Skip to main content
Andalusia Farmhouse and Flannery O'Conner cameo blog header

Georgia Women Who Changed History

Written by Hannah Smith on . Posted in Trip Ideas.

The South is known for its strong women, and those who hail from these Georgia towns are no exception.  Incredibly impactful women can be found throughout the communities along Georgia’s Trail of Legacy & Lore. Discover the places that inspired literary greats Alice Walker and Flannery O’Conner, visit the “Hot Corner” where Georgia’s first Black female dentist practiced, and dine where the Allman Brothers Band found sustenance even when they were broke.

 

Athens, Georgia

Georgia’s First Black Female Dentist

Morton Theatre Athens Georgia exterior Day

Dr. Ida Mae Hiram was Georgia’s first licensed Black female dentist. Born and raised in Athens, she attended the Knox Institute (a segregated private school that once operated in downtown Athens) before marrying local dentist Lam Hiram. Wanting to assist with her husband’s dental practice, Ida traveled to Nashville, TN to attend Meharry College. Upon her graduation in 1910, she became the first Black woman to pass the Georgia Dental Board exam, becoming one of very few Black professionals working in the state at that time.

Her office sat at the intersection of Washington and Hull Streets, a spot known as “Hot Corner” that served as an early hub of African American business in Athens. Visitors to Athens can still visit Hot Corner and its historic Morton Theatre, one of the first vaudeville theatres in the U.S. to be owned and operated by an African-American.

Spend time in Athens at the many women-owned businesses operating today! Find a great selection at Visit AthensGA.com.

 

Oconee County

Home of America’s First Congresswoman

Jeannette Rankin at home
Courtesy of Hargrett Rare Book and Manuscript Library, University of Georgia Libraries

Jeannette Rankin (1880-1973) was not only active in the women’s suffrage movement but became the first woman to serve in Congress: she was elected from Montana in 1916 before women had the right to vote in other states. In the 1920s, Rankin first purchased land near the Oconee-Clarke County line and in 1933 bought a 44-acre site and renovated its farm house. This seasonal residence near Watkinsville in Oconee County became her beloved “Shady Grove” and a historic marker preserves this story.

Rankin is known for her outspoken opposition to all war and was one of only fifty persons in Congress who voted against entry into WWI. She helped found The Georgia Peace Society that worked for over ten years to support the Kellogg-Briand Pact which would have outlawed war as a way of settling disputes.

Discover more stories and visitor information at Visit Oconee.

 

Madison, Georgia

The Woman who Established Madison’s Historic District

A white, two-story, classical-style building named "Heritage Hall" features tall columns and a landscaped front yard. A woman pushes a red stroller along the pathway leading to the entrance. A large sign in the foreground provides information about the hall.

Walking through the Madison Historic District is akin to stepping back in time, with home after restored home extolling the importance of this town in 19th-century commerce and culture. The establishment and preservation of the Madison Historic District is thanks to Dorothy Dixon Gilmore (1924-2009), who sat on the Morgan County African-American Museum’s Board of Directors and on the City of Madison’s first Historic Preservation Commission. She was educated at the Burney Street School, Madison’s all African American Graded School established during the early years of Georgia’s dual system of education, infamously known as “separate but equal.” She went on to Fort Valley State College, returned to Madison to teach elementary school, and later became the third generation to operate the Mapp-Gilmore Funeral Home.

Learn more about Gilmore’s contributions to historic preservation in Madison and take this  free, self-guided walking tour to discover the stories behind the magnificent homes.

 

Eatonton, Georgia

Explore The Sites that Shaped Alice Walker’s Writing

A rustic, weathered wooden house with a corrugated metal roof stands amid green grass and trees. The roof shows signs of rust and wear, and two brick chimneys are visible. A wooden porch runs along the front, partially covered by a roof extension.

Alice Walker, a towering figure in American literature, was born and raised in Eatonton, Georgia. Born in 1944, Walker was the eighth and youngest child of sharecroppers. Her upbringing on a sharecropping farm instilled in her a deep understanding of the challenges faced by working-class families, particularly African Americans, in the segregated South. Encouraged by her mother, who valued education highly, Walker enrolled in school at the age of four and blossomed into a creative writer by the age of eight. These early experiences, imbued with the realities of rural life and the power of education, would profoundly shape Walker’s literary voice and her lifelong commitment to social justice.

Discover more about Alice Walker on this self-guided driving tour of her family home, their church, and her school.

 

Milledgeville, Georgia

Flannery O’Conner’s Andalusia, and More

A modern wooden building with a metal roof and several green doors sits under a clear sky. A paved pathway leads to the entrance, flanked by grasses and small shrubs. A sign in front reads "Andalusia Interpretive Center." Trees are in the background.

Renowned as one of America’s greatest short-story authors, Flannery O’ Connor was a visionary in the field of Southern gothic literature. Deriving inspiration from the land and people around her, Flannery’s most-productive writing years were during her residence at Andalusia Farm in Milledgeville. Her own struggles with lupus and her devout Catholic faith set the foundation for her work which navigates the themes of religion, race, and socioeconomic barriers. During a visit to Milledgeville, you can experience several historical sites that influenced and inspired her literary legacy including her home at Andalusia Farm, her family’s place of worship, Sacred Heart Catholic Church and her final resting place at Memory Hill Cemetery.

Get more details and visitor information on all of these sites, and more, at Visit Milledgeville.

 

Macon, Georgia

Dine at Mama Louise’s H & H Restaurant, Which Nourished Musicians

H & H restaurant mural

 

H & H has been a Macon staple since 1959, when “Mama” Louise Hudson started serving up soul food favorites like grits, biscuits, fried chicken, and collard greens to customers of all races and creeds, continuing through the height of the civil rights movement. Her regular customers through the years included a who’s who of Southern musicians, including the Allman Brothers Band. Much like H&H, the long-haired, racially integrated Allman Brothers Band was a radical sight for late-’60s Georgia.  Mama Louise became a mother figure who fed the band even when they were broke and sustained them in a hostile time and place. Mama Louise has been recognized with the Harriet Tubman Act of Courage Award. H&H continues to serve several of Mama Louise’s recipes and is one of several pilgrimage sites for Allman Brothers fans visiting Macon, alongside The Big House Museum, Capricorn Records, and Rose Hill Cemetery.

 

These are just some of the stories of strong women who made a lasting impact that you’ll discover along Georgia’s Trail of Legacy & Lore.