The square has been a deadweight of a centerpiece of our county for a while now. With its vacant buildings and crumbling street corners the square has not been a fun place to go. It seemed like the only business that operated there were the ever-plentiful resale shops and that one really, really creepy used doll shop. Alas, it looks like the era of the sad falling-apart square is finally over. 

In the last year, we’ve seen a tremendous increase in population in our school, but obviously our school is not the only thing facing an increase in numbers. With our location’s attractiveness to companies and industry Henry County being dragged, a little unwillingly, into urbanization. This means that our population is beginning to skyrocket and we are on the verge of a huge change. We can see the effects of this in the fact that our little square has had a TLC style makeover. The crumbling street corners have gained crosswalks and a new paint job and vacant buildings are filling up faster than one can blink. Art can be seen all over the square in the forms of murals and florals giving the square a clean but lively feel.

 These changes to the square are not only aesthetic in nature. Many new businesses have opened up in lofts that have been abandoned for what feels like forever. Story on the Square, Southern Roots Tavern and Eatery, Aurora Mercantile, and most excitingly, Scoops are some of the new businesses flourishing on the square. Even an art gallery, the Georgian Gallery, has opened up in place of one of those run-down resale shops.  

These new changes are a sign for the future and a vibrant new culture for our county and the square.