Agrirama, Georgia

Turpentine Still at Agrirama

The Agrirama is Georgia's Museum of Agriculture & Historic Village. 35 structures have been moved to the 95 acre site near Tifton, Georgia and restored or preserved. Costumed interpreters are on hand to explain the lifestyle of the period. A schedule of activities can be obtained from the Agrirama web site.

We visited the Agrirama on two occasions. Our last visit was to observe the turpentine still in operation. The turp' still is one of the few remaining ones in the country and it is fired up once each year. In the photo above workers man the preserved and restored facility.

Soap Making

Elizabeth discusses a soap-making process. Two LDS missionaries (on their community service time) were on hand to help with the stirring. Later Jim helped the ladies churn butter in an old dasher style churn.

Shearing a Sheep

Sheep are sheared differently in Georgia than we had seen before. In Georgia, the sheep's feet are tied to a pole and held in place by aides. The shearer then proceeds to remove the fleece while the sheep is lying down. Apparently this is an older method of shearing the sheep. The method having the sheep in a "seated" position seems to relate well with electric clippers. Either way gets the job done.

Agrirama has its own small railroad and visitors can hop the train for a trip around the lake. The station is on a slope so the engine must begin an uphill pull from the station. In early morning hours, an engineer sprinkles sand on the dew-covered rails to allow the wheels more traction.