Antebellum Plantation, a step back in time...

 

So we recently visited beautiful Stone Mountain, GA and took a tour of the Antebellum Plantation where there are collection of original buildings from around the state of Georgia, built between 1792 and 1875.  Of course the buildings have been restored and are furnished with period items, but I was most interested in the quilts that adorned the beds and rooms throughout the plantation homes. 



So you can see the "Mountain" behind the plantation house, it is actually a giant granite rock that rises 1600 feet above the ground, literally in the middle of nowhere.  You can take a tram ride to the top of the rock, where you can see forever and into next Tuesday.  There is a carving that depicts three figures of the Confederate States of America:  Stonewall Jackson, Robert E. Lee and Jefferson Davis.












  Just a beautiful place.  If you visit Georgia, you should definitely schedule some time to visit Stone Mountain and take the train ride around the park

You can see Atlanta in the background - (you can practically see into North Carolina from here!)  I have to admit I didn't want to go near the edge!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

pictures from the Antebellum Plantation - The Kingston House circa 1845

 

this is an antique basket quilt from the Kingston House, circa 1845

This quilt really didn't look antique, but the design and quilting were amazing

Kingston House circa 1845

beautiful quilts in the crib of the baby's room of the Kingston House, circa 1845

it is hard to see if there is a particular pattern on this quilt, or if is is simply a collection of blocks, possibly sampler blocks or crazy quilt blocks

A beautiful Applique' quilt from the Thornton House circa 1792. Even the border is appliqued, and the hand quilting is amazing

This applique' quilt was in the "boys room" at the Thornton house.  I'm sure this was a beautiful red and green quilt at one time.  The large blood stain was a little creepy

can you just imagine having to spin the cotton and wool yourself? The wheel on this spinning wheel was about 4 feet around

this is how the young girls learned to sew, you can't see it very well, but there is a crank on the right-hand side

a beautiful sewing bird that held your thimble, pins and quilting supplies.  This was in "the Mother-in-law's" room at the Dickey House, circa 1840.  The M-I-L room was the gathering place for all the women to sit and sew.  There was a fireplace in the center of the room with chairs and candle stands throughout where the women would gather around the candles to sew. 

This quilt was also in the M-I-L's room, notice the little candle stand next to the chair

There was also a quilt on the bed in the slave cabin.  These cabins were simply four walls, a fireplace, bed and table.  An entire slave family usually lived here.  The slaves had to make everything they had, if they needed shoes, the worked for leather, then had the responsibility of turning that into a pair of shoes.  Can you imagine to stay warm, you sheared a sheep, carded the wool, spun it, and used the loom to weave a blanket.  The slave cabins were the most interesting, everything inside was hand made from the bowls on the table to the bed frame.

Such an interesting trip, a step back in time and an amazing appreciation of how life

 in that era must have been!