A series of guided tours celebrating Athens-Clarke County’s designation as one of the National Trust for Historic Preservation’s 2009 Dozen Distinctive Destinations. Each tour is led by a distinctive Athens personality whose knowledge brings a unique and colorful perspective to our local history.
NOTE: tours are in alphabetical order. For a chronological list, click on the link at the top right.
Tuesday, October 27, 7:00 pm (led by Carol Bishop)
Thursday, October 29, 7:00 (led by Rick Rose)
Thursday, October 29, 7:30 pm (led by Carol Bishop)
Tuesday, November 3, 7:00 pm (led by Carol Bishop)
History, haunts, legends, ghostly apparitions, cold spots, tragic lovers, restless Confederate soldiers and unearthed coffins. Folklore and history come alive beneath the Greek columns [...]
with Allen Stovall
Sunday, October 11 @ 2 pm
Saturday, October 31 @ 10 am SOLD OUT!
In 1890, the newly founded Athens Park and Improvement Company bought 300 acres north of Prince and west of Barber Street and made an agreement with Athens’s street railroad company to extend its tracks into their land, making an easy [...]
with Milton Leathers
Saturday, October 24 @ 10 am SOLD OUT!
Sunday, November 15 @ 2 pm SOLD OUT!
John Addison Cobb laid out 80 lots on his land in 1834 for a speculative development characterized as a “town in the woods.” In the antebellum period, wealthy Athenians built suburban villas on its expansive lots, but, by the time of [...]
with Hal Cofer
Sunday, September 20 @ 2 pm SOLD OUT!
Downtown in the early to mid 1900s was the commercial hub of Athens. It was home to five and dime stores, car dealerships, medical and professional offices, hotels, theaters, grocery stores, clothing stores, furniture stores, drugstores, and funeral parlors. The businesses on the lower end of [...]
with Al Hester
Saturday, June 20 @ 10:00 am
The African American Gospel Pilgrim Cemetery was founded in 1882 to establish a beautiful and dignified final resting place for Athens’ black residents. The Gospel Pilgrim Society, a social and charitable burial insurance organization, set up the cemetery in East Athens. Gospel Pilgrim Cemetery contains an estimated 3,500 [...]
with John Whitehead
Saturday, June 27 @ 10 am
Thursday, September 24 @ 7 pm
Henderson Avenue is a peaceful residential enclave set amidst the bustling Milledge Avenue/Baxter Street corridors. The wide street and stately, overhanging oaks make it the perfect place for an evening stroll or casual conversation on a shaded front porch. The Henderson [...]
with John Waters
Rescheduled to Sunday, November 8 @ 2 pm SOLD OUT!
Affectionately known as “High Ball Hill,” Milledge Circle is a neighborhood of flowing lawns and gracious homes of distinct architectural styles. It is a classic example of an early 20th century landscaped suburb whose residents have contributed greatly to the history of the neighborhood [...]
with Danny Sniff
Tuesday, July 7 @ 7 pm
(reservation deadline: July 2)*
Tuesday, September 15 @ 7 pm SOLD OUT!
(reservation deadline: September 10)*
In 1860, the University of Georgia constructed Rock College, a preparatory school on 30 acres of land off Prince Avenue. Between 1862 and 1891, the school served the educational needs of Georgia in a variety [...]
with Ben Emanuel and Janet Clark
Saturday, August 22 @ 9 am SOLD OUT!
Athens is graced with two major rivers that have been vital to its development and are the source of its oldest history, yet they remain an undiscovered resource for many Athenians. In 1783, the Oconee River Basin was the western boundary of the [...]
with Smith Wilson
Sunday, September 27 @ 2 pm SOLD OUT!
Join host Smith Wilson and his wife Dianne for a visit to the past on their horse and mule farm on Morton Road. Sharecroppers and tenant farmers were the real producers of their time, and Smith keeps the history of farming in the southern piedmont prior to World [...]
with Nash Boney
Thursday, July 30 @ 7 pm
Saturday, October 17 @ 10 am SOLD OUT!
In 1785, the Georgia legislature chartered the nation’s first state university, but it wasn’t until 1800 that a site was chosen in a remote frontier area on a rise above the Oconee River. In 1801, President Josiah Meigs began to teach [...]
with Steven Brown
Saturday, August 8 @ 2 pm
Saturday, August 29 @ 2 pm
The Hargrett Rare Book & Manuscript Library of the University of Georgia holds some 2,500 years of materials from across the globe, supporting the varied research of the University of Georgia, as well as that of researchers from other institutions around the world and [...]
with Buck and Diane Adams
Saturday, August 15 @ 10 am
Saturday, September 19 @ 10 am
The West Cloverhurst/Springdale Historic District occupies land that belonged to an experimental farm developed by New Jersey native John Meeker in the late 19th century. In 1885 Henry Hull Carlton bought Meeker’s property and built a large Second Empire style [...]
with Mary Quinn
Sunday, September 6 @ 2 pm
Saturday, October 10 @ 10 am
Winterville grew up around the 6-mile station of the Georgia Railroad between Athens and Union Point, a route known as the “Athens Branch” which began operating in 1841. The station was a water stop and the beginning of a bustling community [...]