Moving on Down the Road

Continuing with our journey south through western Georgia toward Florida and following lunch at Zorba’s in Cedartown, I decided to at least check out a couple of local spots…one a re-creation and the other a historical landmark.

This beautiful faux depot, with a covered walkway for ‘passengers’, is a new structure.  The building is a replica of Cedartown's long-demolished Seaboard Air Line Railway depot.  The new structure was constructed in 2004 at the same location at 609 South Main Street as did the original railway depot.  It serves as the Welcome Center for Cedartown as well as the trailhead for the Silver Comet Trail.

Note: To learn more about the 61.5 mile long Silver Comet Trail, go to https://www.traillink.com/trail/silver-comet-trail/. This paved trail follows the former rail bed for Seaboard Air Line’s Silver Comet passenger service.

I took this photo just because I liked the scene…

As early “Cedar Town” continued to develop, The Pony Club – a notorious gang of thieves and outlaws ravaged the area.  Historians report that the gang burned so many homes and killed so many settlers that dozens fled the area.  Others were afraid to come.  In time, the early fathers of Cedar Town banded together and put an end to The Pony Club in 1834. 

The West Theater is just one building among the 65 that comprise the Cedartown Commercial Historic District which is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.  The Theatre opened in August of 1941.  The opening attraction was "Three Sons O' Guns", which was not exactly a box office bonanza.   Considered on the finest examples of Art Deco style in northwest Georgia, it features hanging chandeliers in the lobby, and movie cards from the 1950s and 1960s adorn the walls.  It’s still in operation today as a twin screen movie theatre.

Cedartown is also home to the Cedartown Waterworks-Woman's Building-Big Spring Park Historic District, the Northwest Cedartown Historic District and the South Philpot Street Historic District.  If time had permitted, we could have wandered throughout the city looking for historic buildings for an entire day… 

Moving further south, these 2 photos are of the former Central Georgia Railroad’s combined passenger and freight depot in Carrollton Georgia.  It was built in 1875!  I found photos on the Internet that showed this structure in sad condition.  However, it was again opened to the public in January of 2013 after an extended renovation period.  This 140 year old brick depot now contains two main areas: The Ticketing Booth and The Grand Hall.  The Ticketing Booth area is slated to house both Carrollton and Railroad memorabilia while the Grand Hall is available for event rentals.

Original estimates for repairs reached as high as $4 million dollars.  The final cost of the actual repairs was much less, coming in at $1.2 million dollars.  Carrollton’s Mayor attributed the cost saving measures to the use of inmate/prisoner labor. 

Note: Carrollton was the home of Academy Award winning actress Susan Hayward.

Appropriately enough, the former Heard County Jail is located on Court Square and ‘Shady Lane’ in Franklin, Georgia.  This attractive building was built in 1912.  It served as county jail and sheriff's residence from 1912 to 1964. Up to 16 prisoners could be incarcerated upstairs while the Sheriff and his family lived downstairs.  Although death row prisoners were held here, the jail’s gallows were never used.

The jail was added to the National Register of Historic Places on January 27, 1981.  The building now serves as a museum and historical center.  The 2 main attractions within this building are a mannequin robed in Ku Klux Klan regalia and a reproduction of a still for making alcohol, representatives of the past culture of the area.  For more information, go to http://www.n-georgia.com/heard-co-historical-ctr-museum.html.  

That’s it for now… Just click on any of the photos to enlarge them.

Thanks for stopping by for a visit!

Take Care, Big Daddy Dave