Rome Area History Center to Unveil Newly Found Civil Rights Artifact

On March 28, 2026, the Rome Area History Center will unveil a recently found civil rights artifact. Last year plumbers working in the former Kress Department Store building on Broad Street discovered a marble sign hidden behind wall. The sign denotes “white” and “colored” drinking fountains and is believed to have been installed in 1927. Signs like this one were common in Kress stores throughout the southern United States. Only three such signs are known to remain and include the Rome sign along with two others found in Alabama and Arizona. The permanence of the etched marble on the Rome sign suggests the builders’ certainty that separation of the races would be the law of the land in perpetuity.

The public is invited to attend a presentation in the Broadview meeting room above the history center on March 28, 2026, at 7:00PM, followed by a viewing of the marble sign which is now installed as an exhibit in the museum. Doors will open to the public at 6:45PM.

March 28 is also the anniversary of the 1963 Sit-In Demonstrations in Rome by Main High School students, which forced the city to finally confront systemic racial oppression in the community and ushered in the Civil Rights movement in Rome.

The Rome Area History Center is located at 305 Broad Street, Rome, GA 30161. An accessible entrance is located on Tribune Street. Admission is free and visitors may explore all the museum exhibits to learn more about Rome’s long and multi-faceted history.