Columbia County has its eye on turning a historic building into a community center, and it has made the purchase to see it through.
The house at 1964 Appling-Harlem Rd., next to the Appling Courthouse, was built in 1865. It was once the home of Mattie Pollard, mother of Sen. Griffin Buchanan “Jake” Pollard, Jr.
The Columbia County Board of Commissioners approved the purchase of the property from Keith Pollard in December 2019.
Commissioner Dewey Galeas first confirmed the county’s acquisition of the property, which sits in his district, in a Facebook post dated February 2020.
“A significant parcel now belongs to the citizens,” said Galeas. “A cornerstone to promote and showcase historical Appling now exists. I wish to extend thanks to your Board of Commissioners and everyone who made this possible.”
The ultimate vision for the county is to convert the building to an events’ center, under the rubric of the Parks and Recreation Department.
“A lot of people in the area remember it,” said Galeas. “There’s a lot of posssiblity there to unite the probate court, the courthouse and this house into a large park and gathering area. It’s going to be unlike anything else in our park system. It’ll have a focus on the old community area in Appling.”
While no official designs for this project exist yet, the county has already set it sights on developing the project and presenting the concept to voters.
“Staff has been working on a list of projects they would like to put in front of County Administration and the Commission to have considered for the next SPLOST (special-purpose local-option sales tax) list,” said county spokesperson Cassidy Harris.
If the Appling Community Center becomes one of the projects on the final list for SPLOST, it will be scheduled to go before voters in May 2022.
Skyler Q. Andrews is a staff reporter covering Columbia County with The Augusta Press. Reach him at skyler@theaugustapress.com.
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