When looking to visit Athens for the first time, it might interest you to acquaint yourself with the town's rich history and culture. If you have acquired a new UGA apartment, historic sites are likely in proximity to your Athens apartment complex. Depending on where exactly you live, you might be able to walk to these historical sites without the hassle of parking and finding transportation. Of course, not everyone is afforded the luxury of personal transportation, but taking the Athens Transit might allow you to still visit historical landmarks and sites without hindrance!
There are a lot of unique historical sites and landmarks near UGA apartments that might not appear to be landmarks at first. It's always best to look at the town's historical information website to know if the place happens to hold rich history.
Downtown Athens
In any city center, there's always a downtown area that people can visit to understand what life there was and still is all about. The things you might see there often hold political, commercial, social, and cultural significance to the town. In Downtown Athens, there are a few special landmarks that are so unique, you can't experience something like them anywhere else!
There is a Double Barrel Cannon positioned near city hall in downtown Athens that was made to shoot multiple cannons at once. This interesting invention was made by John Gilleland in the late 19th century. During the Civil War, this piece of weaponry was intended to be made for battle, but it became a signal instead for the invasion of enemy troops.
Interestingly enough, one of the most popular historical landmarks you can visit near Athens apartments is The Tree That Owns Itself, also known as the Jackson Tree. You might wonder how a tree can own itself or why this tree is so important to the history of Athens. Well, this tree was owned by a man who had such deep and fond childhood memories of the tree that he wanted to preserve it and protect it with a legal document. After the deed was officiated, the tree was untouched and stands where it was many years ago today.
This historical institution serves as a museum and historical site for anyone looking to understand more about the history of Athens when African American slaves and Thomas Reade Rootes Cobb himself resided on the land. Cobb was considered one of the best lawyers during the time and remains a controversial figure due to his encouragement of the enslavement of African Americans at the time. The museum is meant to educate the people of Athens about the implications of slavery and other important issues still being discussed today related to Cobb's legacy.
Dr. Long is arguably one of the most important historical figures in Athens. His greatest accomplishment is using ether for the first time as a form of medical anesthesia to put a patient under during surgery. His brave pioneering in the field of medicine allowed other physicians to develop better ways to anesthetize patients so they could avoid pain. If you are a student in Health Sciences at UGA, you owe it to yourself to visit this museum to view Long's well-preserved medical equipment and other fascinating exhibits on display!