The Naturalist Center is one of the most intriguing places at The Ford Plantation. Here you’ll find the office of the staff naturalist, located in a building commonly referred to as the Oyster House, which was originally Henry Ford’s cabin—what many today would call his man cave. Above the front door hangs a cryptic sign that reads AIG-ROEG. It’s said the sign was created by Ford as an inside joke, a tongue-in-cheek memorial to repeated questions from friends who asked him why he was moving to “backward Georgia.” Almost 100 years later, the sign remains as a quiet testament to Henry Ford’s legacy.
Inside the Oyster House, you’ll discover a collection of fossils, animal skulls, snakes, turtles, and various other reptiles which our naturalist uses for kids’ camps and other educational demonstrations. In addition to the Oyster House, the Naturalist Center features an observation deck overlooking the marsh, turtle pens, and an owl barn for rehabilitating injured birds of prey.