The Callaway Plantation is an open air museum featuring several historic houses and other structures that is located in Washington, Georgia, U.S.A. The site was formerly a working plantation, owned by a family named Callaway since at least 1785. In its heyday, the plantation was 3,000 acres (12 km2) in size. The museum site is a 56-acre (230,000 m2) area containing the main houses that was donated by the family to the city of Washington in the 1980s. Additional buildings were moved to the site to represent typical plantation buildings. The museum is operated by the Washington-Wilkes Historical Foundation.
The main building is a brick mansion built by the Callaway family around 1860 out of Georgia red clay. It contains no indoor plumbing or electricity, since it was never modernized. Some of the original furniture is in the house.
The family's first home on the plantation was a log cabin built by Job Callaway in 1785. It burned down, but a cabin of similar design from the same era has been moved to the site. It consists of one room with a sleeping loft.
The family's second home still stands on the site, a two-story Federal Plain style house that they built around 1790. It features period furnishings and decorations.
Other structures include an 1871 one-room schoolhouse, an 1840 slave cabin, and a 1930 general store, all moved to the site from elsewhere in Georgia. There is also a corn crib, a house for making bricks, and a smoke house.
The site is located across from the Washington-Wilkes airport, but otherwise appears from photographs to have a pleasant rural flavor.
One Room School House
A small admission fee is charged. Tourist items are sold at the general store, which also serves as the information center.
The buildings feature furniture, tools, and other items characteristic of the old times.
Callaway Plantation, a historic restoration project, offers a glimpse into the by-gone era of the agricultural South when working plantations speckled the land. Telling the intimate story of one family's legacy, visitors to Callaway Plantation, can see, feel & touch 200 years of Wilkes County history.
Callaway Plantation humbly began with a log cabin in 1785 built by Job Callaway and grew to a 3,000 acre working plantation complete with a brick mansion by the 1860's. The property has been passed down through the Callaway Family since its inception and in the 1980's was given as a gift by the Callaway Family to the City of Washington.
Special highlights at Callaway include:
The Brick House - This brick Greek Revival style mansion was built with Georgia red clay. Parker Callaway started the building process and Aristides Callaway completed it in 1869. The Callaway family lived in the Brick House between 1869-1910. The house has never been modernized so it contains no indoor plumbing or electricity and it is decorated to reflect the grandeur of time period when the plantation thrived. Many antiques within the brick house are original to the house.
The Log Cabin c. 1785 - Job Callaway's original log cabin burned down, but a log cabin similar in layout & design was moved from the Heard Plantation in Danburg, Wilkes County, Georgia to Callaway to serve as an example of the type of dwelling that Job Callaway had built. The log cabin represents a one room cabin with a sleeping loft and is decorated with primitive antique tools and household items of the late 18th century.
The Grey House c. 1790 - Built by Jacob Callaway. This was their second residence on the Plantation and was occupied until the Brick House was built. The Grey House is also decorated with period antiques and serves as an excellent example of Federal Plain Style architecture.
The School House c. 1871 - This one room schoolhouse was built in Wilkes County and serves as a fine example of rural schoolhouses seen throughout Georgia at the turn of the century.
The Dally Cabin c. 1840 - The Dally Cabin is an original slave cabin that was moved to Callaway from Social Circle, Georgia.
The General Store c. 1930 - The General Store was built by Howard Jackson at Jackson Crossroads. It was moved to Callaway to serve as the gift shop and information headquarters. Carrying a variety of period gifts for all ages, the gift store also contains a variety of books for sale pertaining to the history of the area and the Callaway family.
All structures are open for guided tours Tuesday through Saturday from 10am to 5pm. A small fee is charged for admission, and school groups and specialty tours are encouraged. Callaway is host to several special events throughout the year including the annual Mule Day Festival, held every October, and is featured on the Washington-Wilkes Christmas Tour of Homes every December.
The plantation is located 5 miles west of Washington on Highway 78, across from the Washington-Wilkes Airport. Picnic area and RV Campsites are available on-site. Please call for more information.
Callaway Plantation
Lexington Avenue - Highway 78
Washington, GA 30673
Tel. 706-678-7060
External links
- Callaway Plantation - Washington-Wilkes Historical Foundation
- City of Washington sites
- Virtual tour