“Industrial Tours” Savannah GA / Charleston SC / Jacksonville FL?
Jan.03, 2011 in
travel tips
Background: My wife & I (San Francisco Bay Area) are joining another couple (Portland, OR) for a week’s vacation in Savannah, Charleston, and Jacksonville. We are all in our mid 50’s.
None of us have spent any time in the South, and the women have scheduled lots of garden & home tours, which is okay with me. But, I’m more interested “industrial” stuff; how things are made.
Any suggestions on factory tours of lumber mills, appliance manufactures, auto assembly plants, carpet or textile mills, machine shops etc?
Unusual request I know, but the kinds of things I like to visit aren’t in most travel guides.
Thanks for the help
January 3rd, 2011 at 7:40 am
In Charleston you definitely need to go to Patriots Point. Nothing more industrial than an aircraft carrier. There is a fire museum and the Charleston museum is a must. You should also visit Middleton Plantation with them since there are things on the industry of the plantation as well as all the flowers (which you will enjoy).
You are a bit south since the best industrial stuff/museums will be in the Columbia and Augusta midland areas. The textile museum in SC is under construction near Spartanburg. In Georgia, the industry museum is in Atlanta. The railroad and textile museums are all on the I-85 corridor.
All I can say is, wish I was going. One of my favorite areas of the world. There really are no industrial tours for textiles etc any more. Those days are gone due to secrecy and lack of staff. The only ones I can think of is the Coca-Cola museum in Atlanta or Busch, guess where, in Jacksonville (forgot until now). See the last link.