September 2022

Pickens County has a very rich history that offers so many interesting facets into our mountain communities. Without the love and appreciation of Pickens County history, our culture would not thrive as it has since the county was created when it was formed from portions of the southern part of Cherokee and the northern part of Gilmer Counties in 1853. Pickens County is renowned for its exceptionally pure marble. The deposit is five to seven miles long, one/half wide and as deep as 2,000 feet. This marble was known and used by the Indians as early as 800 AD. Henry Fitzsimmons, came to America from Ireland c1819. He was the first man to introduce the sale of Georgia Marble on the present site of the Southern Company(Now Georgia Marble) and established the first marble quarries and the first marble mill in the 1830’s. The Georgia Marble Company was organized in 1884 and leased all of the Tate Marble lands. The coming of Marietta & North Georgia Railroad into Pickens County in 1883 opened outside markets for Georgia marble.

The Pickens Arts and Cultural Alliance is the only organization that joins art lovers like you with arts organizations, artists and art professionals to support culture in our area. Through arts advocacy, education and community outreach, the Alliance takes on challenges that no single organization or artist can face alone. If you are an artist of music, photography, dance, paintings or any other specialty, we celebrate you! For fifteen years the Pickens Arts & Cultural Alliance has been a source for arts and culture. The Alliance is committed to not only advocating and supporting all arts and culture, but seeks ways to connect artists, performing arts organizations, and cultural organizations with the business community, each other and most importantly our community.   Performing Arts Like theater? Be sure to check out the Tater Patch Players Theater! Tater Patch Players is a community theater group founded in 1977. They are a registered 501(c)3 organization.   ART FOR SALE To purchase the items shown in this gallery, contact Larry Wilson at (770) 893-8141.       Stanley Ferguson John Sperry Steve Turpin Steve Turpin Jason Smith Chris Hubbard Robin Bird Smith Mike Williamson Mike Williamson Mary & Dan DeFoor Geraldine Smith Christy Buchanan

The Pickens Arts & Cultural Alliance is a non-profit organization whose mission is to connect the arts to our communities throughout Pickens County. Established in 2007 and housed in the one of the oldest buildings in Jasper, the Pickens Progress Newspaper building, PACA provides accessibility for talented artists to gather and perform and continues to find innovative ways to expose children and seniors to the arts. PACA regularly sponsors a variety of music and theatre performances, art and music classes, and educational workshops to help enrich the lives of the citizens of Jasper and the surrounding communities. Photo credit: Barry Edelman