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Published Tuesday, February 07, 2012 in Local

Photo by Winston Skinner

Moreland Mayor Josh Evans, left, speaks to students from the Georgia Institute of Technology at the Moreland Mill during the town’s first Blueprints gathering.

Moreland Blueprints project under way

From STAFF REPORTS

news@newnan.com

Katherine Moore of the Georgia Conservancy will be at the Moreland Town Council meeting tonight -- talking about the Blueprints for Successful Communities project that is getting under way in Moreland.

The Tuesday meeting will be at 7:30 p.m. at the town hall in the Moreland Mill. Blueprints projects bring college students and professional expertise to Georgia towns -- producing documents and plans that can be used to improve communities. Senoia was the site of a Blueprints project in 1998.

Richard Dagenhart, associate professor of architecture and of city and regional planning at the Georgia Institute of Technology, brought seven students to the century old mill building for a field trip on Saturday afternoon. The group has already visited Newnan and Senoia.

They toured the mill complex and heard from Josh Evans, Dick Ford, Carol Chancey and Winston Skinner. Evans is the town's mayor and president of the Moreland Community Historical Society, and Ford serves on the town council.

Chancey and her company, Reel Southern Adventure, have been working with the town to promote tourism and increase economic development. Skinner, who works as an editor at The Newnan Times-Herald, has long been involved with the Erskine Caldwell Birthplace and Museum in Moreland.

Also, Skinner is the chairman of the newly formed Moreland Cultural Arts Alliance.

Chancey gave a thumbnail history of the mill complex, which was built as a store and mill building and later connected by enclosing a breezeway. She noted it was "one of many commercial buildings downtown" decades ago and pointed out nearby wooden structures that still stand and were once the post office, a doctor's office and a general store.

She talked about the years the textile mill provided employment for many area residents, noting that the mill was different from many others. "There was no mill village," she said.

She also talked about the murder of William Turner by Meriwether County landowner John Wallace in 1948. Wallace attacked Turner at Sunset Tourist Court near Moreland. "Witnesses came running into the mill to tell" what they had seen, Chancey noted.

The events inspired Margaret Anne Barnes' book, "Murder in Coweta County," and a television movie.

Chancey pointed out the Caldwell birthplace, an 1879 farmhouse moved from its original location a few miles way to the Moreland town square. She said it serves as both a tribute to Caldwell -- author of such books as "God's Little Acre" and "Tobacco Road" -- and as a venue for showing farm life in the early 20th century.

Chancey also talked about the Moreland Community Historical Society's collection at the Moreland Hometown Heritage Museum in the mill, about plans for a community garden with displays of historic farm equipment on another parcel of town property and about the growing Lewis Grizzard exhibit.

Ford shared insights about the city's current projects and future plans. He and Evans expressed appreciation for the Blueprints effort.

"Y'all's help in planning for the future is vital," the mayor said. He talked about the rapid growth anticipated for Coweta County once the economy restarts. "We don't want to be swallowed up," he stated.

Moore was part of Saturday's field trip, and she said there are many strands to the current story of Moreland. "I'm just beginning to wrap my mind around things," she said.

Skinner urged the Blueprints team to hear the community's wishes and hopes but also to bring fresh eyes to Moreland's possibilities. "Something we haven't thought of yet" could be an important facet of the community's future, he said.

Future meetings will be held as part of the Blueprints process. In some cases, the meeting will be about one or two concepts with an invitation to the public "to come share their ideas," Chancey said.

Chancey said the Blueprints team got a good introduction to the south Coweta town on Saturday. "They were excited when they left," she said.

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