Renovations
By Dr. Terrell McBrayer
Co-President of Haralson Co. Historical Society
During the past year great progress has been made on the Historic Haralson County courthouse. All donations are tax deductible.
Heating and air conditioning have been installed and a local public library project is underway. The library will be located in the downstairs area of the courthouse. The Georgia General Assembly has allocated a fifty thousand dollar grant for this project.
Improvements made prior to last year include the recovering of the entire roof and repairs to the exterior. walls and the courtroom.
Matching local funds of $70,000 are needed for remaining critical needs. These include an elevator to provide access for the handicapped and elderly and furniture restoration in the courtroom.
Project I of a three project plan to completely renovated the courthouse has been completed. The estimated cost for the completion of Project II is $290,000. Project III is estimated to cost $885,917.
The Historical Society meets each second Monday at 6:30 in the Historic Courthouse.
Interested citizens may join by sending a $10 membership or send a yearly contribution of $l00 for Heritage Membership to P.O. Box 585 Buchanan, Ga. 30113.
Reprint from the Tallapoosa Journal (Monday, Sept.2, 2002) by Crystal Ledford
(Reporter for The Haralson Gateway-Beacon)
Haralson County Historical members say much progress has been made to the courthouse
over the past few months.
Last updated on Sunday, 08-Sep-2002 09:39:59 MDT
Members Mary McKibben and Lillian Carroll said many interior renovations projects are currently under way in the courthouse.
The Georgia General Assembly recently allocated $50,000 for a library project that will be located in the downstairs historical center of the building. Shelves are in place to house the books, which will soon be stocked in the library area.
In addition to the books, the library will house seven computers. Carroll reported five have already been connected and library managers are awaiting the arrival of two more.
Beautification projects recently completed include the resurfacing of all the hardwood floors in the facility, new paint on the walls in several of the rooms including the kitchen area and refinishing of all the benches in the courtroom.
Several additions have been made to make the courthouse "a little more livable."
"Speaker (Thomas) Murphy and Commissioner Charles Sanders have helped us refurbish the kitchen area," said Carroll. "(Murphy) donated a new stove, refrigerator and a nice hood for over the stove. We've also added new hot water system to the building."
In the courtroom area, Carroll reported a new pot belly stove was recently added as well as donated book shelves from the Haralson County School System.
Other decorations to recapture the feel of a building from the 1890's (the courthouse was built in 1891), include period sewing machines, churns and spinning wheels.
Future improvement projects include upgrades in the main bathroom and secondary bathrooms upstairs and downstairs. The clock tower will be enclosed in plexiglass some time within the next few weeks also, added Carroll.
Historical Society Co-President Terrell McBrayer reported that in the last year heating and air conditioning have been added to the structure and the area behind the main courtroom has been repaired.
McBrayer reported matching funds of $70,000 are still needed for remaining critical needs including an elevator and the restoration of the furniture in the courtroom.
