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Purification Heritage Center is revitalizing a community of faith and restoring the first Catholic settlement in Georgia into an entire Historic Catholic District. We need your help to restore the soul by restoring the place.
We have a unique opportunity to restore and relocate an original structure across from the Church of the Purification to be repurposed as a Historic Welcome Center.
Plans include a reception area, a museum, and a restroom for visitors.
Thanks to generous support, we've surpassed the goal for the first phase of renovation. The building has been moved to it's original location and site work has begun.
We are well on our way to funding the second and final phase of renovation which includes exterior and interior renovation such as siding, framing, painting, and more.
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HISTORY
This building was once part of the Catholic District in Sharon and Taliaferro County and originally sat across from the Church of the Purification.
It had many uses over the years, including being home to several Catholic families and a doctor's office.
In the mid-1950s, the house was used for the Ground Observer Corps, a civil defense program during the Cold War which consisted of over 700,000 volunteers all over the country. Teenagers would watch for planes from the windows of the small house and report anything suspicious to the regional headquarters in Columbia, SC.
At some point, the house was moved a few miles to Upper Mill Road. The current owners of that property generously donated the building to PHC to be moved back to its original location.