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LYNN EDGE For The Birmingham News
QUICK TRIP ROSWELL, GA.
Mittie Bulloch's mother was the epitome of Southern hospitality. She even had ice brought to her Roswell, Ga., home from Savannah so that she could serve ice cream to the parents of the man her daughter was to marry.
The two - Mittie and Theodore - were married in the dining room of the house. The couple are less known for their love of ice cream and more for being the parents of a president of the United States - Theodore Roosevelt - and the grandparents of a first lady, Eleanor Roosevelt.
That's just one of the many stories about the 1839 structure that is one of three gems in Roswell's historic crown. Barrington Hall, constructed in 1842, was home of the city's founding father, Roswell King, and still is furnished with pieces belonging to the King family. The house, set on a hill, gave King's son, Barrington, a view of the town and of the family's mills, that helped fuel the city's economy.
Smith Plantation Home, built in 1845, illustrates the life of a wealthy farm family in early Roswell. The home site today still has a parson's room and 10 original outbuildings.
All three sites are open regularly for tours, but they also have been combined into a ''Southern Trilogy'' tour that illustrates life in early Roswell.
''The story of the American South is the story of community and how each person fits into the fabric of that community,'' said Dotty Etris, of the Roswell Convention and Visitors Bureau.
All of the people who built and lived in these houses have stories to tell, she said. Together, she added, the homes, grounds and outbuildings paint a picture of the peoples' lives and life in the South with its struggles and its accomplishments.
Lynn Edge is author of three books on travel in Alabama as well as other books. E-mail her at quicktrips@bellsouth.net
THE DETAILS
Bulloch Hall, Barrington Hall and Smith Plantation are open for regular tours on the hour from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Monday through Saturday and at 1, 2 and 3 p.m. on Sunday. Admission is $8 per house for adults and $6 per house for children (ages 6-12). The ''Trilogy Pass,'' which is good for one year, lets the holder tour all three homes at any time during their regular hours. Cost for the pass is $18 for adults and $15 for children. They can be purchased at the Roswell Visitors Center.
MORE TO SEE AND DO
Cell Phone Tours. Cell phone tours are available of the grounds of all three historic homes. There are 10 stops at each property. This tour works well for those with unlimited cell phone minutes. They simply go to the property and dial the number indicated on a sign there. After that, prompts lead visitors around the grounds. The minutes used for the tour are charged to the cell phone, so the tour isn't designed for those with limited minutes. These tours are available any time the grounds are open. Historic District. Stop by the Visitors Center for a map of the district. Stops include historic sites, homes, monuments and cemeteries. The Visitors Center is open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday; from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Saturday and from noon to 3 p.m. on Sunday.
HOW TO GET THERE
To get to Roswell, take I-20 East to I285 North. Take I-285 North to I-75 North. Take I-75 North to Exit 263. From that exit, take the Highway 120 Loop to Georgia Highway 120 East. Continue on Georgia Highway 120 East until it dead-ends at Georgia Highway 9. Turn left onto Georgia Highway 9 and continue on that road to downtown Roswell. It is about 166 miles from Birmingham. The Convention and Visitors Bureau is only a few blocks from the intersection of Highway 120 and Highway 9 (Atlanta Street) on the right at 617 Atlanta St.
FOR MORE INFORMATION
About Roswell and the Southern Trilogy tour, call 800-776-7935.
