New book highlights history of Georgia’s Arabia Mountain National Heritage Area

LITHONIA, Ga. - Want to know more about Georgia’s fascinating Arabia Mountain National Heritage Area? Then just ask the duo who wrote the book about it.

That would be Jeff Dingler and Brigette Jones, co-authors of the new book "Images of America: Arabia Mountain National Heritage Area," which is due out tomorrow (Tuesday, April 7th) from Arcadia Publishing. The authors say it’s the first book specifically written about the area, and features rare (and sometimes never-before-seen!) photographs pulled from the Heritage Area archives and sourced from surrounding communities. Among those, Dingler says, is a newly unearthed snapshot of then-Senator John F. Kennedy attending a University of Georgia graduation in 1957. 

And if you know anything about the Arabia Mountain National Heritage Area, you know there’s more than enough material to fill a book. Managed by the Arabia Mountain Heritage Area Alliance, the Heritage Area covers 40,000 acres and spans portions of DeKalb, Henry, and Rockdale Counties. Arabia Mountain itself is what’s known as a monadnock (a massive granite outcrop) and features a unique landscape that’s often compared to the surface of the moon! There’s another monadnock located in the Heritage Area — Panola Mountain — and communities like Flat Rock, which is one of the oldest Black communities in the state. Rockdale County’s top tourist attraction — the Monastery of the Holy Spirit — is also part of the Arabia Mountain National Heritage Area, and home to a small community of Trappist monks.

We’ve featured several spots within the Arabia Mountain National Heritage Area here on Good Day Atlanta in the past — and thanks to tomorrow’s big book release, decided it was time to spend another morning exploring this fascinating Georgia gem. Click the video player in this article to check out our personal tour with authors Jeff Dingler and Brigette Jones!