Rico Community
 Providence Baptist Church
The Rico community, also once known as Piney Woods and Green Eyes, is situated at the triangular junction of Campbellton Redwine Road, Rico Road and Kite Road.
Originally serviced by Garrett’s and Capps Ferries, Rico was settled by early Campbell County inhabitants, including the Ballards, Smiths, Yates, Barfields and Lovelaces. The area has its roots in the founding of the Piney Woods Primitive Baptist Church on Garrett’s Ferry Road in 1852. By 1856, the congregation had changed its name to the Missionary Baptist Church and moved to Campbellton-Redwine Road. Slave burial areas and the old Piney Woods Cemetery is all that remains of the original church site. Today, most of the historic residential, commercial and community landmark buildings in Rico reflect its development as crossroads community and are representative of rural life in Georgia and old Campbell County in particular, during the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Historic Commercial Properties There are two commercial properties in Rico that date from this period. The Barnes Store on Rico Road is a frame building with a block addition. Situated about 1,500 feet from the intersection of Campbellton-Redwine Road and Rico Road, (directly across from Chattahoochee Hills City Hall), it served as a general store and gas station. The Reeves Store is located further down at 6875 Rico Road near the intersection with Upper Wooten Road. This single-story, wood-frame cottage has a partial width front verandah and a small rear stoop. Over time, the building has been used as a single dwelling and general store. Churches Two churches are the most prominent community landmark buildings in Rico. Providence Baptist Church located at 6402 Campbellton Redwine Road traces its history back to the original Piney Woods Primitive Baptist Church in 1852. Rico United Methodist Church located at 6475 Rico Road was formed in 1904 as a merger of the Methodist families in the Rico area who attended Palmetto Methodist and New Hope Methodist and many from the Old Liberty Hill Methodist Episcopal Church on Rivertown Road just east of Rivertown. Historic Buildings The Rico Lodge, located at 6800 Rico Road, is another notable landmark building in the community. It is a two-story, frame structure with a front-gable roof and full-width, two-story verandah. It was historically used as a Masonic lodge on the second floor and commercial storefront on the first floor. The Rico Lodge, established in 1889, also was a rural post office. The Old Rico School at 6440 Rico Road is one of the last remaining school houses built under the old Campbell County government in the late nineteenth century. It is a single story, wood frame and clapboard sided building. The Old Rico School has been converted into a single family dwelling. The newer Rico School, now the Chattahoochee Hills City Hall, sits across the street at 6505 Rico Road. Built following the consolidation of Campbell, Milton and Fulton Counties in 1932, elementary classes (Grades 1-7) were moved to this building from the older wood frame school when it was completed. The school initially had five classrooms. In 1961, an addition was added on the left side of the building adding more classrooms, a stage, library and cafeteria. The school was closed in 1980 and today serves as City Hall for Chattahoochee Hills. Above History is from South Fulton Scenic Byways - Historic Context By: Patrick Sullivan & Jessica Lavandier
Appendix B: South Fulton Scenic Byways - Corridor Management Plan (with maps and historic resource survey.) |
Read More Where Lies John Cash? September, 2020 Rico Heritage Presentation Oct. 17, 2009 Smith's Grocery Oct. 2020 We Wanted to be Called Green Eyes. Reprint of article by Ms. Collins Selman @1978. |