The Hancock County Courthouse Restoration in Sparta is probably the most interesting story.
Here's the completely restored courthouse (built from the inside out utilizing the brick walls that were left standing).Some of the bricks are stained blue on the back side of the courthouse because the fire burned so hot. (Estimated at 1700 degrees F) The Painstaking restoration from original plans that were stored elsewhere and photos of interior and exterior detail. Cost to rebuild was $7.2 million completely covered by insurance. The building was rededicated on August 11, 2016. The Courthouse is fondly called "Her Majesty".
The clock tower being lifted into place with a 150 ft tall crane.
The clock was reproduced by a company in Kentucky. It was assembled here to be sure that it functioned and fit together. Then it was disassembled and trucked to Sparta, GA. It was then reassembled in layers as the crane lifted each component to the base that had been built to receive the clock tower. The faces of each side of the clock are just over six feet in diameter.
Taken on the morning of the fire on August 11, 2014 - still smoldering at noon that day. Original courthouse built 1881-1883.
We thought that the fire would be beginning of the end of Hancock County, but our county commission chairperson, Sistie Hudson, had seen to it that there was adequate insurance and she was determined to have her rebuilt just like it never even happened. . The bronze bell for the clock fell to the basement when the clock tower collasped and it melted.
Jane K Ashley
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