Cuthbert secures $30K for water tower restoration

CUTHBERT, Ga. (WALB) - The city of Cuthbert secured $30,000 in funding for its water tower restoration. The project will help clean the structure and replace bolts that have come loose, however, the structure will still maintain its character. The tower hadn’t been cleaned for decades.

The tower is a symbol of the town but was placed on Georgia’s “Top 10 Places in Peril” list.

“The water tower has always been a part of Cuthbert. From the time I was a child until now. It’s always been right here,” Cuthbert resident, Karan Pittman said.

Pittman is a lifelong resident of Randolph County and didn’t want to see the tower go.

The water tower isn’t just a symbol for Cuthbert, it’s the first thing people see when passing through town. The century-old water tower stands in the middle of Highway 82. We Love Cuthbert is a newly formed non-profit group that has targeted projects like this to attract more visitors.

“We’ve been fighting for this for a year and a half and it’s finally coming to fruition,” a member of We Love Cuthbert, Mark Englund said.

Mark and his wife, Tracy Englund, have an outsider’s view. They come from Atlanta and see the potential of what was a thriving town in the 80s.

“We’re trying to help with the broken window theory. Anything that’s worn down, we’re going to try to make it beautiful again to make people proud of the town,” Tracy Englund said.

They think it is a symbol of what’s to come.

“You have to drive through the town. We have the crossroads here. 82 and 27 come by so we get a lot of traffic. So we are trying to get people to visit and stop,” Tracy Englund said.

A storage building is another project the group is working to restore. Randy Sumner, a Randolph County resident, is helping paint. There is also a new restaurant in the town square that will likely open in January. We Love Cuthbert wants to take action on some of the neglected buildings.

Nathan Baum is new to southwest Georgia. He chose to place his small business, Baumhaus Bakery, in Cuthbert because it is so highly trafficked.

“We have a pretty central location and a lot of vehicles coming in. It’s just a good community,” Baum said.

State Senator For District 151 Gerald Greene is proud of the funds they were able to secure.

“Now that COVID is behind us, it allows us to more easily get funding for these projects that make a huge impact in the community,” Senator Greene said.

The water tower is set to be restored within the next year.

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