Media release from the Georgia’s Rome Office of Tourism:
The Rome Area History Center will unveil a newly discovered civil rights artifact on March 28, 2026. The piece was uncovered last year by plumbers working inside the former Kress Department Store on Broad Street, where they found a marble sign hidden behind a wall. The sign, etched with the words “white” and “colored” to mark segregated drinking fountains, is believed to date back to 1927.
Signs like this were once common in Kress stores across the southern United States. Only three are known to survive today — including the Rome sign and two others located in Alabama and Arizona. The permanence of the marble engraving underscores the era’s deeply entrenched commitment to racial segregation.
The public is invited to a presentation in the Broadview event venue located above the History Center on March 28 at 7:00 PM, followed by a viewing of the newly installed exhibit. Doors open at 6:45 PM.
The unveiling coincides with the anniversary of the 1963 Sit In Demonstrations led by students from Main High School, a pivotal moment that forced Rome to confront systemic racial inequities and helped usher in the local Civil Rights movement.
The Rome Area History Center is located at 305 Broad Street, Rome, GA 30161. An accessible entrance to the event space is available on Tribune Street. Admission is free, and visitors are encouraged to explore the full museum collection to learn more about Rome’s diverse and storied past. For more information about the center and upcoming events call, 706-235-8051.
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