“In a weak moment, I have written a book.” Margaret Mitchell

Margaret Mitchell’s famous novel “Gone With the Wind” was first published in 1936, and for the past 75 years has touched the hearts of millions. What better way to celebrate the novel’s 75th anniversary of its publication than with a Margaret Mitchell weekend away with your favorite gal pals? For a girl’s getaway that will satisfy any Gone With the Wind fan, we’ve gathered up a few must-see places and events in the place where it all began.

Atlanta Georgia

Margaret Mitchell House

The small apartment in the three-story revival home on Peachtree Street in the city of Atlanta is the true birthplace of Tara, Scarlett O’Hara and Rhett Butler. In the place Margaret Mitchell nicknamed “The Dump” the novel “Gone With the Wind” was brought to life, giving the world the story of one woman’s will to survive despite the horrors endured during the Civil War. Tour the apartment where Margaret Mitchell once lived, and see where she typed out her manuscript on a Remington typewriter. Also available for visitors will be two Mitchell-related exhibitions, Margaret Mitchell: A Passion for Character and The Making of a Film Legend: Gone With the Wind.

This spring the Margaret Mitchell House will be hosting:

Gone With the Wind Celebration: 75th Anniversary

Saturday, May 14, 2011

10:30 AM – 4:30 PM

Experience 150 years of history with this special program by delving into the entire Gone With the Wind story and travel through time, including Civil War soldiers in the heart of Atlanta, the city in the 1920s when Margaret Mitchell wrote the book, and the lasting legacy of the Pulitzer Prize-winning novel.

Visit Margaret’s Final Resting Place

Visit Margaret Mitchell’s grave in Atlanta’s lovely Oakland Cemetery. On August 16th, 1949, a speeding taxi struck Margaret Mitchell as she was crossing Peachtree Street in Atlanta; four days later she died of her injuries and was buried at Oakland Cemetery.

On the National Register of Historic Places, Oakland is a top travel destination for both tourists and residents of Atlanta. The best way to see the cemetery and to get the most out of your visit is to take one of the popular weekend guided walking tours. For 2011 the tours will be available from March 12 through November 27. All tours begin at the Visitors Center/Museum Shop located at the Bell Tower building.

Margaret Mitchell: American Rebel World Premiere

Thursday, June 9, 2011

The Georgian Terrace Hotel, Atlanta

In celebration of Georgia Public Broadcasting’s 50th Anniversary, a gala dinner will be held at the hotel showcasing the world premiere of a GPB original production – Margaret Mitchell: American Rebel.

Clayton County and Jonesbro Georgia

Fifteen miles south of downtown Atlanta lays the heart of the true South: Clayton County, Georgia. Margaret Mitchell’s ancestral ‘rural home’ was based in Jonesbro and the Mitchell Trust and the Georgia State Legislature has designated this area as the official “Home of Gone With The Wind.”

We discovered heaps of activities to help you channel your inner Scarlett or Melanie, so here are our recommendations for what to do when visiting the land of the southern belle.

Road to Tara Museum

Start with a visit to the Road to Tara Museum in Jonesboro’s historic 1857 train depot. The spirits of Scarlett, Rhett and Margaret Mitchell, live through the exhibits that include such treasures as Margaret Mitchell’s china; detailed and accurate reproductions of the costumes worn by Vivien Leigh (Scarlett O’Hara), Hattie McDaniel (Mammy), Ona Munson (Belle Watling), Ann Rutherford (Careen O’Hara), and Cammie King Conlon (Bonnie Blue Butler).

The museum houses an impressive collection of memorabilia from Herb Bridge’s famed Gone With The Wind Collection, including original manuscripts and letters from Margaret Mitchell. This spring the museum will be hosting:

Legendary Tales… 75 years of history in the Official Home of Gone With The Wind

Saturday, 11 June, 2011

09:00 AM – 05:00 PM

Explore Gone With The Wind’s literary setting with costumed storytellers as they parallel Jonesboro’s history with the characters and stories found in Gone With The Wind. The ticket includes a six-stop living history tour through Jonesboro, admission to the Road to Tara Museum and Stately Oaks Plantation.

Peter Bonner’s Gone With the Wind Tour

Enjoy a tour of the Gone With the Wind Historic District, featuring stories by author and historian Peter Bonner about Margaret Mitchell and the Fitzgerald family, find out why Gone With The Wind was set in Jonesboro, and the historical significance of the Battle of Jonesboro. The tour is offered through the Road to Tara Museum, check the museum’s website for prices and times.

Stately Oaks Plantation

One of the many houses believed to be Margaret Mitchell’s Tara. Located at 100 Carriage Lane, Jonesboro, Georgia, this historic 1839 Greek Revival Antebellum plantation is a beautifully restored home with original log kitchen and other historic outbuildings. Nineteenth-century authentically costumed docents provide guided tours depicting the rural South during the mid-1800’s.

Marietta Georgia

Located just 15 miles northwest of Atlanta, Marietta, Georgia is home to our favorite Gone With the Wind Museum – Scarlett on The Square. Housed in a lovingly restored 1875 cotton warehouse the museum showcases the extensive privately owned collection of Dr. Christopher Sullivan’s movie and book memorabilia about Rhett, Scarlett, Melanie, Ashley, and other cast members. Our fav: the $64,000 replica of Tara.

This spring the museum will be hosting:

A Tribute to Margaret Mitchell: The Book That Touched The World

June 10-11, 2011

Cast members Ann Rutherford (Carreen O’Hara), Mickey Kuhn (older Beau Wilkes), and Patrick Curtis (baby Beau Wilkes) return to Scarlett and Rhett country for a celebration of the book’s 75th birthday. Marietta will celebrate the event in style with interviews, Q&A sessions, autograph signings with the celebrities, an author’s panel discussion, breakfast with the stars, dinner and a program, and more.

While in Marietta, hop on a historic trolley and check out the many grand Antebellum homes in the town. The Marietta Trolley offers one-hour, fully-narrated tours, Thursday-Sunday, from Antebellum Square. Purchase a Marietta Heritage Passport for savings on admission to the Marietta Museum of History, The Root House Museum and the Marietta Gone With the Wind Museum-Scarlett on the Square.