A plantation, technically speaking, is an agricultural estate. In the South, other contexts come into play, mostly historical in nature. Those featured here were actual working plantations during a bygone era, but tourism is the main draw in the present. These are places where you can stroll bucolic grounds, tour historic buildings and get an imaginative glimpse of what a plantation life in Georgia might have once been like.
Pebble Hill Plantation
Located on 3,000 acres of land between Thomasville and the Florida state line in south Georgia, only a small section of Pebble Hill is open to the public. This section includes the main house and the surrounding grounds, gardens, stables, carriage house and more. Though Pebble Hill was a working plantation long before, in the late 19th century it became a hunting retreat for wealthy northerners when nearby Thomasville became a Victorian-era vacation hot spot. Tours of the grounds and gardens are self-guided. To see the inside of the mansion, with its extensive collection of art and period furnishings, you must be part of a guided tour. The plantation is so large, a GPS unit may indicate that you have arrived at your destination when you are actually miles away from the entrance. Stay on U.S. 319 heading south out of Thomasville until you see signs for the main gate.
Stay
Overnight accommodations at Pebble Hill are limited to one cottage and one apartment for small groups or families. In Thomasville there is the 1884 Paxton House Inn, a B&B in a Victorian house. Rates start at $145. 445 Remington Ave., Thomasville. 229-226-5197, www.1884paxtonhouseinn.com.
Eat
Jonah's. Southern comfort food with a gourmet flair where, instead of fish and chips, they have shrimp and grits. Entrees start at $9.50. 109 E. Jackson St., Thomasville. 229-226-0508, www.jonahsfish.com.
Tourist info
Pebble Hill Plantation. 1251 U.S. 319 S., Thomasville. 229-226-2344, www.pebblehill.com
Callaway Plantation
Callaway Plantation (not to be confused with Callaway Gardens in an entirely different section of the state) dates back to the 1700s and still contains some of its original buildings. It operates today as a living history museum. Tours are offered of the main house and four other homes on the grounds, including a log cabin built in 1785. If you're interested in what a true old South plantation mansion looked and felt like, a visit here is a must; the main house has not been modernized, so it has no electricity or indoor plumbing, just as it did when it was a working plantation. There are no overnight accommodations at Callaway, but the town of Washington is just five miles away. You can picnic on the grounds and RV sites are available. Call 706-678-7060 for more info.
Stay
The Fitzpatrick Hotel. Seventeen rooms housed in Victorian building overlooking the town square in Washington. Rates start at $109. 16 W. Square, Washington. 706-678-5900, www.thefitzpatrickhotel.com.
Eat
Washington Jockey Club. Burgers, steaks, seafood and Southern specialties in a historic setting downtown. 5 E. Square, Washington. Entrees start at $9.95. 706-678-1672, www.washingtonjockeyclub.com.
Tourist info
Washington-Wilkes Chamber of Commerce. 29 W. Square, Washington. 706-678-5111, www.washingtonwilkes.org.
Jarrell Plantation Historic Site
Jarrell is a nicely preserved example of a middle-class plantation. You won't find a stately Grecian columned mansion here. Since Jarrell was inconspicuously tucked away in the hills it escaped the fury of Union troops as they cut their swath of destruction through Georgia on their way to the sea. The main house was built in 1847 and is made out of heart pine felled and milled on the grounds. Many of the original outbuildings also still exist, as does farm equipment such as the sawmill, cotton gin and sugar cane press. In 1974 the Jarrell family donated the site to the state and it is now run by the Georgia state park system. The plantation is a day-use only facility but there is a privately run bed-and-breakfast inn adjacent to the site in a historic home also built by the Jarrell family. This woodsy, remote locale is 30 minutes north of Macon and a few minutes south of tiny Juliette, where you'll find the Whistle Stop Cafe, a main setting in the movie "Fried Green Tomatoes."
Stay
The Jarrell 1920 House. Bed-and-breakfast in a historic home next to the Jarrell Plantation Historic Site. Rates start at $115. 715 Jarrell Plantation Road, Juliette. 478-986-3972, www.jarrellhouse.com.
Eat
The Whistle Stop Cafe. Get your fried green tomatoes here, along with a bevy of other Southern comfort foods. Entrees start at $10. 443 McCrackin St., Juliette. 478-992-8886, www.thewhistlestopcafe.com.
Tourist info
Jarrell Plantation Historic Site. Open Thursday through Saturday. 478-986-5172, www.gastateparks.org/info/jarrell/
Melon Bluff and Dunham Farms
Thirty-five minutes south of Savannah, Melon Bluff is situated on 2,300 acres of marshland and forest. The extensive property is a nature preserve that used to be a plantation and has been in the same family since 1755. Visitors can hike miles trails through the forest, grassland and along the river. Wildlife is abundant here and the reserve a prime birding spot. This pristine parcel of land is right next to Dunham Farms, also owned by the same family, where guests can stay in a converted barn on a 30-acre estate that used to be the heart of Palmyra Plantation. Day-trippers can kayak the salt marshes and tidal creeks or take the guided Plantation Heritage Walk to learn more about the history of the area, as well as take the Riverside Walk nature excursion.
Stay
Lodging at Dunham Farms is at the nine-room Palmyra Barn or at the Palmyra Cottage. Room rates start at $165. The cottage is $300 a night.
Eat
Sunbury Crab Company. Dockside restaurant on the bay serving just-off-the-boat seafood next to Dunham Farms. Baskets start at $8, entrees at $14. 541 Brigantine-Dunmore Road, Sunbury. 912-884-8640, www.sunburycrabco.com.
Tourist info
Dunham Farms. 5836 Islands Highway, Midway. 912-880-4500, www.dunhamfarms.com
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