Barrow Preservation Society, Inc.

11/05/2025

Congrats and well deserved! Thank you for rehabbing one of our historic district buildings according to preservation standards!

10/19/2025

This is an incredibly important election! Please watch our candidate forum to hear what the candidates running for winder city council have to say.

05/22/2025

Reminder: We’ve got a weekend full of events for you!
🎶 Friday: Live at the Plaza features TG Unplugged with live music at Jackson Plaza, 6–9 p.m.

🎨 Saturday: Head to Jug Tavern Plaza from 11 a.m.–2 p.m. for Winder’s Spring Arts Pop-up! Enjoy food trucks, art vendors, live music, free face painting, caricatures, and interactive art for all ages.

Thank you to our event sponsors:
Presented by Northeast Georgia Medical Center Barrow
Akins Ford Chrysler Dodge Jeep Ram
ESG

05/18/2025

05/11/2025

A visitor asks whether we have misspelled the name of Winder in exchange for Windsor, GA.

This was a new one for me as I’d never heard of Windsor, Georgia, so I did a little checking: Windsor is located 19 miles southwest of Winder on Highway 81 below Bold Springs in neighboring Walton County. For those not familiar with Barrow County’s history, Walton is one of the three counties - the other two being Jackson & Gwinnett - from which Barrow was formed in 1914.

Winder was originally named Snodon, a Creek Indian name as the area was settled by the Creek many years prior. The name was changed to Jug Tavern in honor of the double log cabin owned by Capt. John Reynolds, a Revolutionary War veteran who established his home and business along the Hog Mountain Road (today’s Athens Streer) near its present day intersection with Broad Street. The Historic Barrow County Courthouse was built at this intersection in 1920.

The town’s name was changed to Winder in 1893 by act of the Georgia General Assembly. It was named for John H. Winder, an executive with Seaboard Railroad. Local accounts are that town founder Wiley Bush persuaded Mr. Winder to move the planned railroad expansion set to be constructed where today’s GA Hwy 316 is located. His carrot was that the town would be renamed in Winder’s honor.

Come visit the homes of some of Winder’s earliest residents during the Barrow Preservation Society’s Spring Tour of Homes. Sunday, May 18, 2025 beginning at 2 pm.

Advance tickets are $10/person at Hill’s Ace Hardware, 189 W. Athens Street, Winder. Event day tickets are $15. See the flyer for more information.

Thank you, Bonita, for your question!

05/09/2025

The Barrow Preservation Society Spring Tour of Homes returns May 18, 2025. You are invited to bring some friends and join us for an up close and personal look inside some of Old Winder’s most iconic residences. Tickets are $10 in advance; $15 day of tour. Available at Hill’s Ace Hardware.

05/05/2025

🏆Michael L. Starr Award Winner🏆
Night Sky Coffee Roasters – Winder, Barrow County

This year’s Michael L. Starr Award celebrates the remarkable transformation of a downtown Winder storefront into Night Sky Coffee Roasters — a warm, welcoming space that exemplifies the power of preservation to energize local communities.

Built by 1903 and long used for commercial purposes, this early 20th-century masonry building has been lovingly restored, balancing modern needs with historic integrity. The rehabilitation preserved key character-defining features and with the assistance of state and federal Historic Rehabilitation Tax Credits, the project also introduced essential modern updates.

Today, this space hums with activity as a locally owned coffee shop and roastery, and stands as a cornerstone of downtown renewal in Winder — where residents gather, conversations flow, and preservation lives on.

Created in memory of Georgia Trust and Georgia Cities Foundation leader Mike Starr, this award honors projects that uplift Georgia’s downtowns through exemplary preservation, high standards of design, and deep community impact.

👏 Let’s raise a toast (or a cappuccino! ☕️) to Night Sky Coffee Roasters and their inspiring contribution to .