Griffin

About Griffin

Griffin is a city of about 23,000 people and the county seat of Spalding County, roughly 40 miles south of Atlanta. It was founded in 1840 by railroad promoter Lewis Lawrence Griffin, who laid out the town where rail lines met, and it grew into a busy rail and textile center. Griffin is also known as the birthplace of the Old West figure Doc Holliday, and its historic downtown still reflects its 19th- and early 20th-century prosperity.

Downtown Griffin is a compact grid of brick commercial buildings, churches and civic landmarks, with a street clock, small plazas and local shops and restaurants. The Bailey-Tebault House, an antebellum home run by the local historical society, tells the story of the town and the Civil War era, and handsome public buildings and old churches line the surrounding streets. The railroad still runs through the heart of town, a reminder of how Griffin began.

The University of Georgia's Griffin campus is a center for agricultural research and is home to the Research and Education Garden, with themed gardens and trails open to visitors. City Park offers green space, sports fields and a golf course, and smaller neighborhood parks have picnic shelters and playgrounds. High Falls State Park, with its waterfalls on the Towaliga River, is within an easy drive to the southeast.