(Featured photo is of Ransom Schwerzler at Meadow Garden. Courtesy photo)
Two historic sites in downtown Augusta will take guests back in time to holiday seasons of yesteryear, Dec. 1-2.
Meadow Garden and the Boyhood Home of Woodrow Wilson will be dressed according to the season in the era their famous residents lived in the homes.
George Walton, one of the three Georgia signers of the Declaration of Independence, lived at Meadow Garden in the late 1700s, and the rooms he and his family occupied will be decorated in the spirit of the time, according to Ransom Schwerzler, the home’s director.
“Those rooms we try to decorate with live greenery, inspired by the idea of bringing the outside in,” she said.
Schwerzler said Walton’s wife, Dorothy, may have been inspired by Michaux’s Garden in Charleston, a 120-acre tract planted and cultivated by French botanist Andre Michaux, when she decorated for Christmas.
Flowers and plants such as tea olive and camellias may have adorned the tables.
The Waltons lived prior to electricity so the home will be lit by candles, but for safety’s sake, they will be battery operated candles, she said.
Live music representative of the era is scheduled as well.
Other rooms in the museum will be decorated in a more modern Christmas spirit, she said.
“We will also celebrate the home’s long history of remarkable women. From Dorothy Walton and the enslaved woman, Cloe, who were captured at sea by the British during the revolution to Octavia Walton and all the early Georgia DAR members who were fearless pioneers in historic preservation, the women of Meadow Garden have made their mark on American history,” according to Meadow Garden’s website.
The event will be from 6 to 8 p.m. Friday and Saturday. Tickets are $10 for general admission; $8 for teachers, senior citizens and military; $5 for youth 6-18; and 5 and younger are free.
Tickets will be available at the door.
President Woodrow Wilson lived in a home at Seventh and Telfair Streets as a young boy in the 1860s
His home will be decorated according to that time period.
The open tours will be from 5 to 7 p.m. Friday and Saturday.
“Join us for a walk-through of the Boyhood Home of President Woodrow Wilson, at your own pace, as it is decked with festive decorations, candles flickering and music filling the house with cheer. Volunteers will be placed throughout the home to share information as your group walks through and enjoys the festive atmosphere,” according to the Boyhood Home of Woodrow Wilson website.
There will be refreshments and activities for children. Reservations must be made to attend. Tickets are $15 for general admission; $12 for military and adults 60 years-old; $10 for students in kindergarten through 12th grade and free for children 5 and younger. For more information, go here.
Charmain Z. Brackett, the publisher of Augusta Good News and Inspiring: Women of Augusta, has covered Augusta’s news for 35 years. Reach her at charmain@augustagoodnews.com. Sign up for the newsletter here.
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