The Foxfire Museum

Call Directions Website Contact the museum

The Foxfire Museum Hike through Appalachian history, on our beautiful trail through more than 20 structures.
(315)

Museum celebrating 50-years of student-led folklore fieldwork focused on Southern Appalachian culture.

Fall is a beautiful time to visit Foxfire, and we've got a fun Saturday planned for October 24!Cook breakfast on a woods...
10/15/2026

Fall is a beautiful time to visit Foxfire, and we've got a fun Saturday planned for October 24!

Cook breakfast on a woodstove, make sourdough bread and homemade butter, try your hand at woodcarving, or build your very own cigar box dulcimer!

Join us for:
Breakfast on the Woodstove with Tommy Waldrop | 10 AM–12 PM
Kids + 1 Woodcarving with Brian Ledford | 10 AM–2 PM
Sourdough Bread and Buttermaking with Mary Waldrop | 1–3 PM
Cigar Box Dulcimer with Les Barnett | 9:30 AM–1:30 PM** 2 spots just opened up!

We're looking forward to a wonderful fall day in the mountains. Hope you'll join us! Links in comments

It’s here! The Fall/Winter 2026 issue of Foxfire Magazine is out, full of stories from the people who keep Appalachian h...
10/14/2026

It’s here! The Fall/Winter 2026 issue of Foxfire Magazine is out, full of stories from the people who keep Appalachian history and traditions alive.

In a refrigerator in Rabun County lives a sourdough starter named Abilene. She’s said to be 225 years old and comes from outside Paris. She arrived freeze-dried, a gift from Tommy Waldrop to his wife, Mary. Both are Foxfire demonstrators. Mary still isn’t sure where Tommy found her. “He didn’t go to France,” she laughs. “He wasn’t gone long enough!”

Andrew Lee can shape a stone into a tool using another stone or a piece of antler. He also makes baskets from poplar bark, a skill that takes patience, practice, and time in the woods gathering materials. For Andrew, passing that knowledge along is just as important as making the baskets themselves.

To mark America’s 250th, gunsmith Joe Williams is building a working flintlock mountain r***e modeled on those of 1776, using tools and materials available to gunsmiths of the period. When finished, he plans to donate it to the Foxfire Museum for display.

We’ll also take you inside Latimer Lodge, a two-story log cabin in the North Georgia mountains where much of the original wood remains. From its porch, you can see Pickens Nose.

Bringing these stories to you are our Project Foxfire writers: Mason Beck, Sean Flaherty, Elizabeth Hilson, Kinley Jones, Lydia Prewett, Katie Rice-Wheetley, Jaden Shurtliff, Tara Shryock, and Abby Streetman.

We're proud of these young writers and the work they've put into this issue. Sixty years after Foxfire Magazine began in a Rabun County classroom, students are still discovering the history and traditions of their communities and sharing what they learn with readers across the country.

Get your copy or subscribe today and help keep this 60-year tradition going! Details in the first comment. 🍂

10/12/2026

Ever wondered what it's like to take a class at Foxfire? Take a look!

From firing up the forge to making sourdough bread, carving wood, weaving baskets, and learning to identify native and invasive plants, there's always something to discover at Foxfire!

Our hands-on heritage classes bring Appalachian traditions to life with skilled demonstrators who love sharing what they know. And there's still time to join us this October!

October 24
• Forge an American Tomahawk (two-day workshop) — John Scroggin
• Sourdough Bread and Buttermaking — Mary Waldrop
• Breakfast on the Woodstove — Tommy Waldrop
• Kids + 1 Woodcarving — Brian Ledford

October 31
• Kids + 1 Basketmaking — Paula Puckett
• Identify Native and Invasive Plant Walk — Michelle Withrow

Registration closes two days before each class, and space is limited, so don't wait!

🍂 We’re open today!We hope everyone had a safe weekend, and we’re looking forward to welcoming you back to the Foxfire M...
10/12/2026

🍂 We’re open today!

We hope everyone had a safe weekend, and we’re looking forward to welcoming you back to the Foxfire Museum.

On this Indigenous Peoples’ Day, we honor the Cherokee people and their enduring connection to these mountains.

Housed in our wagon shed is the Zuraw Wagon, the last remaining documented wagon with ties to the Trail of Tears. Used during the forced removal of Cherokee people from their homes in 1838, it stands as a powerful reminder of a painful chapter in our nation’s history and the importance of preserving these stories and sharing them through Indigenous perspectives.

We invite you to visit, reflect, and explore the many layers of Southern Appalachian history with us.

⚡️ Due to severe weather conditions, the Foxfire Museum Village and Mercantile will be closed this Saturday, October 10 ...
10/09/2026

⚡️ Due to severe weather conditions, the Foxfire Museum Village and Mercantile will be closed this Saturday, October 10 and Sunday, October 11 to ensure the safety of all of our visitors.

Stay safe and take care!

“You know what I love most about it? There’s just a satisfied feeling when you’re singing. I don’t care how many trouble...
10/09/2026

“You know what I love most about it? There’s just a satisfied feeling when you’re singing. I don’t care how many troubles you have, how down and out you are, you go to a singing convention and get involved in that and you forget that. Best medicine in the world. You can go to a singing convention broke — not a dime in your pocket — and you’d be rich, as rich as any of the rest of them if you get there and get to singing. You’re rich when you’re singing.” — Hyman Brown

Shape-note singing is a rich Appalachian tradition. Using differently shaped notes to help singers learn melodies, the tradition brought communities together in four-part harmony, often without instrumental accompaniment.

Churches once held annual singing conventions, where people from across the region gathered for a weekend of singing and fellowship.

At these gatherings, it was traditional to have a “dinner on the ground.” Families brought food to share, including chicken, ham, barbecued or stewed goat, and homemade cakes. Long tables were filled with food, and the meal was as much a part of the gathering as the singing itself.

A tradition of music, fellowship, and community, preserved through generations.

**Due to the possibility of inclement weather, Foxfire Museum will be closed this Saturday, October 10 and Sunday, Octob...
10/08/2026

**Due to the possibility of inclement weather, Foxfire Museum will be closed this Saturday, October 10 and Sunday, October 11**

The “Weather Signs” section of The Foxfire Book records old sayings about rain: leaves showing their backs, birds flying low, earthworms coming to the surface, and smoke settling toward the ground. Another saying held that a ring around the moon foretold rain -- count the stars inside the ring, and it would rain within that many days.

These bits of weather lore remind us how closely people watched the sky and the world around them as the seasons turned.

Take good care of yourselves and your neighbors this weekend, folks. We hope everyone stays safe. 💛

Cooler days, a warm woodstove, and something new to learn. Come spend a fall day with us at Foxfire! 🍁Our October classe...
10/07/2026

Cooler days, a warm woodstove, and something new to learn. Come spend a fall day with us at Foxfire! 🍁

Our October classes are a chance to get your hands in clay, carve alongside your kids, weave a basket, build an instrument, forge a tomahawk, or learn how to make sourdough and butter. You can even start your morning with breakfast cooked on a woodstove or take a walk to learn about the edible plants and mushrooms around you.

October 10: Cigar Box Dulcimer with Les Barnett
9:30 a.m.–1:30 p.m. | $199
Build your own dulcimer, learn about tuning, and learn a few songs. All parts are supplied, and your handmade instrument goes home with you!

October 12: Face Jug Pottery with Georgann Lanich -- make your own Mavis!
10 a.m.–2 p.m. | $165 | Ages 14+
Return two weeks later on October 26, 10 a.m.–noon, to glaze your jug.

October 14: Traditional Pottery with Georgann Lanich
11 a.m.–2 p.m. | $145 | Ages 14+
Return one week later on October 21, 11 a.m.–noon, for glazing.

October 24: Breakfast on the Woodstove with Tommy Waldrop
10 a.m.–noon | $75
Learn woodstove cooking in our historic Warwoman cabin, then enjoy a hearty breakfast.

October 24–25: Forge an American Tomahawk with John Scroggin
Saturday 10 a.m.–4 p.m.; Sunday noon–4 p.m.
$285 | Ages 14+
Learn safety, heat control, shaping, and finishing as you forge your own tomahawk. Materials included. Participants under 18 need a parent or guardian present to observe.

October 24: Kids + 1 Woodcarving with Brian Ledford
10 a.m.–2 p.m. | $80 per adult, $70 per child
For kids ages 10–17 with an adult. Take home your carving knife and cut-proof glove to keep practicing!

October 24: Sourdough Bread and Buttermaking with Mary Waldrop
1–3 p.m. | $100
Learn the sourdough process, make butter, and take home starter to get baking.

October 31: Kids + 1 Basketmaking with Paula Puckett
10 a.m.–2 p.m. | $95 for one child and one adult
For kids ages 8–14 with an adult.

October 31: Edible Plant Walk with Michelle Withrow
10 a.m.–noon | $50 | Ages 7+
Explore Foxfire on a guided walk, with a classroom session and wild-food tastings.

Make a day of it! Leave time to wander our trails, visit the historic cabins, and stop by the Mercantile. Pick up a Foxfire book to keep learning at home, browse the shop, and get a little early holiday shopping done.

Classes are small, so register ahead.
Class details and registration links are in the first comment.

We’d love to see you on the mountain this October!

Every piece of this flag, from the stripes to the stars, was hand-cut and hand-stitched, made the old way to celebrate 6...
10/06/2026

Every piece of this flag, from the stripes to the stars, was hand-cut and hand-stitched, made the old way to celebrate 60 years of Foxfire. ❤️

The red comes from madder root, the blue from indigo, and the white is natural, undyed linen. The 13 stars are set in five rows of 3-2-3-2-3, using historical materials and methods throughout. (Anyone who's sewn linen knows it doesn't like to stay straight, and this one came out beautifully straight!)

Kelly Coldren led the project, with Walker Boswell and Sharon Grist helping bring it to life and Foxfire board member Stewart Swanson supporting the effort. Thank you all for the time and care you put into every stitch.

We were proud to share it at the Northeast Georgia History Center, and the story isn't over: this flag is set to fly over the Georgia State Capitol in Atlanta! Follow along, and we'll post dates as soon as they're confirmed ~

Thank you, gantt our kids activities wouldn't exist without you!! And those pigs 💛🐽
10/05/2026

Thank you, gantt our kids activities wouldn't exist without you!! And those pigs 💛🐽

Address

98 Foxfire Lane
Mountain City, GA
30562

Telephone

+17067465828

Website

, ,

Alerts

Be the first to know and let us send you an email when The Foxfire Museum posts news and promotions. Your email address will not be used for any other purpose, and you can unsubscribe at any time.

Contact The Museum

Send a message to The Foxfire Museum:

Shortcuts

Share

Category