Habitat for Humanity International and the OneSumter Economic Development Foundation recently closed on a deal that will give way to Americus’ largest community park. Slated to break ground in April, the park will include a 35,000 square foot amphitheater – one of the largest in the region, a dog park, a children’s playground and lots of open space.

“The park’s location in city center helps bring life to the design, which is intended to foster and infuse a sense of vibrancy, cultural awareness, connectivity and engagement in the community,” said Alicia Ledbetter, executive director of the OneSumter Economic Development Foundation.  “We hope it will become a key arts and music destination across the region that will shape and define Americus for generations to come."

The new park was most recently home to Habitat for Humanity International’s Global Village and Discovery Center (GVDC), which permanently closed its doors in 2020 at the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic. 

The GVDC was an outdoor museum built in 2003 that was created to help educate people about the global need for adequate housing. Visitors could take a self-guided tour around the park and explore varying life-size types of housing structures commonly found in developing nations. During the first year of operation, Habitat welcomed two of the museums most famous visitors, President Jimmy Carter and Stephen Colbert, who was filming on-location for the Daily Show with Jon Stewart. 

OneSumter decided to name the art and music park after Reverend Pearly Brown, an influential guitarist and singer pegged as one of America’s last great street performers of the post-civil rights era. Blind from birth, Brown’s family relocated from Abbeville, Georgia to Americus when he was a young child.

Brown’s unique sound—holy blues—and mastery of the bottleneck portion of his six-string resonator guitar helped create a sound that would later influence various musical genres spanning gospel, blues, country and traditional African American folksongs. Undeterred by his disability, Brown performed in cities across Georgia. He was one of the first Black muscians to perform at the Grand Ole Opry and Carnegie Hall. For his musical contributions, Brown was inducted into the Georgia Music Hall of Fame in 2010. 

“Naming the park after Pearly Brown was a no brainer,” Ledbetter said. “He brought the community together with the gift of music and we believe the park will help carry that legacy forward.”