A. H. Stephens State Park, Crawfordville, Georgia

A young man starting out in life on his majority, with health, talent, and ability, under a favoring Providence, may be said to be the architect of his own fortunes. His destinies are in his own hands. He may make for himself a name, of honor or dishonor, according to his own acts. If he plants himself upon truth, integrity, honor and uprightness, with industry, patience and energy, he cannot fail of success. So it is with us. We are a young republic, just entering upon the arena of nations; we will be the architects of our own fortunes.

Alexander Hamilton Stephens

After last weeks long drive to the mountains, we decided to keep it close for this weeks adventure. This trip was a short 55 miles from our home in Augusta and was an easy drive. We got on I-20 and headed west towards Atlanta to explore yet another state park in Georgia, one of 50 in the state. We had seen the signs to A. H Stephens State Park for years off of I-20, sometimes known as “the Green Tunnel” because of all the trees on either side of the highway, and decided today would be a good day to check it out.

We got off at the Crawfordville exit and traveled another couple miles till we entered the town. The town was quaint but nothing was open making it appear to be a ghost town. We were not sure if the town was normally like that or just because of the shut down in Georgia due to COVID 19. After we turned off the main street. we were facing a beautiful southern estate with a well manicured green lawn with an imposing statue of a man on a pedestal up in front. That was a part of the state park and of course, the statue was of A. H. Stephens himself. This park has 1,177 acres which includes many historic sites and three pretty mill ponds. This park was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1995.

Rental for events overlooking the lake. 

We drove into the state park, paid our $5 admission fee, parked, and looked for a picnic table to eat our lunch and let Teddy get out and run around. We walked over to a small covered picnic table that also had a grill undercover. This was a great place to sit and eat our picnic lunch since it was overlooking the serene Lake Liberty. It was a perfect day with clear skies, cool, and a slight breeze coming from the lake. Teddy, waited patiently as we finished our sandwiches. After our lunch, we took our little man, Teddy down to the lake to get a drink and let him go for a nice swim. He loved it. We stopped by the visitors center which was all closed up, but were able to get a map of the state park. We walked around part of the lake and then headed to our car to check out the rest of the park.

We loved how tranquil it was since there was hardly anyone there except for the campers. It felt like we had the place to ourselves. First we drove out to see the group camp, called Camp Stephens. This place was amazing with many mini cottages to rent, a lake with a beach, and many other unique buildings. There was a volleyball court set up and ready to go, a good size dining hall, bath house,covered picnic area, and an amphitheater. It looked like a great venue for a scout camp or any large groups. It was a very private area away from everything else in the park and was very peaceful and serene. The grounds were very well taken care of and looked gorgeous.

Covered picnic pavilion

Stables

Equestrian Camping

Picnic Shelter

The two picnic shelters looked great, especially the one with picnic tables and a fireplace on the back wall. It was located up against the pine forest and the setting was lovely. It must be nice on a cool day to have a fire and a group gathering there. From there, we headed out to check out the stables and saw the brand new stalls they built. They have 30 horse stables and this park boast of 21 miles of horse trails. The equestrians even have their own campground. What a great facility.

Cabin by the lake

Across the lake from Camp Stephen are four lovely lakeside cottages that can be rented overlooking Federal Lake. They are set back in the woods and very secluded. They each have screened in porches facing the lake and from all reviews are meticulously maintained.

Lake Buncombe

Pedestrian nature trail

We drove down to see Lake Buncombe. The water was low so it just wasn’t that pretty when we saw it. I’m sure it is gorgeous when at full pool. The was a boat ramp there where you can put in your own boat but no motors are allowed. It is a good place to go fishing. There was a nature trail right off the parking lot that looked nice. There are four miles of nature hiking trails to be enjoyed.

Rental bikes

You can rent bikes to ride here as well as Jon Boats, kayaks, canoes, paddle boards, and Pedal Boats. What a great place to spend some time and to explore.

Campground 

Observation Tower

The modern campground has twenty five tent, trailer, and RV campsites. The campground was immaculate and the sites were well spread out. There is a volleyball court, playground, and even a kid zip line for the children to enjoy. The bath house was very clean and has nice hot showers. There was also a dump station available as well as laundry facilities. Each campsite has a table, fire ring, and a grill. When you pull into the campground, the first thing you notice is the old fire tower that was decommissioned and is now an observation tower built by the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) in 1935. In 2015, Stevens and Wilkinson came to the park to restore the 60 foot, three story high structure. They rebuilt the stairway, renovated the ground floor, making it into an interpretive area, fixed water damage, and added a new roof. It really adds to the ambiance of the campground and is lit up at night.

Visitors Center

Museum

Both the CCC and the WPA (Works Progress Administration) built some of the building on the state park and planted the loblolly pine forest on the property during the 1930’s. After we drove through the park, we stopped to see A. H. Stephens home and the Confederate Museum. Neither were open as of COVID 19 so we just walked the grounds. The Confederate Museum is said to have one of the finest collections of Civil War artifacts in Georgia with many uniforms on display as well as documents.

A. H. Stephens statue in front of the big house.

Alexander Hamilton Stephens was a small man weighing under a 100 pounds and served as a congressman before the Civil War, then became the Confederate Vice President under President Jefferson Davis, later an elected senator, and then served as the 50th Governor of Georgia in 1882. He didn’t agree with many of President Jefferson Davis policies but served with him from 1861 to 1865. He had strong feelings about the South and how the policies should be set there. Some of his thoughts were misinformed, at best.

A. H. Stephens residence - "The Big House." 

I loved the huge oak trees that surrounded his home. 

Others buildings on his residence.

His large two story home, known as Liberty Hall or Bachelor’s Hall, or as he called it - “the big house” is a traditional 4x4 home with four rooms on each level and was built in 1834. It is listed as a National Historic Landmark. A. H. Stephens bought the property in 1845 and lived there until 1883. had 31 slaves. After the slaves were freed, he kept some working whom he paid a salary. One couple, that had been married and raised a family on the estate, stayed with him till his death. He completely rebuilt the “big house” in 1875. He died on March 4, 1883 and left his estate to his surviving relatives who used this home as a boarding house until 1932. At that time, his family donated it to the State of Georgia. He is buried underneath the statue on the grounds in front of his home. There were many other buildings to the back of the home but it was closed up so we will have to come back another time to see them and the inside of the museum and “big house”.

A beautiful church located next to this historic property. 

This was a beautiful park to see for nature lovers and history buffs and we plan on coming back when the buildings are opened again. If you are coming from out of town, be advised to bring a picnic lunch as there is not much at all in town and to fill up when you get off the highway. Take care and until next time. Bye for now.