Georgia Magazine - March 2022 - 34

house, a corn crib, a multipurpose barn and a storm shelter on
the property. It was also the site of a historical cotton gin. The
family restored the home, stabilized the buildings and prepared
to share the homestead and its history with visitors.
" Our goals are to interpret early West Georgia farming
history and practices through the lens of tenant farmers,
sharecroppers and small-scale landowners, " Harris says.
The stories shared at the museum convey " the
empowerment of small-scale farming " during the early to
mid-20th century.
To Harris, teaching people about agrarian living is
important because younger generations increasingly miss
out on cherished experiences like snapping peas and shucking
corn with grandparents.
" Just knowing that I'm contributing to preserving
traditional lifeways and traditional skills-I find it very
rewarding, " Harris says.
A member of the West Georgia Farmers Cooperative and
the Heard County Historical Society, TOFH plans to begin offering
homesteading classes to the public in April. Tours are available
by appointment; admission is $3 for children age 12 and
younger and $5 for adults. Donations also are appreciated.
TOFH is seeking carpenters, blacksmiths, seamstresses, food
Alpacas graze at Lasso the Moon Alpaca Farm in Blairsville.
Owner Holly Williams teaches visitors about alpaca fi ber, which
is light yet very warm.
Continued from page 32
alpaca fiber, which is " four times warmer than sheep's wool but
twice as light, " she tells guests. Visitors to the farm also have a
chance to feed and interact with the alpacas before going to the
art studio.
" I walk folks through how you shear an alpaca and make
[the fiber] into a finished product, " she says. " We breed, we
show, we sell. But of course my true love is harvesting the wool
and using it to teach. "
She has been teaching fiber arts-wet felting, needle felting
and dyeing-for 17 years.
The couple also is developing a program called Lunch and
Trail with Alpacas, which is a nature walk accompanied by one
of the farm's alpacas, followed by a farm-to-table lunch.
Visitors can tour Lasso the Moon Alpaca Farm by
appointment. While tours are free, donations are appreciated.
This Old Farmhouse GA, Franklin
(678) 853-9056; thisoldfarmhousega.org
Before This Old Farmhouse GA (TOFH) opened to the
public in 2016, it was an overgrown and abandoned 1920s
homestead along Georgia Highway 27.
Co-founder and Executive Director Tammy Harris and her
mother, Bettina Vernon, stepped inside the farmhouse and fell
in love with its architecture. After researching the homestead,
" we decided the property would best be served by turning it
into a cultural heritage museum for others to enjoy as well, "
Harris says.
Harris and her family uncovered a well house, a smoke34
Georgia Magazine March 2022
Above: Tammy Harris and
her family want to instill
an appreciation for smallscale
farming at This Old
Farmhouse GA in Franklin.
Right: Visitors can see how
homestead farmers lived in
the early 20th century.
Woodpecker Trail Olive Farm, Glennville
(912) 266-7577; woodpeckertrailolivefarm.com
Former President Thomas Jefferson had a lifelong passion for
olives. He shipped seedlings from France to Georgia and South
Carolina, where he hoped they would flourish and provide the
nation with olives and olive oil.
Continued on page 36
preservationists, artisans and other skilled workers to teach
homesteading classes. TOFH also is searching for collaborators
on cultural preservation projects.
HOLLY WILLIAMS
COURTESY THIS OLD FARMHOUSE GA
COURTESY THIS OLD
FARMHOUSE GA
http://www.thisoldfarmhousega.org http://www.woodpeckertrailolivefarm.com
Georgia Magazine - March 2022

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