In MD, Irv and I would search the travel section in the Sunday Washington Post for places of interest and discovered "Westville". For years on our visits to GA as well as our north/south journeys, we tried to include it on our agenda without success so are eager to go.
Westville is an outdoor history museum which depicts an 1850 west Georgia village. You may have seen pictures of little towns like Westville. They dotted the 1850s countryside in the southern United States. Westville was created so all can experience a community in the twenty-first century similar to the ones in which our ancestors lived in the middle of the nineteenth century. All the buildings were transported to the site from another location... some intact, some in sections and some completely disassembled and rebuilt. The Courthouse came in two sections.
Imagine meeting this driving down the road...
Here we see where the antebellum townspeople worshipped, voted, and went to school. Westville has over thirty authentically restored and furnished pre-Civil War buildings: houses, stores, workshops, churches, school, and courthouse. In fact, it has all the ingredients of a functioning town, including dirt roads. We had three tour guides. Irv was most impressed with our second guide, James who has worked for a decade maintaining and building new buildings. Students from Auburn University spend summers helping to maintain and build. James also demonstrates making leather shoes and ginning cotton. He grows a patch of cotton so school children can pick the cotton, use the manual hand cranked Cotton gin to see the cotton separated from the seed. Irv was very impressed and loved touching the freshly ginned cotton. I enjoyed it so much because it brought back so many memories of my childhood walking dirt roads in Alabama and having my grandmother show me her the wooden cards which separated the cotton so it could be put on the spinning wheel to make thread to weave into cloth.
I must digress though... you know I have to research Americus...
President Jimmy Carter was born and his home remains in The Plains, GA which is a "suburb" of Americus and if fact, he was speaking at an Americus church the Sunday after we visited. Carter is the founder of Habitat for Humanity headquartered in Americus. Habitat builds home globally as well in in the US and has a Global Village and Discovery Center in Americus.
One can tour this life-sized representation of some of the world’s worst examples of poverty housing, you can experience firsthand the living conditions poor people must battle.Step inside Habitat homes from more than 15 countries worldwide and find out what Habitat is doing to eliminate poverty housing. 
Tour a Habitat house from Guatemala and see its disaster-resistant design firsthand. As you know, our grandson, Lucas was adopted from Guatemala.
It's really neat. They give you a passport so you can stamp it at a home in each country. Very eye opening. I'm going off on a bunny trail as our pastor does. Wednesday night to make a point, he reminded us... we live in a first world country. It's a big deal when our dishwasher or car A/C doesn't work. Too many in the world live without clean or sometimes any drinking water and we play in water parks so get some perspective, he says.
We had no idea the Global Village was there until we had visited the Welcome Center which is located inside the Windsor Hotel and Spa which will successfully support the point that we live in a first world country. Who would have "thunk" it, in Americus, GA. As they say on Fox News... we report, you decide.
The Windsor Hotel, Georgia's Victorian secret, a true southern castle, elegant yet casual, built and opened in 1892. It is a classic mix of High Victorian and Moorish influence. The hotel closed its doors in 1972 after almost 80 years in operation. In 1991, re-opened after a $6.5 million dollar renovation. All of the wood is the original hand-carved, hand-turned golden oak. The marble on the grand lobby floor is also original, and is from Italy.
Irv and I enjoy a moment on the balcony outside Floyd's Historic Bar in a rocking chair watching the traffic.
In 2010, it underwent an extensive renovation updating with modern amenities as well as restoring areas of the hotel back to its original state. In 2010, the hotel hosted a grand opening to remember with special guests Former President and Mrs. Carter. There are 53 guest rooms, six suites and two tower suites, the Bridal Suite and the Presidential Suite, which is named in honor of our 39th President and local resident Jimmy Carter. President and Mrs. Carter spent the night in 2002, and are big supporters of the Windsor.
It is reported the Windsor is haunted! The eclectic Victorian Hotel with an unusual window styles and landmark towers takes up nearly a full city block. The spirits of some former employees are said the haunt the premises of the Castle like Victorian hotel. Guests and staff have reported seeing and hearing a little girl on the hotel's third floor. The little girl runs down the hallway at night and laughing. In the early 1900's the head housekeeper lived and worked at the hotel. Her daughter lived at the hotel with her. The head housekeeper and her daughter were both murdered when they was pushed down the elevator well. The ghost of the head housekeeper and the ghost of her daughter still haunt the Windsor Hotel. The woman has been seen reflected is a mirror that is in the hall on the third floor. The kitchen stall has reported seeing the pots and pans flying around at night. the pots
and pans are mysteriously misplaced. Radios are also mysteriously turned on and off.
Another spirit at the hotel is Floyd Lowery who worked at the Windsor as a doorman and elevator man for forty years. Floyd was known as a friendly and cordial employee and is a friendly ghost who loves being at the hotel. Floyd's Bar in the hotel is named after this dedicated employee. People who remember Floyd say that he is man that never took a drink, making it ironic that the hotel pub was named after him.
The Hotel was built as a retreat for northern hunters and vacationers escaping the cold of winter. The five story, castle like structure is now a year around retreat.
On top of all that, A very kind Front Desk Manager suggested we go upstairs as one of the housekeeping staff would open several room for us to tour. Not only did he set up a great tour of the hotel with terrific information but is from Seattle, WA and wrote the "must see" places only the locals know for our trip out west.
I can't close this portion of our journey without telling you how blessed we are. On the way back to the coach from Westville, Irv noticed a station with Diesel
for $2.79 so we will bring the coach to fill up when we leave in the morning because we know gas goes upppppp in Florida. Next morning finds us at the gas station where we learn there is a gas war on... diesel is $2.66 and regular for the KIA is... are you ready... $2.22. That's a good note to close on, don't you think?
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