Greensboro, Georgia - a lovely small town

“I wish I could show you the little village where I was born. It’s so lovely there… I used to think it too small to spend a life in, but now I’m not so sure.”

Mary Kelly

Driving through Greensboro, Georgia many times before on our way to the mountains, Joe and I always commented on what an inviting town this was. We had always wanted to go and spend some time there. Today was the day to visit this quaint town. This charming town was founded in 1786 and was named for a Revolutionary war hero named Nathanael Greene. It is the county seat of Greene County and was the home of Mickey Mantle, a New York Yankee, who spent his final years here.

We drove 72 miles from Augusta when we pulled into town. We took a nice walk around the quaint sleepy town. There are beautiful historic buildings to see that have been converted into antique shops, restaurants, gift shops, and unique stores. All the stores we went into had friendly people who greeted us warmly and welcomed us to Greensboro and even thanked us for coming.

We strolled passed the Greene County Court House on Main Street which is a three story Greek Revival style brick courthouse with four large white pillars in front. It was built in 1848-1849. Right behind the court house is the a unique and very old building that we walked up to see. We read the sign and realized this was an old prison called the “The Old Gaol.”

In 1807, the superior court recommended building a jail and shortly after “The Gaol” was built. It is built like a Bastille where prisoners were held for ages. It is a two story structure with two foot granite walls and cells inside that are small and dimly light with not much ventilation. If you were put in the basement of this jail, you were a serious criminal. If you were put upstairs where there was a little more ventilation and light, it meant you hadn’t committed such a bad crime. There is even a trap door on the floor that was used when there were hangings done in the prison. The hangman would stand on the steps, pulled a lever, and the trap door would fall away. During the years of 1735-1924, hangings were legal. This is one of the oldest penal structures in Georgia. It felt a little eerie looking at it and knowing the history.

Oconee Brewing Company is a renovated cotton mill warehouse that has been converted into a craft beer brewery and located on N. West Street. This is a lovely old brick building with a 3,600 square foot event center and has a lovely outside patio area with picnic tables and band area. There is a bar and tasting area where you can sit and watch what was going on in the brewery. Joe ordered a flight of beer to see which beers he liked and before we left he bought a growler full of his favorite to bring home. Joe said they had a good variety of beers and they were very good. We still have the growler so the next time we are in town, we will have to have it refilled.

After leaving the Oconee Brewing Company, we wanted to grab a bite to eat and went to The Yesterday Cafe on Main Street. We loved the atmosphere of this place and looking at all the old pictures of the people and town of Greensboro from years past. They played old Frank Sinatra, Tommy Dorsey, and other big band music as background noise. This restaurant opened in 1995 and we had excellent service and the food was good old American food and was fantastic. The waitress convinced me to try the award winning Buttermilk Pie and it was really good. This is a great place to stop and eat.

We were happy we stopped in this town and just loved the people and the atmosphere. I am sure we will be back again. Goodbye for now.