Times-Herald

BY SARAH FAY CAMPBELL

Though workers have been busy inside and atop the 1904 Coweta County Courthouse for more than two years, work has begun in earnest on the grounds.

The construction fence that blocked access to the building and grounds during most of the construction has been removed, and landscape crews are hard at work installing more “hardscape” on the grounds. Work on the restoration project is entering the home stretch, and a ribbon cutting ceremony has been tentatively scheduled for Sept. 19.

When the project is complete, there won’t be as much landscaping as in the past. Grass and flowering shrubs will be planted inside the brick wall, which has now been returned to its original square-cornered appearance.

Much of the property outside that wall, however, will be paved in brick.

There will be landscape islands, anchored by the existing young white oaks, at each corner, with brick in between.

The additional hardscape will make the courthouse grounds more usable for events.

“We know that there are going to be people walking around there and using it,” said Patricia Palmer, Coweta County public affairs director who has been serving on the Courthouse Restoration Committee.

“It is a downtown space, that is what it is meant to be,” she said. “This type of landscape treatment is conductive to that. We’re not going to be destroying sod or spreading our wood chips” when people are using the space while downtown.

“Ultimately, it will mean there is more usable space there, for people to enjoy the square,” Palmer said.

The actual landscaping, which will feature some camellians and gardenias along with a grassy lawn inside the brick wall, is set to be installed in the next few weeks, Palmer said.