About Jarrell Plantation State Historic Site
Located in the red clay hills of Georgia, Jarrell Plantation State Historic Site preserves one of the last remaining examples of a 19th- and early 20th-century cotton plantation with authentic buildings reflecting the transition from agricultural to industrial economies. Originally built in 1847 by John Fitz Jarrell, the site includes a heart pine house and period furnishings, and was operated by 42 enslaved African laborers by 1863; after the Civil War, the land expanded to nearly 1,000 acres and was worked by formerly enslaved people until most laborers left and the slave quarters deteriorated. The plantation survived Sherman’s March, disease, the boll weevil, and technological change, and remained in the same family for over 140 years.
The site is part of a forest-management project to restore habitat for the endangered red-cockaded woodpecker, and visitors may occasionally hear timber activity in remote areas. Leashed pets are permitted on historic trails but not inside buildings. The property features preserved plantation structures and interpretive exhibits detailing its history and ecological conservation efforts.