Monticello, Canopy Roads, Taste of Georgia

The humidity is dropping a little, blustery breezes rustle the leaves, and the temperatures are in the low 80s. Fall has arrived in Florida.

Rather than take a drive to see the leaves change color, I decided to check out north Florida and visit “the most haunted town in the South,” Monticello. About 40 minutes northeast of Tallahassee, this city of 2,500 is close to the Georgia state line, and at the crossroads for four Florida heritage roads, including the Plantation Trail.

I started at the stately Courthouse Circle, a 1909 building modeled after Thomas Jefferson’s Monticello, with foot-thick poured concrete walls, pine and tile floors, fireplaces and much of the original oak furniture still in use. Across from the courthouse is the 1890 Monticello Opera House, where you can watch seasonal plays and murder mystery theater. monticellooperahouse .org It’s a highlight of the Big Bend Ghost Tracker Tour, offered throughout October. monticellojeffersonfl.com.

Southern Cooking 

Off the circle are antique shops, thrift stores and cafes. Tupelo’s Bakery and Cafe is a perfect spot for some fresh baked goods, quiches and sandwiches. Save room for caramel pecan bars – this is pecan country! The owners are passionate about using supporting local farmers and producers, and Full Moon Farm honey has a shop within the cafe. At Rev Cafe, Southern cuisine rules: fried pickles, shrimp and grits, redfish, plus vegan chili. Electric City Wheels & Grinds is a sweet cafe with espresso and ice cream. I was intrigued by the storefront window advertising Live Boxing run by the Police Athletic League, but ended up wandering along US 90, admiring the ornate antebellum homes. The John Denham House, said to be haunted, is a cheery B&B. The Avera-Clarke House B&B, a restored cottage, circa 1821, is one of the oldest structures in the county.

Every October, Monticello and Jefferson County host a self-guided weekend tour of area farms and producers. These include one of Florida’s oldest family farms, Glendower Farms, where they raise Iberian pigs, and Golden Acres Ranch, where you can see fainting goats, an archaeological dig and a country store stocked with fresh eggs, mayhaw berry jelly and wool and fiber products. On my next visit, I plan to stop at Marianna’s Southern Craft Creamery for Tupelo honey ice cream.

Trip to Thomasville

With my heritage road map in hand, I headed up US19 past the 1831 Wirick-Simmons House, a restored Greek Revival house. The tree-lined highway to Thomasville, Georgia, runs through large quail-hunting plantations – Ted Turner’s 31,000-acre Avalon Plantation is just south of Monticello – and straight into the city, known in the late 1800s as the Winter Resort of the South, where Northerners found it cheaper to build houses instead of stay in hotels.

Downtown Thomasville is charming, with cobblestone streets and lots of shops and restaurants. At the Sweet Grass Dairy Cheese Shop, you can order their cheese sampler, salami and preserves from local jam maker Black Berry Patch. Their cheeses, including that Southern favorite, pimento cheese, are sold in Harrods, online and Whole Foods Markets in South Florida. Flowers Foods, makers of Wonder Bread and a host of other grocery-store brands, is based in Thomasville, and you can see their History in the Baking exhibit, celebrating their 100 years in business, at the Flowers Heritage Center on Broad Street.