Photo Galleries

The Arabia Mountain National Heritage Area is a visual wonder. The granite outcrops and vibrant plant life are startling and surreal.

Vaughters farm

Vaughters-Barn_Aug.-30-2021

Venture behind the iconic Vaughters Barn and experience a thriving wildlife meadow.

An old barn in a field of green grass, under a sunset/sunrise. The photo is lightly edited to emphasize shadows and contrast.

Dave Marcus_Barn. The Barn

The interior of an old barn. A ladder on the left side leads to the second floor.

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Interior of barn following renovation. Visitors will be able to view the inside of the barn on a guided basis.

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Renovators at work on Vaughters’ Barn. Construction took place throughout November.

Arabia Mountain National Heritage Area (AMNHA)

Vaughters' Barn Undergoing Renovations

Vaughters Barn undergoing historic preservation efforts

An eastern wild turkey stands in field of green grass, with three chicks grazing beside the adult.

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A field of red diamorpha plants growing in a solution pit on a rock outcrop.

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A field of quilwort, a green, grass-like plant, growing among small rocks.

square quillwort

Ruins of an old, stone building sit in a wooded area. Only some walls and a chimney remain.

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Close up photo of a musk thistle flower, a bright pink/purple flower with thorny leaves.

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Close up photo of a salamander egg mass, a gelatinous blob, floating in a pond. Green algae is seen within the blob, which has a symbiotic relationship with the salamander eggs.

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Close up of a yellow fishing spider, of unknown species. It is partially floating on the surface of a puddle with its hind legs on the rock surface.

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Photo of two yucca plants in bloom with stalks of white-yellow flowers.

Yucca / Adam’s needle (Yucca filamentosa)

Yucca / Adam's needle (Yucca filamentosa)

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Common five-lined skink (Plestiodon fasciatus) *juvenile*

Common five-lined skink (Plestiodon fasciatus) *juvenile*

Common five-lined skink (Plestiodon fasciatus) *juvenile*

Photo of an old white farmhouse with a brick chimney in a yard with trees.

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Close up of a prickly pear cactus in bloom with a large, yellow flower.

Prickly pear cactus (Opuntia lata)

Prickly pear cactus (Opuntia lata)

Close up of a ringed paper wasp, a reddish-brown paper wasp with yellowish legs and a black abdomen, sits on a wall.

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Photo of a black raspberry bush with berries ranging from red to dark purple, growing on the edge of a meadow.

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Eastern box turtle (Terrapene carolina)

Eastern box turtle (Terrapene carolina)

Eastern box turtle (Terrapene carolina)

A group of kayakers paddle down a shallow river surrounded by green trees.

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Black and white photo of Downtown Lithonia, Georgia, featuring several buildings, old cars and people. A sign on one of the buildings reads "Southeast Federal".

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Photo of two detached rock slabs pointing up and creating a small land bridge, sticking up from a rock outcrop with other exfoliation damage, like scattered rock chunks and rock dust. A green tree line is in the background.

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A wooden pavilion with a bell tower sits in between a tree line and a field of plants. A clear blue sky is above it.

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Photo of a covered bridge that crosses a creek. Greenery surrounds it.

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Photo of a Chinese mantis, a brown mantis with green stripes, sitting on a rocky ground.

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Close up of a branch of a muscadine grape plant with several green and purple grapes growing from it.

Muscadine grape (Vitis rotundifolia)

Muscadine grape (Vitis rotundifolia)

A field of yellow daisies, or Porter's sunflowers, growing on the side of a rock mountain.

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A group of kayakers float down a river in a forested area.

South River paddle

Close up photo of the head of a rough green snake, a slender, green snake, on a paved trail.

Rough green snake (Opheodrys aestivus)

Rough green snake (Opheodrys aestivus)

Close up photos of the berries of a Carolina horsenettle plant, growing from a brown stem in the midst of green grass.

Carolina horsenettle / devil’s tomato (Solanum carolinense)

Carolina horsenettle / devil's tomato (Solanum carolinense)

Close up photo of a rabid wolf spider, a large brown spider, on a paved trail.

Rabid wolf spider (Rabidosa rabida)

Rabid wolf spider (Rabidosa rabida)

Photo of the sun setting taken from the top of a rock mountain. A pool of water is directly in front of the camera, below the sun setting on the horizon.

Sunset on Arabia Mountain

Photo of the hall in the church at the Monastery of the Holy Spirit. Stained glass windows and crosses span the walls and benches span the hall.

Church hall at the Monastery of the Holy Spirit

The Monastery's sanctuary, where O'Connor and her mother would've attended Sunday Mass.

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Close up photo of a North American wheel bug, a winged insect with long, reddish antennae, sitting on a chunk of rock.

North American wheel bug (Arilus cristatus)

Walnut sphynx moth (Amorpha juglandis)

A marble statue of Mary holding baby Jesus sits beside a brick barn with a cross on the roof.

Statue of Mary and Jesus on the grounds of the Monastery of the Holy Spirit

Close up of a shallow pool of water with snorkelwort plants, which are growing from the bottom of the pool with several tiny leaves on the surface of the water.

Snorkelwort (Gratiola amphiantha)

Snorkelwort (Gratiola amphiantha)

Close up photo of a group of black-sported quillwort plants, small, green, spiny plants, growing in a small, shallow pool.

Black-spored quillwort (Isoetes melanospora)

Black-spored quillwort (Isoetes melanospora)

Photo of a ridge on a rock outcrop with frozen miniature waterfalls flowing down it. Some trees are growing at the top of the ridge.

Frozen outcrop "waterfalls"

Photo of a sandy bank of a river, with trees and a bridge in the background.

Panola Shoals "beach"

Close up photo of a walnut sphynx moth, a brown moth with a long abdomen, sitting on a paved surface.

Walnut sphynx moth (Amorpha juglandis)

Walnut sphynx moth (Amorpha juglandis)

Close up photo of a green treefrog, a small, green frog with white and black stripes, sitting on a tree branch.

Green treefrog (Hyla cinerea)

Green treefrog (Hyla cinerea)

Close up of a red-spotted purple butterfly, a dark purple and blue butterfly with orange spots on its wing tips, sitting on a green leaf.

Red-spotted purple butterfly (Limenitis arthemis)

Red-spotted purple butterfly (Limenitis arthemis)

Close up photo of a male Jack-in-the-Pulpit plant, a pitcher-like, green and purple plant growing in front of some other greenery.

Jack-in-the-Pulpit plant (Arisaema tyiphyllum) *male*

Jack-in-the-Pulpit plant (Arisaema tyiphyllum) *male*

Close up photo of a female Jack-in-the-Pulpit plant, a pitcher-like green plant growing in front of some other greenery.

Jack-in-the-Pulpit plant (Arisaema tyiphyllum) *female*

Jack-in-the-Pulpit plant (Arisaema tyiphyllum) *female*

An old stone structure sits on the side of a paved road. A sign next to it reads "Oak Grove Junction Convenience Store".

Oak Grove Junction Convenience Store

A bold jumping spider, a fuzzy silver, black and brownish spider with iridescent green fangs, sits on a metallic fence surface.

Bold jumping spider (Phiddipus audax)

Bold jumping spider (Phiddipus audax)

An old barn sits in the middle of a large meadow. The photo is taken from behind some bronze grasses.

Vaughters' Barn and Meadow from the fields

Four nine-banded armadillos graze on a patch of ground covered by fallen leaves.

Nine-banded armadillos (Dasypus novemcinctus)

A deer fawn sits curled up next to a wooden wall. The photo is taken from above the fawn.

White-tailed deer fawn (Odocoileus virginianus)

Large patches of musk thistles, tall, flowering plants with spiky leaves and bright purple-pink flowers, grow in a green meadow.

Musk thistles (Carduus nutans) growing in Vaughters' Meadow

An eastern carpenter bee, a large black and yellow bee, sits on a bright purple-pink musk thistle flower.

Eastern carpenter bee (Xylocopa virginica) on a musk thistle (Carduus nutans) flower

A watermelon plant grows on a patch of moss, lichen and plants on a rock mountain surface. Trees and other hills are on the horizon.

Watermelon plant on Arabia Mountain

An American toad, a small brownish toad, sits on a paved surface.

American toad (Anaxyrus americanus)

American toad (Anaxyrus americanus)

A man plays a guitar at the top of a rock mountain at sunset.

Sunset concert at the top of Arabia Mountain (featuring Malcolm Little)

Close up of a group of tadpoles swimming in a puddle.

Frog tadpoles

Frog tadpoles

An elderly Black woman holds a rusty school bell while standing next to a wall of the ruins of a stone building and a podium.

Allene Harper, Bruce Street School graduate with recovered school bell

A Bruce Street School alum holds the old school bell. Because of History Harvests, we've been able to uncover more documents and artifacts about DeKalb's first public school for Black people.

A group of hikers gather around a pond on a rock outcrop.

Salamander and frog pond visit

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