“Swan House” by Scott Garner
Located on 33 glorious acres in the historic Buckhead District, the Atlanta History Center is an exclusive campus inviting groups on Peach State excursion to explore Georgia’s important past through a tour of its landmark structures, award-winning collections and exhibits, scenic trails and historic gardens full of heirloom flora, all carefully designed to treat visitors to a vibrant and diverse cross section of life in the Atlanta of years past. The Center’s History Museum houses one of the largest collections of Civil War artifacts and memorabilia in the nation, featuring over 1,500 original artifacts, photographs, dioramas, videos, and relevant interactive components certain to appeal to the history buffs in your travel group. “Shaping Traditions: Folks Arts in a Changing South” presents a wonderful array of handcrafted pottery, woodwork, basketry, weaving, quilting, and metalwork – over 500 artifacts – and introduces guests to master folk artists while videos present folk art processes, along with an opportunity to enjoy folk storytelling, singing, and instrumental music. The elegant Swan House mansion, one of the most photographed and recognized landmarks in Atlanta, provides guests a variety of delightful opportunities to enjoy its 1930s splendor. At the Smith Family Farm, visitors experience the grim reality of a Georgia farmstead stoically facing the challenges of the Civil War home front; you may choose to participate in daily tasks, and will meet characters portraying the family, neighbors, enslaved workers, and friends along the way. A stop by the Margaret Mitchell House, a renovated turn-of-the century Tudor Revival building where the notoriously free-spirited author and philanthropist lived and penned her Pulitzer-Prize winning novel, Gone With the Wind, lets fans of Miss Mitchell peek inside the walls where she focused on her craft, away from the prying and critical public eye.
