SUMMERVILLE, Ga. - A drive through Summerville's Commerce Street, with its neoclassical revival courthouse and colonial revival post office, takes visitors back to small-town America in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.
Community members want to make sure it's recognized and they hope, kept that way.
In June, the Summerville Commercial Historic District was listed in the Georgia Register of Historic Places and is expected to join the national list by the end of the year.
"There's a section of Summerville in this district identified as unique," said Nell Farrar with the Summerville Better Hometown Program, which co-sponsored the nomination.
"What we hope to do by identifying this historic district is preserve this somewhat-modest small town in North Georgia," she said. "If we do not preserve it, it will become 'Generica' - generic America."
About 30 people met Thursday with state Historic Preservation Division officials to discuss what it would mean to be listed in the National Register of Historic Places.
They gathered at the 1918 depot, which now houses the Chattooga County Historical Society.
"National Register designation identifies significant historic properties that can be taken into account in a broad range of preservation and development activities," said Gretchen Brock, National Register and survey program manager for the Historic Preservation Division, part of the Georgia Department of Natural Resources.
But even with the designation, property owners can't be told what to do, so it does not protect the buildings, she said.
The Chattooga County Courthouse and the depot - which still retains its historic appearance inside and out - are the only two buildings already listed on the National Register.
The proposed area covers about 40 acres centered on Commerce Street, Georgia and Washington avenues and the railroad corridor. It includes the still-functioning post office, built in 1937, and the Taylor Mercantile Co. on East Washington Avenue across the railroad tracks, once a warehouse that stored many items, including caskets.
The national recognition also means a possibility for more tourism, Mrs. Farrar said.
"If we bring and develop heritage tourism here, we are creating jobs," she said.
For Johnnie Lewis, who has lived in the same home near the depot for more than 40 years, being listed means preserving the town's heritage.
"It's so we know where we've been and where we are going and what we can do to improve our county and our city to become more efficient in the future, but not to forget about the old heritage that we had and to recognize that," Mr. Lewis said.
Continue reading by following these links to related stories:
Article: Father-son team goes hog-wild for barbecue