Georgia’s Car Museum

Would you want to visit a car museum?

Museums aren’t for everyone especially when you start niching down to the automotive world. When most people think of museums they think of art and history museums for the most part and many times the automotive museums get passed by unless an avid automotive enthusiast is with and even then they might pass and wait for the next car show instead.

So the question remains, why would you visit an automotive museum?  The Founder of Miles Through Time Automotive Museum, Sean Mathis took this question to heart when he and Co-Curator Truitt Phillips set out to recreate the Miles Through Time Automotive Museum in its new home located inside of the Old Clarkesville Mill in Clarkesville, Georgia.

There are some very impressive automotive museums in the USA that are worth a visit like the Petersen Auto Museum in California, the Gilmore Car Museum in Michigan, or the Revs Institute in Florida. There are more really nice car museums to visit and you can find them HERE, but there are many more smaller ones you may have never heard of.

The Miles Through Time Automotive Museum (MTT) may be one of those smaller museums you’ve never heard of, but you should. MTT is more than just some cars on display like you’d find at a car show.  MTT is full of history and art all thoughtfully displayed and explained.

Yes, you’ll see over 100 years of automotive history on display in this Georgia museum, but you’ll also get to see and learn about other historical items, there is even a replica town completely hand-built from rough-cut wood.

When it comes to art, there are signs and old advertisements, but there is also the craftsmanship that went into building the exhibits.  Not to mention each car is a piece of art and to not lean towards one particular taste too much, Sean has really tried to venture outside of the box as to what you may typically find in a Museum.

There is the ultra-rare 1911 Brush, still family-owned and cherished and no shortage of Model A’s and T’s, but there is also a collection of Cannonball Cars placed on display by the Founder of Vinwiki.

Although the star of the museum that has yet to be dethroned is Sean’s only car in the museum, his Pop’s 59 Cadillac which was also used in the movie When We Last Spoke.

Miles Through Time Automotive Museum was originally created in 2017 but as of 2020 the museum found a new home inside of an Old Mill in Clarkesville, Georgia. If that isn’t neat enough the mill is also home to a bowling alley, restaurant, and Antique Mall. Access to the museum is actually through the antique mall’s rear entrance which enables the museum to be open 7 days a week.

At the moment MTT is around 10,000 square feet of automotive history, but Sean says they have plans to expand when there is a demand and has the ability to grow to over 30,000 square feet. Not to mention the over 70,000 square feet of antiques to look at while your visiting.

Miles Through Time is a nonprofit (filed 501c3) co-op style Automotive Museum. Not only does just about every vehicle on display run, but they are mostly owned by various people and change frequently. People have the option to donate to the museum or store their vehicles on display temporarily.

Founder, Sean Mathis says there is a reason not everyone does this. He’s been told of all kinds of fantastic private collections of wealthy people, but they can’t be enjoyed by the masses.

After Sean inherited his 59 Cadillac from his grandfather he wanted to give people the opportunity to enjoy the car as much as he does and provide the same outlet for others to be able to do the same and MTT was born.

“Miles Through Time Automotive Museum is just like a snowball,” Sean says.  The more people that visit and like what we are doing go and tell their friends and family who then go and tell their friends and family.  A handful of all of those people will want to be a part of the museum and that is when the collection really starts to grow.

You can visit the Miles Through Time Automotive Museum 7 days a week from 11 to 6 at 583 Grant St. in Clarkesville, Georgia.