You can't get into the courthouse without walking past this marker that reminds us of the end of…read morethe Civil War and the important part of it that took place right here in Washington. It stands within shouting distance of the Wilkes County Confederate Memorial. The marker has the same text on both sides. It reads, "On May 4, 1865, Jefferson Davis arrived in Washington where he performed what proved to be his last duties as President of the Confederate States of America. Shortly thereafter, with a small staff and escort, he departed enroute to the trans-Mississippi Department where, undaunted by the tragic surrenders at Appomattox and Durham Station, he intended to unite the forces of Generals E. Kirby Smith, Taylor, Forrest, Maury and Magruder "to form an army, which in the portion of that country abounding in supplies, and deficient in rivers and railroads, could have continued the war until our enemy, foiled in the purpose of subjugation, should in accordance with his repeated declaration, have agreed, on the basis of a return to the Union, to acknowledge the Constitutional rights of the States, and by a convention, or quasi-treaty, to guarantee the security of person and property." "After a hard journey via Sandersville, Dublin and Abbeville, his party camped a mile north of Irwinville (178 miles SW), in the present Jefferson Davis Memorial State Park. At dawn on May 10th, his camp was surrounded by men of the 1st Wisconsin and 4th Michigan cavalry regiments [US], and the President of the Southern Confederacy became a "state prisoner," his hopes for a new nation, in which each state would exercise without interference its cherished "Constitutional rights," forever dead. It is marker number 157-12 and it was erected in 1957 by the Georgia Historical Commission. [Review 242 of 2026 - 939 in Georgia - 25431 overall]

This jail is a pretty cool old piece of history. It is a small building and not much to see…read moreinside, but it is interesting to read some of the history. There is a short audio history out front.

THE OLD GREENE COUNTY GAOL! (CREEPY COOL!)…read more The old gaol (pronounced jail), is an old historic jail that was used to house prisoners from 1807 until 1895. Between 1760 and 1830 the word jail was actually spelled g-a-o-l and this is how it is spelled on the historic marker that sits in front of this structure. This place is creepy cool and every bit as old as it looks. It is a two story structure that was basically used to house and hang prisoners. As soon as you walk in and look to the left, you see a hanging rope. There is no mistaking this rope as it is hanging through a little trap door and you can easily imagine a body dropping through this opening and swinging at the end of the rope. Next to the door is a large empty room with a large arched doorway and I wondered if there were any makeshift beds provided or if prisoners simply sat on the floor and chained to the walls. A chain was still there. There are actually two such rooms on the main level and when I stood at the rear of the room, I was immediately transported back in time and had all types of thoughts running through my head. Weird! The steps to the second level were very narrow and I did not go up to that level. However my husband did and expressed concern that it was so open and posed a risk for young kids who might wander up there. Please keep this in mind when you visit with your kids and provide the appropriate level of supervision. When I visited, there were several young children going in and up the stairs without an adult present. This is a structure that you must see when visiting Greensboro as it has been identified as the oldest jail in the state and is something to see. I do wonder if it is used as an attraction during Halloween. Whatever you do, don't forget to visit this site while in town and although there is no specific address, you absolutely cannot miss it once you turn on to Greene Street.

Easy to find and access. Walking in it feels welcoming and…read moresmells like books! They have a large selection of paperbacks you can buy real cheap and the money goes back into programs. Summer reading challenges for children and story time is available. They are part of the Pines Library network so you can request books from other branches and they will be delivered here. The ladies behind the counter have a lot of patience and seem to like their job. There is also a selection of audit books and movies.

The Historic Dugas Home sits along East Robert Toombs Avenue, just a short walk from the heart of…read moredowntown Washington, and even though the house itself can be hard to glimpse through the trees, the weathered marker still anchors one of the town's most layered stories. The house, known historically as Pleasant Shade, evolved over time as later owners added an upper story and, in 1860, the massive Greek Revival columns that still define its façade, all crafted from virgin bald cypress harvested from the Augusta swamps. The marker reads, "This home was built by Mr. and Mrs. Louis Dugas, French refugees from Santo Domingo, in the early 1790s. Here, until 1810, Mrs. Dugas conducted the Boarding School for Select Young Ladies which was attended by the daughters of many of Georgia's outstanding early settlers. In this home was born Louis Alexander Dugas (1806-98) who became one of the State's most distinguished physicians and surgeons. Educated at home, he studied medicine under Dr. John Dent, later was graduated from the University of Maryland, and after spending some time in Europe as a student returned to settle in Augusta, Georgia. A founder of the Medical College of Georgia, Dr. Dugas was for many years Professor of Surgery there. He was President of the Medical Society of Augusta and of the Medical Association of Georgia, and from 1851 to 1858 edited the Southern Medical and Surgical Journal. During the War Between the States he served as Volunteer and Consulting Surgeon of Military Hospitals. "In later years this home was occupied by Dr. Thomas Dunwoody, distinguished Presbyterian minister, pastor of the Washington Presbyterian Church." It is marker number 157-2 and it was erected in 1961 by the Georgia Historical Commission. [Review 231 of 2026 - 931 in Georgia - 25420 overall]

The Campbell Home sits along East Liberty Street in one of Washington's most walkable historic…read morecorridors, and even with the landscaping starting to crowd the marker, the house itself still commands attention. The façade is unusually symmetrical for a Georgia residence of this period, and the paired front doors immediately stand out from the sidewalk. On a quiet morning the house has that settled, slightly formal presence that many of Washington's early homes share, the kind that makes you slow down and take a second look before you cross the street. The house itself is architecturally unusual. The two identical front doors are not a decorative flourish but part of the structure's original design, reflecting the fact that the building is essentially two houses joined together. The wainscoted panels beneath the front windows were built to open, a feature rarely seen today but still documented in the marker text. This distinctive configuration helped the property earn a place on the National Register of Historic Places in 1971 under the name Campbell‑Jordan House, a title that reflects later ownership by the Jordan family. It is also sometimes referred to as the Campbell‑Lindsey House, acknowledging the Lindsey family who lived here during the mid‑twentieth century. The marker reads, "This was once the home of two distinguished Georgians -- father and son. "Duncan G. Campbell was noted for drafting the treaty that removed the Cherokee Indians from Georgia and also for introducing in the Georgia Legislature the first bill for providing for higher education for women. John Archibald Campbell, born here in 1811, was an Associate Justice of the United States Supreme Court from 1853 until 1861, when he resigned to become Assistant Secretary of War for the Southern Confederacy. After the war he practiced law in New Orleans. "This house is really two houses in one. It has two identical front doors and the wainscoated panels under the front windows open. Marker number 157‑5, erected in 1953 by the Georgia Historical Commission, remains the clearest summary of the home's significance, even if you have to brush a few branches aside to read it. [Review 238 of 2026 - 935 in Georgia - 25427 overall]

At one end of Washington Square, the Confederate Memorial rises, and just beside it a historical…read moremarker notes that this was the site of the last cabinet meeting held by CSA President Jefferson Davis. It's the kind of pairing you expect to find in a Georgia courthouse square, but it was nice to see a counterbalance at the opposite end, a monument honoring the Black patriots who fought in the Continental Army. The two ends of the square speak to very different chapters of American memory, and walking between them on a quiet Sunday morning gives you time to take that in. The simple bust represents Austin Dabney, the best‑known Black patriot associated with Georgia. Dabney and his owner, Richard Aycock, moved from North Carolina to Wilkes County in the late 1770s, and to avoid service himself, Aycock sent Dabney to fight in his place. Dabney was present at the Battle of Kettle Creek on 14 February 1779, one of Georgia's most important engagements of the war. In recognition of his service, he was granted his freedom, land in Wilkes County, and a pension. Because no contemporary image of Dabney survives, sculptor Kinzey Branham used the likeness of James Armistead Lafayette, another African‑American patriot who gained his freedom after the war. It's not the only memorial I've seen in the South that honors Black Americans who served in the Civil War era. In Hertford, North Carolina, there's the US Colored Troops Monument, a reminder that these stories are finally being carved into public spaces after generations of being overlooked. So while this monument in Washington isn't unique, it still feels meaningful in a square long dominated by Confederate memory. As we move from the 19th century to the 21st, I expect to see more of these monuments appear across the South, each one adding a little more balance to the landscape and giving visitors a fuller sense of who actually shaped the country. [Review 263 of 2026 - 954 in Georgia - 25452 overall]

Produce market here is nice. Especially Amish bread, butter…read more We picked up some peach jalapeno jelly. We selected some fresh vegetables and watermelon. Very good.

Wilkes County was created in 1777 as one of Georgia's original eight counties, carved from the…read morelarge tract of land ceded by the Creek and Cherokee in the 1773 treaty that opened the region north of the Little River to colonial settlement. The first sustained waves of settlers arrived from North Carolina and Virginia, including families such as the Clarkes, Doolys, Waltons, Heard, and Meriwether lines, many of whom established homesteads along Long Creek, the Savannah River, and the Little River settlements that predated the county's formal creation. The county was named for John Wilkes, the British parliamentarian who championed colonial rights, and it quickly developed into a center of agriculture, frontier defense, and Revolutionary era political life. This courthouse is the fifth courthouse to serve the county and one of the most architecturally distinctive public buildings in northeast Georgia. Built in 1904 and designed by Frank Pierce Milburn, it reflects the Richardsonian Romanesque style that Milburn used in several southern courthouses, marked by its heavy brick massing, rounded arches, and the dramatic clock tower that once rose even higher before a 1956 fire destroyed the ornate upper portion of the building including the original roofline and the more elaborate clock tower. A restoration in 1989 attempted to approximate the 1904 appearance, though on a smaller scale, resulting in the present tower and simplified roof. Milburn's 1904 design used orange colored pressed brick, rough faced stone foundations, and a facade organized with alternating projecting and recessed bays. The first-floor windows sit under heavy stone lintels, while the second-floor windows are round arched with radiating brick voussoirs and occasional terra cotta ornament. This is one of several Milburn courthouses I've reviewed across the south. They include the Wayne County Courthouse in Goldsboro North Carolina, the Columbia County (Lake City Florida), Wise County (Virginia), Boyd County (Catlettsburg Kentucky) and Lowndes County (Valdosta Georga). It is quite unlike the others. [Review 241 of 2026 - 938 in Georgia - 25430 overall]