COLUMN: Need to save historic old buildings in Winder

We went right at noon, which used to mean the place would be hoppin’ – but it wasn’t. Only a few tables were full. There was no foot traffic walking by, no busy phoned-in-to-go order pickups.

Now that the old courthouse is empty, and everyone who used to work there has been relocated to the courthouse annex on East Broad or the new jail-courthouse complex out on Hwy. 211, I suppose downtown lunch business must be way down. That’s too bad.

For years, downtown Winder was a bustling, busy place during the work-week and the activity generated by all the offices and courts in the old courthouse was probably a driving force behind that. The decision to build the East Broad Street annex and move some of the county offices there probably hit the lunch business a little, but it’s still a short ride from that “courthouse” to downtown.

The decision to move the rest of the offices way out of town, to the new justice complex off of Hwy. 211 probably killed Winder’s downtown – at least until something else comes in to generate a bunch of workers hungry for breakfast or lunch.

I understand the cost of keeping the old courthouse up was considered too high. I understand that working in an old creaky office with a bad floor plan (and maybe even a late night ghost…) is not as fun as working in a shiny new office that has been ergonomically designed.

What I don’t understand is why it is okay to let our downtown die in the interest of progress. One by one, the landmarks that give Winder character are slowly sliding into decline. Due to hard economic times and our community’s apparent love affair with new shoppettes, many of the fine old structures have been vacated, zoned commercial, then left to rot in disrepair, waiting for tenants who, two-three-four-five years into it, have still not shown up. Ultimately, some of them are turned into empty lots sporting large real estate signs; others are replaced by banks and parking lots.

As Winder loses its fine old structures, it begins to lose its stories, as well. The old First Baptist Church is gone – how many memories must that fine old structure have fostered?
The pretty old house on the corner of Athens and Center – the one that was rumored to have a “secret garden” out back — has been replaced by a bank.
That nice house on the corner of Midland and Center – the one that had a “kissing porch” reportedly used very subtly and only occasionally by the sisters who grew up there – was zoned commercial and has been sitting empty for several years now.

And who knows what will happen to that poor old too-expensive-too-maintain courthouse?

I live in Old Town Winder in an old house we restored 20 years ago. When we first moved in, most of the houses in historic Winder were occupied by families doing the best they could to maintain their aging, costly, but very special homes.

Over the years, the trend has been to zone commercial once the last family moves out, or the elderly person who lived there dies. That is, in so many cases, is the kiss of death for an old home.

Instead of children’s laughter and the slamming of rickety screen doors, the old home sits quietly with a “For Lease or Sale” sign in front.

Eventually, the roof begins to leak…the guy who was cutting the grass quits and is not replaced…the bulbs and flowers that once bloomed so brightly are overtaken by privet, ivy or kudzu…the ghost (if there was one) floats away, out of sheer boredom…and the soul of the home begins to die. Along with it, so too our town’s character and stories.

It’s always easier and more affordable to go with the new. Mr. Clark and I know that from doing several home restoration projects. But easy isn’t always best. Sometimes preserving a part of history — a place with a ghost story, or a “kissing porch,” or what once was a wonderful “secret” garden — is worth the extra time and creativity it takes to keep an old structure alive.

I don’t know if there are government grants, or historic preservation grants, or private foundations, or any way else for a small, financially strapped town like Winder, or a larger but really financially strapped county like Barrow, to tap into in order to save structures like the old courthouse. But, if there are, I would encourage our leaders to look into it. The character and identity of our community is at stake and in difficult financial times, we need every asset we can muster to bring interest and business to our community.

Lorin Sinn-Clark is a writer for the Barrow Journal. She can be reached at lorin@barrowjournal.com.