New bench for Albion features historic cemetery
Provided photos
ALBION – Another painted bench promoting Albion history has been completed. This one features Mount Albion Cemetery. The bench was painted by Albion native Stacey Kirby.
The top photo shows the arch leading into the cemetery, which was established in 1843 and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
Kirby delivered the bench to the Albion Middle School on Thursday, but first stopped at the cemetery to get this photo.
The bench will spend the winter inside the school. It will be placed in Albion’s downtown next spring, joining 10 other benches that were painted to promote local heritage.
This scene shows the Ingersoll Fountain, which was added to the cemetery in 1914.
The bench was paid for with a state Main Street grant. The artist fee was covered with some of the proceeds from a “Ghost Walk” in September, when Albion drama students portrayed prominent residents in the cemetery. About 500 people attended that event.
Kyle Thaine portrays Rufus Bullock, who grew up in Albion and was a railroad official in George. Bullock was elected Georgia’s governor in 1868. He was instrumental in the reconstruction of Georgia after the Civil War.
