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Preserving history

Potential buyers want to restore funeral home building

By LEE WILLIAMS
lwilliams@TheCitizenNews.com

Roughly three potential buyers have set their sights on purchasing the old Mowell Funeral Home on Jeff Davis Drive and restoring it to its original splendor. And the owner, C.J. Mowell, who also serves as the county coroner, said he is pleased.

He indicated the home is a historical landmark and it deserves to be preserved for the enjoyment of future generations.

“The home is probably about 100 years old,” Mowell said. “We cannot document it, but from all things we have found it was built between 1904 and 1908.”

Mowell plans to construct a new home on the current site, but behind the location where the existing home sits at 180 Jeff Davis Drive. The chapel will remain in place.

Mowell moved into the home in 1964. He lived upstairs for 20 years and raised a family of four in the home.

“Nobody has anymore attachment to it today than I would have to it,” Mowell said.

Mowell said the home is not listed on the National Historic Register of Historic Places, but it is featured in the historical district for the city of Fayetteville. The home is considered a historic landmark in Fayetteville, he indicated.

“As far as we can document, it was the first full-service funeral home in Fayette County,” Mowell said.

Mowell donated the house to the city, so that history will live on.

“We have signed an agreement with the city,” Mowell said. “If we don’t use it, they have the right to do with it whatever they would like.”

Fayetteville Mayor Ken Steele said he believes it’s important to preserve history and to find other innovative uses for aging commercial structures.

He said he also applauded the efforts of others who have taken older buildings and refurbished them such as the Jeff Davis Intown project, the Village of Gingercake and the old Travis House.

“A lot of people are excited about those things,” Steele said. “It’s important to a lot of people and we support the effort.”