Historic Square at Stone Mountain | Mommy and Me Monday | 359th ed

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As it would turn out, we apparently have a tradition of visiting Stone Mountain around New Years. Even more so with my parents. This year was no exception, except that we didn’t actually go to the top of the mountain. We spent most of our time at Historic Square at Stone Mountain. And, to be honest, until the day before going, I didn’t even know this was there!

The Historic Square At Stone Mountain

The Historic Square at Stone Mountain is a collection of original buildings (over 18!) from around the state of Georgia built in the 1700s and 1800s. All of the buildings were moved from their original locations and restored at Stone Mountain Park.

The walking tour starts at Maddox General Store which is at the entrance to the Square. You will need a ticket or Adventure Pass to access The Historic Square.

The kids had a ball just walking around the General Store (which you can do for free) and reading all of the signs.

All of the girls gave the manual coffee grinder a whirl, too.

Being the rebels that we are, we started the tour in reverse order. We were told by the employees which buildings we could enter and walk around in and which we could just observe from the outside. The girls had to seethe Powell Academy Schoolhouse.

They couldn’t believe that was how the school looked! There is a great big desk at the front. Everybody assumed it was for the teacher. Turned out, it was for the student that brought the most wood for the fire. They got to sit closest to the fire! There’s also a piano in the back of the schoolhouse because it doubled as the community church, too!

The Davis House was stunning. This is how the rich people lived, no doubt!

Of course, this isn’t the original view, but I’m sure this house had something similar where it was originally built. Now, it has an unobstructed view of Stone Mountain.

It was fascinating to see that the larger houses didn’t have full kitchens. Most of the cooking happened nearby in Cookhouses. Apparently, the fire risk was too high to have a full kitchen in the house. I bet this was a very busy place.

The “house” most fascinating? The “Necessary House.” I had never heard this terminology before. I didn’t look at it first, but when to read the signage. It still took us a minute to figure out what this “House with 4 seats” was for.

Any guesses? It’s the “outhouse.” Pretty fancy, right? B had to take a rest in the doorway. (Side note: My baby turned THREE this week. Yes, I’m still in denial!)

Sadly, the Farmyard animals were all taking a break from the weather, so we didn’t get to see them. I’m hoping we can head back in the Spring when it warms up to see how that area operates.

We did walk around the Barn and the Coach House were Grandpa talked to the girls about suspensions and how cars still use the same type today. And Grandma talked to them about the wheels and how they would never go flat, but what a bumpy ride it must have been in the carriages.

Seeing the slave cabins was very sobering. We talked about how we treat people now and how people were treated not that long ago. Seeing these small houses and how many people lived in them really brought the mistreatment to life for them in a very small way.

Especially when you juxtapose that house with the larger estates and their homes of many rooms for 4-5 people.

We ended our time at Historic Square and headed over to the Ball Pit and Barnyard in the Crossroads area, but not before some shoulder rides with grandpa!

If you’ve been to Stone Mountain Park, but never stopped at Historic Square, I’d definitely recommend carving out some time in your visit to explore the area and get to know the pioneer and antebellum Georgians.

Thank you to Stone Mountain Park for providing the ticket. All thoughts are my own!

What did you do this week?

All this to say, JUST GET IN THE PICTURE WITH YOUR KIDS! Who cares what you look like? Who cares how you appear? Who cares what you are wearing? JUST DO IT! Since the button code stopped working many moons ago, I took it out. But, if you are adding your link to my link list, please, as a courtesy, add a link back to my site so people can explain and link up themselves if they’d like. After all, that’s the point of the link up!

It’s time again for Mommy and Me Monday. Pop out from behind that camera and capture yourself in action with your kids. Check out the inaugural Mommy and Me Monday for more information.  Need another reason to participate in Mommy and Me Monday? Read my post about why I blog with words from a friend’s husband.