Central Georgia, with all of it past trials, tribulations and triumphs, is a fascinating destination. Open your heart to the Heart of Georgia and it will let you bask in its Southern charm.
Walk in the footsteps of world-famous Americans who grew up here as you discover the region’s wealth of historic attractions and monuments. Because some of Central Georgia’s towns, bridges and plantations were spared from the fires of general Sherman’s military “March to the Sea” in 1864, you will get a rare insight into the Georgia from before the Civil War, the Antebellum era.
The region is centered on the city of Macon, in Bibb County, where the Middle Georgia Regional Airport is. Tour the Tubman Museum for African American art and the Italian-style Hay House with its period furniture. See ancient Native American earthen mounds and artifacts at the Ocmulgee Mounds National Historical Park.
From Macon, you can drive or cycle Georgia’s Antebellum Trail. This touring route spans 100 miles (160 kilometers) and takes in a chain of beautifully preserved historic towns and monuments.
Clinton is a town with a dozen houses and a church that were built before 1830. Explore the Old Clinton Historic District and the old cotton plantation in Gray.
In Milledgeville, once the state capital, walk around the Milledgeville Historic District and see Georgia’s Old Government Mansion.
Eatonton is the birthplace of Joel Chandler Harris, who wrote the Uncle Remus folk tales, and Alice Walker, who wrote the novel The Color Purple. The Uncle Remus Museum and Georgia Writers Museum celebrate these authors.
Madison is a picture-perfect country town full of restored antebellum homes, magnolia trees and art and history museums.
Watkinsville still has the Eagle Tavern from 1801 and is nicknamed the “Artland of Georgia.” At Rose Creek, just out of town, you get to drive across the historic Elder Mill Covered Bridge.
Athens, nestled below the Blue Ridge Mountains, has the Eagle Tavern Museum and T.R.R. Cobb House.
To the west is the state capital, Atlanta, the home of Coca-Cola. While it is Georgia’s most populous city, less than half a million people call it home. Visit the city’s Centennial Olympic Park and enjoy the huge range of modern-day entertainment in Downtown Atlanta. Learn all about the 1960s civil rights movement, and the role many famous locals played in it, in the Atlanta History Center, Martin Luther King Jr. National Historical Park, Jimmy Carter Presidential Library and Museum and Georgia State Capitol.
