By Jacqueline Kochak
Westville - Lumpkin, Ga.
Michelle Alexander welcomes
guests.
If you visit historic Westville in nearly 100-degree weather like I did, you might consider wearing 1850s-era clothing. According to interpreter Michelle Alexander, a long skirt with layers of petticoats is surprisingly cool, because a carded petticoat holds the dress off the legs to allow air to circulate.
“I’m more comfortable dressing in 1850s-era clothing whether it’s summer or winter,” she said. “Those manmade fibers kill you.”
Alexander is dressed in a 100-percent cotton day dress. Even the long sleeves are a plus, because the fabric stays damp from perspiration to keep her cool. She admits that she sometimes removes her corset when she bakes gingerbread on an open hearth, which can raise the temperature by 40 degrees.
In fact, the biggest surprise about Westville, located some 20 miles southeast of Columbus near Lumpkin, is how comfortably the people lived. At first the lifestyle appears primitive, because people of the period didn’t have access to very many manufactured products and made most everything themselves.
The homes are surprisingly cool because they are built on stone pilings that allow air to circulate underneath. Ceilings are high because heat rises, and large windows catch a cross-breeze. Every home has a large porch that served as an outdoor living area.
Westville is a “living history museum” opened in 1970 to provide a glimpse into the area’s pre-industrial past. There never was a real village named Westville; the little town is named after John Word West of Jonesboro who years ago established the Fair of 1850 to preserve knowledge about the period.
In the 1850s, Stewart County — where Westville is located — was one of the biggest producers of cotton in the state. The county was home to some 16,000 people, which has dwindled to 5,000 today.
Westville’s collection of nearly 30 homes and businesses are laid out along several dirt thoroughfares. They range from the temporary cabins that provided shelter for the first settlers to the fine home of Scotsman Edward McDonald, whose home features separate parlors for ladies and gentlemen. All of the historic buildings were donated and moved to the site, some of them board by board and brick by brick.
The Patterson-Marrett Farmhouse offers a glimpse
of the 1850s life.
The oldest home, belonging to the Wells family, was built around the log cabin of an 1810 Creek family who left when the tribe ceded their last land in Georgia in 1828. In the Moye home, a Greek Revival home built in Cuthbert around 1840, the parlor is dressed for summer with straw mats on the floor and light-colored slipcovers on the furniture.
When you visit, plan to buy scrip to purchase lemonade or gingerbread before entering the grounds through the Singer gates, a replica of the triple gates to the old state Capitol grounds at Milledgeville. Once inside, the only place you’ll find air conditioning is the Adams Store, where you can buy lemonade, candy, chips and ice cream bars. There is also a Coke machine on the premises.
Although the town itself is interesting, the best part is the townspeople dressed in authentic clothing performing daily tasks. Be sure to ask them questions, because they are very knowledgeable. For more information and a discount on the admission price, check the website at westville.org.
Essential Info:
Cost: $10 for adults; $8 for college
students and senior citizens; $4
for students in K-12
Hours: Tuesday – Saturday,
10 a.m. until 5 p.m.
Location: 19 miles southeast of
Columbus just off US 27. Take US 280
to US 27, then turn south and follow
the signs.
