SMYRNA, Georgia — Officials here are expected to soon unveil a monument commemorating Fanny Williams, a community activist whose legacy was reexamined after the city tore down a historic structure that bore her name.
In 1941, Isoline Campbell McKenna opened a small antique store in a cabin on Argyle Farm off Campbell Road. According to Smyrna officials, McKenna named the Cabin after Williams, a cook and Campbell family employee born in Georgia shortly after the Civil War’s end.
Aunt Fanny’s Cabin became a nationally known restaurant. After it closed, the city purchased it and relocated it to a site adjacent to the town’s history museum.
In August 2022, city officials razed the cabin after national media reports about its past use as part of a racially insensitive restaurant. City officials vowed to unveil a monument to Williams and established the Fanny Williams Legacy Project.
The city issued a request for qualifications in November 2022, and in May 2023, the city unveiled the four finalists for the memorial. The design was finalized in January, and city officials said the memorial was expected to be completed on-site by September.