Georgia's "Gone With the Wind" Trail-- Part 4

JONESBORO

Thirty minutes south of Atlanta.  Home to Margaret Mitchell's maternal parents, the Fitzgeralds, who owned a plantation outside of town.  In 1969, Clayton County and Jonesboro designated it as "The Official Home of "Gone With the Wind."

Sherman did not destroy the plantation, but the main house caught fire after the war, leaving only the fireplaces standing.  It was moved to the Margaret Mitchell Memorial Park on the 1839 Stately Oaks Plantation, considered to be the inspiration for her Tara.

In downtown Jonesboro, there is the Road to Tara Museum located in the 1867 train depot.  It has a large collection of "Gone With the Wind" artifacts, even a "Sherman Necktie," a piece of railroad track twisted into a loop that Sherman's men were so good at making.

More info at the Gone With the Wind Trail at www.gwtwtrail.com.

--Old Secesh