I got a little upset the other day when one of the visitors to this page told me she saw a house in Covington, Georgia while taking the Vampire Diaries Tour that the tour guides claimed was Tara from Gone with the Wind. It was used as the “Witches House” in Vampire Diaries and it was built in 1941 as a copy of the builder’s favorite movie (Gone with the Wind) which Premiered in Atlanta, Georgia in 1939. The story they have told (and may still be telling) their guests is a lie! I’m not trying to tell anyone where they should go or what they should do when they get there, but I will tell you when I find someone ripping folks off with nothing but falsehoods. Gone with the Wind was filmed exclusively in California. They did not travel to Georgia, Arkansas or South Carolina to film houses or locations. There are absolutely NO HOUSES that can claim filming was done in or around them other than the pieces of Tara in the barn or any set pieces that might still be standing on the old Selznick lot. There are a number of great sites that have recorded the history of the Selznick lot and they can tell you far more than I can about anything that may be left there. My purpose is this….to not have you get ripped off and misinformed by liars and cheats who make things up to get your money. In my living room is a piece of furniture called a secretary that once belonged to Ms. Edith Smith of Jonesboro, Georgia. In 1972, as a member of Historical Jonesboro, Inc., Ms Smith wrote a letter to Wilbur Kurtz, friend of Margaret Mitchell, Atlanta transplant and the historical consultant on the set of Gone with the Wind. Ms. Smith asked Mr. Kurtz to clarify “where they filmed Gone with the Wind” and his response was thus, ….. “tell them all the filming was done in Hollywood, I was there and saw it. But if they want to know where the stories came from, …tell them to ride that old red earth trail that runs from Jonesboro to Lovejoy”. My friends if you come take the tour of the Tara façade and come south out of Atlanta you will merge onto, “that old red earth trail from Jonesboro to Lovejoy”…to the truth of the stories and to the Tara the stories created. Over the coming months as I hear of spots to suggest or places that are telling lies about the filming I will share them here. Please, if you have a site don’t post it but send it to me via private message first so that nothing is said in the open without first being checked out. The next Tara façade tour dates are Saturday, October 25 at 9:00 AM and Sunday, October 26 at 2:00 PM and Saturday, November 1 at 9:00 AM….AND SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 29 at 10:00AM! Many have asked a tour while visiting family here during Thanksgiving so there it is! I still don’t know about December so this may be the last tour of 2014. However, if you and a special group want to come and tour Tara simply contact me via private message and I can set a date during the week or weekend (I told you it would be special). My house sitter is stocked up on beer, pork rinds and ammunition so that I can travel to Augusta, Georgia for the Summerville Tour of Homes this weekend. If you can, please come and see me and let me thank you in person for being a part of the project. I will have both my books there and will be glad to personalize them for you. The Official Guide to the Saving Tara Project is available at the pinned site on this page or thru my new blog site that can be accessed now by typing savingtara. God bless you my good friends and know that it is my sincere hope to meet you in person up at the front gate. Peter
Posted on: Fri, 17 Oct 2014 12:14:48 +0000
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