We had visited this site many years ago but this time we were with a couple of teenagers so it was interesting seeing their point of view. Before visiting, we looked at the video online we also looked at the video at the visitor center. This gave them an idea of what to expect. The many buildings especially the house are all well preserved.There is adequate parking at this site, a good gift shop and rest rooms.

This place is just cool. Chickens run around and the trail leads visitors through this historic jewel. Three generations of the Jarrell family have left their mark on this part of Georgia. The introduction film helps understand the place. These people were incredibly resourceful using their gifts to make a living in the red dirt. Perseverance is the word that comes to mind.

Gives you a great idea what a farmstead was like in this region from the early 1800s thru 1960s. He has a steam engine that ran several different machines. Make sure to watch video in the visitor center before walking around.

This was a great experience. The paths are paved, so you could pull a wagon or push a stroller. It was very peaceful, clean, and well kept. We loved the history. Plan to spend about 2 hours here if you are someone like me that likes to look at everything and read everything.

John Jarrell and his wife first inhabited this site in the 1840’s, growing the initially modest farm to an impressive 660-acre estate that focussed primarily on the production of cotton. Multiple calamities ensued over the following decades, including raids by Sherman’s army, a typhoid fever outbreak, the end of the Civil War, and the wobbly recovery known as Reconstruction. Despite these, John’s son Dick continued and expanded the estate in the 1890’s, introducing modernization in the form of steam engines and diversification away from cotton, mainly lumber and syrup. The farm continued to operate under a third generation into the 1960’s, and was finally donated to the state of Georgia in 1974. I made two trips to this site on a Friday in October. The first was for the classic didactic “overview.” This started off with a short film in the visitor’s center giving a concise review of the history of the farm, followed by a counter clockwise walking tour of the buildings. Over a dozen structures are scattered throughout the eight acre site, including three residences. A barn and garden start off the tour, followed by the 1895 house and syrup furnace. A collection of buildings surrounding the 1847 residence follows, with the industrial cotton gin and sawmill down the hill. Various sheds complete the circuit, with remnants of the slave houses providing a beginning or ending the experience depending on your perspective. Story boards are scattered throughout. I made a second trip later in the evening for the seasonal Voices of the Past — Lantern Light Tour. This lasted about an hour, with a docent recounting many of the myths and legends of the family and era with the buildings providing an indelible backdrop.Overall, this was a memorable visit certainly made more so by the fact that this was my first visit to a plantation in the Deep South. First, many of the stereotypes I had associated with the era were dispelled. This was a working plantation and while the owners certainly had a better life than the enslaved workers, neither party enjoyed the comforts of modern life. Second, the docent on site (Derek Jackson) was excellent. I had a detailed conversation with him during my first visit, and he gave a superb tour (entirely by memory!) later in the evening. Last, the site in its entirety properly reflected the evolution of the agricultural life in the South and was anything but “frozen in time.” An above average (4/5) attraction made excellent (5/5) by an engaged staff. Highly recommended.