Page 5 - Pickens Marble Trail

14 Come to Jasper for the Georgia Marble Festival the first full weekend in 17 If you would like some marble for your own home, pay a visit to the folks
at Appalachian Monuments (2939 Highway 53 E., Jasper, GA 30143) or
October to see marble sculpture carving and reserve ahead for a tour of the Watson & Carver Memorials (45 Jaydee Pl., Talking Rock, GA 30175)
marble quarry, the only time the quarry is open to the public. There is also They can create bookends, desk name markers, and paperweights in
Start your explorations in Tate, Georgia. Tate is on the National 8 About 400 feet from the Courthouse is a road race, parade, arts & crafts, food, live music, and trolley rides to local addition to their signature memor
Register of Historic Places for its marble heritage. Look for the the Old Pickens County Jail, built in shopping and restaurants. Lee Newton Park, 500 Veterans Memorial Blvd.,
historical marker outside the Tate Depot on Highway 53. 1906 and featuring a marble façade. It Jasper, GA 30143, georgiamarblefestival.com 18 Watch for signs on Highway
1 The Tate House, listed includes a hanging gallows. There is also 15 Another special marble site in Jasper is the Rotary Peace Pole. This 136 to the Burnt Mountain
Overlook where, on a clear
the Kirby-Quinton Cabin on site, built
international symbol for peace is a 12-foot marble obelisk bearing the
in the National Register in the 1820s by Cherokee man Charles message “May Peace Prevail on Earth” in different languages of the world, day, you can get a bird’s
of Historic Place as Dunbeam in the 1820s and fitted with including Cherokee. This is one of more than 250,000 peace poles around eye view of our marble-
the Pink Palace and 19th century furnishings. 141 N. Main St., the world, one of 121 in the U.S. Roper Park, 101 Freedom Way, Jasper, GA producing hills and vales as
recently named a top Jasper, GA 30143, 706-253-1141 30143, worldpeace.org/peacepoleproject well as glimpse the high-rises
Georgia “must-see” of Atlanta, 60 miles away,
by Georgia Magazine, 9 Across from the Old Jail, the 42-foot-tall North of Jasper on Highway 515, turn east onto Highway 136 many of them, such as The Atlanta Viewed from
was built in 1926 as marble Oglethorpe Monument is a at the charming town of Talking Rock. Candler Hotel (c. 1906), built Burnt Mountain Overlook
the private estate tribute to Georgia’s founder, Gen. James and decorated with Georgia
home of Col. Sam Tate, president of the Georgia Marble Company. The Oglethorpe. It was located atop Mount 16 Get out and stretch your legs at Talking Rock Park and view the Marble. Stop at Fainting Goat
house was constructed using a rare, bright pink Etowah marble. Now a Oglethorpe at the southern terminus of Trail of Tears mural depicting the early 1800s removal of the Cherokee Vineyards & Winery where you can imbibe Ge
private wedding and event venue, the mansion is open to the public only in the Appalachian Trail between 1930 and people to reservations in the west. Kids can play in Talking Rock Creek, views. 201 Vineyard Way, Jasper, G
December; tours and information are on the website, www.tatehouse.com. 1958. It was later restored and moved looking for marble pebbles, while others can enjoy the creek from
61 Georgia Marble Rd., Tate, GA 30177
to its present location in 1999. Eagle’s Rest Park Overlook is now at the old the accessible boardwalk. Creek Lane, Talking Rock, GA 30175, 136
2 Mt. Calvary Baptist Church is important to the Georgia Marble Story Trail southern terminus. N. Main St., Jasper, GA 30143 talkingrockga.com/attractions.html
and to Pickens County’s African American heritage. One of the church’s If you missed lunch in Tate, 136
136
musical groups gained fame singing on Sundays on Atlanta’s WSB radio consider stopping in Jasper at the 136 136 18
station. The singers worked at Georgia Marble Company during the week. Woodbridge Inn & Tavern or The 16
1141 Smokey Hollow Rd., Tate, GA 30177 Old Mulehouse.

3 The beautiful Tate United Methodist Church was where the historic Tate 10 Woodbridge Tavern, originally the
family attended, and is one of the oldest churches in the county. Lenning Hotel built in the 1880s (an 515
5880 Hwy. 53, Tate GA 30177. earlier boarding house began operating 17
there in 1849) served the needs of Pickens
4 Tate School was built in 1927 entirely of Creole marble – known to be the County’s marble executives and travelers
only school in the U.S. built as such – as is the foundation of the wood- of all types. Today, the inn is open for
frame Tate Gymnasium nearby. The school served as the high school and is lunch, dinner, and lodging. 44 Chambers 12
now Tate Elementary School. 5630 Hwy. 53, Tate, GA 30177 St., Jasper, GA 30143, 706-253-8500 10 9
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5 Stroll through the Old Tate Cemetery beside the train depot to see 11 A visit to The Old Mulehouse restaurant in Jasper is a treat. Most north 53
BUS
beautifully hand carved monuments and mausoleums built from Georgia Georgia towns had a mule house, where someone coming into town for
Marble. Adjacent to the Old Tate Cemetery is a small cemetery surrounded business could shelter their mule so it wouldn’t wander off. Undoubtedly,
some of the Jasper area mules were carting marble. Mule houses eventually
by a stone wall that includes some of the largest, most elaborate memorials
in Tate. N. Railroad St., Tate, GA 30177 gave way to automotive establishments; Jasper’s Old Mulehouse restaurant Pickens County
Airport
is in a century-old building that once housed a Chevrolet dealership. BUS 53
6 Across the train tracks from the cemetery, have lunch at Bell’s Family 2 N. Main St., Jasper, GA 30143, 706-253-3440 515 15 17
Pharmacy’s old-fashioned soda fountain, where you can get a feel for the 12 From downtown Jasper, follow Burnt Mountain Road to the Pickens County
mill town of Tate. It’s located in the historic Village of Tate and modeled Library to see (and snap a pic) at the “Learning is Fun” sculpture outside the
after the old Allred-Jordan Pharmacy that once operated in the same space. library. William I. Sunderland created the whimsical piece depicting a child 53
4875 Hwy. 53, Tate, GA 30177, 678-454-2300 reading to a group of friendly woodland creatures. Of course, the sculpture
was carved from local Georgia Marble! 100 Library Ln., Jasper, GA 30143,
Continue north on Highway 53 to Jasper, Georgia, 706-692-5411 5 4 53
where there are several must-see marble sites. 6 3 2
13 Back in Downtown Jasper, head west on Highway 53 to The Marble Museum 5 108 1
7 The Pickens County Courthouse, built in 1949, was constructed in the inside the Pickens County Chamber of Commerce and Visitors Center, which This historical marker is located at
Stripped Classical style using marble siding from the Georgia Marble includes a year-round exhibit of fine marble and shows the history of marble the intersection of Highway 53 and
Company. It is on the National Register of Historic Places. Historical markers mining in Pickens County. The Visitor Center also has a display of marble North Railroad Street in Tate.
at the site inform about the creation of the county and about the Old sculptures carved during the annual Georgia Marble Festival. 500 Veterans
Federal Road. 1266 E. Church St., Jasper, GA 30143, 706-253-8809 Memorial Blvd., Jasper, GA 30143, 706-692-5600 108 515

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