uncle remus museum

We just had to venture off the beaten path to the Uncle Remus Museum in Eatonton GA so that we could purchase a Song of the South DVD. We enjoyed chatting with the very friendly woman who was managing the museum that day. After a small donation we wandered through the small but interesting museum of artifacts, depictions, artwork, and more. Ending our visit with the purchase of a few books and a dvd.

As we were driving through Eatonton, we decided to stop at this museum. Though outside it appeared there would be a lot about Joel Chandler Harris' stories, there was very little, though a number of Harris' books in different languages were on display. The museum is more about how Harris lived and his mentor, Joseph Turner. We did learn Harris learned the stories from slaves. In fact, the following day we read a complete story as told by the slaves before being retold by Harris at an exhibit of slave life at the South Carolina State Museum. Children will be bored and there is no photography allowed inside the museum.

Visited this quaint little museum as a break on a road trip. Glad I stopped as the lady guide brought back to life the brer rabbit stories I read as a small child. I was transported back 45 years!From what I remember it was free entry and voluntary donation. Excellent stock of the books both in 'plain English' and the language as written at the time

The best part of the experience is the story telling - after all the museum is dedicated to tales, and one looks forward to hearing the tales. The interior also includes artifacts and displays from the time period in which the stories were told on a nearby plantation and recorded by Joel Chandler Harris.

Hope you are lucky enough to be there when Ms. Georgia is there. She tells the best stories and sings "Zip-a-Dee-Doo-Dah" like none other.

I love this place my family was from this town and we would walk around downtown as children always going over to the Museum . It's been renovated and the place really looks good , I've taken pictures and will post

We were heading south, in a hurry and I had to bully my husband to drive into town to find this museum (especially as he'd had a deprived childhood and never read the books) but it turned out to be one of the highlights of our road trip. Apart from telling the background of the Brer Rabbit books, it also gave a fascinating insight into life in that era, both for the 'haves' and 'have nots'. We felt particularly privileged to meet Georgia who talked us through the background. We just wish we could have stayed overnight in the area to get more of a feel for the history. We're now on a mission to track down a DVD of Song of the South to watch again.

The museum is small but there is a lot in this tiny place. I have lived in the area for several years now and got to go there when I had family here from California. My cousin is a school teacher and she was able to bring some things back with her to share with the students. I myself learned some things about the area that I was not aware of. If in the Lake Oconee/Eatonton area pay a visit and learn a little more about the story of Uncle Remus. If I remember there is a small fee.

The first room in the museum is focused on Uncle Remus, with cute carvings depicting moments from the stories. We didn't have kids with us, but I think looking at these displays with children would be a lot of fun. The other two rooms have collections of old household items, books and newspaper articles - I think these might be more interesting for adults than for children. There were several books of stories available for sale, along with some CDs and a few other souvenir items. There are nice picnic tables and a garden next to the museum; we sat and had a snack in the shade of a very pretty cedar tree.

Joel Chandler Harris was born and lived in Putnam County, GA in his early years. It is here he wrote the tale of Uncle Remus. The museum is in a rustic cabin, typical of the housing of slaves, share croppers and the poor. Mr Harris got much of his story telling material from the slaves themselves during the Civil War and afterwards. The museum is small but quaint. The docents make the visit all the more memorable. Many manuscripts and photographs of the era fill the rooms. If you are lucky. Ms Georgia Smith will be there the day you visit. No one spins a tale or tells of the writings better than she. Visit the museum's web site for more information.

This museum, like so many others in small town America, is run by a lady with boundless enthusiasm for her subject. The museum itself, housed in three shacks, contains more information about the Uncle Remus books and the life of Joel Chandler Harris, than it is possible to consume in one visit. While Harris's works may not be politically correct these days, they do offer an insight into a very different world of not that long ago.

I learned about this while searching through a website called America's Roadside Attractions. We were kind of near the area on a family road trip. Adults had heard of Uncle Remus. Kids had no clue. Interesting listening to the adults trying to explain their version of Uncle Remus to the young ones. That warranted a major google search investigation. Easy to find once you find Eatonton. Unfortunately we arrived after they had closed for the day. However, we did get a good parking space. The gardens were sweet and fanciful. We were able to walk around the cabin and see info placards. Wish it had been open. If in area again, will definitely visit.

When traveling through Eatonton, GA on our way to a funeral just a few miles away, we passed by the Joel Chandler Harris Museum. Noting its location, we planned right then to visit on our way back to St. Augustine, FL. My wife "Googled" the museum hours and days open each week. We arrived early on Saturday just before opening hour of 10:00am. To our great delight, the docent was a small stature black lady whose name was Georgia. She regaled us with the history of the area and of Joel Chandler Harris, writer of the Uncle Remus children's stories. Georgia was very frank in her presentation of what great children's stories Mr. Harris wrote and about his personality and how he started his education as a four-year old boy working for a plantation owner in the area. While working for the plantation owner, Mr. Harris listen intently to the folk stories told by elderly slaves to the young plantation slave children. Georgia went on to tell us of Mr. Harris' later years and where he worked, including Macon, Savannah and later in Atlanta for the Atlanta Constitution Newspaper where he began writing columns with the Uncle Remus folk stories. Georgia reported that the more Mr. Harris wrote of the Uncle Remus stories, the more demand there was from the public for additional stories. Georgia related that when Mr. Harris moved to Atlanta, he purchased a home that happened to have a large bird nest in the mail box. Not wanting to disturb the Wrens that had built the nest, he installed a second mail box next to the first. He then named his home the "Wren's Nest" which has become famous in itself as the home of Joel Chandler Harris.If you ever travel through that part of the State of George, be sure and stop in to tour the museum. And, if you are extremely lucky, you too may be able to hear Miss Georgia's stories of the history of the area and in particular the history of Uncle Remus and the author, Joel Chandler Harris.

Very Interesting little museum about Joel Chandler Harris and Brer Rabbit. The guide, Georgia, was the one who made this tour and visit "come to life". It is interesting if you know the history of The South. If you are in mid Georgia, Do take the side trip to this museum. Call to check opening hours: 706.485.6856.

This was a great place to take kids 4-12. Informative, inexpensive, cute and nostalgic. A lot of historic information and displays. Probably not appropriate for teenagers. Nice local resource about Joel Chandler who was from Eatonton.