Learn Why This Georgia Town is Known as Museum City

Museums are usually a great jumping-off point for a family vacation — it seems like each city has at least a few great museums that either introduce visitors to local culture and history or give kids a chance to explore the world through learning and play. But in Georgia’s Cartersville, which rightfully earned the nickname “Georgia’s Museum City,” museums aren’t just a jumping-off point. The town has plenty of museums to visit, each offering something different.

Two of the museums are Smithsonian affiliates. In fact, Cartersville is the smallest town in the country to boast two affiliates, so you know you are getting world-class experiences. The Smithsonian assortment includes Tellus Science Museum, which covers all things scientific throughout history from dinosaur fossils to space (there is an observatory along with a digital planetarium), and Booth Western Art Museum, home to the world’s largest exhibition of Western art.

Savoy Auto Museum is the newest addition to the city’s collection of museums, having just opened in 2021. It features an impressive collection of vehicles spanning the history of the automobile, a great way to learn about history while sparking conversations among families as they travel through the evolution of cars. Bartow History Museum introduces visitors to 200 years of history in Bartow County, the county Cartersville calls home. Located in the heart of downtown in a refurbished courthouse dating back to 1869, this museum is an intimate connection to the city’s past.

If you want to give the family a taste of Georgia’s Victorian past, head to Rose Lawn Museum, where you can explore Victorian-era mansions. Once the home of evangelist Samuel Porter Jones, this property is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.  Take a tour of the home; wander the rose gardens; or catch one of the many festivals the museum hosts to celebrate local art, history and culture.

And if all those museums weren’t enough to make you put Cartersville on your must-see list, there are always the camels. You read that right — camels. If that’s not what you were expecting from a trip to Georgia, you aren’t alone, but you’ll be pleasantly surprised when you visit Pettit Creek Farms, just about a mile from Cartersville’s historic town square. The farm’s 80 acres are home to Georgia’s largest camel heard, along with plenty of other animals you wouldn’t expect, like zebras, giraffes and capybaras.

All of this fun is a great stop along a Georgia road trip, or you can easily make it a feature destination by flying into Atlanta or Chattanooga (it’s about an hour north of Atlanta and an hour and a half southwest of Chattanooga).