Last week, I was invited to tour the old Governor’s Mansion in Milledgeville, GA. I’ve never been to Milledgeville so it was a fun opportunity to explore more of my home state of Georgia. Even though I’ve been in GA since I was 6, I must have forgotten a bit of my history of the state and didn’t remember that Milledgeville was the home of the original capital of Georgia and the Governor’s mansion.
I knew it would be all decorated for Christmas, so Mark and I took a drive there for a day trip and it was a fun outing. The Visitor’s Bureau invited me, so a thank you to them is in order.
We had a private tour from a young lady who certainly knew the mansion well as well as the history of the house and people who lived there. She did a great job with the tour. Milledgeville is also home to Georgia College and the mansion is part of the college grounds right off Main Street.
Growing up, Milledgeville was home to Georgia’s state mental hospital, so you can imagine the jokes that went around about the town.
The house is Greek Revival style and has been meticulously cared for, looking very stately on a hill in town.
It was great to see all the decorations and visit the gift shop. I found a few Christmas pieces to take home with me from there so that was fun.
I won’t narrate the whole tour, but will let you know what is on each floor that we visited. I can’t possibly recite all the history of the house, but several Georgia Governors lived here until the capital was moved to Atlanta after 1868.
I loved the old brick sidewalks.
View from the side of the mansion.
The lower floor was where all the cooking took place, as well as a huge pantry and sleeping quarters for some of the servants.
Looking into where the food was prepared.
When the house was restored, this original fireplace was uncovered.
Servants’ quarters. Notice the deep window sills and the big windows letting in a lot of light.
The pantry was very impressive.
I especially loved this collection of blue glass, not all from the time period but beautiful on their own.
Hanging meats outside.
The State dining room where big dinners were held for the Governor.
This cake would have represented the time period of the 1800’s pastry offerings.
Upstairs is the ladies parlor.
Hand painted shades at the windows.
The rooms were huge.
This is the big foyer coming in the front door. That’s a hand painted reproduction vinyl floor covering which closely resembles the original pattern.
The old woodwork in the mansion is just beautiful.
Behind the center door in the foyer is this magnificent rotunda which soars way up to the third floor. This beautiful Christmas tree was the show stopper.
The ceiling has real gold gilting.
The family dining room was very pretty.
An early ice server.
One of the stair cases.
A peek at the top of the tree.
It was so stunning!
The gentlemen’s parlor.
The Governor’s office.
An early recliner.
The personal bedrooms are on the third floor along with office desks.
This room was designated for staff.
A mustache cup, which I had never seen.
The Governor’s room.
Complete with desk and chairs.
Handmade quilt.
Nursery for the children. This was a novelty that I hadn’t seen before. Each child for Christmas had a different color ribbon and all of their presents were color coded by the ribbon and tagged.
I had never seen that before.
We enjoyed our tour of the Governor’s mansion in Milledgeville and I hope you did too! Thanks to Bonnie for inviting us, she also treated us to lunch and we went to The Brick for lunch before we headed back to Atlanta. I also grabbed a coffee and we stopped in the local bakery for a sweet treat.
It’s fun to do road trips like this so if you get a chance to visit Milledgeville, definitely give it a look. The mansion tour was enjoyable! For more information, see Visit Milledgeville.
Been to Milledgeville many times,never toured the mansion! Thanks to you and the visitors bureau for the tour 👏🏻😊
How beautiful! Those hand painted shades and the tree in the rotunda are stunning. My girlfriends and I love to ramble around that whole section of Georgia…Athens, Madison, Washington, Milledgeville. Getting off the interstate and exploring the backroads turns up all sorts of adventures. I can’t wait until the ‘Rona is over so we can hit the roads again. Great tour, thank you Rhoda!
Roxanne, you are so right, GA has some great little towns to explore.
Thank you for sharing! Wow! My favorite were the hand painted shades…so beautiful. Never seen that before 🙂 Merry Christmas!
I grew up in GA and of course Milledgeville was just know as a town to send “crazy” people to if anything was said by our grandparents. When my daughter and her best friend, which had HOPE scholarships didn’t get into UGA with a 4.2 gpa (because of being in Cobb county and they didn’t want attend GT) someone told us to visit the college there. It was named GA College & State University, at that time. We discovered a diamond in the rough! The best small (like a private college) which has grown so much since then. She graduated with her masters of accounting from there, as did her husband, and our son. If anyone is looking for an in-state smaller college this one is highly recommended by all that have attended. The town is very quaint, has beautiful homes, and wonderful restaurants in which we have spent many weekends visiting. Thanks for sharing your tour. Beautiful pictures. Merry Christmas 🎄
HI, Linda, that sounds so nice. I didn’t realize Milledgeville was a college town, but it does sound like a great option. We didn’t see the whole town, but Main Street and surrounding area was really cute.
Great tour love the Mansion I toured about 4 years ago and impressed
The hand painted shades are stunning I remember seeing them
Merry Christmas
Rhoda, thanks for sharing your pictures of this beautiful old mansion with us! I really enjoyed the tour. Hope you and Mark have a great week!
That was such an interesting tour..thank you..I wonder what would have been their main course for Christmas dinner…turkey..goose or beef.. The tree was magnificent along with all the other decorations.. I particularly loved the mint green china..
How beautiful and gorgeous this home is. Decorated with old and new together.
As a Georgia College alum, I walked past the beautiful mansion daily. Our college president lived in the mansion while I was a student there. I had the privilege to attend a few events there while in college, but had never seen the upstair areas. Thanks so much for sharing!
I like the ribbons hanging from the light fixture. Neat idea. Ok, I’m going to ask a question. And I’m not trying to be a smarta**……..I’m just curious. Does the property still have slave quarters on site?
Jane, she mentioned the old slave quarters, but I think she pointed to an area where they used to be but they are not there any longer.
Fun tour – I linked to my Vrbo#298639 on nearby Lake Sinclair. That sanatorium certainly got a bad rap but it is fitting that the capitol was in the same city. Oh how we need that now.
Hi, Teresa, it sure did get a bad rap. I’ll never forgot that part of growing up.
I usually enjoy your posts with all the lovely photographs and witty banter. Today, however, I think your comment about the mental hospital and jokes surrounding it were insensitive. Many of us have family members and loved ones who have struggled with mental health and the ongoing pandemic has only heightened those issues. Studies show young people today are battling anxiety and depression in unprecedented numbers. Please don’t be so glib about matters so serious. Our culture needs a much kinder and compassionate view on such things.
Susan Blakely, so well said. That was my first reaction too. I was actually put off the whole post because of that comment.
Thank you so much for sharing this gorgeous mansion and history. I really love the use of fruit, Magnolia leaves and greens in the traditional way. So pretty, have a great Holiday Season, this was just beautiful!