Foxfire Magazine, Books, and Museum in Rabun County Georgia

Imagine a time before electricity, hot-and-cold running water, and the comfort of department stores. Time felt different then, its rhythm and urgencies shaped by the most basic needs. Visitors to the Foxfire Museum in Mountain City, GA, can imaginatively re-create the works and days of southern Appalachia in the 1800s.

Rooted in the work that hundreds of high school students created, The Foxfire Magazine classes have put into documenting their local history, the Museum provides visitors a rare glimpse of what life was like for the mountaineers who settled this area. A collection of over 20 historic log cabins and replicas of traditional log construction designs, containing artifacts and crafts, the Museum provides a glance into the past, including a look at a wagon used in the Trail of Tears - the forced Cherokee migration from these mountains to Oklahoma.

A gift shop filled with pottery, handcrafted items, and books, including The Foxfire Book series, is located in the Gate House. Admission to the Gift Shop is free. Admission to the Museum, which includes one free self-guided tour book per family, is only $5.00 per person; children 10 and under are free.

This is part of a group of cabins near the middle of the Foxfire Center. The structure on the left is a two-room "dog-trot" style cabin containing a small folk art display and a small workshop for a local crafter. The structure on the right is a complete blacksmith's shop. This grouping of buildings also includes a wagon shed with a vintage Trail of Tears "tar grinder" wagon, and a weaver's shop.

No one from an Appalachian community would part with their old church - they viewed it as part of their heritage and history. The Foxfire chapel is a replica structure built mostly from an old barn that was too deteriorated to reassemble. It is located at the upper end of our walking tour trail, along a nature trail containing over 150 native plant/tree varieties.

The Grist Mill is a complete vintage corn mill driven by an overshot water wheel, and was moved to the Foxfire Center from a nearby North Carolina community. The lower floor of the mill houses all of the gearing, while the actual loading and milling of the corn takes place on the upper floor. The small structure to the right of the mill is a root cellar for storing food. By digging the structure into the bank, the ground helps maintain a steady, cool temperature to help preserve fruit and vegetable crops, just as a refrigerator does today.

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