Will-A-Way Recreation Area

Will-A-Way Recreation Area is a Georgia historical marker in Barrow County, dedicated 2022.

Located at Fort Yargo State Park on Fort Yargo Road.

Get directions ↗Start a road trip Historical trails

Completed in 1971, Will-A-Way Recreational Area was the nation's first comprehensive outdoor recreational facility designed for people with disabilities. Beginning in 1966, the Georgia Department of State Parks met with multiple agencies to develop a recreation area that would eliminate the physical and psychological barriers experienced by people with disabilities. The state selected Fort Yargo State Park as the site for the recreational area due to its proximity to a large percentage of Georgia's population. Created through matching state and federal funds, Will-A-Way consisted of a day-use area, group camp, and family cabins. Nearly 20 years before the passage of the Americans with Disabilities Act (1990) requiring equal rights for people with disabilities, Will-A-Way served as a model for other states seeking to build more inclusive recreational areas.

TodayHistorical map

Slide toward Today to fade the historical sheet and see the modern map underneath.

David Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford Libraries

Historical maps covering this location

1816 · Georgia. (David Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford Libraries)
1831 · Georgia. (David Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford Libraries)
1845 · Georgia (David Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford Libraries)
1869 · Georgia. (David Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford Libraries)
1896 · Monroe, Georgia (USGS Historical Topographic Map Collection)

Georgia, 1816, covering the location of Will-A-Way Recreation Area, with a pin at the marker's coordinates — Georgia, 1816, covering this location. David Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford Libraries. The pin is ours, placed from the marker's coordinates.

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This historical marker is part of the Georgia Historical Marker Program and was erected by the Georgia Historical Society. Marker texts and locations come from the Society's own marker database.

More markers nearby

Fort Yargounder 1 mi
Builder of the Nationunder 1 mi
The Stoneman Raid: Battle of King's Tanyardunder 1 mi
Barrow Countyunder 1 mi