Some tips for getting out and planning your own history outing:
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| A GHS marker in Atlanta's Oakland Cemetery |
First of all, look close to home. Understanding much of what is going on right in your own hometown is dependent on understanding how your town got to this point in history. Check with your local visitor's and convention bureau. Many places have driving or tours that are as simple as downloading a free app onto your smart phone. My hometown has one for our historic downtown cemetery as well as one that keeps us up-to-date with the local goings on. But get out of the car. Read historic markers and monuments in your own town. Understand where you live.
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| Carrollton |
Nearby towns can be visited using day trips. You don't need lodging and the fuel cost won't break the bank, even at these ridiculous prices. This is the idea behind my day trip to Carrollton for an eye appointment last year. If you are brave and willing to try new things you'll find plenty of adventure and find some really good food. I was rather familiar with the layout of the town but I finally got out of the car and looked around. Walking around a town square or an old cemetery will often give you a lot of insight into the history of a town. Check the historic courthouse, an old downtown church. You will learn something.
Those are the simple ones. Let's get a little more complex.
This country, especially this part of it, is blessed with numerous forts, battlefields, home museums and other historic sites that are waiting to be discovered.
Some tools I use:
Every state I have traveled in has rest areas on every interstate. Even in such a digital age there is always a display filled with paper brochures of a multitude of places to visit. What are you interested in? Next time you swing through on a bathroom break, take a look. This can help you know what is out there even faster than a Google search. You can use these to help build a list of places to visit. Many of these might be easy stops that are already on your current route. A short detour could turn into an adventure.
Two apps that I find indispensable: The Georgia Historical Society historic markers guide and the Official Georgia State Parks and Historic Sites Pocket Ranger.
The markers guide allows me to bring up a map of my current area and show me, in adjustable increments of 10, the nearest historic markers to my present location, anywhere in Georgia. Anytime I'm visiting somewhere new, I can open the app and in seconds have a list of at least 10 historic sites that I can either go to in person or read the inscription on the app.
The Pocket Ranger offers maps and lists of activities at every Georgia State Park and Historic sites location. you can make reservations for lodging or other facilities. It even gives a description of each site and the significance that each holds that qualifies it to be set aside by the park service. I used this app on our 2012 road trip that took us to Black Rock Mountain, Tallulah Gorge, and Moccasin Creek State Parks while finding a central "base of operations" in Clayton. We spent each evening in a cabin on Screamer Mountain and day tripped to the parks each day of the trip for some incredible hiking and a lot of Georgia history.
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| Ft. Loudon, Tennessee |
I'm not sure about apps and the like but my experience with Tennessee State Parks and Historic sites has been excellent. I rerouted our return from Gatlinburg this past Christmas to take us by Ft. Loudon, which I found by scouring the possible routes home on Google Maps and looking for historic sites that lay along the various options. This stop, aside from a few book purchases and a small donation, was completely funded by the taxpayers of Tennessee. Tennessee sites do not charge admission. Or, at least they didn't charge us.
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| The battle ensign on the CSS Atlanta |
In 2011 and 2013 we took major road trips. Much like the one I mentioned earlier. The Clayton trip was about hiking and history was mingled in. The other two were history from the very onset of the trip. In both cases we planned ahead of time. We made a list of sites to see. State parks, national monuments, private museums, you name it. Then we prioritized, picked a "destination" that would serve as our centralized "base" and chose lodging there. To me, that's the hardest part. Finding a place comfortable enough for five explorers, affordable enough to not financially eliminate excursions (the reason for the trip in the first place) but yet nice enough to not have coin-operated vibrating beds. You get the picture. Then, just like in Clayton, make day trips. You can add more to a trip by taking routes that pass sites you wish to see. In 2011 that involved eating fried green tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe in Juliette and learning that onions have layers at the Vidalia Onion Museum. Each of these road trips wound up excluding sites that I wanted to see. While that is sad on that particular trip, it means you have a reason to go back. Part of your next trip is already planned for you
The keys to planning a good trip are: 1) knowing what options are available to you 2)some basic map skills to help you locate destinations and navigate your way to them 3) being willing to get off the "main" road and using routes that existed when the history you seek was made 4) having the flexibility to change plans if you discover a place of interest along a route you're already taking
These tips and some customization of your own could have you on your way to discovering history in your own backyard or 500 miles away.
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