Your Favorite GA Small Towns

[ironchapman]

I saw something like this in the South Carolina Section (Man they seem to have good ideas over there!).

This thread is for any interesting facts/pics of your favorite small towns and rural areas of Georgia. Any small town is welcome, even those that are suburbs of our large cities.

I'll start:

-Douglasville: A small town of about 25,000. It is the seat of Douglas County, one of Metro ATL's core counties. It has a historic district in its downtown that is home to many storefronts and buildings from the 1870's-early 1900's. It started out as a place clled Skint Chestnut. It was named after a large chestnut tree that had been "Skint" of all its bark that stood where the county's first courthouse was. The tree was used by Native Americans in the area as a landmark. The tree is still on the seal of the city.

Douglasville is also home to GA's fourth largest mall, Arbor Place Mall.

[cstivers78]

Duluth , I drove through "old town" Duluth two weekends ago by accident (i was lost). I was pleasantly surprised. It is a nice little town stuck between two major highways. Until I saw that part of Duluth, I had always thought of it as a a supersized suburban shopping heaven

Tifton, I-75 between Florida and Atlanta. Many years ago I saw a billboard and I believe it said something to the effect of Tifton was a great place to live (or something). I never been there, is it nice?

Madison, along I-20 between Atlanta and Augusta. I drive by there all the time and heard it was a nice town to visit with many old homes and shops.

Tomasville from what I understand has the antebellum charm. It is has many old homes with tree lined streets... I never been here, but may go some day.. if I can figure out what to do there other than look at old homes.

[Spartan]

Monticello is a great town. It has alot of large houses, but not much of a main street as I recall. Its a neat place to drive through.

Americus is a neat town. I have not spent much time there, but the main street (probably Central Ave or something) has a really awsome old hotel and historic structures. I would enjoy seeing pictures of this town.

I can tell you first had that Tifton is a neat place. Its growing pretty quickly too. I've been going there for many years and its quite different from the way it used to be. It has a nice little mall and old neighborhoods too. The historic district (the area around and including Main St and part of Love Ave. I think) is very nice. Its largely in-tact from the old days, and its always packed too. They used to have a great restaurant at the big Hotel there. The only problem I have with it is that most things have to be purchased at the super walkmart out on 82. Not alot of local stores (that I know about) to shop at. Its not convenient, and I don't like it. Anyway, Tifton is indeed a nice town. I highly recommend visiting it, or at least getting off of the interstate to check it out.

Dublin looks like it could be a neat town. I have never explored it (with the exception of one navigational misadventure). They tore down their "skyline" which consisted of a vary large silage factory or starge facilty. It was kind of sad because I always enjoyed that landmark. Oh well. They still have that one skyscraper, which intrigues me.

Louisville is a new interest since I learned it was briefly the state capital a few years ago. I have never really explored the town, but I think it would be interesting to know more about it.

Hahira (hay-hi-ruh) has a nice Main St. Its very small, but its well kept for such a small town. In fact, there are many small towns in GA that have well kept main streets, which is a pleasure to see.

One thing I enjoy about driving in Georgia is that most towns are centered on their court house. This is not as common in SC, so I consider it a treat. Places like Sylvester, Cordele, Ashburn, McRae, Waycross, Leesville, Fitzgerald, Wrightsville, etc. are interesting to me. Most small towns in GA have a Confederate monument with flags and everything, which I find amusing, since SC gets blamed for being the hard-core conferedate hold overs the most.

Also, I can't forget Ty Ty. What a dump. Its like a large trailer park. It has a very large garden or something that is noteworthy. Whatever it is escapes me right now though. It is my second favorite town in GA because it has one gas station with a toilet. Man I had to go bad that day. God Bleess Ty Ty!

[ironchapman]

Dublin: Home of the Redneck Summer Games in Mid-July.

Oh Mr. Foxworrrttthhhyyy!!!

[Buckley]

Would agree with with Madison-lot's of well kept antebellum homes and a nice town square. Very likable. Monticello, Rutledge, Greensboro, Sparta, Eatonton, and Milledgeville (less so) and a few other middle GA towns are nice in the same way.

Ellijay has grown on me a lot. Near a lot of stuff in the mountains (Cohutta Wilderness for instance). Nice downtown. Kind of sprawly (Hardee's and Walmart kind of crap) along I-575 though.

Dahlonegah (sp?) has potential: nice setting, quaint college in town with gold domed bulding and green space, etc. The main square is a little cheesy with some old west facades and too much touristy stuff.

Least favorite: Blue Ridge-sold out to crappy development and clear cutting along the main road. Helen for obvious reasons.

[GeorgiaRoadGuy]

For someone who has extensively traveled the Peach State with the thousands of photos I've taken that captured a few angles of these towns, here's my picks:

Hartwell

Hartwell has all the Southern charm you'd want and a nearby huge lake to top it off. Along with proximity to I-85, I was actually quite impressed with it. Lots of historical homes there.

Social Circle

Small, but very charming.

Sandersville

This is the epitome of a quaint, small Southern town. Unlike Monticello and Barnesville that look rather dead, Sandersville is a postcard town sitting rather isolated from surrounding areas.

Blairsville

Blairsville is the heart of the mountains and the epitome of scenic. The city doesn't really have much of a historic district, but the courthouse, square and incredible scenery make it a very homey place to visit. All of the mountain attractions are within a short distance of there.

Cartersville

Though not the most exciting area surrounding it, the area is a step back from the rest of the Atlanta area, and in the city itself it is pretty quaint with a nice old home section west of town. The hills holding back Lake Allatoona also add some distinction to it.

Jasper

Jasper along the Old Highway 5 alignment is a near perfect small main-street town with a very lively row of businesses and a distinct marble courthouse. The surrounding mountain backdrop makes it even better.

Dahlonega

Definitely a tourist town, but it never gets old unlike tourist trap Helen up the road. Winding mountain roads await you in every direction from it.

Warm Springs

FDR was on to something when he settled here. The quaint shops and setting near attractions like Callaway Gardens and Pine Mountain make it very popular locally, but not as well known in places northward.

LaGrange

This little city has by far the most charming downtown I've seen in the state and really is the epitome of a nice southern town. It's a bit bigger than the others, but this town overlooked from I-85 is quite surprising and West Point Lake enhances it.

As for areas south of Macon, I need to do more exploring there

[Metroinspect.]

These are some of the smaller cities i have been in, and i thought they where good, and all of them growing rapily, because of the growing of Atlanta

Zebulon

Barnesville

Manchester

Greenville

Newnan

Griffin

Forsyth

Jackson

LoveJoy

Morrow

Jonesboro

Fayettville

Peachtree City

La Grange

[teshadoh]

I have a few - but I will first mention Washington - where I was married. It's a pretty little town between Athens & Augusta & was the northern most town settled in the 1700's, before the Cherokees & Creeks were forced out of Georgia. The town has a number of old churchs & some very impressive antebellum mansions. Also of note - the town was once the state capital of Georgia for a short year period.

[charlotte_bon_vivant]

I have nothing to add except this thread is making me very homesick. I really miss Goergia!

Okay, I lied... Milledgeville has more antebellum homes than Eatonton and Madison combined. If you are interested in pre-civil war GA history, it is the place to go. Many landmarks are still standing, the old cemetary, even the univrsity. Oh, the old buildings at the mental hospital are great. So creepy...

[ironchapman]

Lithia Springs: Not very nice now, but used to be the home of a famous inn and resort built around a spring containing Lithium. In Douglas County.

McRae: A lovely town of about 4,500 that is the seat of Telfair County. Don't know mch about it's real condition, but from my stop there at a Dairy Queen on the way to Brunswick, it looked nice. It has some lovely architecture from the earlier 1900's and before. It's no Beaufort (SC), Charleston, or Savannah, but it does have a few nice buildings. Worth about 1-2 hours of your time.

Bremen & Buchanan: The seat (Buchanan) and another major city (Bremen) in Haralson County. Same thing as McRae, except with more Rednecks. (My history teacher said the county was GA's "Redneck Capital")

Villa Rica: In Carroll and Douglas County. The only reason I'm mentioning this is because, for several years now, they have been trying to build a "Gone With the Wind" theme park.

[t7911]

I've driven through Toccoa a few times. It's pretty neat. It's got a fair sized little downtown area, and Amtrak too. Heh.

Helen is the worst though. It's on my list of places that could use a good carpet-bombing or two.

[MarcusJY]

I think McDonough has a nice little downtown. I also like Milledgeville & Eatonton.

[Spartan]

I passed through Madison this weekend. What a great town. The downtown area is beautiful and shady, well preserved, and suprisingly large. I would highly reccomend you visit it. I wish I had the time to stop.

[willacoochee]

My choice would be Willacoochee (Pop. 1,500). Best little town!

Willacoochee Webpage

[ironchapman]

I just went to Warm Springs a few weeks ago on a class fieeld trip. I'll have to post some of my pics of it.

Has anyone maentioned Tybee Island Village yet. It is one of GA's few beaches (like Daytona or Myrtle Beach).

[goodbye]

I'm partial to the Northwestern part of Georgia since I live just over the state line in Greenville. I really like Taccoa's downtown, and the falls are beautiful there as well. Hartwell is a cute town that makes you feel like you're stepping back a couple decades in time. Nice slow and relaxed pace. Best stromboli I've ever eaten was in Hartwell at the "Downtown Cafe and Pizzaria." Hope they're still doing well.

[showtime21]

Albany Georgia

[wolfdawg54]

I just went to Warm Springs a few weeks ago on a class fieeld trip. I'll have to post some of my pics of it.

Has anyone maentioned Tybee Island Village yet. It is one of GA's few beaches (like Daytona or Myrtle Beach).

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Tybee Island is great. Right outside of Savannah, it is a really cool oceanfront town. A little touristy, but nice.

[thehappysmith]

Blakely is really pretty cool, with a great courthouse square and nice active little downtown retail section.

Bainbridge downtown is quite nice. The courthouse is on a corner of the square; the square is actually very large and thick with trees, and the retail center around it is fairly tall and quite interesting with a good number of still-active shops. Lots of nice older homes east of downtown.

Swainsboro has always been one of my favorite towns in Georgia; it was the halfway point between home and college and I always ate at the KFC south of downtown. It's a real shame the historic courthouse has been destroyed, and the state was building a huge bypass around downtown when last I went through there so no doubt sprawlmart isn't far behind. But it is one of the few places around where you can stand at the intersect of North, East, West, and South Main streets. Confusing.

Not far away is Twin City, which is kinda interesting if you've never been there but very small. Two separate towns about half a mile apart merged; it makes for an interesting bike ride.

I've always been a fan of Homerville, too. Love the courthouse there, and I like the way the town just creeps up out of the piney woods. It's kinda dirty and all but I liked going through there.

[nwgeorgia]

Duluth , I drove through "old town" Duluth two weekends ago by accident (i was lost). I was pleasantly surprised. It is a nice little town stuck between two major highways. Until I saw that part of Duluth, I had always thought of it as a a supersized suburban shopping heaven

Tifton, I-75 between Florida and Atlanta. Many years ago I saw a billboard and I believe it said something to the effect of Tifton was a great place to live (or something). I never been there, is it nice?

Madison, along I-20 between Atlanta and Augusta. I drive by there all the time and heard it was a nice town to visit with many old homes and shops.

Tomasville from what I understand has the antebellum charm. It is has many old homes with tree lined streets... I never been here, but may go some day.. if I can figure out what to do there other than look at old homes.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

I don't know about the rest of Tifton, but the Hwy 82 exit off I-75 is an exercise in madness with the rush to the Applebees, the gas stations and the Cracker Barrel.

[nwgeorgia]

Don't forget Chickamauga!

[willacoochee]

I don't know about the rest of Tifton, but the Hwy 82 exit off I-75 is an exercise in madness with the rush to the Applebees, the gas stations and the Cracker Barrel.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Tifton is my second favorite Georgia City. It is 30 mins. away from Willacoochee. It is a very nice little town, but the Highway 82 exit off of I-75 is a very congested intersection. BTW: Tifton is where I was born!!!!

[Spartan]

Tifton has a very nice Main St. Its only 5 mins from the interstate, so its worth checking it out.

[Florida]

Thomasville, GA: With the highest concentration of Plantations between Thomasville, GA and Tallahassee, FL the ride from one city to the other is a scenic treat. Thomasville has a nice quaint downtown where people still go to shop. Thomasville is known as Georgia's Rose City and each year they have a rose parade featuring some of the most beautiful roses on this side of the equator. I'm probably a bit biased because of Thomasville's proximity to Tallahassee, but it deserved a good mention... its a great city and Georgia should be proud of it.

Also, honorable mention goes to Bainbridge and Valdosta.

[Metroinspect.]

Warner Robins is one of the best cities i love in Georgia, plus they are just know getting an area known for downtown, and the city is growing fast, so if I-14 do come through, it will probably out grow Macon