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Metro Atlanta

Cherokee opens Charlie Ferguson Community Center

The Charlie Ferguson Community Center at 1398 Reinhardt College Parkway, Canton was known as the North Canton Volunteer Fire Department in the late 1970s as the first African American volunteer fire department in Georgia. (Courtesy of Cherokee County)

Credit: Cherokee County

Credit: Cherokee County

The Charlie Ferguson Community Center at 1398 Reinhardt College Parkway, Canton was known as the North Canton Volunteer Fire Department in the late 1970s as the first African American volunteer fire department in Georgia. (Courtesy of Cherokee County)
By Carolyn Cunningham – For the AJC
Aug 17, 2023

Cherokee County residents in the Pearidge community recently celebrated the opening of the Charlie Ferguson Community Center that is housed in the former premises of Cherokee County Fire and Emergency Services Station 9, formerly known as the North Canton Volunteer Fire Department, 1398 Reinhardt College Parkway, Canton.

Notably, the department was the first African American volunteer fire department in Georgia.

The Cherokee County Board of Commissioners allocated $1.7 million in Community Development Block Grant and Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax funds.

“I knew Charlie Ferguson for roughly 40 years or more, and he was one of the finest men I ever knew. It’s fitting that this facility will live in honor of his memory,” said Cherokee County Board of Commissioners Chairman Harry Johnston of the first chairman of the North Canton Fire Department.

For more information on the center, call 770-380-9909 or visit cfergusoncc.org.

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Carolyn Cunningham
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