HISTORICAL PLACES-BUTTS COUNTY

The 1898 Butts County Courthouse as it appeared in the late 1930's or early 1940's. Designed by Bruce and Morgan architects, this landmark building looks little different today than it did back then. The picture below it shows an even earlier version of the courthouse, which was a birds eye view of the square in the 1920's. This is a colorized black and white postcard. It shows the original bluish/green colored roof and the awnings that used to be part of the tower offices. Many "Tin Lizzies" (Model T Fords) adorn the square in this picture. Photo courtesy of Michael Brewer (Top) and Melinda Atha (Below left)

Butts County's oldest restaurant is Fresh Air Barbecue, which opened in 1929. Little more than a roadside stand, it was enlarged in 1956 to allow indoor dining for its patrons. Shown at right is Fresh Air Barbecue owner George W. Carson (Toots) in a photograph taken to show the new counter and improvements made during the enlargement. Other than modern appliances and telephone, this area of the barbecue place is unchanged over 50 years later. Even the hanging scale is still in use today, having weighed millions of pounds of barbecue over the years. Caston passed away in 1996 but his family continues to operate Fresh Air 7 days a week. Photo courtesy of Ellen Brewer

The Tour-O-Tel motel occupied Jackson's main street (Third Street) for many years. Known in later years as the Heart of Jackson motel, it was razed to make way for the current occupant, CVS Pharmacy. Photo courtesy of Candace Carmichael