Hickory Hill historic house museum, Thomson

About Hickory Hill historic house museum

Hickory Hill is a historic house museum in Thomson, Georgia, operated by the Watson-Brown Foundation. Visitors tour the mansion that Thomas E. Watson purchased in 1900 and extensively renovated, adding a Greek revival portico, numerous architectural elements, and side porches. The house itself showcases Watson's life as an attorney, author, politician, and populist figure. The 270-acre estate includes extensive grounds with walking paths through beech and oak allées, a muscadine arbor, and a fruit orchard planted with dogwoods, maples, deodar cedars, and magnolias. Outbuildings on the property include a schoolhouse, smokehouse, carriage shed, barn, chicken coop, dovecote, and automobile barn. The grounds serve as a natural habitat for amphibians, reptiles, songbirds, and raptors. House tours are available weekdays between set hours by advanced appointment. Admission is free, and a virtual tour is available for those unable to visit in person.