HANCOCK COUNTY, Ga. — It's not unusual for things to become forgotten and lost to time. However, one revitalization group in Hancock County uncovered a decades-old art piece that’s stirring up memories around town.
"It is very much like being able to step back in time and talk to the people that were here before,” says Karen West.
West is project manager with DREAM Street Sparta, a branch of the Hancock County Historic Preservation commission. She says that about a week ago, work was being done on this narrow building on Broad Street.
She says most people remember it as an alleyway that’s been boarded up and unoccupied since the late 1970s, early 1980s. However, the plywood covering the doorways came down and it uncovered a mural.
"I had to sit down and cry– happy tears! It was so beautiful and so unexpected. It could've been done as early as the 1930s, it could've been done as late as the 1970s,” she says.
West says that there's more to this building than a forgotten mural.
"In searching through the old Sanborn Fire Insurance maps, we discovered in 1909 the alley was closed off and three generations of barbers cut hair in this building. It was owned by the Warthen family,” she explains.
West says Broad Street was thought to be a white-retail area, but the barber shop was a successful Black-owned business.
“Mr. Willie and Mr. Mac were here and all the influential men around town had to get their hair cut by Mr. Willie and Mr. Mac,” West says.
Sherard Kennedy SR. has lived in Sparta for the past 73 years and is also a volunteer with DREAM Street Sparta.
"He was always a distinguished looking guy and I always looked up to him,” says Kennedy.
He says he remembers Willie Warthen– head barber when he was a paperboy in 1954.
"He was generous, he let me come in and they accepted me. Distinguished white men lined the walls. You could tell by the way they carried themselves,” Kennedy remembers.
He says as the civil rights movement arrived, the shop served a different purpose.
"We marched up and down these streets in the 1970s during the integration of the school system, and a lot of the participants would meet right here and we would refreshen ourselves,” he explains.
Karen West says that they have no idea if the mural is complete or not, but describes it as a folk art rendition of a landscape. She says it covers both walls of the building and has not stood against the test of time, but says it shows a lot of Sparta’s heart.
“We have a history of extremely artistic and talented people and that just kind of sums it up. When you least expect it, somebody is just going to jump up and tell their story. That’s the beautiful thing. Not the names, not the dates– their story.”.
Time has moved on and the picture got covered, but now Kennedy says they're happy it's displayed again.
"I want others to see it and share it, and just enjoy the beauty of Sparta and Hancock County. That's what I'm doing,” he says.
West says they’re trying to hunt down the artist now and says they’ve narrowed down to three possible painters– two are still alive.