Our three-weeks in Georgia this May went by rather quickly. We wished we could have done more sight-seeing while in Flovilla. We did manage a few weekend trips around the area. The part of the state we were in (approximately 50 miles south of Atlanta) is called the “Historic Heartland” of Georgia. It encompasses the area from Perry to Athens, and contains Native American heritage sites and is the home of Georgia’s pre-Civil War capital, Milledgeville. The flora and fauna reminded us a lot of western Washington State but with a lot more humidity!! And bugs….and ticks…..but, forgive me, I digress…..
Our MMAP project was just a couple of miles from Indian Springs State Park, the oldest state park in the country (according to the tour books). In 1823, Creek Indian Chief William McIntosh built a Federalist-style hotel at Indian Springs. It was a thriving resort town during the 19
th century, but now only has the old hotel and a few little shops next to the state park. Two years after the chief finished the hotel, he signed a treaty relinquishing all of the Creek lands (4.7 million acres) to the state of Georgia. The Creek Indians believed the spring water could heal the sick. During the hotel's heyday, it was the promise of healing waters that brought the tourists in. We didn’t try any. But we did visit the local ice cream shop in the Village of Indian Springs…and that made me feel a lot better!
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| Jim finishes his ice cream cone while visiting with locals |
The small town closest to our project was Jackson (about 7 miles away). Following are pictures we took around the “downtown” Jackson area:
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| Jackson is the county seat of Butts County |
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| However, it was the inscription on the opposite side of the monument that caught our eye |
While we were taking pictures in the Monticello town square, a small group of antique car owners drove by. Their appearance just added to the flavor of the old fashioned feel of the town.
The quaint town of Eatonton a few miles down the road has more than 75 historic homes and buildings to see. These are but a few~
Eatonton also has a statue of Br'er Rabbit on the courthouse lawn - a fitting tribute to Joel Chandler Harris, noted author, folklorist and creator of the immortal Uncle Remus stories, with the fables of Br'er Rabbit, Br'er Fox, the Tar Baby and other characters. Harris was born in the Eatonton area in 1848.
We visited the Uncle Remus Museum. It consists of a log cabin made from three slave cabins of Putnam County and is similar to the one occupied by Uncle Remus in Harris’ folklore tales. First editions, articles of interest, souvenirs, and artifacts from the ante-bellum days are on display.
We learned so much from Georgia (that’s right- her name is Georgia), the darling and talkative hostess of the museum.
She imparted a wealth of knowledge about Harris, the time he wrote his tales and the history of this area of cotton, large plantations, and wealthy slave owners. Georgia told us that a few years ago it was considered “politically incorrect” to promote the Uncle Remus stories because many of her “cousins” felt the stories were demeaning of her race. But she pointedly asked us, “Are you ashamed of your ancestors?” to which we replied “No.” She asked why, and one visitor replied, “Because they are a part of who I am.”
“EXACTLY!” Georgia exclaimed, “And us black folks shouldn’t be ashamed neither! My granny always said God probably allowed us to be slaves, just like the Israelites, ‘cause He knew we could survive it!” Her granny also told her to never hate white folks today just because her relatives were enslaved back then. She told us Granny said, “None ‘o dem white folks wuz around then. Wurn’t their fault.”
A longer drive one Saturday took us to Milledgeville. Before Atlanta was designated as the seat of state government, Milledgeville served as Georgia’s capital. It was the political center of Georgia from 1803 to 1868. Georgia’s secession from the Union was declared here in 1861. General William Tecumseh Sherman passed through the town on his famous "March to the Sea” in November 1864 with his Union army. He seized the town for two days, burning government buildings but sparing most residences.
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| Entry walkway to the old capitol grounds |
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| The old Georgia state capitol building |
The old state capital, built in 1807 is considered the finest example of Gothic architecture in a public building in the United States. It served as the seat of state government from 1807 to 1868, and since 1879 the Georgia Military College has occupied the historic site.
The Penetentiary Square, where the state prison was located from 1817-1868, houses the former Baldwin county courthouse and the main campus of Georgia College and State University (1889), a public liberal arts school in the University System. Besides the old capital building and the college campus, the town has several other historic homes and buildings. We took a walking tour and photographed some of the 40-50 buildings on the tour route. Following are a few of those photos:
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| Old Baldwin County courthouse - built in 1885 |
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| "Thirteen Columns" built in 1825. The number of columns is said to have represented the 13 original colonies. |
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This home was built in 1822. It is one of the most architecturally beautiful homes in the area. It has fanlighted doorways, front columns fashioned from matching pine trees and a heavy front door held together by wooden pegs.
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| The Bell-Martin house, built in 1898 this house was originally a yellow Victorian one-story with wrap around porch. The full-facade porch with columns was added in a 1910 remodel. |
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| This beauty was built in 1894. The turret on the front corner has stained glass windows. |
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| St. Stephen's Episcopal Church, built in 1841. The Gothic roof now replaces the original flat roof destroyed by an explosion of a nearby arsenal during the Civil War. |
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| This Victorian, built in 1888 includes the kitchen of an earlier house on the property built in 1820. Bricks for the kitchen were made on site. The home remained in the same family from 1888 to 1991. |
On the way back from Milledgeville, we took a short 9 mile jog off the highway to Juliette to see the Whistle Stop Cafe. The is the location that was featured in "Fried Green Tomatoes", the 1991 comedy-drama film (based on the novel
Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe by Fannie Flagg) starring Kathy Bates and Jessica Tandy.
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| The town is one street long, and this tiny building made us laugh! |
On the Road Again - After leaving Flovilla, we took five days to get to our next project, approximately 900 miles away in Spring Creek, Pennsylvania.
The first stop was just a short 170 miles north in Chattanooga, Tennessee where we stayed one night at the Camping World RV Park just off of Interstate 75 and just a short distance from the Georgia/Tennessee line. (Note to you RV travelers: if you're ever in this area, check out this campground. It's just off the interstate but far enough away that you don't get truck noise. You can walk to Camping World if you need RV supplies, and it has some beautiful walking trails around some scenic ponds full of water fowl and fish. You can even throw a line in if you've got the fishing equipment. And if you are a Camping World card holder, the cost for a full-hook up space is nominal.)
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| This is a scene from one of the ponds along the walking trails near the Camping World RV park |
We would have gone further, but wanted to visit with our friend, Eric Duble (a former YFC co-worker of Helen’s and a dear friend to our family). The visit was short, but sweet. We took Eric to dinner then he drove us around Chattanooga (his boyhood home).
The next stop for two nights was 228 miles north just off Interstate 75 in Renfro Valley, Kentucky – “the place where time stands still”. The community of Renfro Valley includes the Renfro Valley Entertainment Center. Since being founded by local area native John Lair and others in 1939, Renfro Valley Entertainment Center has hosted the Renfro Valley Barn Dance, a traditional country music show which gave entertainers such as Hank Snow, Hank Williams, Red Foley, and Homer and Jethro the spotlight early in their careers. The Barn Dance and other programming originating in Renfro Valley was broadcast over the CBS Radio Network until the late 1950s.
Today, Renfro Valley is known throughout the country for its rich history of "Real Country Music by Real Country Folks." This tradition continues today with outstanding stage shows put on by the current cast of Renfro Valley entertainers. Also, since 1992, Renfro Valley Entertainment Center has hosted Headliner Concerts that feature a mixture of well known country singers with newer artists, as well as bluegrass, gospel, and comedy acts. In addition, it is home to the Kentucky Music Hall of Fame and Museum. While we were there we took in two shows - a bluegrass band one evening and two excellent country singers the next. Each was a definite "no frills" performance, but of the highest caliber of bluegrass and country music. The quality of entertainment far exceeded the mere ticket price of $10 per person!
Following are shots from around the quaint little village at the entertainment center.This is a definite "should see again" location.
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| This pretty much says it all! |
After 306 miles on the road on the fourth day of the trip, we stopped for the night at a lovely RV park about 7 miles off the freeway near Butler, Ohio. This campground in the farm area of mid Ohio is in a setting beside a charming creek. It was a spot we would have spent more than one night if not for our commitment to be at the Spring Creek project by the next day.
Scenes from the campground in Butler, Ohio
Another 220 miles of driving and we arrived the following afternoon at Miracle Mountain Ranch (our home for June and July). We will be working with two other MMAP couples at this 600 acre horse ranch which started in 1962. The ranch provids kids a horsemanship based Christian Summer Camp, Retreat Program, and year-long Ministry Apprentice Program. It is located in the township of Spring Creek, Pennsylvania, about 35 miles southeast of Erie PA.
For more information on Miracle Mountain Ranch, link to
www.mmrm.org
We have just finished our first month of the Miracle Mountain project and plan on a short break to visit Jim's sister in Rochester, New York (approximately 150 miles from here). We have lots to share with you about the ranch, the project and the things we have already seen and plan to see in this corner of Pennsylvania and also north of here into upstate New York - places such as Lake Erie and Niagara Falls. But we will save that for our next update.
Let me close with this thought -
Do you recall Georgia's words? "God probably allowed us to be slaves...'cause He knew we could survive it." Did you know that the Bible backs that thought up for all of us with these words:
Now that you have been set free from sin, and have become slaves to God, the benefit you reap leads to holiness, and the result to eternal life. For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life through Christ Jesus our Lord. Romans 6:22-23
Praying that you too are a "slave" to the Master. The rewards are more than you can imagine!
This home was built in 1822. It is one of the most architecturally beautiful homes in the area. It has fanlighted doorways, front columns fashioned from matching pine trees and a heavy front door held together by wooden pegs.
