The Atlanta History Center chronicles the past of Georgia and the Southeast, as well as the city of Atlanta. The Center maintains a vast collection of photographs, maps, books, newspaper accounts, furnishings, Civil War artifacts, and decorative arts. It occupies 32 woodland acres, with self-guided walking trails and 5 gardens. Plan to spend the better part of a day here. And call ahead, or inquire on the premises, about lectures, films, festivals, and other events that take place here on a regular basis; activities range from sheep-shearing demonstrations to decorative arts forums. When you call, also check on house-tour times for the day of your visit (house-tours are described below). The Swan Coach House is a delightful restaurant on the premises.

Note: House-tour tickets are limited and can only be purchased on the day of your visit. Arrive early to avoid disappointment.

Begin your visit at the Atlanta History Museum. This is where you can buy tickets and get information about historic house tours and other activities. The museum is the single best place to go for a cultural record of the city and the South. The museum's major permanent exhibit, "Metropolitan Frontiers: Atlanta, 1835-2000," traces Atlanta's history from the days of Native Americans and rural pioneer settlements to the present day. Displays, enhanced by hands-on discovery areas and informative videos, feature hundreds of photographs, documents, and artifacts. Included are an entire 1890s shotgun house, a fire engine that was used in Atlanta's great fire of 1917 (when 50 city blocks were ravaged by flames), a rare 1920 Hanson Six touring car; and a model of Atlanta's most complex interstate intersection, known locally as "Spaghetti Junction."

Also on the center's grounds is the Swan House, the 1928 estate of Edward Hamilton Inman, scion of an old Atlanta family. The house and gardens were designed by renowned architect Philip Trammell Shutze and are considered his finest residential work. The house is interesting not only architecturally but for its eclectic contents and furnishings, which comprise a veritable museum of decorative arts. It's also a fascinating glimpse into the lifestyle enjoyed by upper-crust Atlantans in the early 20th century.

Swan House is fronted by a classical colonnaded porte cochére, leading to a circular entrance hall with Ionic columns and a dramatic floating stairway. The formal gardens include terraced lawns and waterfalls, retaining walls with recessed ivy arches, and fountain statuary. In the entrance hall, you'll notice that the fanlight over the door centers on a swan, announcing the theme of the house. In fact, there is supposed to be at least one swan emblem or decoration in each room--see if you can find them.

Tullie Smith Farm gives a sense of the life of Georgia's mid-19th-century farmers. A two-story "plantation-plain" house built in the early 1840s, it was brought here along with period outbuildings in 1972. This was no Tara-like colonnaded mansion--just an everyday farmhouse whose occupants lived in rustic simplicity. Costumed docents give tours throughout the day, and there are frequent demonstrations of 19th-century farm activities.

A bedroom has a rope bed with a feather mattress and a crib that was always occupied by the youngest baby. Here, a docent will demonstrate how to use a spinning wheel. The basket of pomander balls was typical--the 19th-century answer to today's air fresheners.

In a back room, there are weaving demonstrations. During cooler months, demonstrations of 19th-century hearth cookery take place in the whitewashed kitchen, where herbs hang from the rafters. Additional outbuildings are a barn, corncrib, root cellar, blacksmith shop, and smokehouse. The gardens and grounds are authentic to the period.

Leave some time to stroll the gardens, most notably the forested mile-long Swan Woods Trail. It includes plants native to Georgia and the Garden for Peace, where you will see a sculpture by noted Soviet artist Georgi Dzhaparidze and Atlanta artist Hans Godo Frabel.