What to See with a Georgia Historic Sites Pass

The state of Georgia operates 13 historic sites and more than 50 state parks. Georgia’s historic sites include coastal forts, a presidential retreat, Native American burial grounds, a re-created Cherokee settlement, plantation homes, and a museum dedicated to Georgia’s gold rush. If you’re a lover of history, consider visiting one or more of these sites this year. Georgia makes it easy with its Georgia Historic Sites Pass.

Savings with the Georgia Historic Sites Pass

While Georgia’s historic sites are spread out across the state, several are within a short drive of each other. If you’re planning to visit at least two of these sites with your family in the next year, consider purchasing the pass for only a few dollars more. The annual pass cost is $50 per family for up to four people, $30 per adult 18 years or older, or $25 per youth ages 17 or under. The pass is valid for one year from the date of purchase and is available for purchase at any of the sites or online.

Adult tickets for each historic site run from $4.50 on the low end (Fort Morris State Park) to $12 on the high end (FDR’s Little White House). I purchased a pass on a visit to New Echota because we planned to visit the Chief Vann House, 17 miles north, the same day. Single tickets for myself and my two sons would have totaled $38 for both locations. By purchasing the $50 pass, we came out ahead after we visited just one more Georgia historic site that year.

Even better, if you’re a Georgia resident, before you purchase your own pass, contact your local library to find out if you can check out a Georgia Historic Sites Pass through the Library Loan Program. Since 2008, the Georgia’s State Park System and the Georgia Public Library Service have been partners in the program, which through the years has saved Georgians more than $1,000,000 in parking and admission fees.

Limitations on the Georgia Historic Sites Pass

The Georgia Historic Sites Pass differs from the Georgia State ParkPass, which allows you to park for free at any Georgia state park for an annual fee of $50. If you regularly use Georgia’s state parks, you’ll want to consider buying the ParkPass separately.

The Georgia Historic Sites Pass also only includes historic sites under the management of the Georgia Department of Natural Resources. It does not cover Georgia’s partner historic sites, which are managed locally, including the Jefferson Davis Memorial in Fitzgerald, the Lapham-Patterson House in Thomasville, and the Robert Toombs House in Washington, among others.

Georgia Historic Sites Included on the Pass

The list below describes all the Georgia historic sites on the pass, separated by region. Each description includes highlights about the historic site, including some of my own experiences, as well as nearby attractions, most within a half-hour to 45-minute drive. You can find more information about these Georgia historic sites by clicking on the link in each section.

Northwest Georgia

New Echota

New Echota was the site of the capital of the Cherokee Nation starting in 1825. By 1835, Cherokee leaders, under pressure from the state of Georgia, ceded the land by treaty. Cherokees who remained were forcefully removed, beginning what became known as the Trail of Tears.

The site consists of a small museum and re-created town, with a printing office, courthouse, council house, and farmstead. It also includes the original Worchester family home dating from 1828 and a restored tavern and shop.

We spent about an hour and half wandering the property and watching a short educational film about the settlement’s history. What I found most interesting about New Echota was that the Cherokee adopted the dress, education and housing styles of the whites and modeled their new government on the United States, with three branches, including a supreme court. Sadly, even those efforts at assimilation didn’t save them from persecution. Nearby Attractions – Berry College, Fort Mountain State Park

Chief Vann House

The Chief Vann House is the 1804 two-story brick home of the Vanns, a wealthy Cherokee family. It was originally part of a 1,000-acre plantation worked by hundreds of slaves. In 1834, the state took the property from the Vanns after they broke a law forbidding a Cherokee from employing a white person. The family fled to Oklahoma Territory and were eventually compensated for the home.

Seventeen property owners later, the 137-acre site now showcases the home, a farmstead, a visitor center, and a short nature trail. Tours of the house start on the hour. We combined our visit to the Chief Vann House with a trip to New Echota and spent about an hour there. Nearby Attractions – Berry College, Fort Mountain State Park

• 

• 

Etowah Indian Mounds

The Etowah Indian Mounds consist of six earthen burial mounds, a village, a museum, and a nature trail. Considered the most intact example of Mississippian Culture in the Southeastern United States, the site is believed to have been occupied by Native Americans between 1000 to 1550 A.D. Read more about our visit to the Etowah Indian Mounds here. Nearby Attractions – Booth Western Museum, Tellus Museum

Pickett’s Mill Battlefield

This 765-acre site was the location of the Battle of Pickett’s Mill. One of the best-preserved Civil War battlefields, it includes roads used by the troops and earthwork battlements. Although Pickett’s Mill was the site of a Confederate victory, the battle only delayed Union troops from advancing on Atlanta by a single day. Nearby Attractions – Historic Marietta Square, Kennesaw Mountain National Battlefield

Northeast Georgia

Dahlonega Gold Museum

The Dahlonega Gold Museum sits at the center of the quaint Dahlonega Town Square, in the former Lumpkin County Courthouse, built in 1836. The museum follows the history of the Georgia gold rush in the 1830s and Dahlonega’s location as a branch of the United States Mint between 1838 and 1861.

Our favorite exhibit at the museum was the full set of Dahlonega-minted gold coins, housed in a vintage safe and valued at more than a million dollars. Also on display is a gold nugget weighing more than five pounds. After our visit, which took about an hour and a half, we had lunch at one of the restaurants in the town square. Nearby Attractions – Dahlonega Town Square, Consolidated Gold Mine

Hardman Farm

Hardman Farm is the newest addition to Georgia’s historic sites, having opened in 2014. It features an 1870 Italianate architecture home and a restored dairy barn. Nearby Attractions – Helen, Anna Ruby Falls, Unicoi State Park

Traveler’s Rest

Traveler’s Rest was Georgia’s last stagecoach inn. Built about 1815, the four-acre site includes the inn, with original furnishings, as well as re-created 19th-century buildings. Nearby Attractions – Tallulah Falls State Park, Tiger Mountain Vineyard

Central Georgia

Roosevelt’s Little White House

Built in 1932, the Little White House in Warm Springs, Georgia, was the personal retreat of President Franklin Delano Roosevelt. Roosevelt traveled to the six-room pine home 16 times during his presidency, spending two to three weeks at a time. As part of the historic site, you can visit the nearby spring-fed pools where Roosevelt and others came to ease the pain of their polio symptoms.

The small, sparse wood-paneled room where Roosevelt died in 1945 left the biggest impression on me during our visit. The kids were most interested in the Walk of Flags and Stones, a pathway where you can touch and read about native rocks from all 50 states. Between touring the house, walking the path, and seeing the historic pools and museum, you can easily spend a half-day or more. Nearby Attractions ­– Callaway Gardens, Hills & Dales Estate, Wild Animal Safari

Jarrell Plantation

This former 600-acre property is an example of a typical cotton plantation in central Georgia. The historic site includes pine buildings and original furnishings from the 1800s and early 1900s. Jarrell Plantation also features an educational film, interpretive programs, and a history trail. Nearby Attractions – Macon, Piedmont National Wildlife Refuge

Southeast Georgia

Wormsloe

Wormsloe is without a doubt the most Instagrammable of the Georgia historic sites. The canopied entrance boulevard, with its magnificent live oaks, are a photographer’s dream. Although the canopy road is the main draw for visitors, the site also boasts a museum, tabby ruins from the 1700s, a living-history area with demonstrations of Georgia colonial life, and walking trails through a salt marsh.

We spent a couple of hours touring the site. The kids had a chance to ask questions of the colonial demonstrator, who wore breeches, a coat and a tricorn hat on a hot Georgia summer day. Of the Georgia historic sites I’ve visited so far, I enjoyed Wormsloe the most for its beautiful setting. Nearby Attractions – Savannah, Tybee Island

Fort Morris

Fort Morris is a 67-acre site with the earthwork remains of an 18th-century military fort garrisoned by American colonists. The site offers a nature trail and educational programs. Nearby Attractions – Savannah, Tybee Island, Sapelo Island

Fort King George

Fort King George is the oldest English fort remaining on the Georgia coastline. The fort was reconstructed from original drawings and is open for tours. The site also includes a museum, tabby ruins, and the remains of three sawmills. Nearby Attractions – Sea Island, St. Simons Island, Jekyll Island, Cumberland Island

Hofwyl-Broadfield Plantation

The Hofwyl-Broadfield site is a 19th-century rice plantation. The original antebellum home is open for tours, and you can walk a nature trail along the marsh that held the rice fields. Nearby Attractions – Sea Island, St. Simons Island, Jekyll Island, Cumberland Island

Interested in learning more about Georgia destinations? Check out 7 Best Hikes in Atlanta with Kids and The Best Art Museums and Folk Art Destinations in Georgia.