A New Life For An Old Building

Sparta folks have been commenting on the restoration of our old “Furniture Factory” building at the corner across from Elm Street Gardens.  We have been working on it for some time and I think it is worthy now of attracting this new attention. The most amazing transformation happened when we took off the concrete block front on one side leaving the old brick front exposed.  We left the roof on this section and supported it with handsome timbers styled after the support beams inside the building.

The brick and granite portion of the structure, which dates to the 1890’s, has been repaired and renovation of additional parts of the building continues. The inside of the building will be used to cultivate mushrooms in enclosed environments created by the use of “hoop house” structures.  And these houses are up and nearing completion. 

Jonathan Tescher, manager of the mushroom operation plans to be in production by the first of the year, with a focus on shiitake and lion’s mane mushrooms for the dinner plate and reishi mushrooms for teas and tinctures.  All of these mushrooms will grow on hardwoods in the enclosed environment of the hoop houses. Farmers markets, restaurants and groceries will be the main outlets for marketing.  So far, Jonathan and Robert and I have felt compelled to sample the mushrooms that have been produced so far in the temporary “labs” where Jonathan has started quite a number of cultures.  Our sampling is a very necessary part of the process, of course, and quite yummy.

But back to the building itself:  Hancock native, Sistie Hudson, has researched its history and reports that it was most likely built sometime between 1890 and 1895, about the same time the old railroad depot which is adjacent to it was constructed.  The bricks used in its construction may have come from a brick factory that once was located not far from us.  The local newspaper, The Sparta Ishmaelite, reported in an 1895 article that “a commodious warehouse” was among the new buildings erected in the last five years.  The building which most of Sparta nowadays knows as the “Furniture Factory” was originally built and used as a cotton warehouse.  The railroad had reached from Augusta to Sparta by 1867 and the line was completed to Macon in 1870.  So this cotton warehouse was strategically located on the rail line for shipping purposes. 

After cotton ceased to be an important crop in Hancock, the building became a furniture factory.  There are still many in Sparta who remember those days and a number who had their first jobs there.  The furniture operation was closed about 1997 and the building sat unused (and abused) since that time.  With the current renovation and a new business moving into it, there is hope for this historic property to be a vital part of the Hancock community once again. 

 Suzy

You can still see in this photo some of the concrete block which was
removed from the front of the old cotton warehouse/furniture factory.  

These handsome support beams apparently are typical
for warehouse buildings of the period when this was constructed.

Jonathan and Butch Bohannon in the process of
laying out the first supports for the hoop houses.

The most  recent picture of the hoop houses.

One of my favorites:  The dust collector "people"
from the building's furniture factory days.