For years, Fanny Williams’ name greeted visitors to Smyrna.
That’s because the former Aunt Fanny’s Cabin at least nominally served as Smyrna’s visitors center. Williams’ namesake building was once part of a racially insensitive restaurant.
The city purchased Aunt Fanny’s Cabin and used it as a rental facility but razed it amid growing national criticism. City officials decided that Aunt Fanny’s Cabin didn’t properly honor Williams, an African American woman remembered for her legacy of activism and push for social justice.
Last year, Smyrna city officials unveiled a statue depicting Williams, culminating a years-long process to honor her.
Details of Williams’ life are few. However, her legacy is being reevaluated for her role as a civil rights advocate before the Civil Rights Era.
According to the city of Smyrna, Williams was born in Georgia shortly after the Civil War. She attended school through the third grade, later worked as a cook and was apparently widowed.
Smyrna officials say Williams personally helped fund projects that benefitted the African American community, including a new Wheat Street Baptist Church building and the first hospital for African-Americans in Cobb County.
Williams died in 1949, but her legacy will live on thanks to Smyrna’s new statue beside the Smyrna History Museum.