ALBANY, Ga. — Tucked away behind the wrought-iron gates that line the facade of 801 Old Pretoria Road is the stuff that retreat-style getaways are made of: an 1851 mansion outfitted in period furnishings available at rental as a wedding venue or other private event; agricultural area dotted with vines, beehives and citrus trees; a long dirt road lined with pecan trees that leads to secluded rustic guest houses and an 85-acre lake surrounded by bald cypress trees draped in Spanish moss.
It’s hard to imagine that these idyllic lands were once a slave plantation.
Yet the past and present of this 1,638-acre property, known as Resora and named to reflect resilience and ingenuity, deserves to be shown and told.
As part of the new Southwest Georgia Agritourism Trail promoted on Airbnb, visitors are encouraged to visit Resora and other destinations on the trail for not only a relaxing vacation, but also an educational experience that highlights the rich agricultural history of the region. What makes the trail even more unique, given its history, is that it is hosted by black farmers with long-standing ties to the area.
Charting a New Path for Black Farmers
The driving force behind Resora and the Southwest Georgia Agri-Tourism Trail is Shirley Sherrod, whose name may sound familiar to some. In 2010, she was forced to resign from her position as Georgia State Director of Rural Development for the United States Department of Agriculture after Breitbart News aired some comments she made in an out-of-context speech, misinterpreting his remarks as racist, and the video clip went viral. Federal officials eventually realized that Sherrod had been misrepresented. She received an apology and was offered another job at the USDA, but she refused.
Today, Sherrod serves on the new U.S. Department of Agriculture Equity Commission to address historic discrimination within the department and its programs. But she has been committed to serving the rural South Georgia community for decades.
In 1968, Sherrod and her husband, Reverend Charles Sherrod, co-founded New Communities, a nonprofit farming collective in Lee County that became, at the time, the largest black-owned landholding in the nation. . Discriminatory lending practices eventually led to the foreclosure of the property in 1985, with 20 black families affected by the loss. A series of lawsuits, claims, denials and appeals dragged on for nearly 25 years, ultimately culminating in a $12 million USDA settlement in 2009.
Almost a generation had passed since the New Communities had earth to dig. For Sherrod, that meant “we had life again.”
The search for another property on which to continue the New Communities mission led to the purchase of the former Tarver plantation in Albany for $4.5 million in 2011. Sherrod only learned of its history as a plantation d slaves only one year after the sale. “I had a problem. I had a hard time grasping it,” she said. “It was once a slave plantation. It was once owned by the biggest slave owner and the richest man in the state,” she said, referring to Hartwell Hill Tarver. Among the artifacts discovered on the property was an 1859 advertisement announcing the sale of 150 slaves belonging to Tarver’s son, Paul Tarver, who inherited the plantation upon his father’s death.
As part of the healing process, they invited members of the Lower Muskogee Creek Tribe and other ethnic groups to perform blessing ceremonies on the grounds for three consecutive years. Present at the first blessing was Herbert Phipps, a judge on the Georgia Court of Appeals at the time, whose great-great-grandmother was a slave on the plantation and whose great-great-grandfather was the supervisor. After emancipation, the couple married and had eight children, according to Sherrod.
At events held in Resora, New Communities publicly vindicates past injustices by posting a large sign at the door that reads, “This land belonged to the largest slave owner in Georgia and is now owned by descendants of slaves.”
A place for everyone
Sherrod’s goal for the Southwest Georgia Agri-Tourism Trail is threefold: to help participating farmers access local tourism economic opportunities; raise awareness of the history and current needs of black farming communities; and to promote racial reconciliation and healing.
The heart of the tourist component is Resora, where the old plantation house is available for retreats, conferences and weddings. Rentals are handled directly through the website at theresoraexperience.com.
On the grounds are rustic one- and two-bedroom log cabins a stone’s throw from the tranquil waters of the cypress pond and a two-bedroom cottage located near the mansion. Available for overnight stays through Airbnb for $175 to $300 a night, each cabin features fully equipped modern kitchens, hardwood floors, and living and sleeping areas with contemporary furnishings.
So far, the Southwest Georgia Agri-Tourism Trail offers two experiences. One is a Resora Farm Tour ($25 per person) which includes a wagon ride giving visitors an up-close look at some of the 400 acres used for agricultural testing, site learning and production, including including a 200 acre pecan orchard. , muscat vineyard, satsuma grove, beehives and experimental plots for growing rice and truffles. The working farm is maintained by three full-time employees, with seasonal workers helping out during harvest times.
With education an important part of the trail, tour guides tell about the agricultural history of the area, especially the plight of black farmers and the community’s role in the fight for racial equality since the civil rights movement.
“We want this place to be accessible to everyone, but especially black people, to teach history and heal from it,” Sherrod said. “Training, production, agriculture, culture, history, healing – we can see it all happening on this site.”
Taste of the South
The second experience on the Southwest Georgia Agri-Tourism Trail is one that illustrates the best way for Southerners to build community and bridge cultural understanding: sharing a meal together. This is the Clinton Vicks experience.
A native of Albany and currently a high school teacher in the Dougherty County school system, Vicks, 41, left his hometown in the early 2000s to attend Howard University. After earning a degree in communications and minors in voice acting and English, he worked for nearly two decades as an interpreter and communications specialist in Washington, DC and New York. A few years ago, he returned to his roots to be closer to his family, whose ties to farming go back four generations.
In 2020, Vicks purchased a 1925 home that sits on five acres. Naming it The Vicks Estate, Farm & Fishery, he set to work renovating the house and clearing the land. While these projects are underway (overnight accommodation will be available from mid-July), his first involvement with the trail is as host of “A Taste of the South”, a barbecue in his garden.
For $40 per person, guests sit under the shade of patio umbrellas with a cold glass of Vicks’ signature ruby red fruit punch while he fires up the grill. He invites participants to help prepare meals by picking herbs from the garden or shucking corn. While he watches jerk chicken and sliced ribs, guests can play cornhole and horseshoes. During a tour of the property, he outlines grand plans to restore a pond and stock it with catfish, sea bass, and sea bream; build a barn to raise goats and chickens; make a clearing in the pine forest to build a stage for live performances.
He sees participating in the Agritourism Trail as an Airbnb host as a way to generate income to turn those dreams into reality while getting involved in the local community. “I’m in a place where I want to come back and give back,” he said.
Rural travel on the rise
Now may be a good time to promote agritourism. The coronavirus has caused many people to avoid air travel and big cities. Instead, they hit the road and vacationed in the great outdoors and in less traveled destinations. This has been a boon for Airbnb hosts in rural areas.
Airbnb hosts in rural counties earned $3.5 billion in 2021, as overnight bookings by U.S. guests in rural areas across the country grew 110% last year compared to 2019. two-year period, nights booked at farm stays increased by 40%, according to Airbnb.
“This Trail also comes at a time when travelers are discovering and supporting farming communities in new ways, creating new opportunities for those in more rural areas to consider lodging,” said Catherine Powell, global head of accommodation at Airbnb. “We are very proud to partner with Ms. Sherrod and this historic organization to support their vision of empowering black farmers.”
“Things will happen organically”
Sherrod is pleased with the progress made on behalf of underserved farmers in Southwest Georgia since founding New Communities in 1968 — from developing national policy on behalf of black farmers to helping them access help , training, capital and new markets which now include tourism dollars.
“It’s turning out really much more than we originally anticipated,” she said.
Sherrod sees the reach of these efforts as extending beyond the gates of Resora. “We’re not just trying to have something for this site. We’re thinking of other growers in the area – to help make that happen on other farms with everything we do. It’s designed to not not just (to be) ‘Look what can happen here in New Communities,’ but for the region,” she said.
Yet, with work still to be done and Sherrod turning 70, who of the next generation will pick up the slack?
She noted that many young people in the area move away once they reach adulthood. “Atlanta puts a lot of pressure on our young people. They all want to be there.”
As Sherrod and Vicks see the potential for agritourism as a source of income for black farms and a unique travel option that raises social awareness of past and present black farming communities, they hope to see the trail grow. (Information on becoming an Airbnb host is available airbnb.com/host.)
Sherrod envisions a trail with a dozen or more participating farm hosts providing lodging and experiences.
Vicks did her part by trying to recruit other black farmers to participate.
“I believe if you start,” Vicks said, “things will happen organically.
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If you are going to
Southwest Georgia Agritourism Trail. Cabins from $175 to $300 per night. Farm visit $25 per person. Book through Airbnb. airbnb.com/swgatrail
Resora. 801 Old Pretoria Road, Albany. 229-435-8298, www.theresoraexperience.com.
Southern taste. $40 per person. The Vicks Estate, Farm & Fishery, 4408 Stage Coach Road, Albany. Book through airbnb.com/swgatrail
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