Left Behind

Left Behind

There is a bitter sweetness in the forgotten, a beauty in weathered textures, in the sun light, in nature. These places are not anything you would consider as important buildings in history, however, they have history and were loved by someone at some point.

These places are in Villa Rica, a small town in northwest Georgia. Villa Rice was a gold rush town established in 1826 and when the gold had been fully excavated the textile industry burgeoned there. The stories of these buildings have long been forgotten by most but there is still life and beauty in these walls.

Teddy Bear House

There were tires everywhere outside along with parts of three different sheds. One was obviously a chicken coop at one point in time while the others seemed to be simple tool sheds. There was a teddy bear lying on the ground near one of the sheds seemingly griping a pine cone in one of its paws.

Inside and downstairs there were lottery tickets, broken glass, bottle caps, and hypodermic needles. The needles had their caps on which means it’s less likely they were used for drugs and instead used for insulin treatment or another legitimate medical use.

Upstairs there were notes written by a preteen girl talking about her current worries and turmoil of boys she had a crush on and people she was mad at.

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Thorny House

A small house seemingly simple from the street, however, the closer we got the more interesting it became. Thorns seemed to be keeping guard and though we tried we couldn’t pass through them.

The porch was full of interesting items but the chair is what stuck out most to me. I imagined an older man sitting down, smoking a cigar, talking about sports or listening to the radio and talking to an old friend who stopped by for a quick chat before continuing on his way.

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Old Gas Station

There were concrete slabs and holes in front of the building where gasoline pumps used to be. To the left of the building was a rusty old ice cream truck and to the right of the building a beautiful lake. Inside were children’s toys and a stove.

I was thinking it could have been an old home for a family before the owner drove up. He explained it used to be a gas station in the 1970s, maybe even as late as the 80s. The ice cream truck was converted into an ice box for drinks. The gas station also sold bait for people who would stop by to fish in the nearby lake.

The current owner bought the lake and stocked it with fish for some leisurely fishing. We saw plenty of life left in the nature surrounding this building as we walked down the path along the lake.

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Recycling Factory

The worn lettering was barely legible on the side of building. Inside were huge piles of plastic, and even a big metal compactor, so it was obvious it was a Recycling Factory at some point. There was a strong echo in the big factory. The ceiling was completely open in many places and there was obvious fire damage.

As we wandered through the building the last area we happened upon was lit brightly from the sun peering through the broken ceiling with rays of sunlight falling on a bush growing in the center of the room. The beauty of the whole situation nearly took my breath away. It was like it grew

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Thank you

Tracy Betenbaugh photography consultant and local expert, has lived in Villa Rica for over 30 years Sean Culpepper shared experiencer and moral support Owner of Old Gas Station owner of Old Gas Station and lake, gave invaluable insight into the history of the area and was a wonderfully nice man.