Ocmulgee-Piedmont Scenic Byway
21 miles - Take 1 hour to drive this byway.
The Ocmulgee-Piedmont Scenic Byway traverses 200 years of Jones County history as well as the pre-historic and historic sites of the Creek Indians that lived there in the 17th and 18th Centuries. What is now SR 11 was formerly an Indian trail and a major north-south route between Hillsboro in Jasper County and Clinton, Jones County's 19th century county seat.
In 1864, during the Civil War, opposing forces met along this road at the Battle of Sunshine Church and later that year General Sherman followed this route through Jones County on his "March to the Sea."
The Round Oak-Juliette Road portion of the byway was originally an Indian trail and now travels through the pristine pine forests of the Piedmont National Wildlife Refuge, which is inhabited by several species of endangered wildlife. East Juliette, the endpoint of the byway, is a small late 19th/early 20th Century mill village community located on the Ocmulgee River.
Features of this byway include:
- Piedmont National Wildlife Refuge- 35,000 acres, includes the scenic Little Rock Wildlife Drive, a six-mile tour taking visitors through a variety of landscapes and canopies. Fishing, hunting, hiking.
- Jarrell Plantation (off of Round Oak-Juliette Road)- a State Historic Site with 20 buildings dating from 1847 to 1940, including a plain-style plantation house, saw mill, cotton gin, grist mill, and blacksmith shop.
- Ocmulgee River- provides seasonal recreational opportunities such as fishing, canoeing, kayaking, and motorboating. Just over the river in the City of Juliette is the central setting for the 1991 film Fried Green Tomatoes.