The Daily Citizen, Dalton, GA

Deep South

Discussion

Welcome to our online comments feature. To join the discussion, you must first register with Disqus and verify your email address. Once you do, your comments will post automatically. We welcome your thoughts and your opinions, including unpopular ones. We ask only that you keep the conversation civil and clean. We reserve the right to remove comments that are obscene, racist or abusive and statements that are false or unverifiable. Repeat offenders will be blocked. You may flag objectionable comments for review by a moderator.
comments powered by Disqus
October 2, 2009

Georgia's Antebellum Trail Pilgrimage 2010 dates announced

Submitted by the Athens Convention and Visitors Bureau

MADISON, GEORGIA — Georgia's Antebellum Trail, the state's first official tourism Trail, presents the second annual Antebellum Trail Pilgrimage on April 21-25, 2010. The 100-mile trail, spanning seven communities from Athens to Macon, features events, tours and entrance into private historic homes not generally open to the public. The April Pilgrimage dates will allow tourists to combine the Pilgrimage with other premiere events, as many other spring festivals and annual events in the seven host communities will also occur during this timeframe. "With entrance to seven attractions or events at a remarkable value, the Trail Association makes it easy for participants to experience all seven historic communities," said Amy Clark of the Athens Convention and Visitors Bureau.



The northern gateway of the Antebellum Trail is Athens, named a 2009 Distinctive Destination by The National Trust for Historic Preservation. In addition to 16 historic districts, Athens is also home to four house museums featuring four architectural styles from four different time periods. Athens, along with neighboring Watkinsville, is also known for its rich creative arts community.



Watkinsville is the home of the Eagle Tavern, built in the late 1700s when Watkinsville was a frontier town on the edge of Creek and Cherokee Indian Territories. It served as a stagecoach stop and tavern throughout the antebellum period. Just four miles south sits the Elder Mill covered bridge, one of only 13 covered bridges still standing in Georgia.



Madison, known as "the town Sherman refused to burn," is a national treasure of antebellum architecture. Madison offers 1.4-mile tours by foot, bike or car. Featured stops on the Pilgrimage include the beaux-arts Courthouse, three house museums, and private Antebellum homes. There are over 160 antique vendors plus 45 specialty shops which have made Madison a popular overnight destination on the Trail.



Participants will also pass through Eatonton-the birthplace of Joel Chandler Harris, author of the famous Uncle Remus Tales. The Uncle Remus Museum contains many first editions of Harris' work. The residential section of the historic district of the city features over 100 Antebellum and Victorian era structures and several high style examples of Greek revival Queen Anne and Folk Victorian as well as Gothic Revival homes. There is a self-guided walking tour past historic homes.



Milledgeville, Georgia's Antebellum Capital, features the newly restored Old State Capitol Building and The Old Governor's Mansion, both stops on a two-hour guided Trolley Tour. The Museum District includes preserved mansions, haunted historic sites and museums, while the historic district boasts 20 architectural landmarks.



In the quiet, rural village of Old Clinton, visitors can get a glimpse back in time to the former bustling town on Georgia's western frontier. Historical locations include Grisworldville Battlefield, Sunshine Church, and the Jarrell Plantation, an antebellum cotton plantation donated to the state as a working farm and heritage site.



The southern tip of the trail is Macon, home to the Hay House. Featured on A&E;'s America's Castles and named the "Palace of the South," this national landmark contains luxuries far ahead of its 1859 completion. Over 5,500 individual structures in 11 historic districts are listed on the National Register of Historic Places.



Advance online ticket sales will begin in fall 2009. The tickets can be purchased at any of the Welcome Centers along the trail prior to and during the Pilgrimage. Tickets are $25 and include access to the ticketholder's choice of any seven participating attractions or events. Groups of 10 or more receive discounted tickets at $20.



For more information contact Marguerite Copelan at 800.709.7406 or visit the Web site at www.atpilgrimage.com.



###



About the Antebellum Trail:



The Antebellum Trail began as a University of Georgia project in March 1984. The Athens Chamber of Commerce called the historic communities of Athens, Watkinsville, Eatonton, Milledgeville, Old Clinton and Macon together to promote and network their history. The state of Georgia recognized Georgia's Antebellum Trail as a state designated trail in 1985.Over the past 25 years, Georgia's first tourism trail remains its most popular, with visitors coming from around the world to experience Antebellum Georgia.



###

The Athens Convention & Visitors Bureau is a proactive sales and marketing organization whose primary goal is to increase the economic impact of the hospitality and visitor industry by attracting individual visitors, group tours, and meetings and conventions to Athens. Tourism WORKS for Athens, contributing $207.15 million in spending, 2,440 jobs, $44.83 million in wages earned, $7.73 million in state tax revenues, and $6.24 million in local tax revenues in 2007.

Text Only
Deep South