Milledgeville, Georgia

“The way to despair is to refuse to have any kind of experience.”

Flannery O’Connor

Milledgeville, a quaint town in Baldwin County, was once the old Antebellum Capitol of Georgia and was founded in 1803. This town served as the capitol of Georgia from 1804-1868 which was through the Civil War. The town was named after a former Georgia governor name John Milledge.

This charming town has much to offer and is now mainly known as a hip college town. Georgia Military College is located here and was established in 1879. It offers 23 programs of study and has 12,000 students. Georgia College and State University was founded in 1889, has 36 undergraduate degrees and 25 graduate programs with about 7,000 students. 

Our travels brought us to Milledgeville to see Ian Henderson’s Antique Mall which claimed to be the largest inside Antique Mall in the state. I’m not sure about that but it was an interesting place to stop with some great antiques and interesting stuff to check out. They were located near Athens, Georgia but have since moved here. We enjoyed our stop looking at all the unique item but it is not well marked. The building is a warehouse with Storage written on it. 

After exploring Ian’s, we headed for downtown Milledgeville. There are many great and eclectic locally owned shops downtown that are fun to explore. Joe and I loved the antique shop on Hancock Street that was just loaded with things from bi-gone days. There was so much to look at and we enjoyed reminiscing about some of the items. The old movie theater is reminiscent of earlier days and is still being used. There are also many beautiful churches to see. 

There is a wide selection of great places to eat in town as well. On our travels, we have hit a few but today we tried one new restaurant for us, Buffington’s, and stopped by The Brick which we had been to before and is always a great go to restaurant. 

We went to Buffington’s Restaurant for a snack and a drink and to check it out. We both got a drink and ordered off their starter menu. Joe was impressed by the list of beers that had to offer. We ordered the sampler, where you can choose four items to try. We got their chicken, cheese sticks, pretzel with cheese dip, and nachos with guacamole. They even threw in a few pork rinds and everything was very tasty. The guacamole had a great flavor and was made perfectly. The service was outstanding and everyone working at the restaurant was very friendly. We enjoyed our experience there. 

Later in the day, we went to The Brick and had a great experience there as well. They have never let us down there. They mainly serve pizza and sandwiches and their pizza is very good. We ordered a loaded calzone with many meats and it was excellent. One calzone was perfect for the two of us and we enjoyed a nice drink there before we left. The service was excellent as well. 

Before we left, we went into the Blackbird Coffee Shop for a coffee for the road for Joe. What drew us in was the huge sacks of coffee beans that had just been delivered and placed outside of the shop. They were green coffee beans so we knew they must roast them in the coffee shop. One of the workers raved about the coffee so of course, we had to go inside. That is a neat shop. Once inside the fresh aroma of coffee fills the air and becons you to come in and give it a try. They roast the fresh coffee beans right in the shop. The lovely exposed brick walls and the roaster near the front window adds a nice ambiance to this shop.

Milledgeville has many things to see in town while you are there. It was home to one of the largest mental institutes in the world, the Georgia State Lunatic, Idiot, and Epileptic Asylum. It is now known as Central State Hospital and is interesting to visit over 200 buildings which most are now vacant. The grounds are lovely to see. Internationally known author, Flannery O’Connor lived and wrote her books at Andalusia Farm in town. Oliver Hardy, was a well known comic in the team of Laurel and Hardy, lived here as a boy and worked at the movie theater downtown. And lastly, a little bit of trivia is that Guinness Book of World Records states Milledgeville is the only city in the world that requires a train to stop at a red light.

Anytime we are near Milledgeville, we stop in town. It is a perfect southern town with so much to offer. Walking around town is a great way to spend a day. We always enjoy a nice meal and have a good time in this town. If you are in the area, drive into town and see what Milledgeville is all about.

Till next time. Bye for now.