A. H. Stephens State Park is a

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States Georgia may also refer to: Places Historical states and entities * Related to the ...

state park located in Crawfordville. The park is named for Alexander Hamilton Stephens, the Vice President of the

Confederate States of America The Confederate States of America (CSA), commonly referred to as the Confederate States or the Confederacy was an unrecognized breakaway republic in the Southern United States that existed from February 8, 1861, to May 9, 1865. The Confeder ...

, and a former

Georgia governor The governor of Georgia is the head of government of Georgia and the commander-in-chief of the state's military forces. The governor also has a duty to enforce state laws, the power to either veto or approve bills passed by the Georgia Legisl ...

. The park contains Stephens' home,

Liberty Hall Liberty Hall ( ga, Halla na Saoirse), in Dublin, Ireland, is the headquarters of the Services, Industrial, Professional, and Technical Union (SIPTU). Designed by Desmond Rea O'Kelly, it was completed in 1965. It was for a time the tallest b ...

, which has been fully restored to its original 1875 style. The park's museum houses one of Georgia's largest collections of

Civil War A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies ...

artifacts. The park also offers several mill ponds for fishing and nature trails. The park is listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic ...

as A. H. Stephens State Park. It includes four contributing sites, twelve contributing structures, and one other contributing object. It includes

Colonial Revival The Colonial Revival architectural style seeks to revive elements of American colonial architecture. The beginnings of the Colonial Revival style are often attributed to the Centennial Exhibition of 1876, which reawakened Americans to the archit ...

and

Rustic Style Rustic architecture is a style of architecture in the United States, used in rural government and private structures and their landscape interior design. It was influenced by the American craftsman style. According to the National Park Service, � ...

architecture.

History

The land of A. H. Stephens State Park was once owned by Alexander Hamilton Stephens, the Vice President of the Confederacy. After his death, the property came under the control of the Stephens Monument Commission, a group chartered to protect Liberty Hall and its surroundings. The state received the land in 1933 to establish Georgia's third oldest state park. The federal government later acquired several hundred acres of land adjacent to the property. The current boundary of the park was completed by transferring ownership of this area to the state. The museum was established in the 1950s after work by Ms. Horace Holden, Stephens' niece and a member of the United Daughters of the Confederacy, assisted to create it. The park's civil engineering was built during the 1930s by the Civilian Conservation Corps and Works Progress Administration. The state acquired 15 acres of Taliaferro County Board of Education-owned property in 2001, which increased the park's current acreage.

Liberty Hall

The

, also known as ''Bachelor's Hall'', built in 1834, is one of the structures on the site, and is separately listed on the NRHP. It is currently a

National Historic Landmark A National Historic Landmark (NHL) is a building, district, object, site, or structure that is officially recognized by the United States government for its outstanding historical significance. Only some 2,500 (~3%) of over 90,000 places listed ...

maintained by the

Georgia Department of Natural Resources The Georgia Department of Natural Resources (DNR) is an administrative agency of the U.S. state of Georgia. The agency has statewide responsibilities for managing and conserving Georgia’s natural, cultural, and historical resources, and has fiv ...

. A. H. Stephens bought the estate in 1845, and lived in this house until 1875, when he tore down the main structure to construct Liberty Hall. The two-story "big house" is a traditional 4 × 4 with four rooms on each level. Many of Stephens' books are housed in a smaller structure behind the facility, where he spent much of his time after the war. After Stephens's death in 1883, Liberty Hall, owned by his surviving relatives, served as a boardinghouse until 1932, when it was donated to the state of Georgia. The vice president's grave is on the front lawn, beneath a marble statue in his honor.

Facilities

*21 Tent/trailer/ RV campsites *4 Cottages *30 Horse stables *18 Horse campsites *1 Group camp *1 Pioneer campground *2 Picnic shelters *1 Group shelter

Annual events

*Junior/Senior Fishing Rodeos (June) *Christmas on Lake Liberty (December) *Victorian Christmas Program (December)

References

External links

A.H. Stephens State Park
{{DEFAULTSORT:A.H. Stephens State Park State parks of Georgia (U.S. state) American Civil War sites Historic districts on the National Register of Historic Places in Georgia (U.S. state) Colonial Revival architecture in Georgia (U.S. state) American Civil War museums in Georgia (U.S. state) Historic house museums in Georgia (U.S. state) Museums in Taliaferro County, Georgia Protected areas established in 1995 Protected areas of Taliaferro County, Georgia National Historic Landmarks in Georgia (U.S. state) Houses completed in 1834 Houses in Taliaferro County, Georgia National Register of Historic Places in Taliaferro County, Georgia Alexander H. Stephens