A day after the fire in August 2014, what was left of Hancock County's Courthouse still smoldered while people stopped by to remember the former beauty.
WMAZ spoke to a county history buff about the history that was lost with the old building shortly after the fire.
Sparta Hancock County Historical Society President Rick Joslyn said, "It's almost like a wake, for a family member or a viewing at a funeral home, there's been people that have just been compelled to come and see it."
He said that the courthouse was a focal point for the town.
"Unlike larger communities where a courthouse is only visited if you happen to be on jury duty, here in Hancock County the courthouse has always been the center of community life," he said.
Joslyn described one court case that got nationwide attention - a 1885 trial over a white plantation owner's contested will.
The man had a daughter by his house servant slave, Amanda America Dickson, and at his death willed his entire estate to her.
"The will was contested, was tried in that courtroom, and a jury of 12, at that time 12 white men, ruled in her favor and made her the richest African American woman overnight," he said.
He says there were even plans to recreate the trial with the original transcripts.
Joslyn sent a few pictures of the former courthouse and told us about his favorite part, the stairs.
"The wooden treads were worn down several inches where people had been holding onto that railing and walking up the stairs or coming down the same, it was so cool," he explained.
Joslyn said many people in town were still trying to catch their breath.
"Every citizen in Hancock County knew this building intimately and it was a part of all of our lives, and to lose such a beautiful building has just been a real unfortunate tragedy," he said.
The county said most county records like deeds, marriage licenses, birth certificates, and minute-books had been burned.
Meanwhile, elections chairwoman Jeannette Waddell said voter information was stored in an Internet cloud, and wasn't been affected by the fire.