Historic Town of Gay, Georgia, Hits the Market for $13.5 Million

Rare offering includes ~60 acres, 17 buildings, operating businesses, Gay Cotton Fair, and much of the historic center of Gay, Georgia

GAY, GA, UNITED STATES, September 21, 2026 /EINPresswire.com/ -- One of the most unusual real estate offerings in the Southeast has hit the market: a significant ownership position in the historic town of Gay, Georgia, a preserved rural destination approximately 50 minutes south of Atlanta.

Offered at $13.5 million, the assemblage is owned by noted Atlanta architect Keith Summerour and his family and includes approximately 60 acres and 17 buildings spanning much of the town’s historic center. The offering encompasses commercial storefronts, hospitality venues, residential properties, agricultural and timber acreage, established event infrastructure and the popular Gay Cotton Fair.

Among the historic properties are a century-old cotton gin and a former peach processing facility that once served South Georgia farms shipping fruit north by rail through Gay.

Harrison Summerour, a member of the ownership family, is co-listing the property with Bonneau Ansley. Both are real estate professionals with Bonneau & Company and Ansley Real Estate | Christie’s International Real Estate.

Located in Meriwether County, Gay is within easy reach of Atlanta, Peachtree City, Senoia, Newnan, LaGrange and Columbus, as well as Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport. The town has retained much of its original 19th-century character, with preserved storefronts, historic buildings and an authentic rural identity increasingly difficult to recreate in today’s development landscape.

The offering also includes two operating businesses with established revenue streams: Towerhouse Farm & Brewery, a craft brewery and taproom generating approximately $510,000 in annual revenue, and the nationally recognized Gay Cotton Fair, a twice-annual festival (coming up October 3 - 4, 2026) drawing approximately 60,000 attendees annually and generating approximately $750,000 in annual revenue.

The property already benefits from significant visitation. More than 1 million vehicles travel through Gay each year, while the town and its events attract more than 100,000 visitors annually, according to ownership.

The surrounding area has also attracted film and television productions, highlighting the cinematic appeal of west Georgia’s rolling countryside and preserved small-town character. Productions filmed in the region have included The Walking Dead, Lawless, Barbecue Showdown and Till.

Beyond its existing operations, ownership sees opportunities for expanded lodging, weddings, corporate retreats, culinary programming and destination-driven development, as well as brewery production and distribution, film and television partnerships, conservation strategies and continued agricultural uses.

The property sits within a growing regional collection of experiential tourism and hospitality destinations, including Big Red Oak Plantation sporting preserve and Quercus, Georgia’s Relais & Châteaux hotel and dining destination.

“In more than three decades of selling real estate, I’ve never seen an opportunity quite like this,” said Bonneau Ansley, founder & chairman, Bonneau & Company: New Developments - Ansley Real Estate | Christie’s International. “Historic buildings come to market. Farms come to market. Resorts come to market. But the chance to acquire a significant ownership position in an authentic American town with operating businesses, a built-in customer base and tremendous future potential is extraordinarily rare.”

“Most real estate offerings require years of investment before meaningful revenue materializes,” said Harrison Summerour, whose family owns and operates the properties. “Gay is different. The property includes established businesses, recurring events, hospitality assets, rental income and a destination that already attracts more than 100,000 visitors each year. For the right buyer, there is an opportunity to build on an existing economic engine rather than starting from scratch.”

“Gay represents something increasingly difficult to find in America: authenticity,” said Keith Summerour, Atlanta architect, Gay resident and primary owner of the properties being offered. “The buildings, the streets, the agricultural landscape and the stories embedded in this place were not created for tourism; they evolved naturally over generations. The opportunity is not to reinvent Gay, but to thoughtfully steward its history while helping it reach its full potential as one of the South’s most distinctive rural destinations.”

Tucker Sarkisian
Bonneau & Company
tucker@ansleyre.com