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Georgia’s Magic Kingdom

“Here you will find fantastical worlds all around you,” reads the oversize decorative book at the entrance to Sleepy Hollow, a labyrinth of “fairy houses,” impish garden gnomes, and spinning whirligigs nestled into a hillside just off Highway 515 in North Georgia.

Here, just over five miles east of Blairsville, Arthur Millican Jr.’s creative artistry comes to life for anyone to explore. Mulched paths wind around colorful structures of all sizes—some tiny and tucked off in the woods, others big enough for adults to enter. “If you believe,” the book continues, “you will see a world of pure imagination.”

Millican has always believed in dreams. As a kid, all he wanted was to grow up and work at Disney. After high school graduation, he got hired to work concessions at Main Street U.S.A., the park’s first themed world just inside the gate. Selling popcorn wasn’t quite his fantasy, but the opportunity gave him an in.

Hanging around the art departments paid off, and the aspiring craftsman was offered a gig in the park’s model shop. “They trained me in every aspect of art, from welding to fiberglass to painting to molding and sculpting,” says Millican, who worked his way up to the display department. There he built a career fabricating 3-D animated sculptures and helped create the now closed Mickey’s Toontown. 

In 1990, Millican left Disney to work for Michael Jackson, helping to conceive and develop the late pop star’s famed Neverland Ranch. Eventually the sought-after artist began designing themed restaurants the likes of Planet Hollywood and Hard Rock Café. 

Around 13 years ago, he decamped to the mountains of North Georgia. From his 2,500-square-foot woodworking shop, he has created his own personal magic kingdom. While he continues to create character sculptures for theme parks such as Tokyo Disneyland, Millican has also transformed his family’s property into the whimsical Sleepy Hollow Enterprises.

“I wanted to create a destination for people coming to Blairsville,” Millican says. “The village helps create imagination in children, and it’s something all ages can get involved in.” 

Though the garden is free to wander (donations welcome), inspired visitors who want to take home a piece of the magic can buy Millican’s handmade, brightly painted whirligigs, bird and pet houses, fairy doors and houses, and his signature hand-cranked “leprechaun in a jar”—a throwback mechanical toy that bangs its fists against the insides of a Mason jar when its crank is turned. An on-site gift shop stocks supplies for budding artists, from craft projects to drawing pads, canvases, and paint. 

Sleepy Hollow Enterprises

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