This plantation is one of the last remaining examples of a vanishing culture with its original nineteenth and early twentieth century buildings, furnishings, and equipment typical to Middle Georgia, representing the change from an agricultural to an industrial based economy. In 1847, John Fitz Jarrell built a simple heart pine house for his family and started farming cotton along the Ocmulgee rive
r with the help of 42 enslaved people. After the Civil War, John began to rebuild with the help of former enslaved workers (taking surnames Clark, Card, and Jarrell). After John’s death in 1884, his son, Dick Jarrell, gave up teaching to return to the farm, and in 1895, he built a small house for his family that grew to 12 children. Dick diversified the farm, adding a sawmill, cotton gin, gristmill, shingle mill, planer, sugar cane press, syrup evaporator, workshop, barn and outbuildings. In 1974, his descendants donated these buildings to establish Jarrell Plantation State Historic Site. Today, visitors can tour the original buildings and experience what is one of the most complete collections of family artifacts from this period in the Southeast. The museum features a short film and exhibits showcasing family artifacts. Annual programs showcase life during the 1800s and run throughout the year. Jarrell Plantation is operated by the Georgia Department of Natural Resources.
