Old Governor’s Mansion tours help kick off holiday season

Published 7:00 am Sunday, November 26, 2023

Visitors from around the world make their way to Milledgeville each holiday season to experience a Christmas from the 19th century.

During its annual “Christmas at the Mansion” tours, Georgia’s Old Governor’s Mansion offers guests an opportunity to learn more about holiday traditions of the 19th century and see a house transformed with authentic décor while also participating in special events such as candlelight tours and a photo night with Santa.

Matt Davis, director of Historic Museums at Georgia College, said the tours transport visitors back into the 1850s and allows them to experience the traditions of the holiday season as would have been done in the governor’s mansion during the administration of Howell Cobb, who was governor of the state from 1851 to 1853.

“Our interpretation not only focuses on the traditions of the first family, but we also look at what happened with the enslaved in the house and how the seasonal décor that we know and appreciate in our homes today evolved during this time period,” Davis said. “It’s a really inclusive tour that really kind of looks at the Christmas story from the holistic point of view.”

Christmas at the Mansion has been a longstanding Milledgeville tradition.

“We revitalized it following the restoration of course in 2004, but there’s been Christmas decorating at the mansion going on since the late 1960s,” Davis said.

Each year, planning begins as soon as the current year’s event ends, but Davis said the decorating itself takes about a week and a half to complete. He said decorating the mansion is truly a community effort. More than 200 volunteers assist, and they are made up of various organizations including community campus groups, fraternity and sorority life, various college classes and the Milledgeville Garden Club. Dr. Harriett Whipple serves as the decorating chairperson and has been working with the mansion for many years to organize the event.

“We’re very thankful for our community partnerships,” Davis said.

He said year-round, people travel from all over the world to tour the mansion. The holiday season alone will bring a couple thousand visitors.

“People come here from far and wide for our Christmas tours as well as our regular tours,” he said.

And, he said there is something new for guests to enjoy each year with different arrangements, décor and set ups in the rooms changing each holiday season.

Christmas at the Mansion will run from Nov. 11 through Dec. 22. Candlelight Tours are scheduled for Dec. 2 and Dec. 16 at 6 p.m. These 19th century Christmas tours allow guests to experience the Mansion by Candlelight during the holiday season. Guests have the opportunity to tour the mansion as it is historically and festively decorated, including a 22.5-foot-tall Christmas tree and live music in the rotunda. Adult tickets are $10, senior tickets are $7 and student tickets are $2, and the same prices are available for regular tours as well. A Santa Photo Night will be held Dec. 8 beginning at 6 p.m.

“It’s a rare opportunity for the public to see the mansion in candlelight and also in the evening, and we’ll have special performing ensembles from various community and campus groups performing during those times, and they’re offered at 6, 7 and 8 p.m.,” Davis said.

Davis said reservations will be taken in advance for candlelight tours, and people can do so by calling the mansion office at 478-445-4545, and they can also visit the website at https://www.gcsu.edu/mansion for more information.

Davis said Christmas at the Masion is a wonderful opportunity for visitors to step back in time and see the beauty of the house, its architecture and the wonderful way it’s transformed for the season.

“It’s definitely a way to get people in the mood and also learn a little bit of the history of the past from everything that we talk about here in the building,” he said.