Get off the interstate and explore South Georgia! Draw a triangle between Savannah, Macon, and Valdosta, and in the middle you’ll find Douglas, Georgia, a charming southern town of 11,000 people. It’s perfect for a short stop on your next South Georgia roadtrip!
WWII Flight Training Museum
The World War II Flight Training Museum and 63rd AAF Flying Training Detachment has a mouthful of a name and packs a lot into a small museum. Listed on the National Register of Historic Places, this contract pilot school enrolled 5,000 to 10,000 cadets between 1941 and 1944 for primary flying school where they were taught flying concepts and received hands-on experience. The instructors’ barracks have been converted into a two-room museum on the cadets, training, and facilities. You can walk around the 10-building campus, and you may be able to receive a guided tour of the two airplane hangers with restored planes. Admission is a requested $3 donation.
General Coffee State Park
Located just 10 minutes outside of Douglas is General Coffee State Park. Named after US Congressman General John Coffee, General Coffee State Park covers 1,500 acres of park land with hiking trails, horse-back riding trails, campsites, a lake, and Heritage Farms with educational programming and farm animals. Admission to the park is a $5 parking pass fee.
Heritage Station Museum
The Heritage Station Museum is located in the old Georgia and Florida Railroad Depot that serviced passengers from 1907 to the mid-1980’s. In 1999, the depot was renovated and reopened as a museum that highlights Douglas’s railroad history and train memorabilia as well as exhibits on local military, agricultural, African-American history. Admission to the museum is a requested $1 donation per person.
Lone Hill Cemetery
If you like traipsing around cemeteries, like I do, Lone Hill Cemetery is a small, peaceful one. Established in 1848, the cemetery is the final resting place of many early settlers of the surrounding communities. It also has Georgia’s largest eastern redcedar tree, standing 57 feet tall with a limb span of more than 75 feet.
Cheers!
Paige
What’s your favorite place to visit in South Georgia? Let me know in the comments!
