor of Smyrna when the city was incorporated on Aug. 23, 1872. There are a total of 638 people buried in Smyrna Memorial Cemetery, but only about 238 graves are marked with headstones. The grave of Elijah Fleming, who died on April 8, 1848, is the earliest marked grave in the cemetery. The grave of his daughter, Mary, who died on March 14, 1858, at the age of 17, is the second oldest marked grave in the cemetery. A 1999 archaeological survey located 395 graves that were previously lost to history.

Phone Number
(770) 431-2858
Attraction Tags
Address
Memorial Pl., Smyrna, GA 30080
30080
Smyrna Museum
Type of Attraction
Description

Since it officially opened on April 25, 1999, the Smyrna Museum has dedicated to keeping alive the stories that make the Jonquil City unique — from images of the city’s past to artifacts from important events in history.

Located in a replica of the city’s railroad depot that was build in 1910 and razed in 1959, the museum is home to thousands of photographs, a number of exhibits and other displays, the museum is also home to a number of genealogical research materials.

While admission is free, the museum, which is operated by volunteers, does accept donations.

Website
http://www.smyrnahistory.org/_museum.htm
Attraction Tags
Address
2861 Atlanta RoadSmyrna, GA 30080
30080
Southeastern Railway Museum
Type of Attraction
Description

The 35-acre Southeastern Railway Museum opened in its current location in 1998. The museum, which previously operated on a 12-acre site until 1997, is home to approximately 90 pieces of rolling stock, including locomotives, passenger cars and cabooses. Guests can board a vintage caboose for a ride around the museum’s grounds, which was previously home to a railcar repair facility. The museum has been designated “Georgia’s Official Transportation History Museum.”

Website
https://www.train-museum.org
Attraction Tags
Address
3595 Buford Hwy, Duluth, GA 30096
30096
Southern Museum of Civil War & Locomotive History
Type of Attraction
Description

The Southern Museum of Civil War & Locomotive History, a Smithsonian Institution affiliate, features collections of rare Civil War weapons, uniforms and other personal items; an exciting exhibit about the Great Locomotive Chase, including the General locomotive; and a full-scale replica of a locomotive factory that helped rebuild the South after the war. The Jolley Education Center features a variety of hands-on exhibits to inspire a love of learning in children. During the sesquicentennial, 150th anniversary of the Civil War, the Southern Museum hosted events exploring topics relevant to this tumultuous time in history.

Website
https://www.southernmuseum.org/
Phone Number
(770) 427-2117
Address
2829 Cherokee Street NW, Kennesaw, Georgia 30144
30144
State Botanical Garden of Georgia
Type of Attraction
Description

The State Botanical Garden of Georgia is a 313-acre botanical garden operated by the University of Georgia. The university established the garden in 1968 to study and appreciate plants and nature. This garden is a “living laboratory” for teaching, research, public service, and outreach missions for the university and Georgia residents. The garden features a conservatory, roughly five miles of nature trails and a diverse range of natural features and includes various plant communities and habitats that are common in the Georgia Piedmont region. In 1984, it was officially recognized as Georgia’s State Botanical Garden.

Website
https://botgarden.uga.edu/
Attraction Tags
Address
2450 S. Milledge Avenue Athens, Georgia 30605
30605
Statue of Athena
Type of Attraction
Description

The statue of Athena, the Greek goddess of wisdom, stands outside the Classic Center and faces downtown Athens. The statue symbolizes the city’s namesake — Athens, Greece. On the base of the statue is the Athenian Oath, which the youth of ancient Athens took when they reached 17 years old. Around the pedestal, the words Wisdom, Learning, Arts, Athletics, Industry, Commerce, and Agriculture are inscribed. Jean Westmacott, an artist from the area, created the statue. The design was selected from submissions by Project Athena, a group formed in 1993 to promote public art in Athens.

Attraction Tags
Address
200-298 N Thomas St, Athens, Georgia 30601
30601
Type of Attraction
Description

Located in downtown McRae, Ga., is a replica of the Statue of Liberty. The 35-foot-tall McRae version was built by the Lion’s Club of McRae at one-twelfth the size of the original. The statue was built using various materials, including Styrofoam, an electrician lineman’s glove and a stump from a nearby swamp. The Lady Liberty doppelgänger is located in Liberty Square, which is also home to a marble memorial honoring Telfair County residents who died in military service and a replica of the Liberty Bell, which is apparently the the town’s old fire bell was taken down (with a crack in it, of course).

Website
http://www.exploregeorgia.org/listing/2959-liberty-square
Phone Number
(229) 868-6365
Attraction Tags
Address
34 Golden Isles Pkwy., McRae, GA 31055
31055
Stone Mountain
Type of Attraction
Description

Make the 1.3 mile trek or ride the sky lift up Stone Mountain. With more than 3,300 acres of natural beauty, a variety of outdoor attractions, entertainment and recreation, Stone Mountain is the most visited attraction in Georgia. Visitors can now climb to new heights on Sky Hike, a quarter of a mile course that allows visitors to trek through the treetops by mastering wooden bridges, balancing on a single rope suspended in the air and climbing to the top of vertical net bridges.

Website
http://www.stonemountainpark.com
Phone Number
(800) 401-2407
Attraction Tags
Address
1000 Robert E. Lee Blvd.Stone Mountain, GA 30083
30083
Stonepile Gap
Type of Attraction
Description

Trahlyta was a Cherokee who lived in the North Georgia Mountains near what is today Dahlonega. According to legend, she drank from a nearby Fountain of Youth to maintain her renowned beauty. A warrior named Wahsega courted her, bus she rejected him. Upset by this, Wahsega kidnapped and imprisoned Trahlyta. Longing to see her home again, Trahlyta eventually died. Her last wish was to be buried in the mountain forests near her home. Today. a five-foot-tall pile of stones marks her grave. According to the historical marker at the site of her supposed grave, “custom arose among the Indians and later the Whites to drop stones, one for each passerby, on her grave for good fortune.” Highway department workers apparently twice tried to move the pile of rocks as part of road projects. But, both times at least one person was killed in the process.

Website
http://dahlonega.org/history-heritage/native-american-history/663-trahlyta-s-grave
Attraction Tags
Address
Stone Pile Gap Road, junction of U.S. Highway 19 at Georgia Highway 60, Dahlonega, Georgia 30533
30533
Taylor-Brawner Park
Type of Attraction
Description

Taylor-Brawner Park sits on what was once the Brawner Hospital complex. Following a 2005 Parks Bond, the city of Smyrna removed dilapidated buildings and developed a 10-acre park, which today includes a gazebo, two picnic pavilions, walking trail, amphitheater, playground, and open space. The park is also home to a pair of historic buildings: Brawner Hall and the Taylor-Brawner House.

Website
https://www.smyrnacity.com/your-government/departments/parks-recreation/parks/show-all-parks/taylor-brawner-park
Attraction Tags
Address
3180 Atlanta Rd, SE, Smyrna, GA 30080
30080
Type of Attraction
Description

Opened in January 2009, Tellus is home to one of only two digital planetariums in Georgia. The 120,000-square-foot museum also includes Science in Motion, a journey through the development of motorized transportation. Tellus replaced the Weinman Mineral Museum, a 9,000-square-foot museum.

Website
http://tellusmuseum.org/
Attraction Tags
Address
100 Tellus Dr., Cartersville, GA 30120
30120
The Anchor
Type of Attraction
Description

Athens, Ga., was once home to Navy Corps Supply School, which was located in the city’s Normaltown neighborhood from Jan. 15, 1954, until 2011. In 1990, as a tribute to the school, the Athens community placed a 4,000 pound, haze gray anchor in the median of Broad Street. The anchor for a destroyer ship was apparently donated because its bent shaft left it unusable for naval purposes.

Attraction Tags
Address
Broad St., Athens, GA 30606
30606
Type of Attraction
Description

The Dillard House is perhaps best-known for its seemingly endless southern cuisine and hospitality. Formerly a boarding house, the restaurant touts itself as one of the original farm-to-table restaurants in Georgia. The Dillard House continues to serve breakfast, lunch and dinner family-style daily.  Its cuisine is adapted from recipes handed down from Dillard family members and chefs. Family owned and operated, The Dillard House offers 90 hotel rooms, four cottages and 20 rental cabins at Chalet Village.

Website
http://www.dillardhouse.com
Attraction Tags
Address
768 Franklin St, Dillard, GA 30537
30537
The Georgia Aquarium
Type of Attraction
Description

The largest aquarium in the world is home to tens of thousands of marine animals. More than 10 million visitors have passed through the aquarium since it opened in November 2005. Highlights include great hammerhead sharks, four beluga whales and four whale sharks, which call a 6.3 million gallon tank home. In 2011, the aquarium launched a daily Dolphin Tales show.

Website
http://www.georgiaaquarium.org
Phone Number
(404) 581-4000
Attraction Tags
Address
225 Baker St. NW, Atlanta, GA 30313
30313
The Old Rock Gaol
Type of Attraction
Description

The Old Rock Gaol in downtown Greensboro was built about 1807 after the Superior Court of Greene County recommended a substantial jail be built. The jail, patterned after European bastilles, was built with using granite from a local quarry. With walls that are two feet thick, the jail has the distinction of being the oldest standing masonry jail in Georgia. The jail was used until 1895. Open by appointment, visitors can see where executions by hanging took place. Hangings were legal in Georgia from 1735 to 1924.

Website
http://www.downtowngreensboroga.com/attractions.html
Phone Number
(706) 453-7592
Attraction Tags
Address
East Greene St., Greensboro, GA 30642
The Pace House
Type of Attraction
Description

The Pace House in Vinings, Georgia, dates to after the Civil War. Before the war, Hardy Pace, operator of Pace’s Ferry, built his home in what was then called Vining’s Station. Federal troops, pursuing Confederate forces as they abandoned Smyrna, occupied Vining’s Station from July 5-17, 1864. Union Gen. William T. Sherman used Pace’s house as his headquarters and planned the siege of Atlanta. After federal troops left Vinings, the house served as a hospital for wounded soldiers during the Atlanta fighting, but because it was infected with disease, it was burned to the ground. Following the Civil War, Solomon Pace, Hardy Pace’s son, returned to find the homestead in ruins. Sometime between 1865 and 1874, he built a new home here, using whatever could be salvaged.

Phone Number
(770) 432-3343
Attraction Tags
Address
3057 Paces Mill Road SE, Atlanta, Georgia 30339
30339
The Tree That Owns Itself
Type of Attraction
Description

Located at the intersection of Finley and Dearing streets in Athens, Ga., The Tree that Owns Itself is an oak tree that has been willed to itself. As the story goes, in about 1890, UGA Professor William H. Jackson willed the oak tree and the land that surrounds it to the tree to protect it in perpetuity. While the original tree fell during a windstorm on Oct. 9, 1942, the oak that today stands at Finley and Dearing streets is actually an offspring of the original and is known as the Son of The Tree that Owns Itself. It was planted on Oct. 9, 1946, by the Junior Ladies Garden Club in the exact same spot.

Website
http://www.visitathensga.com/listings/the-tree-that-owns-itself/234/
Attraction Tags
Address
Finley and Dearing streets, Athens GA 30601
30601
Type of Attraction
Description

Crews building the Western & Atlantic Railroad from Atlanta to Chattanooga, Tenn., faced a number of natural obstacles. None, however, were as foreboding as Chetoogeta Mountain. What workers built was a 1,477-foot-long engineering phenomenon that has stood the test of time. Work on the tunnel started on July 15, 1848, and the first train rolled through the tunnel on May 9, 1850. The railroad actually started rail service between Atlanta and Chattanooga in the 1840s. The tunnel remained in service until 1928 when a new tunnel opened a few feet away to accommodate larger trains. For years, the older tunnel sat unused, and eventually fell into disrepair.

Phone Number
(706) 876-1571
Attraction Tags
Address
215 Clisby Austin Rd. Tunnel Hill, GA 30755
30755
Type of Attraction
Description

Ty Cobb has a tough legacy, to say the least. He is one of the greatest players to ever take the field. He holds the all-time career batting average record with a .366 average, and he was selected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1936 as part of the inaugural class. The Ty Cobb Museum in his hometown of Royston, Ga., puts Cobb in an interesting light. The museum helps tell the story of Cobb and how he helped shape his home town, an impact that is felt even today.

Website
http://www.tycobbmuseum.org
Attraction Tags
Unknown Hero of Allatoona Pass
Type of Attraction
Description

There are different theories about this unknown soldier buried near Allatoona Pass. Perhaps, he died during the Battle of Allatoona Pass and was buried where he fell. Or, he died elsewhere, and his body was shipped back to his hometown of Allatoona. Western & Atlantic Railroad workers apparently rediscovered his grave in 1880 and placed a headstone that reads, “He died for the cause he thought was right.” The railroad relocated the grave to its current location in about 1950.

Address
21 Oak Hollow Rd, Cartersville, GA 30121
30121
GPS Coordinates
N 34° 06.524 W 084° 42.751
Washington Guns
Type of Attraction
Description

George Washington sent a pair of bronze six-pounder cannons to Savannah after he visited the city in 1791 as part of his so-called “Southern Tour” following his inauguration. Affectionately called “George” and “Martha” after the nation’s first president and his wife, the guns — one British and one French — were given to the Chatham Artillery. In 1825, there was a push to send the guns to Augusta, but they remained in Savannah. According to one account, the guns were buried in 1861 uncovered in 1872.

Website
http://www.savannahga.gov/768/Monuments
Attraction Tags
Waving Girl Statue
Type of Attraction
Description

Savannah’s Waving Girl Statue is a tribute to Savannahian Florence Martus. Between 1887 and 1931, Martus would wave a cloth at ships approaching Savannah from the lighthouse on Cockspur Island. She did this in hopes of catching a glimpse of her long-lost lover. Although she was not well known in her community, her fame spread worldwide among maritime communities. Ships passing through the area would return her greetings by sounding a blast from their horns. Even today, many ships still pay tribute to her statue.

Attraction Tags
Type of Attraction
Description

The William Breman Jewish Heritage Museum chronicles the Jewish experience and the universal themes of diversity and human dignity. The museum, which opened in 1996, collects and preserves Jewish culture and history through permanent exhibitions like the Absence of Humanity: The Holocaust Years, 1933-1945. The exhibit was designed by local architect and Holocaust survivor Ben Hirsch. The Cuba Family Archives also houses the largest repository of Jewish archival material in the region.

Website
http://www.thebreman.org
Phone Number
(678) 222-3700
Attraction Tags
Address
1440 Spring St. NW, Atlanta, GA 30309
30309
William Root House Museum
Type of Attraction
Description

The William Root House Museum & Garden showcases what life was like for a middle-class Georgia family during the 1860s. Hannah and William Root built the simple frame house circa 1845. William Root an early merchant in Marietta, and the first druggist in town. The structure was more typical of houses in the south than the grand plantations and columned mansions.

Phone Number
(770) 426-4982
Attraction Tags
Address
80 North Marietta Pkwy NW, Marietta, GA 30064
30064
Type of Attraction
Attraction Tags
Address
125 W Lamar Street, Americus, GA 31709
31709
Type of Attraction
Description

The Woodstock, Georgia, community unveiled the Woodstock Memorial in May 2009. The memorial, located in The Park at City Center in the heart of the city, consists of 10 tons of polished granite and is dedicated to local veterans. The monument, designed by Robert Young, reads, “To the men and women of Woodstock, Georgia who served in the armed forces of our country preserving our freedom and our way of life Erected in their honor.”

Attraction Tags
World Athletes Monument
Type of Attraction
Description

The World Athletes Monument, located at Pershing Point in Midtown Atlanta, is also known as the Prince Charles Monument. The four-story-tall monument features five bronze statues holding up a globe and standing atop a limestone base. The Prince of Wales gave the statue to the city as a gift to commemorate the games. Over the years, the monument has served as a gathering place for Atlantans commemorating major national or international events, including the 1997 death of the Princess of Wales, Princess Diana.

Attraction Tags
Address
Peachtree St NE, Atlanta, GA 30309
30309
GPS Coordinates
33°47'38.2"N 84°23'15.2"W
World of Coca-Cola
Type of Attraction
Description

Pharmacist John Pemberton invented Coca-Cola in 1886. The original World of Coca-Cola opened in Atlanta in 1991, but was upgraded in its current location near Centennial Olympic Park in May 2007. The 35,000-square-foot exhibition features the largest collection of Coke memorabilia, a 4-D theater and a bottling operation that produces eight ounce commemorative bottles for guests.

Website
https://www.worldofcoca-cola.com
Phone Number
(404) 676-5151
Attraction Tags
Address
121 Baker St. NW, Atlanta, GA 30313
30313
Type of Attraction
Description

Turner County, nicknamed The Peanut Capital of the World, is home to a Golden Peanut Co. shelling plant and The World’s Largest Peanut. The 20-foot-tall monument, built atop a crown on a brick base, was made the official peanut monument of the state in 1998. The slogan painted on the side of the monument reads: Georgia 1st in Peanuts. The monument, located along Interstate 75, is dedicated to Nora Lawrence Smith, a member of Georgia Journalism Hall of Fame.

Attraction Tags
Address
Ashburn, GA
Zoo Atlanta
Type of Attraction
Description

Zoo Atlanta was founded in 1889, when businessman George V. Gress purchased a bankrupt traveling circus and donated the animals to the city of Atlanta. City leaders opted to house the collection in Grant Park, where the zoo remains to this day. The zoo’s original animals included a black bear, a jaguar, a hyena, a gazelle, a Mexican hog, lionesses, monkeys and camels. Today, Zoo Atlanta features more than 40 exhibits that are home to 800 animals from 200 species. Highlights include a five-acre African Plains and The Asian Forest that is home to the zoo’s giant pandas.

Website
http://www.zooatlanta.org
Phone Number
(404) 624-5600
Attraction Tags
Address
800 Cherokee Ave. SE, Atlanta, GA 30315
30315