Martin has open house for new town hall

    The Town of Martin unveiled its new city hall to the public Sunday afternoon.
    Town operations have moved into the newly-renovated space that once was occupied by Goodwin and Thomas Furniture store and the Bank of Martin among other businesses.
    An open house and reception was held Sunday afternoon.  More than 100 people attended including elected officials from Stephens County, the City of Toccoa, the City of Avalon and the City of Lavonia.
    Refreshments were served and Martin Mayor Don Foster made some brief comments thanking the people who worked on the project.
    “A lot of effort, a lot of changes have gone into this building,” Foster said.
    Among those mentioned by Foster were town water clerk Sonya Stovall, Martin council member Roger Looney, contractor Bruce Pruitt, Len Stovall, Marlene Whiten and others.
    Martin resident Andrea Pair researched the history of the building.
    The building now known as Martin Town Hall was built around 1890 and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
    William Alexander Mitchell purchased the building from his father-in-law Wilbur Randall and conducted a large general merchandise store in his own name.
    He handled a complete line of everything needed in the household or on the farm – dry goods, groceries, hardware, glassware and other supplies.
    Martin Town Hall is a brick building exhibiting Romanesque stylistic elements.
    It has a brick foundation and brick exterior. The original roofs (there were four) have been replaced with a rolled heated roof.
    Over the years, the building housed a variety of businesses. There were several furniture and appliance stores – Matthews, Matthews and Goodwin, Goodwin and Thomas and Hunt’s Home Store.
    It has also housed the Bank of Martin, the post office, Dr. James Harrison Crawford’s doctor’s office, a funeral home, a pharmacy/soda fountain/drug store; general merchandise and the International Order of Oddfellows hall.
    The Bank of Martin opened Oct. 1, 1907 with a capital of $25,000. Organizers were W.A. Mitchell, W.C. Mason, P.D. Landrum, George Stovall and W. B. Mitchell.
    Herbert Brown was appointed director since he had the most money on deposit.
    Band president’s included T.H. Stovall, G.N. Stovall and P.D. Landrum.
    Vestiges of the building’s early financial role are still present. The first bank vault was later converted to a bathroom and the larger bank vault was used as an office for the Hunt’s Home Store. Both vaults remain in place.
    The bank served the community for 22 years, but closed during the Great Depression and never re-opened.
    In addition to Martin Town Hall, but historic will house the Martin Water Department which began on June 27, 1967 serving about 100 homes, businesses and public institutions. There was a single water tower.
    The Martin water system now consists of three water towers and is serving more than 700 customer.
    Water clerks who over served since 1967 include Miller Stovall, Gerry Stovall, Ruby Harrison, Jean Thomas, Bob Stovall and current water clerk Sonya Stovall.