Magnolia Springs State Park, Millen, Georgia

When was the last time you spent a quiet moment just doing nothing – just sitting and looking at the sea, or watching the wind blowing the tree limbs, or waves rippling on the pond, a flickering candle or children playing in the park.”

Ralph Marston

We woke up to a beautiful sunny day in the 60’s and decided to take three of our grandchildren to Magnolia Springs State Park. We drove from Augusta to the park which is less than an hour drive.

This state park has 1,070 acres and is located between Perkins and Millen, Georgia. This park was a project of the Civilian Conservation Corp. and was opened in 1939.

There are many trails to walk and we chose to walk down the Red Trail or Woodpecker Trail. It was lovely walking through the woods on these wide sandy trails and hearing the different bird calls. The girls loved it and enjoyed reading all the signs about the different animals in the park. The boardwalk goes over part of the cool water spring. The water is crystal blue and over 7 million US gallons of water flows out of a hole 18 feet below the surface per day. Water is coming up from the limestone channels that are estimated at 250 feet below.

We saw lots of turtles and fish from the boardwalk going over the clear spring water. When we walked over the bridge, we even saw two alligators who were hanging out with the turtles on the bank of the creek. Since having so much rain lately, the spring wasn't as clear blue and it can be but it was beautiful just the same.    This park is so very pretty with Spanish moss hanging from the trees and wonderful to see especially on a beautiful day like today.

This is what the spring looked like in September 2017.

After walking the trails, we headed to the great playground and let the children have a great time running around using up some of their extra energy. Then we walked over and saw the splash pad and the kids wished it was warmer so they could run around in the water. We promised them we would come back in the nicer weather.

We drove to the other end of the park and saw the 28 acre lake. It is great for canoeing and kayaking and looked like you could rent canoes. It is a beautiful like in a peaceful setting. We also drove around and saw the cabins which look great. There are 9 cottages that are either two or three bedroom cabins as well as a tent, trailer, and RV site campground. There are also eight picnic shelters that can be rented which are well maintained.

Magnolia Springs used to be called Camp Lawton and served as the “worlds largest prison” during 1864. In 1864 the Confederate states built a POW war camp and the stockade was designed to hold 40,000 prisoners in an enclosed 42 acres. The prisoners came from Andersonville prison in Georgia in late September 1864. The prison was only open till the end of November of that year because of the “March to the Sea” by Sherman’s forces.

During that short time, 500 of the 10,000 prisoners succumbed to disease and starvation. Many of the prisoners came from Andersonville sick as the water wasn’t good there but in Magnolia Springs the water supply was plentiful and clean. That is why this location was chosen in the first place.

After abandoning this camp the prisoner stockade was burnt and the grounds eventually went back to being farmland. There is not much in left from that era.

This is a great park to visit that is peaceful and beautiful. Go and enjoy. We sure did. Just another of God’s gifts.