Family Gateway at Fort Gaines, GA

Happiness always looks small while you hold it in your

hands, but let it go, and you learn at once how big and 

precious it is. Maxim Gorky

 
This past Halloween weekend we opted to head to West Georgia. I won a 2-night stay at a Georgia State Park & Lodge and decided to make reservations at George T. Bagby State a 700-acre state park located in southwestern Georgia on the shore of Lake Walter F. George. The park offers a 60 room lodge, conference center, restaurant, cottages, and features the 18 hole Meadow Links Golf Course, as well as a marina and boat ramp.
 

This was our first time visiting west Georgia so we were very excited to finally being able to see what this region has to offer. They allowed us to stay at the only pet-friendly cabin at the park. From the outside the cabin looked old and dark but I was pleasantly surprised to find the interior was quite charming and cozy. Each cabin comes with two rooms with double beds, a full equipped kitchen, and a very nice porch with 2 white rocking chairs.

The sun porch was my kids favorite part of the cabin. It overlooks the lake and the view is quite spectacular.

Fort Gaines is one of the oldest surviving towns in the state of Georgia, and the only frontier fort in Georgia that has survived as an incorporated municipality.  This small rural community was founded in 1814. Its history is rich, its natural resources bountiful, its citizens friendly. Short winters and balmy summers, the acres of rich timberland that surround it, and its proximity to Lake Walter F. George have made Fort Gaines a haven for hunting and fishing for many years. It took four years for the Georgia state government to acknowledge Fort Gaines and the Tallassee Territory it presided over as part of the state's domain, calling the area "a sterile and unprofitable land."At times this seemed a fair evaluation. At others, grossly unjust. Judge for yourself. The Log House was built by the Boy Scouts in the early 1930s and was Fort Gaines’ first community library. Today, it is used  for civic events. Frontier Village is a collection of authentic frontier structures,  is a part of an ambitious project to re-create Fort Gaines as it might have looked during the town’s earliest days, using only  original buildings. There are log houses, a syrup cooker and a  cane press.  The statue  facing the river commemorates Otis Micco, a Creek leader. In 1816, by order of General Andrew Jackson, Micco and his people abandoned their village here, and fled to Spanish Florida. The statue was carved by local artist Philip Andrews from a tree section measuring three feet around and 10-to-12 feet long. Much of the work was done with a chain saw. It is illuminated at night and makes an imposing sight from GA 37 far below. View of the river from the Frontier Village Fort Gaines Walking Tour  http://www.gastateparks.org/GeorgeTBagby http://www.fortgaines.com/

Don't forget to visit Kolomoki State Park if you are visiting Fort Gaines. Ths park is 32 minutes from George T. Bagsby park and is the oldest and largest Woodland Indian site in the southeastern U.S., occupied by American Indians from 350 to 750 A.D.

http://www.gastateparks.org/KolomokiMounds

http://www.getoutdoorsgeorgia.org/parks/index.asp?parkId=34