Who Remembers Br'er Rabbit?

                     Brer Rabbit statue at Putnam County Courthouse, Eatonton, Georgia.

Do kids today even know about the Uncle Remus stories? Br'er Rabbit, Br'er Fox. the Tarbaby. and other characters  made famous in the stories by Joel Chandler Harris? Children loved them for a hundred years, but I'm not sure this generation knows they exist.

The memories are alive and well, however, in the east central Georgia town of Eatonton, where Harris was born. The Uncle Remus Museum is here, and a statue of Br'er Rabbit even adorns the lawn of the impressive Neoclassical Revival Putnam County Courthouse. Built in 1824, it is the third oldest courthouse in Georgia and the oldest still in use as a courthouse.

Brer Rabbit Museum, Eatonton, Georgia.

The Br'er Rabbit Museum in Eatonton is a log cabin made from two old slave cabins from Putnam County. The museum is similar to a cabin in which Uncle Remus would have lived. Scenes and mementos depict antebellum plantation life. Turner Park, where the museum is located, was part of the original home place of Joseph Sidney Turner, the "Little Boy" in the Uncle Remus stories. 

As the birthplace of Harris and of Alice Walker, author of The Color Purple, Eatonton was chosen as the location for the Georgia Writer's Museum. The museum hosts frequent lectures and workshops by well-known writers.

(Adapted from my book Backroads and Byways of Georgia.)

Photos: Br'er Rabbit statue: Fuji X-H1, Fujicron XC 16-50mm lens. Uncle Remus Museum: Olympus OM-D E-M5, Panasonic Vario II 14-140mm lens.)

Signed copies of my book Backroads and Byways of Georgia are available. The price is $22.95 plus $3.95 shipping. My PayPal address is djphoto@vol.com (which is also my email). Or you can mail me a check to 8943 Wesley Place, Knoxville, TN 37922. Include your address and tell me how you would like your book inscribed.

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Photography and text copyright 2023 David B.Jenkins.

I post Monday, Wednesday, and Friday unless life gets in the way.

Soli Gloria Deo -- For the glory of God alone.

Tags: photography   travel   Georgia    Eatonton      Putnam County     Uncle Remus     Joel Chandler Harris     Alice Walker     The Color Purple   Fuji X-H1     Fujicron XC 16-50mm lens     Olympus OM-D E-M5    Panasonic Vario II 14-140mm lens