History and Charm in Madison, Georgia

As part of our post-Christmas trip to Georgia to

see family, we were able to plan a short stopover in

the quaint town of Madison, Georgia, midway between

Augusta and Atlanta. We stayed at the historic James Madison

Inn and got to see quite a bit of this charming town during our

brief stay.

Here's the main entrance to the James Madison Inn.

 

This view of The James Madison Inn is from the adjacent
town park. It has 17 luxuriously furnished rooms and suites.
There are some private apartments in some areas.

This sitting room was across from the welcome desk.

There was also an elevator, but we chose the
stairs whenever we weren't carrying luggage.

The way to our room filled us with anticipation.

Our balcony overlooked the town park.

We had gas logs in our fireplace and a large sitting area.

The bathroom was spacious and first-class.

The room exuded comfort.

This was a great place to begin our Georgia trip.

We would visit this breakfast area and common room
the next morning.

We had arrived mid-afternoon and it was warm enough
for a walking tour of the area. First stop was the nearby
town park.

The park showed a lot of foresight by town planners.
It is in the heart of Madison's business district, but was
not sacrificed to developers.

Sculptures like this add to the atmosphere.

We could imagine the festive activities that must fill
this place through the year.

Judy and I love Free Little Libraries, but we had never
seen a Free Little Art Gallery. Someone is always expanding
on a good idea.

We loved that the public was invited to exchange pieces
to keep the art constantly evolving. Only the easels were
to be left intact.

After walking several downtown blocks, we were back
near our inn and started down a greenway trail. It was
a serendipitous walk.

This is Round Bowl Spring. It is historic and is a focal
point of the town's very founding.

By serendipity, we encountered a lady who thought she 
recognized us. Indeed, she did-- she had seen us downtown
a few minutes earlier! It turned out that her 95 year-old mother
(still living with her) is a retired landscape architect who designed
the very trail we were hiking. We had an enchanting and informative
conversation/stroll with her and she took our picture for us.

She showed us the three historic town cemeteries that come 
together near the railroad tracks.

An interesting climbing tree along our route.

More details about Round Bowl Spring and more.

I'm not sure what type tree this mammoth leaf was from.

The railroad didn't always come through Madison, but
when it came it had a lasting impact on the town.

As we returned from our stroll, we heard a switch
engine on the nearby railroad track. Judy told me
I'd better hurry or I'd miss it. I was off in a flash!

This train gave me a private performance.
It wasn't a through-train. It was switching
some cars back and forth to the east and west
of this overpass. I positioned myself underneath
the trestle and hoped for a view that has been on
my "bucket list", unofficially.
My video was too long to post on Blogger, but I
will post it on Facebook. It was quite thrilling to
the young boy in me who has loved trains all my life.

As darkness fell, we adored the view of the town
park from our balcony once again.

The park and all the rest of the town were still
wonderfully lit for the Christmas season. This was
taken from the balcony.

Several hours later, this was sunrise from our balcony.

We had a little time before heading down the road,
so we got to know this town a little better. It has a
rich Civil War connection. Several on-line sources
explain why General Sherman did not burn this town
on his march from Atlanta to Savannah, where little
else was spared. Here's one version:
"Legend has it that Madison's more than forty-five antebellum houses still stand because the U.S. senator Joshua Hill, an anti-secessionist who resigned his seat rather than defy the wishes of his pro-secessionist constituents, rode out to meet Sherman and pleaded that his hometown be spared."

This old depot of the Georgia Railroad was also of
great interest to me. My ancestor James Loyd's hotel,
Washington Hall, was located where all the Atlanta
railroads came to a junction. The zero milepost is on
display at Underground Atlanta, which was once called 
Loyd Street. By the time Sherman burned Atlanta, James
Loyd had been dead for more than a year and his well-known
hotel was in the hands of others. James Loyd was a pioneer
citizen of Atlanta, and Loyd Street was one of the six original streets.
It is now called Central Avenue.

Being only 68 miles from Atlanta, it was inevitable that
Madison would be of strategic significance. Like my 
great-great grandfather's house, which I wrote about in
"Mystery at the Loyd Homeplace," it was destined NOT to burn.

I've added this to threads of history that require
more study from me. And there are many!

The last site we checked on before leaving
town was this famous old school building,
which now houses the Madison-Morgan Cultural Center.
The kind lady who guided us on our walk told us all 
about it, and she happens to live right next door to it
in a house built by her great grandfather.

Yes, history was everywhere in this charming town.
Perhaps our path will lead us back sometime.