The Georgia Trust for Historic Preservation (GTHP) will showcase Eatonton's rich history and architecture during the GTHP Expedition on Aug. 17.
This event will offer visitors and residents a rare opportunity to tour more than 20 of the city’s most historic homes and sites during a day-long, self-guided tour.
The Expedition will begin at 10 a.m. with a brief historical orientation at the Plaza Arts Center, originally built in 1916 on North Madison Avenue as a Mission Revival-style school.
Following the orientation, guests will be able to tour historic private homes, including the rarely- open-to-the-public 1814 Wilken- Cooper-Jenkins House, the oldest house on Madison Avenue; Panola Hall, an 1854 Greek Revival-style home reportedly haunted by a ghost named Sylvia; and the 1902 Thomas- Clark-Dennis-Harrison House.
Guests also can take a rest and enjoy a boxed lunch before heading out to explore additional historically significant buildings and sites in Eatonton and Putnam County, such as the Tompkins Inn, a former stagecoach inn built in 1810; the Putnam County Courthouse, still in daily use after being designed in 1905 by J.W. Golucke, Georgia’s most prolific architect of such structures; the historic Hotel Eatonton, currently scheduled for a major renovation; and a short drive away, Rock Eagle or Rock Hawk, prehistoric stone effigies built by Native Americans.
The Expedition will conclude with a special closing reception at the Reid-Green-Lawrence- Sichveland House, a historic, meticulously preserved, three-story, Greek Revival-style home.
Tickets to the Georgia Trust Eatonton Expedition are $75 for Georgia Trust members and $100 for nonmembers. This includes lunch and the closing reception.
Tour-only tickets that do not include lunch and the reception are also available for $40 each. For more information or to register, visit georgiatrust.org or call 404-885-7812.
Proceeds from the Expedition will support the many preservation and educational programs of the Georgia Trust for Historic Preservation, which was founded in 1973 to preserve and revitalize Georgia’s diverse historic resources and advocate for their appreciation, protection, and continued use.