Volunteers interesting in documenting the store and cleaning the bricks are invited to contact the Historical Society at 770-345-3288. Information: www.rockbarn.org.
One of Cherokee County’s landmark structures is about to become a thing of the past. Since 1935, the red-brick Bell’s store has been a business of some sort, serving the residents in and around the Buffington community. Its last incarnation was as a fresh produce market, but last week, the lettuce and tomatoes were moved out so a new owner can raze the building.
“The site is going to be torn down for a gas station,” said Stefanie Joyner, executive director of the Cherokee County Historical Society. “There’s been a lot of interest in saving it, but we just don’t have any tools to do it. The county was looking at doing a preservation ordinance, but it’s a touchy situation, since that usually restricts property rights. We still may look at doing that, but it won’t be in time to save the store.”
Situated at the high-traffic intersection of Hwy. 20 and Union Hill Road, the store is not particularly remarkable for its architecture or design, Joyner points out. But it is an important piece of the county’s story.
“No, it’s not an architectural gem, but it’s been on that corner since 1935 as a general store for the community,” she said. “Now it’s an example of how we’re losing our landmarks. We already know they’re planning to widen Hwy. 20, so this is going to happen again and again as we experience more growth.”
Historical Society members and community supporters hoped the old building would be incorporated into a site plan, the same way the landmark farm silos became a key component of commercial development in North Fulton’s Crabapple community.
“There’s still development there, but it’s surrounded by its past,” said Joyner. “It’s distinctive; that separates Crabapple from Canton. We’re not trying to stop development but to incorporate some of our old buildings into it. We even tried to find a place to move the store to, and we had some promising spots, but nothing worked out. And it would have cost $40,000 or more to do it.”
Since 2010, Lisa Meyer had leased Bell’s and turned it into the Cherokee Market Farm Fresh Produce store. The space was not only convenient to her house across the street, it was also nostalgic.
“My father and I used to salvage old barns and houses, and we always liked this old building,” she said. “When a friend told me it was for rent, I got the lease. A couple of years ago, I bought a house across the street. But now I want to sell; I don’t want to look at a gas station.”
While Bell’s may soon be gone, fans of the produce market will still be able to find the same fresh selection at Meyer’s new location seven miles up the road. She’s taken the lease-purchase on a 113-year-old, 5,000-square-foot building she plans to restore to make room for more merchandise than before.
“It used to be the mercantile store for the Lathemtown community,” she said. “We’re bringing it back to life. My goal is to make it a destination in Cherokee County. And I know one thing: It will never be a gas station.”
The Historical Society plans to photograph the interior and exterior of the building for its records. It has also arranged to take away bricks from the demolition that will be cleaned, sold as commemorative bricks and installed in a new courtyard at the Rock Barn, one of the Society’s preserved structures.
“We’d like to use them as a fundraiser to get a seed fund started, so if we encounter this situation in the future, we may have the money to move a building or do studies or the marketing needed to save it,” said Joyner.
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