Alexander Cain
It spans more than seven cities and encompasses over two centuries worth of history — yet few may have even heard of its name.
Georgia’s Antebellum Trail, the state’s first official trail, is celebrating its 25th anniversary in 2009, and for the past two weeks, has been offering native Georgians and out-of-state visitors alike the opportunity to explore the state’s rich, cultural heritage through a pilgrimage tour event set up through seven cities.
Athens, Watkinsville, Madison, Eatonton, Milledgeville, Gray/Old Clinton and Macon compose the trail communities. The trail begins in Macon where locations such as the Hay House are available for walk-through tours and ends in Athens as the trail winds its way north on U.S. Highways 129/441.
Each stop on the tour showcases the historical properties of that town, such as special events, authentic battle sites, museums and tours in private and public homes.
“The Antebellum Trail is a cooperative partnership between seven communities from Athens to Macon, to include Athens, Watkinsville, Madison, Eatonton, Milledgeville, Old Clinton and Macon. The partners along the trail cross sell each other to visitors,” Jane Sowell, Milledgeville/Baldwin County Convention & Visitors Bureau director, explained. “Each community is unique yet similar. Most of the cities on the trail are small and have very little money, so we all realize the importance of pooling our money to make a bigger impact. The trail is the most important partnership Milledgeville participates in.”
The Flannery O’Connor home of Andalusia, Georgia’s Old Capital Museum, the Brown-Stetson-Sanford House and Lockerly Hall are among the locations promoted for Milledgeville’s portion of the trail tour.
“We’ve been pleased with the turnout and had steady visitations as a result. You name the state and we’ve had people come through. We’ve even had visitors from around the world from countries such as Germany, Ireland and Canada,” Matt Davis with the Old Governor’s Mansion said Tuesday.
The pilgrimage has already taken place April 16-18 and April 23-25.
This week marks the third of three consecutive weekends available for visitors.
The pilgrimage is a simultaneous event, meaning options are open in all seven cities on the same days. It’s possible for a person to actually travel from Macon to Athens and experience all seven cities of the tour in just one day or spread the visitation out from Thursday through Saturday, according to Sowell.
“I think it’s been very well received. I think the numbers are lower than we had hoped for, but hopefully this will be something that grows over the years. Overall, it’s been very well received and a great success,” Sowell said.
Gloria Prance, officer manager at Lockerly Arboretum, noted that the arboretum had had an increase in visitations.
“It’s been well attended. We’ve had a lot of people come out for the pilgrimage, and we’re happy to be a part of it,” Prance said.
Milledgeville residents Sandra and Marvin Denton visited Lockerly Arboretum for a picnic with their friend Jane Barlett from Americus Tuesday afternoon.
“We decided to come down and have a picnic. It’s a very beautiful place,” Sandra Denton said.
Tickets are available for the pilgrimage tour now and may be purchased at any one of the seven welcome centers along the trail or online at www.antebellumtrail
.org. Tickets are $25 each.
“It’s spring and people want to get out and explore. All of these cities along the trail look their best at this time. There are so many things going on in each community during the nine days of the pilgrimage that there is something for everyone to enjoy. Touring beautiful Antebellum homes, walking through gardens, watching a Civil War re-enactment and so much more,” Sowell stated.
The Milledgeville/ Baldwin County Convention & Visitors Bureau is located at the intersection of Hancock and Wilkinson streets and may be reached at (478) 452-4687.
