The McCray House no longer sits on the land where it stood for over a century. It now occupies 4415 Cherokee Street, parked beside Logan Farm Park, thanks to a nearly $500,000 relocation effort by the City of Acworth. This move saved the pre-Civil War structure from being crushed under the weight of a new hotel development planned for its original lot.
The preservation wasn't always guaranteed. In 2021, the city purchased the abandoned 19th-century property and three acres, initially hoping to hand it over to Cobb Landmarks for use as an exhibit space. That plan collapsed when the nonprofit cited budget constraints. So, the city pivoted. In 2025, the Board of Aldermen approved $84,800 for architectural and engineering services to facilitate the move, a decision that kept the building alive rather than letting it vanish.
Moving a historic home is not like shipping a box. CROFT & Associates and Macallan Construction worked together to separate the main structure from later additions. They placed the house on steel beams and rolled it down Cherokee Street to its new foundation. Jeff Chase, Acworth’s director of downtown development, explained that the team built a cinder-block wall up to meet the bottom of the house, creating a new base for a structure that dates back to the mid-1800s.
For the McCray family, the house holds more than bricks and mortar. Moose McCray, a family member who acquired the property in the 1960s, told CBS Atlanta that the home hosted weddings, holiday celebrations, and even a petting zoo. He expressed relief that the building would be preserved rather than lost to time.
The new owner, Bizarre Coffee, is preparing to open its Acworth location inside the restored space. Sabrina Kaylor, the company’s owner, will bring a new layer of history to the building. The shop will feature an outdoor patio and retain the intricate porch details and refinished floors installed during the renovation.
The city held a ribbon-cutting ceremony on July 16, 2026, to mark the completion of the restoration. The next step is simple: Bizarre Coffee is expected to open soon, inviting Acworth residents to sit in a 19th-century parlor and drink coffee in a place that has seen a century of change.