Gold & Grass Farms
The Ultimate Film and Photography Event LocationThe Ideal Location for Television Commercials, Movie Films, Photography Shoots
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Historic photo of Georgia’s largest gold mine back in it’s prime days.
Field gate sign with iconic timeline history of the farm.
Our History
Gold & Grass Farms began in 1978 when my dad bought land for a cattle farm. About a month later he talked me into buying land across the road. It wasn’t difficult to convince me because three years earlier I had fallen in love with the property while camped out there with a friend and doing a little treasure hunting, as the largest goldmine in Georgia, the Creighton-Franklin Goldmine, was on that tract of land.
While the gold mine was not the richest, it was the largest in Georgia, with a dam on the Etowah River powering a mill with three “undershot” water wheels. These water wheels powered a stamp mill to crush the ore from the mine for processing to extract the gold. They also powered large Rand compressors to operate the drills and other equipment in the mineshaft, and a mill to grind corn.
Anyway, back to Gold & Grass Farms. We had Black Angus cattle on the farm until 2010. At that time I started growing hay and began to have birddog field trials. I built a rustic styled lodge to serve lunch at the trials so we wouldn’t have to eat in the barn. Then one day a family friend asked to use the lodge for an event. Everyone had a great time at the event!
Photographer’s and Filmmaker’s Ideal Location
I’d already had many requests from many photographers to use the property for photo sessions including engagement photos, maternity photos and landscape photos, so everything just seem to fit as a great location for photography and videography. The favorite spot for many photographers is the historic, 130-yearold two-story wooden building known as the “Shingle House,” easily seen from the roadside.
Back in the gold mining days, it was used as a post office, hotel, and commissary and it sits smack in the middle of the rolling “gold and grass” fields. Past photography workshops we’ve held love to use the fields, the Shingle House, and even the remnants of the old river damn, mill, barn and other sites along the mile and half stretch of the Etowah River frontage. It’s a very scenic location filled with history.
Movie scouts have toured the farm for four different movies, though no commitments as of yet, but Hunger Games II came close to shooting one movie scene here. Though, we have used our large barn for a television commercial.
The lodge also has a custom made outdoor BBQ grill, so you can have your own caterer handle the cooking.
Gary Garrett
Owner
Gold & Grass Farms
Barn
The Barn at Dusk
A dusk view of the large barn, makes for great photographs too. Film and television crews love the natural light that enters the barn, plus it acts as a great scrim too.
Lodging
Bunkhouse Beds
The lodge, or bunk house, has five beds downstairs and nine beds upstairs. Great sleeping area for film and television crews on tight call times.
Tables & Chairs
Lunch & Dinner Area
The Lodge comes with rectangle and round tables plus chairs. Great for feeding television and film crews.