Taking a look back at Hartwell’s history as reported by The Hartwell Sun.
Nov. 11, 1993 — Hart County Community Theatre had the opening night for the show “Harvey” on Nov. 11 at 8 p.m.
The show, which is about a man who is having visions of a giant rabbit, is memorialized at the theatre with a large painting in the front lobby. The painting depicts the lead man, Elwood P. Dodd, who was played by Harry Hannah, with the rabbit.
Harry Hannah was in a car accident the week before where his car was crushed by a truck, but he walked away unscathed. This incident led people to believe that Harvey is a protective spirit who still lives at the theatre to this day.
Nov. 12, 1948 — The Funkhouser Company began working on a mica mining plant in Hartwell.
Hartwell was considered a hotbed for mica and it was stated that the plant was planned to cost around $100,000 in total.
“Hart County might become the center of mica mining in the United States,” General manger of Funkhouser E. H. Nichols said at the time.
The company opened a plant previously in Fairmount, Ga. that had lasted for 25 years already.
“We’ve gone down 90 feet and mica is there in the same quantity,” Nichols said.
The operation was expected to last for 100 years and not exhaust the supply.
Nov. 15, 1976 — The Heritage Inn of Hartwell Nursing Home began admitting patients at its location on Cade Street.
The new 92 bed facility was equipped with the latest safety devices, such as an automatic fire detection system and automatic closing doors. The facility also opened with “one of the most modern kitchens and dietary selections found anywhere,” according to The Sun.
“The image of the nursing home has changed drastically during recent years and they are no longer a place to put the elderly to be forgotten, but to the contrary, they are beautiful homes that provide a very needed service,” Eugene Bishop, president of the company operating the facility said at the time.
The very first resident was Fred B. Flowers who was 90 years old and had moved to Hartwell from Lexington, Ky. to be closer to his son.