Prairieville Row :
A glimpse of the past while building the future
J . A . Murchison General Store : Courtesy of Henderson County Historical Commission
By Jennifer Browning
Hidden behind decades of material , a Coca-Cola ghost wall was waiting to be discovered , while a piano laden with dust sat empty in a room ready to hear songs and chatter again at 224 N . Prairieville .
Since the late 1800s , the edifice at Prairieville and Larkin has been a hotel , insurance agency , rooming house , furniture store , general store , gas co . and more .
The property was owned by the Gould family for many decades and was even a residence for one of them in the back apartment where the 1950s Beauty Queen metal kitchen cabinets still stand . Recently this property was purchased by Boog and Flo Ferrell and Marci and Carey Peach and they have a plan to bring life back to Prairieville Row .
Boog Ferrell and Marci Peach grew up visiting their mom while she worked at the insurance
6 | Greater Athens Magazine | March 2022
agency in the building . Athens residents may already recognize the Ferrells as owners of Atticus & Co . and Hearn Survey Associates . When the Prairieville property came up for sale , Boog knew this was something they needed to invest in .
Although it was a quick acquisition of the property , Boog recalled a line his dad would tell Marci and himself while playing dominoes , “ think long , think wrong ” and they jumped in with enthusiasm to this project .
When Boog first saw the space , he knew they had some work in front of them but could see the potential . What he didn ’ t know is that they would discover glimpses into Athens ’ past in the process . Demolition started in the far right unit which was once set up as a maze-like , 2-story , office space . Once the walls were torn down , the largeness of the space was revealed as the antique tin tile