SPARTA HANCOCK COUNTY HISTORICAL SOCIETY
OLD JAIL, 526 COURT STREET
SPARTA , GEORGIA 31087
Welcome to the Sparta Hancock County Historical Society Website Design.
President - Dan Holtz
Vice President - David Murray
Secretary - Linda Holtz
Treasurer - Gaynelle Cochran
Genealogy - Trudy Lewis
Board Member - Nancy Stephens
Board Member - Helen Martin
Immediate Past President (Ex-Officio) - Catherine Cook
Publicity - Jean Volkmann
Hancock County is located in central Georgia bounded by Greene, Putnam, Baldwin, Washington, Glascock, Warren, and Taliaferro Counties. It was formed from Washington and Greene counties in 1793. The first court in Hancock county was held in the home of John Whatley in 1794. This home is still standing and known as the four mile store. Sparta became the county seat in 1795. Hancock County has been the home of many schools over the years. The Mt. Zion Academy run by the Bemen Brothers. The Sparta Female Model School on Maiden Lane where two of the old dormitories still stand. This just names a very few of the fine schools.
A little about us. We meet once a quarter with some type of program or perhaps a field trip. Our annual dues are $10.00 per year and are due the first of each year. We have a quarterly newsletter which will tell of all coming events as well as a financial statement for the Society. If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to call on any one of the officers or board members.
COMPLETED PROJECT!!!!!!
We have completed the roof on the Mt. Zion Church thanks to Mr. John Cleaveland and his crew. These guys did a really great job and charged us only for materials and $1,000. for labor. Thank you to David Williams and the late Robert Smith for their $500.00 donation towards the roof. We still need to do some work on the inside and paint the outside. The front steps also need some repair. There are also some windows panes that need to be replaced, and we will be replacing them with old wavy glass. We have got to check into it some more, but we understand that there may be some grants available to help us out. Most grants require either some in-kind services or some matching funds, so we'll keep you posted.
UPCOMING PROJECT
The Graves Barn - Corner of Boland and Adams Streets
The Graves barn also needs some help. At present it is sitting in a very wet area. We hope to jack it up and put in a new foundation, but that is in the "how are we going to do this" pile.
OUR TOUR OF HOMES WAS A SUCCESS!!!!
On Saturday May 22, 2004, about 175 visitors toured historic homes in downtown Sparta and we took in just under $2,000! We have received feedback about things we need to improve, so we will make those changes for the next tour. Watch the site for more info.
SOME of the homes on the tour were the Alston-Wiley house, the Haynes-Wiley-Hutchings house, the Bird-Pierce-Campbell house, the Harley-Harris-Rives house, the Burwell-Goss house, the home of David and Zel Murray, and Larry and Gaynelle Cochran.
The old jail, the
Thanks to all of our homeowners who put their homes on tour. Much work went into getting these houses ready.
Next Meeting and field trip to be announced soon.
HARLEY-HARRIS-RIVES HOUSE
The Harley-Harris-Rives House - 720 Elm Street
This home is located at
ALSTON-WILEY HOUSE
The Alston-Wiley House - 509 Maiden Lane
This house at
BIRD-PIERCE- CAMPBELL HOUSE
The Bird-Campbell-Pierce House - Corner of Broad Street and Maiden Lane
At the corner of
TERRELL-STONE HOUSE
The Terrell-Stone House - 893 Jones Street
At
839 Jones Street
stands the Terrell-Stone house.
The home was built circa 1820 by Dr. William Terrell.
Dr. Terrell established the first fully endowed chair of agriculture in the
The Old Jail - Corner of Adams and Court Streets
HAYNES-WILEY-HUTCHINS HOUSE
The Haynes-Wiley-Hutchins House - 513 Maiden Lane
This home is located at
BURWELL-GOSS HOUSE
The Burwell-Goss House - Intersection of Burwell and Hamilton Streets
This house is located at the intersection of
BURDICK-
MURRAY
HOUSE
The Burdick-Murray House - Corner of East Adams and East Broad Streets
Built circa 1903-1906 by the Burdick family who sold general merchandise in a store at the corner of Spring St and
BURDICK-COCHRAN HOUSE
The Burdick-Cochran House - 344 East Adams Street
The Burdick family lived in this house prior to building the house next door (The Burdick-Murray House, please see above). When their family grew to include six children they outgrew this house. The house has a butler's pantry, root cellar, and sleeping porch. The floors downstairs are oak and upstairs heart pine. It is presently being lovingly restored.
GENERAL RAMBLINGS
Then Johnny Smith gave me a picture of the old
Now back to the old Culver-
Connel
store.
When I pulled the sheetrock down in the kitchen there were wonderful wide pine boards underneath.
The beams are mortise and
tenon
(did I spell that right?).
The back door is original with the original strap hinges.
In my pantry you can see were an old door was covered up that went into the dining room which appears to be an addition to the store.
From the outside the dining room is the board and batten part of my house.
You can also see from the outside where the front part of the house was built onto the dining room.
And in addition to all of this, Jeff's wife loved to garden.
So far I've found a fish pond and a flower pit that I'm very slowly bringing back.
She had a very good eye for landscaping.
The yard around the house is terraced perfectly with beautiful plantings of camellias, bulbs, and all kinds of things I haven't discovered yet.
I just can't wait to see what else is here.
The newest mystery is a round circle of dead grass about 6 feet across that has sunk in some.
It may be an old well, but the last time I saw the same thing was at the
No, my house is not on tour this go around.
You'll have to come back when we do one out in the county.
POSTCARDS OF GOOD OLD
We also have Trudy Lewis who is great with genealogy. She does have to charge a fee for this, but she knows the courthouse inside and out.