Stone Mountain Village near Atlanta notes its Civil War history, but wants to shed reputation and promote its black history, too

The Mayor's House in Stone Mountain Village

Only a couple miles from Georgia's Stone Mountain Park and its carving of Confederate leaders, Stone Mountain Village is a very diverse community with tributes to its Civil War past and dreams for a robust future that blends what one businessman, Daniel Brown, calls "community revival, history and opportunity."

This site (top), built in the mid-1830s by slaves, has seen several uses, including the home of Stone Mountain's first mayor, a Civil War hospital and other businesses, including restaurants.

A coffee bar co-owned by Brown is on the ground floor of what's called "The Mayor's House." It's believed the second floor housed wounded Confederate troops. The current owner wants to open a restaurant and the building is being renovated. 

For several years, the Sycamore Grill restaurant was in the building, named for the huge tree out front.

A fundraising page for the renovation effort says: "The Mayor’s House is valuable in our vision for reconciliation in Stone Mountain, due to its history and its undeniable location. Built in the very center of a town historically known to separate and mark boundaries between blacks and whites, the reclamation of Stone Mountain Village’s flagship building for a modern vision of community and economy will breathe life and restoration for this area."

Nearby is the old railroad depot. A marker recalls July 1864 Federal cavalry raids during Sherman's campaign against Atlanta.

Scores of Confederate soldiers killed in combat or who died in old age rest at an old cemetery near downtown. New headstones for unknown dead were installed in 2011 and 2012 by Confederate Memorial Camp 1432, Sons of Confederate Veterans.

Established circa 1850, the cemetery is the final resting place for the villages’ settlers, granite cutters, farmers and townspeople.

This house was one of several Confederate hospitals.

The old railroad depot, which was closed during my visit

According to an article last month in The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, the state of Georgia wants to help the majority-black city shed its "Old Stone Mountain" image -- which included the resurgence of the Ku Klux Klan a century ago and white supremacy.

City officials hope a new tourism office will help the city attract new businesses and visitors, developing its image as an inclusive, diverse community. Currently, many storefronts are vacant.