Downtown Montgomery Street - Villa Rica, Georgia
Posted by: 
YoSam.
N 33° 43.894 W 084° 55.181
16S E 692731 N 3734336
View looking east across the downtown area...
Waymark Code: WM10Y6F
Location: Georgia, United States
Date Posted: 07/10/2019
Views: 2
County of art: Carroll County
Location of art: W. Montgomery St., 2nd store front E. of Candler St., downtown Villa Rica
Artist: Sally Storey Jones
Era painted: 1950
The artist view of downtown is W. Montgomery St., concentrating of the Old Berry's Pharmacy (drug store)...this building was destroyed in 1957 by a huge explosion which took the lives of 12 people.
The buildings were re-built to resemble the originals...and are honored because of the human cost.
"The location which was to become Villa Rica was originally settled in 1826 along what is now Dallas Highway. This land was ceded by the Creek people in 1825 with the second Treaty of Indian Springs signed by Chief William McIntosh. In 1826, farmers and gold miners arrived in the area from Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Delaware to what was then known as Hixtown (named after a local tavern operator, incorporated in 1830). One mile south was Chevestown, owned by Allison Cheeves. Hixtown and Cheevestown moved to Villa Rica’s present location in 1882 when the railroad was built. Many of the original structures were physically moved to the new site (now known as the North Villa Rica Commercial Historic District) by rolling them on logs pulled by horses. The city was incorporated as Villa Rica in 1881. The name Villa Rica is derived from Spanish for “rich village” and the city’s name change was done to help promote the gold in the area." ~ The City of Villa Rica