Visit Historic Stone Mountain Village

Historic Stone Mountain Village is a charming small town located just outside the west gate of famed Stone Mountain Park, in the eastern suburbs of Atlanta. This pre-Civil War town is named for the adjacent exposed granite dome, which is the largest of its kind in North America. The original town was incorporated in 1839. It grew up along the railroad line, which was a major supply route during the Civil War. The town was destroyed during the war, as Union General William T. Sherman’s troops made their March to the Sea after the fall of Atlanta. After the war the town was rebuilt, and today it is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

Although Stone Mountain Park is a major tourist attraction for Atlanta, many people never venture outside the gates to discover the quaint village. Its main street is still located along the railroad tracks and houses an eclectic variety of shops, boutiques, galleries, and restaurants.
Visitors may stop by the Village Welcome Center, housed in a vintage 1914 red caboose, to pick up a walking map of the village. Two unique outdoor sculptures in town represent aspects of the area’s history. The newest sculpture, Sherman’s Neckties, refers to the practice of the Union army tearing up the railroad tracks, heating them, and then bending the steel around trees. This rendered the tracks useless as Confederate supply lines. Another sculpture, Granite Workers, is a nod to the workers that labored in the local stone quarry from the early 1800s to the 1950s. Many of the historic buildings in town are constructed of granite from the quarry.

In the early 20th century a street car line ran from Stone Mountain Village nine miles east to the city of Decatur. ART Station now occupies the renovated old trolley barn and adjacent power station. The space houses a small theater, gift shop, five galleries, and art, music, and dance studios. The theater is a popular draw and presents five shows each season.

Stone Mountain Village is a great place to enjoy a hike or a bike ride. A DeKalb County PATH Foundation trail runs right through the village. The 19 mile paved path, 15 miles of which are greenway, goes from Stone Mountain east to the Martin Luther King Center. There are a number of other hiking and biking trails in adjacent Stone Mountain Park. Aztec Cycles, a Stone Mountain Village shop, regularly organizes family bike rides on Saturday mornings at 9:30am, as well as endurance rides of twenty miles around Stone Mountain Park on Tuesday evenings at 6:30pm.

Other points of interest in the village include McCurdy Park, with its playground that looks like a small village. The old Stone Mountain Cemetery contains over 100 Confederate graves. There is also a dog park in town. A number of special events are held in Stone Mountain Village each year including a Bluegrass and Pottery Festival in May, Movies on Main in the summer, and Oktoberfest each fall.

Stone Mountain Village is located 12 miles east of Atlanta. Take Highway 78 east to Exit 5, which is the exit just before the Stone Mountain Park entrance.

By: A. Lanteigne

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