Each fall, visitors to Roger Pierce’s annual Stepback event, just a few miles south of Eatonton, get to witness daily life in rural Georgia much as it was more than 80 years ago.
Stepback offers a look at farm life circa 1940 through a collection of log buildings, antique tools, and live demonstrations — all constructed, curated, or orchestrated by Pierce himself.
Now 84, Pierce said he’s hosted the event more than 20 times.
“I didn’t plan on making an annual thing out of it,” he said. “I just like it because my grandparents raised me part of the way, and this is the way it was on their farm back in the ‘40s.
“It didn’t start here like this,” he added. “It started with having a big cookout up at the pond. Then I built a little log cabin, and folks would just walk down to look at it.”
What began as just a small neighborhood gathering has become a well-established local tradition. Pierce said the event grew out of memories of growing up with his grandparents in Deepstep, a rural burgh about 40 miles southeast of Eatonton that even now boasts only about 120 residents.
Over the years, Pierce has constructed much of what visitors now see on his property.
Stepback now lists 26 destinations in a printed guide handed out to visitors upon entry. There’s everything from simple sheds to a sawmill, schoolhouse, blacksmith shop, grist mill, general store, and several small homesteads or cabins, among other constructions. It takes a good two hours or more to walk through at a decent pace while learning a little along the way.
“Everything you see here,” Pierce said in answer to what he’s personally constructed. “I had some help, of course; you’ve got to have help on some things, but I built all the log things you see here all by myself.”
But while the annual, one-day event continues to draw crowds, Pierce said he has no plans to expand it further.
“This is pretty much it,” he said. “I’m 84 years old and kind of disabled. I might build something if I feel like it, but I feel like this is enough.”
In addition to preserving history, Stepback serves a charitable purpose. Donations received throughout the event go toward providing Christmas gifts for local children.
“Probably about 80 kids for Christmas,” Pierce said. “Usually, I just turn whatever we collect over to the fire department.”
Dozens of volunteers help run the event each year, and Pierce said it’s their continued support that keeps it going.
“I just appreciate it,” he said. “And they know that — that’s the reason they keep coming back.”
For visitors, Stepback offers a tangible link to the region’s past.
For Pierce, it provides a way to share a lifelong appreciation for local history each October, while giving something back to the community that has supported him over the decades, too.