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PAGE 2A PICKENS COUNTY PROGRESS THURSDAY. JUNE 17. 2021
The Old Pickens County Jail: Curating the Past, Present, and Future
By James Newberry,
Special Projects Curator
for the Department of Mu
seums, Archives and Rare
Books at Kennesaw State
University
In 2019, the Department
of Museums, Archives and
Rare Books (MARB) at Ken
nesaw State University part
nered with Pickens Historical
Society to develop a perma
nent exhibit at the Old Pick
ens County Jail. Available to
view starting this month, the
panel-based exhibit tells the
story of Pickens County from
the arrival of the Federal
Road through Cherokee
lands to the present day. The
exhibit’s special focus is on
Pickens County’s longest-
serving jail, a 115-year-old
marble-fronted structure still
standing on Main Street in
Jasper, where it symbolizes
the region’s early attempts at
law and order.
My colleague, Research
Specialist Kelly Hoomes, and
I led the curational team in
MARB with support from
members of Pickens Histori
cal Society, regional histori
ans, and community
stakeholders. We made nu
merous trips to the Old Pick
ens County Jail, where the
site’s history comes to life
through historical society
Come see the history of the Old Jail as it comes alive in the new panels. The Old Jail is
open on most Saturdays from 1 p.m. until 5 p.m. Check their Facebook to confirm status.
Consider volunteering to allow more openings. Contact the Pickens Historical Society at
pickenshistorical@gmail.com for more information or on their Facebook page, The Old
Jail in Jasper.
records including a wide
array of documents and arti
facts. One of the hardest parts
of curating an exhibit is find
ing quality images, but the
historical society has pre
served many photographs
and other primary source ma
terials that help to illustrate
stories in the exhibit. Previ
ous scholarly work boosted
our research, which also re
lied on historic newspapers,
transportation studies, and
memoirs.
The time we spent at the
jail does not compare to the
time spent by sheriffs and
their families. Between 1906
and 1981, 11 sheriffs lived
Dear Consumer Ed:
How can I find out if the
vehicle that I am interested in
purchasing from a dealership
is a salvaged vehicle?
Consumer Ed says:
In Georgia a vehicle is
considered salvaged when 1)
two or more component parts
of the vehicle must be re
placed in order to make the
vehicle operable again; 2) an
insurance company has paid
a “total loss claim” and the
vehicle has not been repaired;
3) an imported vehicle has
been damaged in shipment,
disclaimed by the manufac
turer because of the damage,
has never been the subject of
a retail sale and has never
been issued a title; or 4) an
other state has titled and
branded the vehicle as “Total
Loss,” “Fire,” “Flood,” or
“Water.” Vehicles that have a
salvaged title are illegal to
operate on public roads in
Georgia. Therefore, the deal
ership is likely selling a vehi
cle with a rebuilt title. In
order for the vehicle to be
driven on public roads, the
salvaged vehicle must have
been repaired and go through
an inspection prior to apply
ing for a rebuilt title. Anyone
fORO'
Board of Commissioners
Regular Board Meeting Agenda
Thursday, June 17, 2021 at 6 p.m.
in the conference room, ste. 168
I. Call to order
II. Prayer
III. Pledge of Allegiance
IV. Amendments to Agenda
V. Employee/Other Recognition
VI. Consent Agenda
A. Signed Proclamation for the DAR (Flag Day)
VII. Old Business
VIII. New Business
IX. Finance Report
A. Authorize Chairman to Sign Tan Documents
B. American Rescue Plan Act
X. Action Items
A. Approve Minutes
* Regular Meeting - May 20, 2021
* Work Session - June 3, 2021
* Planning Session - June 14, 2021
B. Appoint Board of Elections
XI. Guests/Comments
XII. Executive Session
XIII. Approval of Executive Session Minutes
XIV. Adjourn
In addition to limited socially distance seating at the meeting,
please join the Board of Commissioners meeting via Zoom. De
tails to join the meeting are as follows:
Board of Commissioners - Zoom Meeting
https://zoom.us/j/2105979001 ?pwd=cStJRjRvSIY0eHMyU-
VNENVVPdWdDZz09
Meeting ID: 210 597 9001
Passcode: AQD1CW
applying for a rebuilt title
must go through the applica
tion process, which includes
requesting an inspection
from the Department of Rev
enue Motor Vehicle Divi
sion’s approved private
inspectors or stations and
paying the applicable fees to
ensure the vehicle is in
legally operable condition.
A vehicle that was previ
ously a salvage vehicle and
has since been rebuilt will
disclose on the face of the
title that the vehicle is rebuilt.
Also, always consider obtain
ing a vehicle history report
prior to purchase or lease,
such as that available through
the National Motor Vehicle
Title Information System
(NMVTIS), which can pro
vide valuable information re
garding a vehicle’s history,
including title status.
Information about salvage
and rebuilt motor vehicle ti
tles can be obtained at the
Georgia Department of Rev
enue’s website at: dor.geor-
gia.gov/salvage-titles-O.
Christmas in July
at the Thrift Store
The Pickens County
Thrift Store is hosting a
Christmas in July event on
July 17.
Weight Loss Group
Choose to Lose - Weight
loss group meets at the Pick
ens County Community Cen
ter Room #1 every Friday
morning. Weigh in time is be
tween 9 a.m. and 9:30 a.m.
Meeting runs from 9:30 a.m.
to 10:30 a.m. No charge. Call
Pat Groves for more informa-
and worked in the jail along
side their wives, who pre
pared meals for family
members, deputies, and in
mates.
“I guess at the time it was
n’t so good,” said Donna El
liott Wofford, who lived on
the main floor of the jail for
a year and half with her hus
band, Sheriff Billy Wofford,
and one-year-old daughter
Billie Jean. “But looking
back, it was an experience
that I will forever cherish.”
Unlike most of her predeces
sors at the jail, Wofford made
about $400 a month for her
work.
Sheriffs came to the job
with a variety of work expe
riences. Jim Poole had a
fifth-grade education and
worked as a farmer and
stonecutter before serving as
sheriff from 1932 to 1943.
Harley Cantrell, who served
as sheriff from 1969 to 1981,
left Georgia as a young man
to work for Chrysler in
Michigan. He soon returned
to his home state and settled
in Pickens County, where he
got a job with Georgia Mar
ble Company and worked
KSU’s Tony Howell (at
left), exhibit specialist and
James Newberry, special
projects curator.
part-time for the Nelson
community police depart
ment. Cantrell loved law en
forcement and when Sheriff
Bill Raye hired him as
deputy in 1964, Cantrell
moved into the jail.
While the exhibit on the
main floor of the jail focuses
on Pickens County history
and the experiences of law
enforcement officials, the
second floor explores the
space from the inmates’ per
spective. The jail includes
two cell blocks, one with
bunks for four women and
one with bunks with for eight
men. If accused criminals
could not post bail before
trial, they were held in the
jail.
On one occasion, as many
as 35 inmates awaited their
court date, recalled Sheriff
Billy Wofford. When the jail
exceeded capacity, inmates
slept on cots and roamed the
second floor. In view of
Jasper’s Main Street, inmates
called out to passersby and
even dropped money to
friends with requests for cig
arettes and candy.
By the 1960s the Old
Pickens County Jail was in
poor condition. Public offi
cials proposed selling the jail
to raise funds for a new facil
ity, but voters showed little
interest in improving life for
inmates.
In 1980, two inmates filed
suit in federal court claiming
imprisonment in the jail vio
lated their constitutional
rights. The lawsuit listed
overcrowding, poor plumb
ing, and a lack of fire escapes
among other “dehumanizing
conditions.” As a result, the
jail was closed and replaced
by a much larger facility in
1982.
The Marble Valley Histor
ical Society, now Pickens
Historical Society, led the
local effort to restore the Old
Pickens County Jail. Mem
bers raised over $30,000 to
repair the aging structure and
added it to the National Reg
ister of Historic Places in
1983.
The group later moved the
Kirby-Quinton Cabin next
door creating a downtown
historic site for tourists and
K-12 students and educators.
The historical society’s work
to interpret the site continues
with the new exhibit, which
seeks to tell a larger, more
complex story of the Old
Pickens County Jail.
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THE MORE BANKS
CHANGE, THE MORE
WE STAY THE SAME.
Community Bank of Pickens County is the
only true local community bank in Jasper
and Pickens County. We are proud of our
professional and experienced staff that is
home-grown and continues to provide the
personal service you've known for many years.
We live here, we make all banking decisions
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If you have not met us, come by and let us show
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Pickens
County
MAIN OFFICE: 15 Sammy McGhee Blvd. • Jasper, GA 30143
COVE ROAD OFFICE: 65 Cove Road • Jasper, GA 30143
(706) 253-9600 • www.cbopc.com
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tion at 1-417-413-8025.
(706) 253-3440
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