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Library Staff Tours of Prison Farm Stones


By Henry Bryant
On April 22nd Joe Peery, East Atlanta Community Association’s Transportation Committee Chairman, put together a tour of the old Atlanta City Prison Farm. Several members of Atlanta Fulton Public Library Service were along for the interesting adventure. They are interested in recovering some of the old stones that were taken to the property when the Carnegie Library was demolished to build the present Central Library structure.
Scattered about the property are pieces that include the names of famous authors as well as sections from the columns that graced the façade of the original building. The prison farm property has been standing mostly vacant since the city abandoned it. It originally housed trusted city prisoners who worked the dairy and food producing land that provided the meals for prisoners at the city jail. In 1995 in preparations for the Olympics some of the library stones were retrieved and repurposed for the Bibliostone structure where West Peachtree used to join Peachtree in downtown Atlanta just north of the Hyatt Regency Hotel. That structure still stands in a small park at that location.
One hope is that the remaining stones might be repurposed in the construction of new libraries that are being built as a result of the most recent library bond referendum.


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