Two Smithsonian affiliates, eye-candy exhibits, kid-friendly fun
Cartersville offers the distinction of two Smithsonian-affiliated museums and a beautifully restored and renovated downtown filled with antiques, galleries and boutiques, along with dozens of dining options. For those who love history, art and science, Cartersville and Bartow County offer eight museum options, from downtown to off-the-beaten-path.
Anchoring Cartersville’s historic district is the Booth Western Art Museum, which proudly shares the world’s largest permanent exhibition of Western American art in the country. Eight galleries, including Civil War, the Mythic West, Landscapes and Wildlife, Native Hands and more, are housed in the 120,000-square-foot space. In the Sagebrush Ranch section, kids enjoy Western artists and artwork by riding in a stagecoach, learning chuck wagon cooking, playing with costumes and illustrating their fantasies. Major exhibits, along with weekend events like the Cowboy Festival and Symposium in October, make the museum a repeat-worthy experience. Through February 29, 2020, watch live as a Smithsonian National Portrait Gallery artist creates a new presidential canvas during Commanders in Chief – A Living Art Exhibit. SeeBoothMuseum.org/calendar/2019-06/ for more details.
The sister Smithsonian-affiliate, Tellus Science Museum, celebrates 10 years and two million visitors in 2019, as guests with a passion for science continue to seek new discoveries. The Weinman Mineral Gallery showcases one of the largest, most comprehensive collections in the Southeast, with more than 4,000 rocks, gems and minerals on display. The advanced Planetarium and telescope, hands-on science experiences, gem- and fossil-finding fun, Science Friday Nights and Lunch & Learns also provide education cleverly disguised as entertainment.
At nearby Rose Lawn Museum tour the beautifully-restored Victorian home of Reverend Samuel Porter Jones, who inspired the construction of Nashville’s Ryman Auditorium. Stunning architecture, furnishings and personal treasures tell the story of Jones’ legacy of faith and its impact on our nation. The museum also hosts the Annual Arts Festival at Rose Lawn, in September, and May Market each spring.
Get a closer look at a major Native American Mississippian era cultural center that thrived in the area from 1000 to 1500 A.D. at Etowah Indian Mounds State Historic Site. Six earthen mounds, a plaza, village site and an impressive archaeological artifact museum interpret life in the period for several thousand Native Americans. Children can work off their energy all over the site, including a climb up the steps of the highest mound, at this Georgia State Parks treasure.
At the Bartow History Museum, near The Booth Museum in downtown Cartersville, experience the history of Northwest Georgia’s industrial, agricultural and cultural heritage at the site of the 1869 courthouse.
Head farther afield to find hidden-gem historic sites and small but charming museums.
Adairsville was the first Georgia town to be listed in its entirety on the National Register of Historic Places. The Adairsville Depot History Museum & Welcome Center located in the W&A Railroad Depot on Adairsville’s Historic Square tell the town’s fascinating story, including pivotal roles in the Civil War’s Great Locomotive Chase, Georgia’s early peach and chenille bedspread industries and the development and advancement of the Dixie Highway. The depot is open 11 a.m.-3 p.m., Tuesday-Saturday. Admission is free.
Part of Georgia’s Covered Bridge Trail, the Euharlee Covered Bridge was built in 1886 by Washington W. King, the son of freed slave and bridge builder Horace King. Nearby is the Euharlee History Museum, offering free museum tours 10 a.m.-4 p.m., Wednesday-Saturday, and 1-5 p.m., Sunday. Admission free, donations encouraged.
Kingston, rich in antebellum history, displays its pride through artifacts, scrapbooks and photographs in the Kingston Woman’s History Museum and the Kingston Confederate Museum. It was at Kingston where the last Confederate troops east of the Mississippi were pardoned in May 1865. While staying here, General Sherman made plans for and awaited approval from General Grant for the March to the Sea. Open 1-4 p.m., Saturday and Sunday. Other times by appointment. Admission free, donations encouraged.