Here I am, late to another post. When I signed myself up for this project and the plans I wanted to implement for it, on top of getting my real estate license and getting started in real estate, I didn’t think the blogging part would be as time consuming as it has proven to be! However, I have clearly underestimated that. Anyway, now that I covered the political paths of Union County, which was meant as an election week post, I will get to the “presidential paths” of Georgia. By presidential paths, I assume you would clearly know that I mean Georgia locations that are directly, or in some cases, indirectly linked to U.S. presidents. Many U.S. presidents have visited. A few have lived or grown up here. And a few are connected to Georgia through other close relatives. Whatever the connection may be, let’s take a look at them and see if there are a few places that you have been to or would like to go visit that they also went to!

 

 

 

George Washington(1st President):

While George Washington did take a tour of the southern states of America in 1791, many of the places he is rumored to have visited in Georgia are questionable at best. This is because some of the places he is rumored to have visited are just that, rumors. Not all are, however. The more notable locations he is said to have visited were in the Savannah and Augusta areas. One place he is said to have visited twice is the Mulberry Grove Plantation on GA HWY 21 north, just south of I-95 in Port Wentworth, which he is said to have visited twice. In Augusta, it is rumored that he stayed at the home of George Walton, and also at Mrs. Dixon’s Boarding House, but however, this is not confirmed. Two other locations that he is said to have visited were Pearce’s Inn and Edward Alexander Carter’s home, but, however, neither of those stand any longer. One place that IS still standing that he is confirmed to have stayed at, however, is the General Lachlan McIntosh House in Savannah. As a matter, this home is now available for you to stay in AND you can even stay in the same room that he stayed in!!! And if you want to see a gift left behind by George Washington if you ever visit Savannah, then be sure to go see Washington’s Guns!

 

James Monroe(5th President):

Little did I know, a president had visited much closer to my hometown than I realized and that president was James Monroe, the nation’s 5th U.S. President! The location he visited is actually going to be listed on another upcoming blog, and that location is the Chief Vann House in the Spring Place community of Murray County, Georgia! Per my own research, the Chief Vann House was not originally on his itinerary for his trip to Spring Place, but it eventually became one of the very places that he chose to spend the night during his tour of the south! This, apparently, happened after many long treacherous days of travel along Georgia’s flooded roads. The date of his overnight stay was apparently on May 25, 1819. His tour also took him to the Georgia cities of Savannah, Augusta, Washington, Lexington, and Athens.

 

Theodore Roosevelt(26th President):

You may or may not know this, and I didn’t up until a few years ago, but Theodore Roosevelt’s mother, Martha “Mittie” Bulloch, mother of Theodore Roosevelt is actually from Roswell, GA! Today, you can still visit the house in which she grew up in AND got married in! Bulloch Hall, now part of the Roswell Historic District, still stands and is open to the public. When visiting, you get the opportunity to walk through the home and grounds to see the very place that the former U.S. president’s mother and grandparents both called home. I did a visit myself, and while it was not as furnished and decorated as I thought it would be with original pieces, it was still somewhat furnished and cool to see. It truly was a cool feeling knowing that where I was, once had visits from U.S. Presidents, their wives, and their families. Technically, this home is connected to 2 U.S. Presidents. It’s not just Theodore Roosevelt that the home is connected to, however. It is also connected to Eleanor Roosevelt, wife to FDR, as Martha “Mittie” Bulloch was also her paternal grandmother! With this information given, you can already guess that both Theodore Roosevelt and Eleanor Roosevelt did, in fact, visit this home. In 1905, President Theodore Roosevelt went for his visit. He was welcomed at the nearby train station, took a carriage ride from there to Downtown Roswell, and visited Bulloch Hall for his first time. On the carriage ride, he was greeted by thousands as the Roswell played music. After his visit to Bulloch Hall, he then attended Roswell Presbyterian Church for a church service. As for Eleanor’s visit, she made her stop to Bulloch Hall during one of her visits to Warm Springs, GA, where her husband was being treated for polio.

 

 

Woodrow Wilson(28th President):

This may be little known to most, and it was to me as well, until I discovered that former U.S. President Woodrow Wilson actually grew up in Augusta, GA. It was before the age of 2 that he moved here and that he had his earliest memories. This includes playing in the yard and hearing the announcement of the U.S. Civil War that would be coming from a passerby at the front gate of the Augusta parsonage. He also grew up attending the First Presbyterian Church in Augusta as his dad was an ordained minister for the church. This is not a place that I have been to yet, but it is definitely a place that I want to go to, given that it is the only presidential home in Georgia that I have yet to go to. Not only is Woodrow Wilson connected to Georgia through Augusta, he is also connected by way of his first wife, Ellen Axson Wilson, who is buried at Myrtle Hill Cemetery in Rome, GA. Now this is one spot that I have visited before, and I have to say, the location of the gravesite itself is pretty charming and historical, and comes with a great view of the city of Rome that makes for a perfect picture!

 

Franklin Delano Roosevelt(32nd President):

As I assume many of you should already know(As I have already mentioned it), while FDR spent much time up in the White House of Washington D.C., he also spent time treating his chronic illness of polio at his “Little White House” in Warm Springs, GA. In total, he made 41 visits to this house during his lifetime. As a matter of a fact, he made visits here until the end of his life when he passed away on April 12th, 1945, making him the 7th ever U.S. president to die while in office. Today, the home serves as a museum to the public and for those wanting to get a better in-depth glimpse into his life and time in Warm Springs. From the house to the actual warm springs where he retreated to for his polio treatment, there’s plenty to see here. And from my experience, it truly is worth the visit and drive there! Just down the road, there is also the FDR State Park, an area which he highly encouraged and supported the need for a Georgia state park. At the park sits a statue of him sitting and staring out towards the view from Dowdell’s Knob.

 

John Fitzgerald Kennedy(35th President):

Turns out that while FDR is the main president known for visiting Warm Springs, he isn’t the only one to make his visit. So did JFK AKA John Fitzgerald Kennedy! During his visit to Warm Springs, he, of course, made it to the Little White House, as well as the Warm Springs Institute for Rehabilitation. JFK made his visit on October 10th, 1960, during his presidential campaign, where he sent the message of equality, health concerns, and investing in the infrastructure, education, and research in the field of medicine. While giving the speech, he also made it a point to have the unfinished portrait of Franklin D. Roosevelt in front of him, reiterating the legacy that was left behind by FDR. Another place he made a visit to on this same trip included the LaGrange-Callaway Airport, where he gave yet another campaign speech. And if any of you reading this recall, there’s also another JFK connection by way of his son, JFK Jr., who had his wedding at the First African Baptist Church on Cumberland Island. It was on September 21, 1996 that he married Carolyn Bessette, in the iconic private wedding ceremony that had only 40 guests. The couple remained married until their tragic plane crash into the Atlantic Ocean on July 16, 1999.

 

Jimmy Carter(39th President):

I am pretty sure this is a no-brainer to those of us from Georgia. Of course, we know that Jimmy Carter is Georgia’s very own and only Georgia born and raised U.S. President. To remember him and to tell his iconic life story and tenure as U.S. President, there is the Jimmy Carter National Historical Park in his hometown of Plains, GA where his story began and where it will end. As someone who have visited here myself, although it may be in the middle of nowhere, it truly is a trip worth making. From his childhood home to his high school to his campaign headquarters at the Plains Depot to his childhood church to his brother’s old service station, there’s plenty of stops to make and neat things to see. Luckily for me, because me and my family made the right timing, we were able to make it to a church service at Maranatha Baptist Church where President Carter and First Lady, Rosalyn were also in attendance! This is the church that President Carter led Sunday School for many, many years. Given his current condition at 100 years old(making him the OLDEST living U.S. president in history), he is no longer in attendance. However, his niece, Kim Fuller, now leads Sunday School, which still gives you the chance to attend the church with one of his family members! Truly, I highly recommend a visit here! Other places worth noting for Jimmy Carter’s presidential ties include The Original Pinkie Masters in Savannah and the W.L. Dolvin House in Roswell(ANOTHER presidential tie to Roswell). The Original Pinkie Masters is the very bar that Jimmy Carter frequented during his Georgia Governor campaign and formed a close friendship with the bar’s owner, Luis Christopher Masterpolis AKA “Pinkie Master”. On St Patrick’s Day 1978, Jimmy Carter returned to this bar and stood atop the bar to pay homage to his late friend(who passed just a year before) for his support during Carter’s political endeavors. Today, although the bar has relocated to a different location, there sits a plaque at the bar memorializing Carter’s visit to the bar in 1978. In Roswell, just when you may have thought that 2 presidential connections were impressive enough, there is actually the 3rd presidential tie through Jimmy Carter. This tie comes by way of his aunt W.L. Dolvin who lived off of Bulloch Avenue. While it is not necessarily a place to visit today due to it being an attorney’s office, you are still welcomed to walk or drive by to get a peek.

 

Barack Obama(44th President):

As opposed to just Barack Obama’s campaign visits, it is through his wife and First Lady, Michelle Obama, that he and his family have connections to the state of Georgia. This is one I would have never known had my mom not mentioned it to me and reading up about it, but sure enough, Michelle Obama’s great-great-great grandmother, Melvinia Shields(A former slave), is buried in the Kingston community of Bartow County, just outside of the city of Cartersville. This is a grave I visited just to see it as I couldn’t believe it until I saw it. Of course, I didn’t just drive up just for that, but as a fan of history and U.S. politics, it was definitely a highlight of the trip. There is also the monument that sits in the community of Rex, GA right on the former site of where Melvinia Shields was once a former slave. It is in Rex that she was brought to as a slave at 6 years old and where she eventually had a child with the son of her former owner’s son, which then led to Michelle Obama. During his visits to Georgia, President Obama has actually visited many places including Georgia Tech, Savannah Technical College, Morehouse College, The Varsity, and many other locations, mainly on campaign stops. However, one place I will mention is a restaurant in Savannah by the name of Mrs. Wilkes Dining Room. It was here that Obama enjoyed a meal of sweet potatoes, macaroni and cheese, baked beans, and fried chicken, and later made the restaurant more desirable for people to go visit for a meal of their own. Another restaurant that he made a stop at was the iconic Manuel’s Tavern, an iconic restaurant known for its democratic political ties, including being the place that Jimmy Carter announced his candidacy for Governor of Georgia(Which of course he later won). While Obama visited, he didn’t grab any food or drinks, but he did play darts!

 

Jefferson Davis(CSA President):

No, Jefferson Davis wasn’t a U.S. President, but he was the Confederate States of America President/leader during the American Civil War from 1861-1865. And while he was CSA President, he soon became a prisoner of war. This was after his path led him to his infamous capture in Irwin County, GA. Today, you can go visit this very site to see artifacts, walk trails, and take in the imagination of what this very scene must have been like. And while Stone Mountain is not necessarily a true war landmark, it does have the world’s largest high relief sculpture in the world, which happens to include Jefferson Davis himself!