Smyrna Memorial Cemetery in Smyrna, Georgia, offers a quiet but important link to the city’s early history. Located near Memorial Place and Atlanta Road, just steps from Smyrna Market Village, the cemetery is traditionally said to have been founded by Smyrna Methodist Church in 1838. Today, it stands as one of the city’s most significant historic sites and a place where visitors can connect with generations of Smyrna residents.
The cemetery is the final resting place of many notable local figures, including John Moore, who served as Smyrna’s first mayor after the city was incorporated on Aug. 23, 1872. Although 638 people are believed to be buried there, only about 238 graves are marked with headstones. A 1999 archaeological survey identified 395 graves that had previously been lost to history, underscoring how much of the cemetery’s story had faded from view over time.
The earliest marked grave is that of Elijah H. Fleming, who died on April 8, 1848. His daughter Mary, who died on March 14, 1858, at about 17 years old, has the second-oldest marked grave.
30080
The Smyrna Museum in Smyrna, Georgia, offers visitors a concise but meaningful introduction to the history of the Jonquil City.
Since officially opening on April 25, 1999, the museum has been dedicated to preserving the stories, images and artifacts that help explain Smyrna’s growth from its earliest days to the present. Located in the heart of the city, it is an easy stop for anyone interested in local history, community identity or the broader story of metro Atlanta.
The 1,500-square-foot museum is housed in a replica of Smyrna’s railroad depot, which dates to about 1905 and was razed in 1959. Inside, the revamped museum displays more than 100 artifacts tracing Smyrna’s history from prehistoric Native American settlement through modern times. The museum also holds thousands of photographs, a range of exhibits and displays, and genealogical research materials that add depth for visitors who want to explore the city’s past in greater detail.
After closing in July 2018 for a complete redesign, the museum reopened in November 2019 with new exhibits designed to support Georgia Social Studies Standards. Admission is free, though donations are welcome.
30080
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.”
30096
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.
30144
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.
30605
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.
30601
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).
31055
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.
30083
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.
30533
Taylor-Brawner Park in Smyrna, Georgia, combines public green space, including a playground, gazebo, walking trails, a pavilion and open green space, with two of the city’s most important historic buildings. Brawner Hall and the Taylor-Brawner House, two structures that help connect the property to Smyrna’s earlier history.
The roughly 11-acre property was once part of the Brawner Hospital campus, which the city of Smyrna acquired in 2001 with plans to rehabilitate the historic hospital building for office and meeting space while turning the surrounding grounds into a passive park. Funded through a voter-approved $24 million parks bond referendum, work on the site began in 2007 and was completed in April 2009.
The Taylor-Brawner House, a Folk Victorian home dating to about 1890, was preserved after local citizens organized a fundraising effort and created the Taylor-Brawner House Foundation. The house now serves as a small events venue, while the broader park remains one of Smyrna’s best-known civic and historic spaces.
30080