Carmel Christian School Aw Shucks Fall Family Fun Night
- FOREWORD
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
INTRODUCTION
CHAPTER I
The Old Federal Road
Indian Settlements And The Moravians
The Vanns and the Vann House
The Moravian Mission
CHAPTER II
Murray County's Early Years
John Howard Payne
Murray in the 1840's
The 1850's
CHAPTER III SLAVERY, WAR, AND RECONSTRUCTION (1850-1900)
Slavery
War Comes to Murray
A Sketch of My War Reccord as a Confederate Soldier
The Reconstruction Era
The KKK
Confederate Veterans
CHAPTER IV TOWNS, COMMUNITIES, AND MILITIA DISTRICTS (1880-1980)
Spring Place District
Horrible Holocaust
Brave Sheriff Dead
Spring Place Post Office
Spring Place Government and Politics
Spring Place Residents & Businesses
Schools in Spring Place
Spring Place Cemeteries
Other Communities in the District
Bull Pen District
The Eighth District
Carters - Ball Ground District
The Ball Ground Area
Doolittle District
McDonald's District
Pleasant Valley and Eton
Schools in Eton
Cisco-Alaculsey District
Fairy, Hall's Chapel, and Fancy Hill
Tennga District #1713
Tenth District
Shuckpen District
Town District - The Founding of Chatsworth
Schools in Chatsworth
Chatsworth High School, 1922-1934
Chatsworth High School, 1922-1934
Businesses in Chatsworth
General Merchandise, Food, and Grocery Stores
A Chatsworth Chronology
The Chatsworth Post Office
Other Communities in Chatsworth District
CHAPTER V GROWTH AND DEVELOPMENT The L&N Railroad
Moving The County Seat
Building The Courthouse
Murray County Agriculture And Mining
Mineral Resources
Murray County Newspapers - by J. Roy McGinty, Jr.
WPA And CCC
Education - County School System
Murray County High School
Murray County Junior High
Adult and Post-Secondary Education
County Services - Murray County Library
Health And Welfare Services
Industry & Transportation - Industry
Transportation
The People, Housing, and Statistics
Special Features
Clubs And Organizations
At last Murray County Heritage is in your hands. No one is more pleased than I am to finally see the book roll off the press. Writing the book has been a tremendous labor for the other committee members and me. However, we are overjoyed to see the results of almost a decade of work. The Murray County History Committee was jointly appointed by the Whitfield-Murray Historical Society and the Murray County Grand Jury in late 1977. We began work in 1978, knowing that a book was far in the future because we were virtually "starting from scratch." The only history of Murray County in existence was the short volume written by Charles Shriner three quarters of a century ago. Therefore, we began our labors not sure when we would see the results. As the committee worked, we surveyed cemeteries, wrote letters, visited libraries and archives, read countless volumes of deeds and county records, researched a hundred years of newspapers, and interviewed many older residents. As our files grew, we tried to compile the information, but, as the months passed, more facts kept coming to light and we just could not go to press when so much history was not yet recorded. Attempts to get others to help us with church and organization histories as well as histories of specific eras, areas, and events were only somewhat successful. Yet, we pressed on. At the same time, members of the committee restored the Old Spring Place Methodist Church to house the materials we collected. We were also involved with other historical society projects, families, school, jobs, church, personal interests, and other activities. All the work has been donated and I am grateful to the many who have helped this book become a reality. Foremost among the contributors have been the committee members-Mildred McCamy (who suggested the book's title), Sarah Dillard, Sybil Mc-Lemore, Katherine Raine, Nell Ruth Loughridge. and especially Louise Coker and Emily Cogburn-along with my very supportive family. In the long course of our work many of those we interviewed first have since passed away. While I am glad we recorded their memories, my greatest regret is that people like R.E. Chambers, Mamie Pierce, Carl Davis, Jennie Weyman, Mattie Lou Pritchett, Mark Baxter, Roy McGinty, and our own Kate Raine did not live to see their words in print. A special thanks to Polly Boggess for all her help. Also, 1 know some areas are sketchy, omissions will be noted, and some inaccuracies will be found. I apologize for this. We tried to include everything possible, but we are not experts on all aspects of Murray County history. No one knows how many hours were spent researching, writing, reconciling different versions of the same stories, editing, verifying, proofreading, and indexing. Even while we were writing things changed�Tennga's stores closed and it got a new postmaster, new churches (like Liberty Bell Baptist) were established, businesses came and went, and new facts kept coming to light-like the location of a Civil War prison camp 8 miles northeast of Spring Place and the site of a Union camp of 400 men 4 miles north of Spring Place. We just could not include every detail. However, we are pleased with the book and hope you will be, too. Read, learn, and enjoy along with people all across the country who have a Murray County "connection." To quote the Psalmist David, "The lines are fallen ... in pleasant places... I (we) have a goodly heritage." (16:6);
- Yours,
Tim Howard, Chairman
Appreciation is expressed to all those people who have helped us gather the information for this history. Over the years we have had countless people loan us pictures, pass on information, provide us with encouragement, tell us about resource people, give us documents, and assist with the actual research and writing. Without you we could never have accomplished what we set out to do back in 1978. The history is truly a book about Murray County by Murray Countians (whether by birth or by feeling). Following is a list of many who helped. If your name is omitted, please forgive us-we still appreciate you.
| Conway Gregory, Jr. | Emily Cogburn | Polly Boggess |
| Joann Warmack | Bill Warmack | Louise Mitchell |
| Frances Heartsell | Marie Kelly | Mr. &Mrs. Hill Jones |
| Tucker & Grace Brown | Lovadah Maynard | R.F. & Wave Hill |
| Minnie Gryder | Charlie Hall | Kirby & Lucy Young |
| Lee Timms | Frank &, Lee Brindte | Bertie Robinson |
| John & Mae Fox | Mattie Lou Pritchett | Willie Mae Sexton |
| Mina Biamblett | Mattie Robinson | Agnes Kemp |
| Edna Jo Butler | Carl & Ora Davis | Jim & Odetta Howard |
| C.N. & Sarah King | Pauline Hemphill | Mr. & Mrs. Colquitt Carter |
| Dan & Milma Einest | Sadie Wilson | Marie Roe |
| Mr.&Mrs. R.E. Dillard | Bessie Mae Adams | Lula Bates |
| Tom & Louise Gregory | M/M James Loughridge | Blane Tillman |
| Harold Wilson | lone Hemphill | Marvin Middleton |
| G.l. Maddox | Ethel Moore | Maty Lou Richardson |
| Dale Lowman | R.E. Chambers | Charlie Ruth Ross |
| Ronald Richardson | RebaWestfield | Ed & Pat Hall |
| Marion "Pete" Sims | Mark Baxter | Forwell Studios |
| Joe Holcomb | Mr. & Mrs. Lewis Richardson | Ethel Brown |
| Aldyne Maltbie | Annie Laurie Howard | E.A. Ernest |
| C.T. Ernest | Ermina Vann Campbell | Jacqueline Gray |
| Tom Plott | Ruth Springfield | Rossie Ann Henry |
| Pat Dunn | Mittie Adams | Jon Howard |
| Estelle Middleton | Stella Baxter | Icy Plemons |
| Mamie Pierce | Johnnie Hartley | W.W. & Nadine Keith |
| Will Ross | Henry Epperson | Olivene Godfrey |
| Lee Bramblett | C.C. & Biddie Langston | Oscar Luffman |
| George Ridley | Felton Quarles | Nina Middleton |
| C.W. Bradley | Edith Heartsell Bullaid | Henry McEntire |
| Melbarine Phillips | Murray County Retired Teachers | Bernita Harris |
| Nina Hill | Ruth Cox | Louise Tatum |
| Dr. Derrell Roberts | Edna Dunfoid | Louise Wilson |
| Moravian Archives | Georgia Dept. of Archives | Crown Gardens & Archives |
| Dalton Regional Library | Murray County Library | Murray County Officials |
| Lela Lloyd | The Chatsworth Times | Homer Luffman |
| Jessie Brewer | Lora Compton | Ruth Young |
| Roy Hawkins | Richard Kendrick | Mildred McCamy |
| Sybil McLemore | Katheiine Raine | Louise Coker |
| Walter Bogle | Jack Clayton | Jewell Lawson |
| J. Roy McGinty | Leta Tankersley | Jennie Weyman |
| Charles Pannell | Daily Citizen News | Judy Kreuger |
| Mike Garland | Miles & Carolyn Andersen | Ruth Bates |
| Harriett DiGioia | Georgia Dept. of Natural Resources |
Murray County, situated in northwest Georgia, is bounded on the east by Fannin and Gilmer Counties, on the south by Gordon, and on the west by Whit-field County. The northern boundary of the county, part of the state line between Tennessee and Georgia, is the 35th parallel of latitude. Once much larger. Murray County now consists of 342 square miles. Murray has a variety of topographic elevations ranging from 700 feet above sea level in the valleys, to more than 4,000 feet in the mountains. Prominent peaks in the Murray skyline include Fort, Grassy, Cohutta. Bald, and Potato Patch mountains. Mountains occupy about one-third of the eastern part of the county and have long been noted for their beauty. All surface drainage in the area flows into the Mobile River Basin. The Conasauga and Coosawattee Rivers, the two most important streams in Murray, join to form the Oostanaula near Resaca in Gordon County. Other significant streams are Sumac, Mill, and Holly Creeks, all of which flow westward into the Conasauga�the boundary between Murray and Whitfield. Many minerals are present in Murray. Gold was mined for a time while marble, iron, lead, silver, and manganese exist in smaller amounts. For many years large quantities of talc {earlier called soapstone) have been mined in the mountains. Long an agricultural region, Murray fields have yielded countless amounts of corn, cotton, wheat, fruit, grasses, other vegetables, and, in more recent years, soybeans. The land is fertile and provides excellent pasturage for cattle as well as other animals. The lumber business has also thrived in the area for many decades. Murray's population has shown various increases and declines in the 20th century. The number of residents climbed from 8.623 in 1900 to 9,400 in 1920. Although the population decreased to 9,215 in 1930, it rose almost 2,000 by 1940 (11,137). During the years during and following World War II the number of residents declined and by 1960 the population was 10,447. This change is attributed to agriculture declines and the number of people who left the area for jobs in other places during the war. Between 1960 and 1970 Murray enjoyed a population increase of 24.3 percent (12.986). Since then the population has continued to grow. Thus the labor force and school enrollment have increased steadily. Murray County has changed tremendously in the last two decades. Many long-time residents have passed away and, with them, much of our heritage. A significant number of people have moved to Murray, and are learning about the area's long and fascinating history. Here then is the written account of "Murray County Heritage."
The Old Federal Road
As mentioned earlier, James Vann helped get the Cherokee Nation's first highway built by convincing the chiefs that a road would be beneficial to the Indians (and perhaps more importantly, to James Vann). In 1803 the Cherokees granted informal permission for the Federal government to build a road across heir land. This major thoroughfare became known as the Federal Road and connected Tennessee with points to the southeast. Mr. Lewis Richardson again shares his knowledge of early North Georgia history as follows: . . . These [roads] served a dual purpose: provide easier movement of supplies to the [Indian] agencies and western settlements and, if war came, speed the passage of army baggage trains . . . The informal agreement was ratified by the Treaty of Tellico in 1805 and the road was opened for wagons by the next year. Mr. Richardson continues: By this time, there was no money available from the federal coffers. The Administration referred the matter to the Governors of Tennessee and Georgia, suggesting that the states pay for locating and opening the road. Both states refused any responsibility. The road was actually opened by private effort, for the most part by tavern owners and trading post operators. No federal money was expended on any part. It should have been christened the "Cherokee Road." In a few years there was an increasing flow of traffic on the route. At first there were the heavy freight wagons with four and six horse teams; later lightly built post stages began to carry the mail and an occasional passenger. By 1820, there were the "movers," families passing through the Nation seeking new homes in Tennessee or Northern Alabama. Some few liked what they saw in the Cherokee country, made an accomodation with the Indians and settled along the road. The track also became an important drovers route, with herds of cattle and droves of hogs, from Hast Tennessee to markets in Georgia. And always there were the individual horsemen, politicians, military men, traders, missionaries and curious travelers. It was inevitable that other connecting toads would be opened to serve the larger villages. New Echota and Ellijay, for example. By the rnid-1830's, there was a considerable network of wagon roads, cart tracks and pack horse trails in the Nation, ll should be noted, however, there had been almost no attempt to improve any of these roads There was no grading, bridges, or surface treatment other than poles d brush thrown in the worst stretches of mud and swamp. By our standards, they could hardly be classed as roads. This was the transportation system in the region when the removal of the Cherokees began in the late 1830's. The Old Federal Road began west of Athens, went to Vann's Ferry near present-day Lake Lanier, curved north and west through several modern counties, and entered Murray County near Carters. In the early 1950's John H. Goff, a professor at Emory wrote this description of the Road in Murray County: Travelers......forded the [Coosawattee) river just above [the old bridge | .where the stream widened into swift but shallow shaols ... At Cuniston, two miles farther on. the old road strikes U.S. 411... Near this place also, not far from a present large dairy barn, in frontier days was an interesting place named "Bloodtown." Origin of the name is obscure, but the site was a noted spot where south-bound cattle drovers penned their stock at night for feeding and resting while en route to markets. Traces of Bloodtown have long since disappeared, but tales of the reveling and brawling which took place there persisted long. Up the road a little farther, in front of a filling station which now marks Ramhurst, Georgia, on U.S. 411, the Old Federal Road branched. One fork . . . turned left toward Chattanooga and Nashville. The other continued straight ahead, approximately along the course of U.S. 411. via prcscnt-day Chatsworth, Eton, and Cisco to Tennga on the Georgia-Tennessee line. (The U.S. 411 mentioned is old 411 today.) Goff gave additional information about the western fork of the Road from Ramhurst as follows: ... the left branch leads northwest by historic Spring Place in Murray County toward Chattanooga. No one living along its course now seems to remember it as a Federal route; generally it is referred to as the "Old Chattanooga Road," although in rare instances a few old timers recall it as the "Georgia Road." The last is its oldest name, under which the government first sought a passageway through the Cherokee country. At Spring Place the road bore to the north of the village and the majestic old Vann house that stands just notth of that place. A stretch of the early trail is missing along here, But it takes up again at Free Hope Church Crossroads, northwest of Spring Place, and runs straight north to the Old Chattanooga l-ord below the mouth of Mill Creek on Conasauga River. The ford is no longer used, but the former trace is still there. The road then went through Whitfield County. The Old Federal Road soon became the major post and stagecoach route in the Cherokee Nation. A stage began running through Spring Place as early as '825 and by 1833 regularly ran to Athens, Tennessee. A post office had been established at Spring Place earlier. Another important event during this era was the beginning of a canal system in Georgia. Designed to improve "internal" transportation, these canals were very ambitious undertakings, but the canal era did not last long due to the coming of railroad and almost none were even begun in Georgia. However, "the Conasauga River was once a busy artery of commerce and was twice considered as part of a canal system," according to historian Lewis Richardson. One proposal was for the River to become a portion of Georgia's Northwest Canal. "In 1825. Wilson Lumpkin and State Engineer Hamilton Fulton led an exploratory party through the area and selected the river as the best route." The Cherokees refused to permit the canal building at that time or in 1826 and 1827 when the Tennessee General Assembly chartered the Hiwassee Canal Company. Plans were drawn to connect the Conasauga with the Ocoee River by means of 15 locks spaced over 10 miles. However the canals were not to be.
Indian Settlements And The Moravians
The area that now comprises Murray County was long the home of native Americans. Paleolithic and Archaic Era Indians were gradually replaced by the Woodland Indians after 1000 B.C. Although hunting, fishing, and gathering remained the principle sources of food, agricultural methods and larger, more permanent villages characterized this Woodland period. The Woodland Indians were also the first to develop religious systems and to build dirt mounds over graves of important people. Mound building reached its height during the succeeding "Mississippian Age." Evidence of this period exists in Murray County near Carters Darn. Several mounds have been excavated there. Around 900 A.D. a strong group of Indians from the north invaded Georgia, probably from Tennessee. About 200 years later the older natives reconquered parts of Georgia and their descendants, the Creeks, later played an important par! in Georgia history. The invaders from the north retained control of the Murray area although some Creek placenames were retained in North Georgia. By 1540, when the Spanish explorer Hemando DeSoto came through Georgia, two groups of Indians existed, the Creeks in the south and in the north the people who were to be called Cherokees. An Indian town called Guaxule is mentioned in DeSoto's records. The Spaniards received a warm, peaceful welcome from the chief of this village which included some 300 houses. Five hundred warriors dressed in skins with feather decorations escorted their leader to his meeting with De Soto. Georgia historian Charles C. Jones, Jr. identified Guaxule as being in Murray County. Apparently the Cherokees occupied an old Creek settlement and later renamed it "Coosawattee" which means "old Creek place." DeSoto's men stayed in the area about 4 days and following their departure, the Cherokees were left alone for about 200 years. In the early days of the 18th century, the Cherokees roamed freely over most of what is now the states of Virginia, Kentucky. North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee. Georgia, and Alabama. As the white settlers moved inward from the Atlantic the native Americans were forced to relinquish pieces of land, first in Virginia and South Carolina, then in North Carolina and Georgia, then in Tennessee and Alabama. Finally, by the 1820's the once vast Cherokee Nation included only a small area where North Carolina, Tennessee, and Georgia, and Alabama join. But many changes had taken place within the Nation in that space of 100 years. The Cherokees had decided that there was no need to try to fight the encroaching white people, but rather agreed to settle down, build log homes, become an agricultural nation and adopt the ways of the whites in hopes of retaining their homeland. Traders were allowed into the Cherokee domain as well as French and British Indian agents. As the American colonists revolted for their independence, the Cherokees felt they should fight with the British, feeling that the mighty Englishmen would surely defeat the Americans and would then treat the Cherokees in a favorable manner. Unfortunately for the Cherokees, the British lost the colonies. After the War for Independence, the Cherokees made peace with the new United States Government. More and more whites pushed toward the Indian lands and with this came a greater exchange of ideas between the Indians and the white culture. Murray County soon had a number of white residents who lived among and married Cherokees. Coosawattee Old Town, located near Carters, became a thriving settlement. Ebenezer Newton traveled through the area in 1818 and found that Coosawattee was "a considerable town of the Indians on both sides of the river." Newton commented that the Indians were "very civil and kind" and that the area was very beautiful. The Newton party spent the night at "Captain Foster's" in a comfortable log cabin. Foster was a prominent Cherokee who had several slaves. Newton remarked that the blacks spoke English better than their master. Other early names near Coosawattee were the McDaniels, Harlans, and the Martins. Judge Martin built the house now known as Carters Quarter. During the Carter ownership of the land much was discovered about the earlier Indian settlement. In the 1880's two large silver crosses which pointed to DeSoto's visit were unearthed. In the late 1920's and 1930's excavations were conducted on the burial mounds, by Prof. Warren Moorehead, while in 1934 a large cave was discovered and was thought to contain lost Indian treasures. Professor J.R. Stull was told of the cave by an aged Cherokee in Utah and followed markings on trees to the spot where some "stone images" were found. Iron objects, shells, arrow points, pottery, and skeletons had been found during the earlier diggings. Other burials were unearthed in the 1960's prior to the building of Carters Dam. Apparently this area, under its various names of Guaxule, Coosawattee Old Town, and Carters, is the oldest continually occupied "town" in Murray County.
The Vanns and the Vann House
While Coosawattee was older and the home of the wealthy Martins, no other town or family could rival the Vanns of "Diamond Hill," "Vann's Town," and Spring Place. No family adopted white ways to the extent that the Vanns did. Their fame, fortune, and failures are known not just in Murray County and Georgia, but across the United States. Their story is the story of the Cherokees as well as the story of Murray County in the first quarter of the 19th century. Accounts of the first Vann to come to the Cherokee Nation vary a great deal. Some say his name was James, others say Clement, and still others compromise and say it was James Clement. Several versions of the family story report that the first Vann to come to Georgia was James Vann's father, while others feel that it was James's grandfather, a Scot trader perhaps running from the law, who entered the Cherokee Nation near its southern boundary and married a full-blooded Cherokee princess named Wawli. Some authors write that the first Vann had married Ruth Gann. A more recent genealogist proposes that two brothers began the Vann family trading business with the Cherokees. James came first but died a short time after marrying Waw-li who then married James's brother. Clement, a later arrival to the Cherokee lands. At any rate, Waw-li, the chieftain's daughter, married a Scot trader named Vann and had at least three children: Avery, James, and Nancy (according to most sources, anyway). Here the saga of the Murray County Vanns really begins. The Vann family moved to the Murray area in the late 1700's. Since they were already well-to-do traders and farmers, the clan quickly built up vast land-holdings. Avery Vann moved back south to what became Vann's Valley in Floyd County, while James built his Murray plantation called Diamond Hill. At this time Spring Place was still merely a stopping place for hunting and trading parties. James increased his wealth, establishing a mill, trading post, and slave cabins on Mill Creek. He is said to have built the first wagon in the Cherokee Nation. He married three wives. Jennie Foster, Elizabeth Thornton, and Margaret "Peggy" Scott (born 1783). Of the first two, one was Indian and one was white, while "Peggy" was of mixed blood. Her father had been an Indian agent for the British. James fathered five legitimate children: James, John, Sally, Delilah and, the youngest, Joseph (bom 1798), his only child by Peggy. Mr. Vann developed quite a reputation as a fierce man, particularly when he had been drinking which was very often. Nevertheless, in 1793 he was called upon by U.S. Government Indian Agents to clear the Cherokee lands of thieves and other white men who were causing trouble. He continued in this "police" action until his death. James Vann killed many white men in duels or to enforce his authority over them. One account reports that he murdered Georgia militiaman Leonard Rice and most sources reveal that he was very strict on his workers, whites as well as slaves. He once whipped his overseer Mr. Crawford 100 strokes and tried to shoot another employee, Mr. Giger, on another occasion. He also had an overseer named Bohing at one time. His most violent action came in 1805 against a slave named Isaac. Isaac and three other blacks (two were Bob and Peter) stole $3,500 from Vann's money chest upon the instigation of a white visitor named Spencer, along with Mr. Bowen. When Isaac was captured he was burned alive while the others were shot or "strung up in a tree." Earlier, Vann had abused an elder chief and even shot his own uncle under terms of an old Cherokee blood law which demanded revenge. Despite his fierce temper and drinking problem, James Vann did care for his mother's people, the Cherokees. He hated to see them robbed and mistreated by white intruders. He was also concerned for their education. While on a business trip to the eastern coastal cities, including Washington, D.C., he met a group of Moravian Missionaries from Salem, North Carolina. Impressed with their dedication and desire to work among the Cherokees, he promised them support�financially and physically�if they would come to Georgia and establish a school for the Cherokee children. Vann took the plan to the other chiefs and persuaded them to allow the establishment of a mission on James Vann's property. The Moravians were installed in two small cabins which were being vacated by a Mr. Brown and located about 1& miles from Diamond Hill between James Vann's field and his mother's field near a limestone spring. Vann promised them some new buildings and the Moravians were pleased with the arrangement�until they found that Vann was planning to build a still on the spring a short distance from the missionaries' cabins. They asked Vann about building their new mission complex on a hill just west of their present spot and he agreed, but to the missionaries' dismay, Vann soon had plans made to build a new house for himself on the hill. The missionaries then were given land a short distance southeast of the proposed spot for their mission. They were not displeased at being a distance from the home of Vann. Vann hired a German named Vogt to design his new house, a house which would rival any house within the bounds of the Cherokee nation, a house on the scale of others Vann had seen in the east during his many travels. So while the Moravians were attempting to build their own dwellings and a school, Vann asked them to help instruct his slaves and other Indians in how to build his new brick house. All Moravians were excellent craftsmen and he must have been pleased at his choice of missionary teachers to come to his town. The work on the house began late in 1803 with most of the work being done in 1804. The Vanns moved into the newly completed house in March, 1805. Everything used in building the house was made on the site except the glass for the windows which was shipped from Savannah. Meanwhile the Moravians had begun their school which also pleased James Vann. In sponsoring the school, Vann contributed greatly to the education of the many men who would lead the Cherokees through their most trying hours in the next two decades. Although the Moravians were interested in making Christian converts, this was difficult since the spirits of James Vann were in such close proximity. The Moravians named the mission complex Springplace or "place of many springs" due to the large number of excellent streams in the area. The town which sprang up after Vann moved his family nearby was soon going by the name of Vann's Town. Vann reigned both as plantation owner and master as well as a town chief over the area. He had increased his wealth until he owned over 4,000 acres of land as well as operating taverns, stores, a grist mill, a sawmill, a blacksmith shop, ferries, and other types of businesses throughout the Cherokee nation. Many of his business ventures were located on the Old Federal Road, built in 1805 under his sponsorship. While the other chiefs voiced protest about building a road through the Cherokee lands, James Vann forced it through the Council�the road would be very advantageous to his businesses. His Diamond Hill complex became known as Vann's "Old Town." However, James Vann did not get to enjoy his fine "Showplace of the Cherokee Nation" very long for his life was nearing its end. In 1807 or 1808 James killed his brother-in-law, John Falling, in a duel near Spring Place. Some say the duel came about after James abused his mother and beat his sister (Falling's wife) while she was with child. Another source mentions that Falling had been involved in the theft ring which had resulted in Isaac's death. Whatever the cause, the following account of the duel was recorded later: Vann met Falling. He charged him with Treachery. Words ensued. A challenge passed. Such an instance never before occurred in the nation; nor has it ever occurred since. The parties agreed !o meet at a certain cross path, where four roads intersect. They were to be armed at their own choice. Vann had a long French musquet, Falling a double bundled fowling piece; each were loaded with 21 buck shot; each well mounted. At the hour fixed, each started at a full gallop. When they caught view of each other, each gave the war whoop, as they dashed onward. Their horses heads neatly struck together, ere they fired. The guns went off almost on the same instant. Vann's horse gave a slight dodge, and the charge grazed Vann as it passed. Falling dropped dead , .. It caused much excitement and it was thought prudent that Vann should not be seen until the excitement could have time to cool. The death went unavenged until February 21,1809. At this time there were loud complaints of the depredations committed in the nation by horse thieves, white and red, as well as other rogues, emanating from the whites upon the border. James Vann gathered some followers and paraded the country to punish the aggressors. They caught and flogged some of each complexion. Vann now returning from his judicial and patriotic expedition; and at Buffmgton's on the Etowah he stopped to wind up his adventures with a frolic. In the log hut tavern the interstices between the logs of which were open, he stood in the center of the group carousing. He had been at high words with some of his ancient associates-to Alexander Sanders, for one, he had been very abusive. The bottle was in one hand & he was lifting the cup of whiskey to his lips with the other. The door, which swung loosely, was silently pressed open by the point of a rifle. In an instant, James Vann was dead, and no one has ever known his slayer. He was buried at High Tower, near Blackburn's. The death of Falling by his hand had never been revenged and hence there was no search made to discover his own murderer. The Moravian missionaries added that "after hearing the shot, Joseph (James's son) and a Negro rapidly gathered up the belongings of father and son including Vann's "pocketbook" containing . . . cash and valuable bank notes. Wrapped in a blanket Joseph and the Negro fled to his father's plantation on the Chattahoo-chee River . . . Almost frightened to death, Mrs. Vann and her parents-in-law fled to Buffmgton's at dawn." The body had already been buried in an old nearby cemetery when they arrived. Reaction to Vann's death was mixed. Mrs. Vann and "Mother" Vann were distraut for weeks as were other members of the Vann household. The missionaries wrote: Thus ended the life of one who was feared by many and loved by few in the 41st year of his life ... Vann had been an instrument in the hand of God for establishing our mission in this nation. Never in his wildest orgies had he attempted to harm us. We could not but commend his soul to God's mercy. They had lost their "greatest friend and benefactor." According to legend a rhyme was placed on his marker which said "Here lies the body of James Vann who killed many a white man. At last by a rifle ball he fell and the Devil dragged his soul to Hell." Ebenezer Newton, the 1818 traveler, gave this report of the inscription: "here lies the body of James Vann who departed this life Feb. 1809 aged 43. This man was once a Chief of the Cherokee Nation, and was considered a great man among them, and was very rich. But his greatness and his riches could not ward off the stroke of death. He lies a monument of greatness lost and an evidence of the frailty & mutability of Man, whether he be white or red." James Vann had expected to leave his vast holdings to his young son, Joseph, but the Council of Chiefs intervened to divide the property between his widow and all his children. Nevertheless, the 11-year-old Joseph inherited the bulk of his father's estate. Joseph grew up. married, and began his family as master of the Vann House. Upon reaching legal age, he received full title to the plantation and made many improvements in the house and on the land. He was an even better businessman than his father and won the nickname "Rich Joe" because he had a cousin also named Joseph who was not quite as wealthy. (The cousin was Teaultle or "Big Joe.") Rich Joe had been educated at the Moravian School and in South Carolina. At the young age of 16 he had joined other Cherokees and Americans under the command of Andrew Jackson to defeat the Creeks at Horseshoe Bend, Alabama, during the War of 1812. The "Cherokee Croesus" was a representative of the Coosawattee District (along with John Martin) in the Cherokee legislature. He was also a delegate to Washington. D.C., as the Indians sought governmental recognition. The 6-feet-6 man had two wives, Jennie Springston and Polly Black. His children were James Springston, Mary, John Shepherd, Delilah, Henry Clay, Sally, David, Nancy, William, Jane Elizabeth and Joe. In 1819 Joseph entertained President James Monroe at Spring Place when the President made a trip through the South. Both James and Joseph left their doors open to any visitors and. like his father. Joseph also loved to drink, but apparently was not quite so beliggerent. Lewis Richardson, a descendant of an old area family and now a resident of Gainesville, wrote (his account of the presidential visit: The tour of James Monroe through the Southeast and the Cherokee Nation in 1819 is of interest for two reasons. He was the firsl President to visit what is now Murray County and the travel arrangements, the size of the party and the lack of publicity is in startling contrast to similar Presidential tours today. Monroe made this southern joumey for three reasons. First, to review the defenses of the young nation along the coast and on the southern frontier; second, for political purposes. As do all politicians, he welcomed the chance to meet people and to promote the policies of his administration and his party. His last objective was to view the work of the Government and the private Missions in the Cherokee country. Monroe was a compassionate man and sympathized with the plight of the native Americans. He believed that with the help of tools and implements supplied by the Government, by teaching the older Indians the arts of agriculture and by educating the young, the Indian problem would cease to exist. On this trip he would see for himself how well his policies were working. There were only (hree in the original group, the President; his secretary, Samuel Gouvernor and his military aide, Lt. Monroe, It was almost a family affair. Lt. Monroe was the son of the President's brother, Joseph, and, in the following year, Gouvernor would marry Hester Maria, the President's youngest daughter. In the course of the journey, this small group would be augmented by numerous politicians, military officers, office holders and assorted notables. Most would travel only a short distance and would be replaced by others in each new town. The party left Washington, April 1, 1819 and proceeded to Savannah by slow stages. From the Georgia coast they went northwest through the State, arriving in Athens, May 21st, seven weeks from Washington. The next morning they traveled to Jefferson in Jackson County where they partook of a "noon dinner" provided by the citizens of the village. From this point they would follow the Federal Road into Tennessee. That afternoon, they crossed the Georgia State line and entered the Cherokee Nation. The Chattahoochee River was crossed at Vann's Ferry and they spent the night in the village on the west bank. The Ferry and the Tavern in the Indian village had been opened by James Vann about 1805. (The old Tavern building has been moved to New Echota State Park, near Calhoun,) The 24th of May was spent in crossing present Forsyth County. That night they forded the Etowah River and slept at Lewis Blackburn's Tavern about a half mile west of the river. Ten years before, James Vann had been murdered near Blackburn's place and he is said to lest in the Blackburn Cemetery nearby. The next day, the route was west, then north to the crossing of Long Swamp Creek, just east of Tate, in present Pickens County. On the 26th, the travelers continued through Pickens County, passing the Indian village Of Sanderstown. They arrived in Spring Place late in the evening, unexpectedly, and the Moravians recorded the event: May 25, 1819. Very late In the evening, Mr. James Monroe came with the overseer. Brodewell, to announce that the President of the United States and his party had arrived at Joseph Vann's. We were told by James Monroe that because so many were in his party that they did not wish to worry us for a night's lodging. The President had sent him to tell us thai he was in the neighborhood and that he would like to see Br. Gambald before the party leaves the next moming. The overseer asked for several lights for the company. The "Mr. Monroe" was, of course, Lt. Monroe, The President's announced reason for not stopping at the Mission may be classed as a polite subterfuge. He was acquainted with Joe Vann, and the prospect of staying in the comfortable Vann home rather than the austere quarters of the missionaries is understandable. He did take time the next morning to inspect the Indian school and expressed his satisfaction with the work of the Brothers. There is no evidence of Federal aid having been offered or solicited. The Moravians were self sufficient. Later in the day, the party left Spring Place, going northwest to the old crossing of the Conasauga River, later known as the Chattanooga Ford. In present Whitfield County, they crossed the Coahulla Creek below the site of Prater's Mill and spent the next night at Richard Taylor's Tavern, just east of present Ringgold. Early the next afternoon, they arrived at Brainerd Mission, again unheraJded. The party lefl Brainerd on May 27th and visited Winchester, Huntsville, Fayette-ville, Murfreesboro and Shelbyville before calling on Gen. Jackson at the Hermitage. They arrived in Nashville, June 13th. When they left the Tennessee Capitol, the route was north to Frankfort and Lexington, then east to Washington where they arrived on Sunday moming, the 8th of August. They had traveled about 5,000 miles in four months. The long journey was unremarkable, except for the distinguished participants, for that period in our history. Two factors however, make it almost unbelievable by present-day standards. First, the trip was accomplished with so little attention. Newspapers of the day gave the President little space, even in those towns he was visiting. In fact, for the time between the departure of the group from Jefferson the arrival at Jackson's home near Nashville, the nation had no idea of the President's whereabouts. Even more astonishing, the four month junket cost the taxpayers nothing! In those days, "Traveling Presidents sponged, like royalty, on the local gentry, (and) accepted free transportation from the mail contractors . . . Some say that Andrew Jackson, John C. Calhoun, and Sam Houston might have also visited Spring Place. By the 1820's the Cherokees had discarded the traditional Indian clan system of ruling a tribe, with an indefinite number of clan and town chiefs making up the council. Instead, they patterned their government after that of the United States with a written constitution and a republican form of control with four delegates from each of the eight districts making up the National Council. The capital was moved from Tennessee to New Echota, near present-day Calhoun in Gordon County, and since the Vanns lived on the major thoroughfare through the land, many of the visitors to Council at New Echota stopped at Vann's Town and Spring Place for refreshment. The Cherokees also had a written language, thanks to Sequoyah, and in 1826 established the only newspaper printed by an American Indian tribe�the Cherokee Phoenix. The Cherokees were very advanced-thanks to leaders like the Vanns. But all was not to last for the wealthy Vanns and their Cherokee brothers. Gold had been discovered in the mountains of North Georgia and the white citizens of Georgia began demanding immediate removal of the Indians so that they could take the gold from the Indians who had known of its existence for many decades. Georgia had surrendered its claim to western lands to the Federal government in 1802 with the concession that all Indians would be removed from its borders. The Creeks in South and Middle Georgia had been moved already, but until now no one had wanted the mountain land of the Cherokees. The demands of the State of Georgia now found a listener in Washington-Andrew Jackson. The Cherokees would be removed he said and the State began passing a series of laws extending its authority over the Cherokees. Without waiting for the Federal government to remove the Cherokees, white Georgians began moving in to claim their property. Inevitably Joseph Vann and his fine home became involved in the "land grab-" At this time his holdings in Georgia included 800 acres of cultivated land, 42 cabins, eight com cribs, six barns, a sawmill, the grist mill, five smokehouses, a blacksmith shop, a foundary, a trading post, a peach kiln. 1,133 peach trees, 147 apple trees, a whiskey still, 110 slaves, and "other property" besides the house. In the fall of 1833 Joseph left on a business trip, but before leaving he "employed a Mr. Howell, a white man, to oversee for him in the year 1834�to commence on the first day of January, 1834. He returned about the 28th or 29th of December. 1833, and learning that Georgia had prohibited any Cherokee from hiring a white man. told Mr. Howell he did not want his services. Yet Mr. Bishop, the State's agent, represented to the authorities of Georgia that Mr. Vann had violated the laws of that state by hiring a white man. had forfeited his right of occupancy and that a grant ought to issue for his lands." In February, 1835, Bishop, who happened to command a militia unit of the "Georgia Guard," arrived at Vann's with a detachment of soldiers to take possession of the house. A white boarder. Spencer Riley, claimed the house as his and a battle resulted between the rival claimants while the Vann family huddled within the house. Gunfire was exchanged before Bishop ordered that a small fire be built on the stairway to smoke out Riley. Riley left-for the time being! Since the winter was not yet over, the Vanns moved to a small farm Joseph owned near Ooletewah, Tennessee. They lived there until about 1836 and Vann built a racetrack where he raced his favorite horse "Lucy Walker." The family then moved on to Indian Territory, Oklahoma, where Joseph began operating a steamboat line. Named for his racehorse, the boat had been docked at Ross's Landing (Chattanooga, Tennessee) when Vann lived in Georgia. Now the goods it carried helped the dispossessed merchant reaccumulate his wealth. As early as 1834 Vann began legal proceedings against those who had taken his property. Though the case began in Murray County Superior Court, not until 1840 did he receive payment for his land-after his claim went to the Federal government. He received S19,60S for all his Georgia holdings; his Murray County property alone had been valued at over 518,000 in 1836. Nevertheless, according to the government, the claim was settled. The Vanns made Webber Falls their Oklahoma residence and built a replica of the Spring Place mansion there. Unfortunately, Federal troops destroyed this western Vann House in 1863 during the War Between the States. However, by that time Joseph Vann, like his father, had met a tragic end. In the fall of 1844 Vann went on what was both a business and a pleasure trip to Louisville, Kentucky. "The Lucy Walker," under the command of Captain Hadderman, was laden with produce from Vann's plantations. After selling these goods and buying wood, coffee, gunpowder, calico, linen, etc. to take back to Oklahoma, Joseph, along with friends and business associates went to a horse race. Some say Vann's Lucy Walker was in the race and won. At any rate, Vann and his guests returned to the steamboat to celebrate. Soon. Joseph was drunk and in a rage quarrelled with Captain Hadderman over just who really ran the ship. As the return trip was about to begin, the captain, who had had enough, walked off the ship. Vann decided to be his own captain and ordered the vessel to set forth. Vann's valet. Percy, was still serving drinks to his master's guests when another boat, the "Firefly," eased past the "Lucy Walker." To the intoxicated Vann, this marked the beginning of a race! He ordered that some salt pork be put on the fire to create more steam and slowly his own vessel passed the "Firefly." However, the "Lucy Walker" had to stop at New Albany on the Indiana shore to let off some of the guests and the "Firefly" steamed past. When Vann's craft resumed the race, he ordered more steam. A servant, Nebuchadnezzar, protested that the boiler was taking all the steam it could, saying, "But Massa' Vann, if I t'rows dat [more meat] in dere, dem b'ilers is goin' to splode an' blow us all to Hell!" The angry, drunken, self-appointed captain replied, "If they do, we'll all go together and if you don't I'll blow you there by yourself!" "Nebby" threw the meat on the fire, jumped overboard, and by his account was the only survivor of the explosion which occurred seconds later. Some bodies, including that of Vann's youthful son-in-law Preston Mackey were recovered, but not Joseph Vann's. Meanwhile the Vann House in Spring Place was suffering through rough times. Captain Bishop took possession of the place, and then rented it to his brother, Absalom. The actual owner of the house was Revolutionary War veteran Thomas Turley of Warren County who had drawn lot 224 (9th District, 3rd Section) in the land lottery. Mr. Turley died soon after and in 1837 the administrators of his estate, J.R. and Jane Brooks, authorized none other than Spencer Riley to sell the Vann property for them. At last Riley got the upper hand over the Bishops! He sold the 160-acre lot to Alexander Shotwell of Decatur County and then purchased the house, kitchen, barn, orchards, and one-third of the land from Shotwell for himself. Barely a year later Riley sold his prize to a Roger McCarthay who in 1840 surrendered title to the Bank of the State of Georgia. For the next decade the Bank officially owned the house but several people occupied it. Apparently at one time it was a sort of hotel. George Wacaser lived in the house once as did the Charles Warmacks (1846). Joseph B. Smith also tried to purchase the house during this era. Finally in January, 1S49 the Bank deeded the house to Benjamin Snider and Henry Weed. By 1852 James Edmondson. who had come to Murray County very early, owned the house. For the next 11 years the home was once again the center of an extensive plantation as former Edmondson slave Levi Branham recorded in his My Life and Travels years later. During the Civil War Mr. Edmondson refugeed to South Georgia after selling the Vann property to William H. Tibbs, a Tennessee Confederate of some means who had recently arrived in Spring Place and had begun to accumulate large land holdings. In 1866 Tibbs deeded the Vann House to his son and daughter-in-law. Jacob and Lavinia. They used the house as rental property at least part of the time for the Stephen John Howard family occupied the house in 1873. John Bryant bought the place in 1875 and sold it 2 years later to Oscar and Esther Coins. The Coins couple resided in the house for some years and for some time it even look the name "Coins Hill." During their ownership the outside kitchen, dating back to the Vann era. was dismantled. Some say that it also was a two-story brick house smaller and not as well built as the Vann House, Its second floor had lately been used for a ballroom. The Coins built a one-story frame building on the same spot and added a kitchen to the north side of the Vann House. They also constructed a large barn west of the house (across the road). On the interior, Mrs. Coins is said to have sold some of the hinges for $5 a set and removed some original carvings of scorpions, snakes, lizards, and frogs from tops of mantels. Mrs Thomas (Nannie) Dill, a friend of the Coins family, became the owner Of the Vann House in October, 1895. From 1901 until 1906 Mr. C.T. Owens technically owned the house although Mrs. Dill continued to live there for a time Mr. D.D. Kemp bought the house in 1906 and his family moved in the following year. C.E. Dooley was me owner from 1914 until 1917 and sold it to jW Sellers. Dr. J.E. Bradford, who bought the house in 1920, owned the house longer than anyone-even the Vanns. Dr. Bradford used the house for rental purposes as had several of the earlier owners. Countless people occupied tile house during this era. Among those remembered are the W.L. Roberts, W.G. Blassingame, Pritchett. John Cox (1927-30), Jim Jones (1926), Morrison (1940's), and Jase Jones (1945) families. Over the years all the Vann plantation buildings had disappeared and the porches on the house itself had been changed several times. By 1950 the house was in very poor condition. The roof was gone; parts of the floor had collapsed; the brick arches over the doors had cracked; and every window pane had been shattered by vandals. Therefore, various groups began discussing the possibilities of restoring the Vann House as a shrine to the Cherokees. The Chatsworth Lions Club sent a committee to see Dr. Bradford in hopes of obtaining an option to purchase the house if Bradford were not going to restore it himself After the committee was turned down, V.C. Pickering, a state official, offered to buy the place. He too was refused. Then in 1948 a Chamber of Commerce which became Chatsworth Enterprises, was founded. The group's officers, consisting of President J.T. (Dick) Kenemer, Vice President Charles A. Pannell. Sr and Secretary-Treasurer R.E. Chambers, comprised a Vann House Restoration Committee. For 2 years these men tried to interest Dr. Bradford in a plan to restore the rapidly deteriorating Vann House, but could not do so. Finally Mr Pannell contacted members of the Georgia Historical Society feeling that outside help would convince Dr. Bradford to sell the property. Dr. A.R. Kelly of the University of Georgia Department of Anthropology and Archeology and consultant Dr. Joe Mahan met with the committee, examined the Vann House, and agreed that Dr. Kelly would talk with Dr. Bradford. When the two met, Dr. Bradford explained why he had refused earlier offers. The Doctor felt that those groups which were financially able to carry out the project were more interested in making a profit than in preserving the landmark and that those who cared the most did not have the resources needed. He had been particularly bothered by a proposal by a Dalton group which said "The Vann House, in its present location, would never pay back its restorers. Therefore , . . recommended that it be moved and restored at Dalton, which needs an outstanding tourist attraction, and could commercialize on this property ..." The plan would have made the Vann House a drawing card to sell bedspreads! Dr. Bradford told Dr. Kelly that he would consider the new proposal. In the meantime Mrs. Sidney H. (Gertrude) Ruskin of Decatur, a leader in the District Womans Club, unaware of the efforts already underway, called a public meeting for October 10, 1951 for the purpose of acquiring the Vann House. Held at Atlanta's Henry Grady Hotel, the meeting was attended by a large delegation from North Georgia and prominent Atlanta people, including Ivan Allen, Sr. a native of Dalton whose ancestors had lived in Spring Place. The result of this meeting was that the committee, now including Dr. Kelly, could arrange for an option to purchase the Vann House in the name of the Georgia Historical Commission, newly created by the Legislature to take important landmarks out of private hands for public ownership. Dr. Kelly visited Dr. Bradford on December 27, 1951 and left with a handwritten "Memorandum of Agreement for option for Purchase of Vann House:... It is agreed that the owner will give an option to purchase of this property for the cash payment of six thousand dollars, of which the owner will give one thousand dollars. It is further agreed that the owner will be paid five hundred dollars in^advance, to be applied on the purchase price, at the time the option is signed." The first $500 was raised in Murray County and on January 3, 1952 the option was signed. During the next six months many people across the state worked many hours to raise the needed 4,500. Dr. Kelly worked in Athens, Mrs. Ruskin, Mrs. Kooert Jones, and Mr. Allen in the Atlanta area, and Miss Agnes Kemp, a one-time Vann House resident, in Spring Place. Her students pooled their nickels to make a contribution to the cause. Mr. Chambers and Mr. T.W. Kenemer called a meeting of interested citizens in Dalton on February 19. 1952. This meeting resulted in the formation of the Whit field-Murray Historical Society, Mrs. B.J. Bandy of Dalton was elected president and became the driving force behind the Vann House Restoration. She was joined by Mr. Kenemer, Odell Ingle, Mrs. W.M. Sapp, Mrs. A.K. Gregory, Miss Mary Louise Horan. Blanche Gardner, and the original committee in fund-raising efforts. They got an extension on the deadline, but made the $4,500 payment only 2 days late. On July S, 1952 the Vann House and three acres of land became the property of the State of Georgia. The restoration began. After making emergency repairs the Historical Commission and the Historical Society began researching to find information about the house and its original owners. From April through June, 1953 Clemens de Baillou conducted an archeological investigation at the Vann House. Brick walkways were uncovered along with signs of a kitchen, a guesthouse, and an office to the east of the house. In 1956 a 120-year-old cabin of Indian origin was reconstructed on the site of the Vann "harness and tack" shop. South of the house were a blacksmith shop and stables as well as a garden. Slave cabins were probably located farther south. The carriage drive was uncovered on the north side and marked the original entrance to the house. The site of the brick kilns where the bricks for the house were made was uncovered near the Bradford Spring. Since the Vann House was the first project either of the historical groups had undertaken, progress on the house itself was slower. Odell Ingle was selected to be the contractor for the repairs as designed by restoration architect Henry Forman of Easton. Maryland. Frum a painting of the house as it was in 1884, the men learned that the house had originally had gabled porches though later owners had changed them several times. The porches were rebuilt; the more recent kitchen addition was removed; plaster was replaced; missing hinges and locks were reproduced; damaged flooring was replaced; broken glass was replaced; and original doors, trim and wainscoting were copied. Interior decorator Marjorie Rhodes spent hours scraping through layers of paint and wallpaper (19 in some places) to find the original colors of the woodwork. The house was then repainted with the colors of nature-blue for the sky, green for the grass and trees, yellow for ripened grain, and red for the rich Georgia clay. A safety rod was added to the mysterious hanging or floating stairway, the oldest example of cantilevered construction in Georgia, but workmen did not discover the secret of the stairway which originally had no visible means of support. Cherokee Roses adorn the house both inside and out. Furnishing the house was not an easy task. Franco Scalamandre of New York's Scalamandre Silk Mills donated $10,000 worth of fabric for draperies and upholstery. Ivan Allen donated several pieces of furniture from the old Chester Inn in Spring Place. Other pieces were purchased or donated and loaned by other individuals. Finally by July 27, 1958 the house was ready for a great day of dedication. Some 42 descendants of the Vann family and dignitaries from across the country gathered on the hill to hear addresses by Secretary of State Ben Fortson and Governor Marvin Griffin. More than 6,000 people visited the house that day. In the course of the restoration and during research since that time, many important facts about the house have been uncovered and legends proven false. The bricks were made on the farm; only the glass had to be brought from Savannah. According to tradition James Vann had visited England, Charleston, Boston. New York, and Savannah where he saw the type of furnishings he wanted. Robert Howell, an Englishman, was the brick mason. Moravian missionaries Byhan and Schneider, both excellent craftsmen, helped build the house. Their influence is particularly evident in the Christian doors whose top contains a cross and whose bottom represents an open Bible. There is no secret passageway from the third floor to the basement and the third floor coffin-shaped rooms were bedrooms for the children, not secret council rooms. The only secret compartments in the house are drawers beneath two windows in the dining room which were used for storing silver and tableware. The basement was sometimes used as a prison for slaves that misbehaved while another room was a storage area and wine cellar. Mrs. Bandy hoped to find the grave of James Vann and move the remains to Spring Place. Mrs. Heard of Forsyth County remembered seeing the grave as a child. Located in the Blackburn cemetery near the tavern where Vann was killed, the cemetery was later used as a Negro burial ground. In 1959 Mrs. Heard had described the area where the grave was. Three years later Mrs. Bandy, Raymond Vann (a descendant), and two experienced excavators looked for the exact spot. Eventually a grave site was found and excavated. Several buttons, nails, screws, a buckle, and two rings were found along with the skeleton. Authorities with the Historical Commission examined the evidence and felt that the remains were those of a male, but were much too recent to be those of James Vann. Mrs. Bandy was firmly convinced that they were the remains of Mr. Vann and buried a small box of the Forsyth County ashes at the Vann House, a small disiance southwest of the reconstructed cabin. Another accomplishment of the early preservationists was the designation of Georgia 225 between Spring Place and Calhoun as the "Chief Joseph Vann Highway," The authorizing legislation was passed in 1955 under the sponsorship of Representatives Fred Long of Murray County and Henry Mauldin of Gordon County. Dr. Bradford once estimated that the cost of building the Vann House was about $10,000. Excluding the purchase price, the initial restoration bills totaled at least $75,000. Since 1958 several improvements have been made at the beautiful historic site which has been under the operation of the Georgia Department of Natural Resources, Parks and Historic Sites Division since the Historical Commission was abolished in 1973. Soon after the dedication additional furniture reproductions were placed in the house and in 1962 a log kitchen was reconstructed just east of the house. Due to structural and historical problems the building was dismantled in 1965. In 1968 five more acres of land were purchased from the Bradford Estate and in 1985 fifteen additional acres, including the springs, were obtained. Lightning protection was installed in 1973 and in that same decade a security system, window light shields, new draperies and upholstery, and further landscaping were added to the house and site. A climate-control system designed to preserve the house and furniture has since been installed. Several paint jobs and repair work have kept the National Register of Historic Places site looking grand. In 1981 the house was included in a Georgia Historic Homes cookbook and has been featured in countless periodicals and on television and radio. Mr. R.E, Chambers donated his papers relating to the purchase and restoration to the site in 1978. Visitation at the Vann House has consistently ranked in the top four of all Georgia Historic Sites. Several special programs have brought additional attention to the Vann House in recent years. For several years students from Spring Place Elementary School performed a drama highlighting President Monroe's visit and the eviction of the Vanns. C.L. Dunn and Frances Townsend directed these plays. In 1978 two annual events were begun-Vann House Days in July in commemoration of the restoration and the Moravian Christmas featuring candlelight tours. Local volunteers and groups such as the Garden Club, Woman's Club, the Sheriffs Auxiliary, and the Historical Society have contributed to the success of these programs. Lela Latch Lloyd who authored the book // The Chief Vann House Could Speak frequently visits the site and meets some of the 14.000 guests who enter the gate each year. R.E. Ellis was the first curator of the Vann House. Present Superintendent James E. Hall and his wife Pat have cared for the site and greeted guests for 15 and 20 years respectively. Others who have worked at the site for several years are Mildred Ellis, France Adams, and Tim Howard. Today, the Federal-style mansion boasts a sleigh bed from Carters Quarter, a table that is said to have been used by Alexander Stephens and novelist Will Harbin, a canopy bed that was possibly owned by General P.G.T. Beauregard.a corner cabinet and chair from the pioneer Bates family, an 1825 Rosewood piano loaned by Inez Gurley, and a reproduction of Chief John Ross's dining room table, a gift of Mr. & Mrs. R.G. McCamy of Dalton. The Vann House has often been called me "Showplace of the Cherokee Nation" and it is certainly that. However, it is more; it's the Showplace of Murray County.
The Moravian Mission
Whether the project was house building, canal constructing, road building or any other project, James and Joseph Vann were certain to be involved. However, their greatest contribution to the Cherokees was their sponsorship of the Moravian Mission at Spring Place. Dedicated missionaries labored in the Cherokee Nation for more than three decades and from their diaries we have much information about the days before Murray County was drawn on the map. The Moravian Church traces its origin to the pre-Reformation awakening led by John Hus and was formally organized as the Unity of the Brethren in 1457. Because much of its early history centered in Moravia the Brethren's Church later came to be called the Moravian Church. Persecution and wars reduced the Brethren to a few scattered remnants in Central Europe until 1722 when the church was revived in Saxony. Within 10 years the reorganized Moravians launched into a world-wide foreign mission program. Among the teachings and practices of the Moravian church include Infant Baptism. Confirmation, and missions. It is a Protestant church with evangelical emphasis on salvation through faith in Jesus Christ as personal Savior. Subscribing to the Apostle's Creed, the Moravian Church is life-centered rather than creed-centered, however. Noted for beautiful music, love feasts, and historic preservation, the Moravians follow the motto; "In essentials unity; in non-essentials liberty; in all things charity." Christian charity brought the Moravians to Georgia with James Edward Oglethorpe in 1735. When war broke out between the colonists and the Spanish in Florida, the Moravians resettled in Pennsylvania in 1740. Some of the group returned to the South in 1753 and made North Carolina their home. By the end of that century Salem and Wachovia had become thriving Moravian communities. In 1784 Martin Schneider had tried to begin a work among the Cherokees, but the chiefs, busy with other matters, did not have time to discuss the mission with him. By 1799 the Cherokees were more open and the Society for Propagating the Gospel at Salem appointed Abraham Steiner to visit the Indian leaders. Christian Frederic de Schweinitz volunteered to go with him, but when they reached the Cherokee capital in Tennessee, the chiefs were on a hunting expedition. The next year the two men were more successful. Through the influence of Charles Hick, a half-blood interpreter, and James Vann, the ministers were granted permission to establish the long-desired mission on land provided by Mr. Vann. In 1801 Rev. Steiner and young Gottleib Byhan rode horseback to Spring Place to begin the first mission in a small cabin built with their own hands. Three months later a Mr. Brown vacated his farm and the brethren moved there. Due to the longevity of the mission, the meticulous ministers accumulated volumes of records now in the Moravian Archives at Salern. Some of the materials have never been translated from the original German. However. Records of the Moravians in North Carolina by Adelaide Fries, Edmund Schwarze's History of the Moravian Missions Among Southern Indian Tribes, and the Spring Place Mission Diaries translated by Carl Mauelshagen tell us the story of the mission and the Cherokees of Murray County. The Moravians began their diaries with many descriptions of the geographic and natural features of the area. In addition to identifying the various springs, the writers listed the many types of plants and trees which grew in the area. In early days the name was often spelled in one word-Springplace-but as the years passed many people, particularly the white men, changed the name to Spring Place. Additional information about the Vanns and other Indians is given, such as the fact that the due] between James Vann and John Falling occurred near Spring Place. Falling and his wife Nancy lived near Coosawattee where several Indian ballgames were held. After Falling's death, Nancy married George Harlan, another Coosawattee Indian resident. Also, several Indians and whites made "Sumach Town" their home. Among them were Edmund Falling, Charles Hicks, and "Doctor" Bean-a white man who was a self-taught physician. The Brethren were as amazed (or confused) by the Vann family tree as many present-day genealogists. The Moravians mention many Vanns by name and record that Wawli, James Vann's mother, had several sisters, while Clement Vann had at least one. Jenny. Wawli also had several daughters besides Nancy Falling, including Jenny Brown who lived near the mission for a time. Also noted is that as James built his new house, his mother, who had been living near the construction site, planned to move 3 miles away! The brethren recorded that Joseph Vann entered their school in 1806 but often accompanied his father on trips and therefore was absent a great deal. After James' death. Margaret Scott Vann, Joseph's mother, moved away from the brick mansion to a new house about 1 mile away. Later she married Joseph Crutchfield. her former husband's overseer, and moved to Montjoy, a plantation south of Spring Place. After her death, Mr. Crutchfield left Montjoy. By this time. Joseph (described as a behavior problem by the missionaries) had two wives. Jenny lived at Spring Place while Polly resided at Montjoy. The Moravians were extremely dedicated to their work, to the Cherokees, and to God. They labored long hours and were hampered by language difficu ties. Several interpreters helped them, but services were often canceled when no one who knew both English and Cherokee was present. Many times Negro slaves were the only ones who understood the sermons. Negroes regularly attended Moravian services, particularly at Christmas. According to tradition the Moravians possibly had the first Christmas tree in Georgia at Spring Place in 1805. The names of many visitors to Spring Place are recorded in the diaries. Some were curious Indians, others were white travelers on the Old Federal Road, many were residents of the Spring Place area, and some were employees of the Vanns. Among the Cherokees who visited were Chulea (an early supporter of the school), MacDonald from Coosawattee, Bear. Red Bird, Sour Mush, Fish, several Hickses, Standing Turkey, Tussiwaliti, Major Ridge. Dear Head, Little Broom, Squirrel, Bark, and the Flea. Major Lovely, the Markhams, Mr. Geiger, John Miller, Indian Agents Return Jonathan Meigs and Hugh Montgomery, a Vann blacksmith named Hall, Clarks, and Mr. McNair were among the white and mixed-blood visitors. Additional Vann overseers are mentioned including Tynor, Bridewell, Gann, Josiah Vann. and George Brown, as administrator of James Vann's will. Many visitors were itinerant ministers of various faiths. Some came to Spring Place to examine the Moravian work prior to beginning a mission of their own. Others were merely curious, but the Brethren were happy to see anyone who "loved the Savior" and spoke English. These visits were probably the most welcome of any of the thousands they received. Among the notable religious visitors were a former Jewish rabbi, an Episcopal priest, a Quaker elder, and several Presbyterians, Baptists, and Methodists like Samuel Worcester and Cyrus Kingsbury of the "American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions" which began a work at Spring Place about 1817. Two famous Baptists were Jesse Bushyhead, a native, and Humphrey Posey, who spent some months in the Murray area. The Moravians were called upon to feed these "guests" as well as the various Indians who came for assistance and instruction. They performed baptisms for travelers and became a haven for the poor, the families of men who were away on trips, and the ill. Many times school was dismissed so that pupils could help the Brethren tend the crops. They raised sheep, flax, hogs, oats, wheat and sweet potatoes in large quantities. Several times the Mission Board at Salem sent extra household and farm laborers. More than one missionary felt as if they were operating an inn! The day at Spring Place began in winter at day break, in summer at sunrise, all up and dressed and kneeling in family prayer. Breakfast over, school was in session until dinner. The hours until late afternoon were spent working in the houses or on the farm, with some time allowed for play. Another school session followed by supper, evening songs, prayer, and an early bedtime completed the day. One historian noted that "Moravian Mission dwellings and premises were always noted for spotless cleanliness and well kept appearance." The curriculum of the school included reading, grammar, writing, sacred history, mathematics, geography, weaving, and botany. Music was also important and. when interpreters were scarce, music was the line of communication. In later years the mission had a piano but several missionaries possessed musical talents. Jacob Wohlfahrt played the trumpet and Christian Burkhardt the clarinet, while Henry Clauder and Karsten Petersen were violinists. Gottlieb Byhan is thought to have built and played the first organ in what is now Georgia. He was also a trombonist. Several Spring Place students went to the Salem Female Academy and several future chiefs left Spring Place for further education in Cornwell, Connecticut. Among them were John Ridge, John Vann, Buck Watie (Elias Boudinot), and David Taucheechy who visited in Salem and Washington, D.C. Mission founder Abraham Steiner (born 1758) had several attacks of fever and was not able to stay at Spring Place very long, but continued to visit regularly. Gottlieb Byhan (born 1777 in Saxony, died in Salem 1861) and his wife Dorthea Schneider (1769-1854) were the first Moravians to be regularly in charge of the Spring Place Mission. They began the diaries which were continued by their successor and which yield the following chronology of interesting, noteworthy events: 1802 - Jacob (175S-1807) and Elizabeth (1759-1812) Wohlfahrt came to assist the Byhans. School opened with two pupils: Sally Vann and her cousin Polly, with one hour of instruction per day. Progress slow, chiefs more interested in the 3 R's than in the Trinity, and put the mission "on trial." 1803 -Two cabins built 1804 - More land cleared Nathaniel Byhan born 1805 - Rev. John and Anna Rosel Kleist Gambold arrive to replace the Wohlfahrts, This devoted couple gave the rest of their lives to the Chetokees, remaining at Springplace for 16 years. Several descriptions of their work reveal the extent of their labors: "Rev. & Mrs. Gambold made (he ... mission famous for their hospitality and kindness to strangers and their earnest zeal for the education and Christianization of the Cherokees. Mrs, Gambold was a good botanist. She furnished and correctly named about fourteen hundred botanical specimens to Henry Steinhauer, a distinguished scholar of Fulneck, England. Correa de Serra, a Catholic abbe'. Minister to Portugal from the United States and a naturalist, after spending a day and night at Spring Place, wrote as follows: "Judge of my surprise, in the midst of the wilderness, to find a botanic garden, containing many exotic and medicinal plants, the professor, Mrs, Anna Rosel Gambold, describing them by their Linnean names. Your missionaries have taught me more of the nature of the manner of promulgating civilization and religion in the early ages by the missionaries from Rome, than all the ponderous volumes which I have read on the subject. I there saw the sons of a Cherokee Regulus learning the lessons, and reading their New Testaments in the morning and drawing and painting in the afternoon, though to be sure in a very Cherokee style; and assisting Mrs. Gambold in her household work, or Mr. Gambold in planting com. Traveler Ebenezer Newton wrote in 1818: ... we came to Mr. Gambold's, a Moravian missionary in the Cherokee Nation; he said he had been established there now 13 years. He appears to be a very pious man, and zealously engaged in the laudable employment of endeavoring to enlighten & civilize the Indians. He has had some success, and seems very sanguine as to the ultimate success of the important business of Christianizing the natives. To relate how our company was received by this aged man and his lady exceeds my powers of description. The good lady used all the politeness and put on all the airs of a French Lady just from the city of Paris. She is, I believe very pious, and wishes to be useful, and has been useful, to the Indians. She was not willing that we should depart, untill she had prepared some refreshment for us. In the meantime while this was preparing, the male part of the company took a turn or two into the gardens, the work shop and some other things about the lot & yard. In due time the repast was prepared, and we were invited in to partake of it. The table was spread & covered with eatables. A dish of bacon occupied one end, next a plate of bread, after that a dish of stewed pumpkins and a pan of butter occupied the centre; towards the other end a dish of smoked beef chipped, then another plate of bread & a vessel of pickled cucumbers, which were nearly as large as stuffed chickens. By the side of each one's plate was a large bowl or mug of tea with a spoon that each one may sweeten to his own liking A later historian wrote: .Brother Gambold's optimism and purely consecrated spirit were the inspiration dvanced this cause. He had charge of all religious instruction and services besides temporal affairs, taking an active part in the labor of the mission home and Every Moravian' Brother was truly a missionary in spiritual matters; at the same he was also skilled in some vocation either as carpenter, joiner, cooper, weaver, or shoemaker. Mission work included careful instruction and training of pupils and converts in Christian life, besides giving due attention to their temporal interests and needs which built up "the physical, moral, and spiritual life of the native community 'thus making "its good influence contagious." Mrs Gambold had charge of the school at Springplace. She has been described as ...sprightly in person as well as in fancy and imagination" with the gift of making the hearts of her Indian pupils "blossom like the rose," Her first Christmas at the mis-'on a few weeks after her coming, six children in the school under her direction sang "How shall I Meet My Savior?," each child carrying a real wax taper. They had helped to decorate the room with evergreens and a gilded inscription "Christ is Born! " Thus, many years before festivities had been made a usual part of the Christmas celebration in the States, these Cherokee girls and boys had learned old-time Moravian customs. Mrs. Gambold was a highly talented woman who had previously been for a number of years, principal of the Moravian Boarding school for young ladies in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. Mrs. Gambold had another claim to fame. She had once met George Washington and had been given a lock of his hair. She gave the souvenir to Abijah Conger a Presbyterian missionary who married at Spring Place in 1823. Mrs. Gambold became the next diarist. 1806 - "Many Indians coming for food," 8 pupils. 3 living at mission and 5 at Vann's. 1807 - Sophia Dorothea Byhan born in October. Christian Burkhardt and Karsten Petersen, master craftsman, make an extended visit and build a loom, 1808 - Rev. Gambold's brother Joseph (born 1753) sent to help with fanning. Missionaries now held in great esteem by Cherokees. 1809-7 scholars; big Christmas celebration 1810 - The widowed Margaret Vann, a year after her husband's murder, becomes the first Christian convert among the Cherokees. Her baptism took place on August 13th in the large new barn-the only building big enough to hold the crowd. This description was left by Mrs. Gambold: The Candidate had spent most of the preceding night in prayer. She was radiantly happy when the great morning of her life dawned, and the light in her face on that morn was prophetic of the Sun of Righteousness arising with healing jn His wings upon the whole Cherokee Nation. Dressed in white, she entered before the Urge congregation and the service began. The school children sang heartily with their teachers and Brother Gambold delivered a short, earnest address and poured out his heart in prayer to God for the Candidate, the whole assemblage, the entire Cherokee Nation. Many persons wept during the service, early from her heart Margaret answered the questions directed to every Candidate for Baptism in the Moravian Church, whereupon she knelt and was baptised by Brother Gambold, in the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Ghost, receiving the name Margaret Ann." Springplace, though struggling, was the only school in the Cherokee Nation. 1811 - June: grain scarce, no mills operating. December 16 & 17 - "earth tremors" shook Springplace 1812 - Margaret Vann marries Joseph Crutchfield. They become the mission's greatest friends, supporters, and good will ambassadors. The Byhans leave in October due to Mrs. Byhan's poor health. One of the students, Dawnee age 11, dies. 1813 - Charles Renatus Hicks, second chief of the Nation, becomes the second Cherokee convert. Mrs. Littlefield, daughter of Revolutionary War General Nathaniel Greene and Mrs. Gam bold's former student, visited. 1814 - Joseph Crutch field joined church. 1815 June - A big ballgame was held at Spring Place. 'There was such a rush of Indians that we could not have service ... it resembled a battleground , . . Around 30 drunk and injured left behind." September 6: "Drying house caught fire . . . able to save most of the dried apples and peaches," 1816 - March 11: McKinney and Marshall from Tennessee here to repair mills. April & November - streams flooded Oct. 15: "The child of Crutchfields' Negress died of whooping cough and was buried beside the grave of little Dawnee." 1817 - January 18: "So cold this morning that every drop of water which fell . . . froze immediately as it struck the floor." 19: "So cold that it was impossible to get warm by standing before the fire wrapped in fur blankets." February - 5-6 inches of snow 1818 - April II: "Had a talk with Joseph Vann , . . about card playing." June 25: "Humphrey Posey, a Baptist minister, . . . visited ... on his way to the council meeting at Coosawattee ... He was met here by Governor McMinn of Tennessee ..." July: "much illness"; "Mounted postman stopped here for first time." August: An Irishman, Mr. Gahagen, collector at the Coosawaltee turnpike visited; Progress on new building slow. 1818 - March 14: Wawli, who had earlier caused some trouble, joined followed soon by her husband. Clement Vann. Given the Christian name Mary Christiana, "Mother Vann" later went on the Trail of Tears and is said to have lived to be 130 years old! Also in March, then Secretary of War John C. Calhoun sent a $100 donation. April 25: "Hail stones the size of hen eggs made quite a noise as they struck the house . . . not nearly as bad as several years ago , . ." June: "Lightning storm damaged buildings and trees at mission and Vann's." November: new church and school building completed, said to have been a "blockhouse" design. Dedicated by Rev. Steiner. December 30 - 6" snow. 1820 - A sad lime, Margaret Vann Crutchfield died Oct. 18. Interred in new "God's Acre" - Moravian term for cemetery. Johann Renatus (1784-1852) and Salome Gertraud Sponhauer Schmidt arrive to help in the school. Johann Martin Lick came to help with farm, stayed only until 1821 because the place was "too lonesome." Springplace had 13 members and 10 children attending. 1821 - January 5 & 6 unusually cold with much snow. February 19: The beloved Mrs. Gambold died as they were preparing to go to the new Oothcaloga Mission near New Echota. The funeral was held on the 21st with more than 100 attending; buried close by the grave of Mrs. Crutchfield in a field amidst a fenced orchard east of mission. August 21: Children's ballgame near Sumach Town. "28 members & children comprise congregation!" Harvested 500 bushels of corn. 1822 - Joseph Vann built a new mill and a sawmill at the old Vann place Conasauga River flooded. Vann also built a racetrack near the mission. "Number of Methodists growing." 1823 - Many cattle killed by disease. Several pupils residing at Vann's. Mr. Dawson, a Baptist missionary at Coosawattee, visited. Much visiting between Spring Place and Oothcaloga missionaries. 1824 - Salome- Reich, farm helpei since the Gambold brothers went to Oothcaloga, left. Martin Rominger also. "Dry weather, famine" noted. 1825 - Bible was translated into Cherokee along with Moravian hymnal and liturgies "Lovely & spacious church" used to house guests June - intensely hot, many visit "Mineral Springs at Sumach" October: "Big ballgame about two miles from here ... A certain sorcerer, who was accused of having brought on rain, was tried and thrashed." December 18: heavy snow. 1826 - January 19-20 "Snow fell to a depth of two feet . . . Had not experienced the like here." February: "flooded conditions" (again in June) March: Mouse, an Indian, killed a wolf which had become a menace. Missionaries paid him a 6 � cents bounty.br> "Spring Place, located six hundred steps from the main road between Nashville and the interior of Georgia, is barely three miles from the Tennessee road leading to Georgia. It is a healthful location, good soil, plenty of woods, good pasturage and wonderful springs. The mission buildings area blockhouses, placed in a square, enclosing a yard. The church stands fifty steps from the dwellings. The yard is very pretty with cherry trees, china trees, catalpa, peach and apple trees. There is an orchard in fine condition, in the midst of which lies the graveyard." December: Church bell was rung for first time. It's clear tone can be heard for several miles. (This is probably the bell now on display at the Vann House and was given to the mission by Joseph Vann.) 1827 - The Schmidts transfer to Oothcaloga and the Byhans along with their son, Nathaniel, and daughter, Rachel return. Nathaniel was schoolmaster. January 20, Longtime leader, member, and chief Charles R. Hicks died and according to his own wishes he was brought to Spring Place for burial. He was dressed in white, placed in a walnut coffin, and carried to God's Acre by six Indian pall bearers. November 7 - Word came that Rev. John Gambold died at Oothcaloga. 1828 - January 1: "Joseph Vann arranged a race in his field near God's Acre. Many Indians have gathered with the usual amount of whiskey." February 4-5: "Rivers flooded by incessant rain. Another child died. May - "A disease has killed seven of Vann's Negroes this spring." May 11 - Brother Samuel (an Indian convert) "Urged all to attend services regularly every Sunday and not be detracted by Methodists and Baptists who frequently hold services near by." August 15 "Ballgame in the neighborhood and for all things for Indian women their conduct was not decent." The Brethren began plans for a new "children's house." Jenny (Mrs. Joe) Vann attended services. Sister Byhan's brother John Schneider and a former worker, John Adams visited. Anna Margarette Becker came to be a household assistant. Br. and Sister Franz Eder from Austria work at Spring Place briefly along with H.C. Clauder before going to Oothcaloga. 1829 - John Vogler and Van Zevely from Salem visited. March: new "house" completed April a late freeze killed fruit and damaged com, potatoes, and beans. Aug. 3 - "Many Indians passed by here on their way to the Green Com Dance in the Cohutta Mountains." Remarked that they had fed 24 horses for guest but according to custom they cannot "charge for this service." December: aged Clement and Wawli Vann's moved back nearby. December 29: "Vann's overseer Nicholson requested e plot in God's Acre for his wife." Also buried there was "our own Negro Brother Christian Jacob." 1830 - 32 adults, 31 students. Naeman Reminger came "to serve in secular affairs," Clauders' son Charles Ignatius born, George Proske and Theophius Vierling from Salem visited, and Nathaniel Byhan began a Sunday School. June 20: "Because of the Methodist campmeeting not far from here . . . few attended our service. July: Horse race! "Indians rummage through cabins and stripped fruit trees." "Indians are working gold mines," but relations between whites and Indians were deteriorating. The 1830's saw a turbulent decade for Murray County. Disturbances between the Cherokees and whites increased, soldiers arrived, two forts were built, the Indians were removed, land was surveyed, and white government was established. Goff gave additional information about the western fork of the Road from Ramhurst as follows: ... the left branch leads northwest by historic Spring Place in Murray County toward Chattanooga. No one living along its course now seems to remember it as a Federal route; generally it is referred to as the "Old Chattanooga Road," although in rare instances a few old timers recall it as the "Georgia Road." The last is its oldest name, under which the government first sought a passageway through the Cherokee country. At Spring Place the road bore to the north of the village and the majestic old Vann house that stands just notth of that place. A stretch of the early trail is missing along here, But it takes up again at Free Hope Church Crossroads, northwest of Spring Place, and runs straight north to the Old Chattanooga l-ord below the mouth of Mill Creek on Conasauga River. The ford is no longer used, but the former trace is still there. The road then went through Whitfield County. The Old Federal Road soon became the major post and stagecoach route in the Cherokee Nation. A stage began running through Spring Place as early as '825 and by 1833 regularly ran to Athens, Tennessee. A post office had been established at Spring Place earlier. Another important event during this era was the beginning of a canal system in Georgia. Designed to improve "internal" transportation, these canals were very ambitious undertakings, but the canal era did not last long due to the coming of railroad and almost none were even begun in Georgia. However, "the Conasauga River was once a busy artery of commerce and was twice considered as part of a canal system," according to historian Lewis Richardson. One proposal was for the River to become a portion of Georgia's Northwest Canal. "In 1825. Wilson Lumpkin and State Engineer Hamilton Fulton led an exploratory party through the area and selected the river as the best route." The Cherokees refused to permit the canal building at that time or in 1826 and 1827 when the Tennessee General Assembly chartered the Hiwassee Canal Company. Plans were drawn to connect the Conasauga with the Ocoee River by means of 15 locks spaced over 10 miles. However the canals were not to be.
William Henry and Maria Clayton arrived to help with "secular work" To date 105 pupils had attended the Springplace School. During this Silver Anniversary year 42 souls were under the care of Spring Place. Rev. Theodore Schultz visited and left this description
Murray County's Early Years
The 1830's were troubled years in Murray. This decade saw the Moravian Mission close, a Cherokee Land Lottery, the Trail of Tears, military rule in Spring Place, a hanging in Murray County, innocent people arrested, bloodshed at local elections, and the beginnings of white rule in an Indian land. This era's story is not easy to record. As the decade began the Moravian brethren found themselves in a precarious position. In early 1831 Georgia passed a law saying that al! white males living within the Cherokee Nation without a license or permit from the governor or Indian agent must take an oath to the State of Georgia or they would be imprisoned at hard labor for 4 years. However, Moravians did not take oaths or take part in political affairs, but "went about the Master's business." The Oothcaloga mission closed. Reminger left, and then the Clauders and Sister Gambold were ordered out of Georgia. The news of the death of Joseph Gambold in Friedland, NC, caused even more sadness. Gambold had labored at Spring Place for almost 20 years. Many white men were thus forced out of the Cherokee Nation. Only those who chose to obey the Georgia law and Brother Byhan who was the Federally appointed postmaster were allowed to stay. Other missionaries went to McNair's just inside Tennessee while some returned to North Carolina. The Spring Place congregation then numbered 71. The Moravian diarist of 1831 noted that the mission's guest facility "was more like a public inn" and by December even other religious groups called Spring Place "Pilgrim's Rest." A Colonel Nelson was sent to Sumach town where "Bean" and others were arrested. Fort Gilmer was also mentioned and in the fall a Lieutenant Brooks arrived in Spring Place with a company of soldiers. Several mixed-blood Cherokees from the area signed to go to Arkansas, but some stayed and even dared to try to mine gold. This angered the white men even more. The new year began ominously with a 6-inch snow on January 29; 1832 would be a hard one for both Indians and whites. Byhan left Spring Place and Henry Clauder was allowed to return as postmaster. His wife, the former Sophia Dorothea Ruede, was in charge of the school when classes resumed. In April, surveyors for the State of Georgia appeared and even though the Georgia Guard was at Sumach the missionaries saw conditions worsen. Laws were lax and there was much theft. "Georgia abrogated Indian law, but doesn't bring in anything else." wrote the brethren. Then, in December, men appeared at Spring Place and told the devoted Moravians about the land lottery and that they now lived in Murray County, Georgia. The Georgia Laws of 1832 said:.... And be it further enacted, That such parts of the twenty-seventh, twenty-sixth, twenty-fifth and twenty-fourth districts of the second section, as lie west of the lines here-in-before designated, and the seventh, eighth, ninth, tenth, eleventh, twelfth, thirteenth, fourteenth, twenty-fifth, twenty-sixth, twenty-seventh, and twenty-eighth districts of the third section, and the sixth, seventh, eighth, ninth, tenth, eleventh, twelfth, thirteenth, eighteenth and nineteenth districts of the fourth section, shall form and become one county, to be called Murray . .. And be it farther enacted by the authority aforesaid, That on the first Monday in Much next, the persons who may be resident in said counties, entitled to vote for members of the Legislature, may meet together at the several places herein-after designated in their respective counties, and under the superin ten dance of three suitable and capable persons, elect five justices of the Inferior Court, a clerk of the Superior and Inferior courts, a Sheriff, a Tax Collector, a Tax Receiver and a county Surveyor, and Coroner for each county-who shall hold their respective offices, for and during the time hereinafter prescribed in the seventeenth section of this act. And be it further enacted, That the placed of holding elections for said counties, shall be as follows: ... In the county of Murray, at New Echota ... And be it further enacted. That the Justices of the Inferior courts in their respective counties or a majority of them, shall designate the site for the necessary county buildings as they may think most conducive to the public good, and they shall have power of erecting all necessary county buildings. And be it further enacted, That the said Justices shall, as soon as practicable lay off their respective counties into Captain's districts, and when said districts may be defined, they shall advertise, and one or more of said Justices shall superintend the election for two Justices of the peace in each Captain's district, giving fifteen days notice of said election at two or more public places in said district, which said justices of the peace when elected, shall be commissioned by the Governor � .. And be it further enacted, That an election shall be held on the first monday in January eighteen hundred and thirty-four, at the various places for holding elections in the said counties for all county officers in said counties in terms of the law now in force in this State, and the persons elected are to be commissioned, and hold their several offices so as to end at the same time that the commissions of the county officers of the old counties of this State will end, according to the laws now in force, so that all the county officers in this State may be hereafter elected at the same time . . . And be it further enacted. That so soon as the militia officers of the said several districts in their respective counties shall be elected and commissioned, it shah1 be the duty of the justices of the inferior courts to advertise the election of field officers for each county, giving fifteen days notice thereof in one or more public places in each captains district-and it shall be the duty of two or more justices of the peace to superintend said elections and certify the same as required by the militia laws now in force. And be it further enacted. That the justices of the inferior courts of the respective counties shall, as soon as practicable proceed to the selection of grand and petit jurors in the manner pointed out by the laws now in force . , .And be it further enacted. That the several counties hereinbefore organized, shall form and become a judicial circuit to be called Cherokee-and that so soon as may convenient after the passage of this act there shall be elected for said circuit a Judge of the superior courts, and a Solicitor General. And be it further enacted, That the times of holding the superior courts in the Cherokee circuit shall be as follows: In the county of Murray, on the first Monday in March and September in each and every year. ...on the third Monday in May and November in each and every year. And be it further enacted. That the places of holding the superior and inferior in the several counties of Cherokee Circuit, shall be the places designated in this act for the elections of county officers until the inferior courts of the respective counties shall otherwise order and direct ... ASBURY HULL, Speaker of the House of Representativs. j THOMAS STOCKS, President of the Senate. : , Assented to, Dec. 3, 1832. WILSON LUMPK1N, Governor. With the stroke of his pen Governor Lumpkin brought a Nation of Indians to an end and changed the course of North Georgia history forever. In the process of surveying land, conducting a lottery, and organizing a county, Cherokees as well as whiles were displaced. The original land surveys list some 200 "improvements" owned by natives or whites. Improvements included houses, fields, cabins, farm buildings, streams, roads, and trails. Not all surveyors listed the improvements but among the names mentioned were Joseph Vann and John Martin, of course, but also George Harlin, Mill Creek, Will Orwell, Roach, Sanders, Vann's Quarters. Belle, Downley, Will Arnel, William May, Darnelly, Whitton's Creek, Mrs. Berry, Mr. Bean, Johnson, Sol Perry, Barnett, Wacaser Road, Burgess. Murphy, Bullfrog's, Sumac Creek, Wilson, Cromwell ("plantation"), Denton. Charly's, Berrien. Fishing Hawk, Goose, Spring Place Road, Federal Road. Coosawattee, and Vann's Stand. These were scattered over present-day Murray County, particularly near streams. An interesting account of how the lottery affected white families has been recorded by Mildred Bryant Brackett, a descendant of one of Murray's original families. Soon after the 1830 Census, John and Mary Hill came across the Conasauga River from McMinn County, Tennessee . . . Their first claim on the land now owned by their great-great-grandson, Robert Fariss Hill and his wife ... was by trade with an Indian Chief who lived there. This acquisition was invalidated by the Georgia Legislature before the ... lottery of 1832 ... The Hills were priviledged to buy the land lots they were developing from those who drew them (LL No. 13, 10th District, 3rd Section and others totalling about 750 Apparently it did not matter who was occupying the land in the newly created Nine other counties besides Murray were formed out of "old" Cherokee me which had been on the maps less than a year itself. The divisions included Gilmer, Union, Lumpkin, Cherokee. Forsyth, Cobb, Cass (now Bartow), Paulding, and Floyd. Murray, with the fewest white inhabitants and the poorest gold prospects, was the largest of the ten. Murray, the eighty-sixth Georgia County formed, was named for Thomas' Murray, a Georgia statesman from Lincoln County. Probate Judge Alex Ferguson of Lincolnton provided this information about Mr. Murray: Thomas Walton Murray, legislator, was bom in what is now Lincoln County, Georgia, in 1790, and he was the son of David Murray, who came from Prince Edward County, Virginia, and settled in what was then Wilkes County immediately after the Revolutionary War. His education was received at Dr. Moses Waddell's School, at Willington, Abbeville County, South Carolina, a school noted for its number of students who became famous, including John C. Calhoun, George Mc-Duffie, Hugh Swinton Lagare and others. He studied law in the office of George Cook, in Elberton, Georgia. On August 8, 1819, he married Miss Elizabeth Harper, of Lincoln County, and of the issue of this marriage were three children, one son, John Dooly, and Iwo daughters. At the age of twenty-eight, he entered public life and gained distinction, not so much for his brilliant talents, as for his industry, his independence and his unquestionable honesty. He served in the Georgia House of Representatives from Lincoln, from 1818 through 1822, from 1824 through 1826, and from 1830 through 1831. In 1825 he was Speaker of the House and presided with great dignity and impartiality. In politics he was affiliated with the Clarke party, though he did not always support it. He formed his own opinions after careful deliberation and adhered to them regardless of party. His fine send of honor lifted him above the petty schemes of designing politicians, and he lent no encouragement to questionable methods f oolitical success. He recognized that integrity could be found among enemies, d he treated them with fairness. In the early forties, he was an unopposed candidate for Congress, but he died before the election. Little is known of the personal appearance of Mr. Murray, It is recorded that he was five feet eleven inches in stature, and that he had remarkably large features, but beyond that the record in silent. In recognition of his popularity and high character. Murray County was named for him while he was still living, a signal honor that has come to few men. Sadly there was much which was less than honorable about the way Mr. Murray's namesake came into existence. In a letter written afterward. Missionary Clauder told what happened after the 1832 laws were passed: After mentioning how the mission had grown (to around 130), Clauder wrote: Early in the Fall, the survey before mentioned was completed, & one of the first acts of the Legislature, . . . was an Act to commence the drawing. We felt ourselves quite secure In our domicile & entertained little anxiety about the probable issue of the aggressions of the State of Georgia upon this Territory, firmly believing thai the so called l-'ortunate drawers would not forth with seize their prizes. The Laws, moreover, were of such a nature at this time, that the occupant Claims of the Cherokees were respected &. all lots upon which any Indian held an improvement, were to remain untouched. Our Spring Place possessions were altogether embraced in the claims of Joseph Vann, a Cherokee, & more than two thirds of the Lot upon which the Mission buildings stood were owned and cultivated by him. The greater therefore was my astonishment, when on the 24th of December several men rode up & announced the fact that our lot had been granted to the "Fortunate Drawer" who was willing out of peculiar favour to us to rent our premises to us at tile moderate sum of S150 per annum. ~ This man was General Hardin of Milledgeville who sent this message by his agents: "I ask the kindness of you to take the usual care of the houses, fences, orchards, gates, etc. and to consider yourself at home upon these conditions." The condition was that a work which had been financed through gifts, societies, the church, and even government grants was now to pay rent for use of its own buildings! Clauder continued: My efforts to convince these visitors, of the illegality of this proceedings, were utterly vain, & in vain did I point out to them that the exact position of the lines landmarks & how our possessions were entirely involved with the claim of Mr. Vann. I refused renting, upon which possession was demanded, and denied. Here negotiations ended for the present. 1 had however many reasons to apprehend another attack, and in order to satisfy myself of the fact of the issue of the Grant, I addressed a line to his Excellency the Governor, in which I represented the claims of Mr. Vann, solicited if possible a withdrawal of the Grant, if indeed one had been issued for our possesions. Thus we lived in suspense until Monday evening, Dec. 31, 1832, when a loaded waggon drove up- and asked leave to unload-as the effects belonged to several families who would be there next day, & who had rented our possessions. In consequence of my refusal ... the waggoner was compelled to wait until next day, when at a late hour the company consisting of 18 persons arrived. My protestations against their intrusion availed nothing-* by force & fraud they obtained possession of all our buildings, leaving 2 small rooms for my family .... On the 4 of January, a suspicious looking personage arrived & spent the greater part of the day in the company of my new housemates & held long consultations with them- This person 1 was told was a certain Col. Bishop, of Gainesville-& "moreover the Governor's aid-de-camp," On Sabbath the 6th this same person again made his appearance & now a transfer of the claim of one of my housemates to our possessions, took place & was transferred to Bishop. Now he sought my acquaintance-& notwithstanding his profession of kindness & great politeness-1 could very readily discern what his character and disposition was; indeed before I had conversed many minutes with him he began to urge my speedy removal from the place & took great pains to make me feel the support he had "in high places" . . . Next day the remaining two claimants sold their right to said Bishop-& now he was sole Lord & claimant of the far known "Spring place station." On this day 1 commenced my retreat-to Mr. McNairs on the Connessauga. And 6 days all our effects, including stock of every description were beyond the limits of the state of Georgia. Bishop gave Clauder the conflicting reason that only improvements made by Indians were protected but yet the missionaries could have no title to their property because it was on Indian land. The man finally gave Bishop the post office and abandoned Spring Place. Ironically. Rev. Steiner, who had founded the mission more than three decades earlier, died the same year as the mission closed. However, the Moravian work continued from Tennessee at McNair's. A small school was built there and Clauder commuted to Spring Place and Oothcaloga at various times for services. Within days of his departure the "once sacred ground" had become "a hotbed of vice and every manner of wickedness" under the name Camp Benton. In September, 1833 Clauder wrote in the mission diary: Joseph Vann has taken legal action through the Federal Agent for the recovery of our land at Spring Place, at present occupied by Col. Bishop. I received notice to appear as a witness at the Murray Co. court on September 3. The matter had not reached a final stage and from all indications it seemed as though Vann would regain the land. It seemed that Col. Bishop had taken the land in an illegal manner. By inciting family hostility toward Vann, Bishop was able to delay action against him until the law under which land could be confiscated had been amended . . . Vann's loss to all claim to Spring Place shattered all our hopes ever to return .... Eventually the Moravians received $2,878 for the loss at Spring Place. The Clauders left mission work in 1837, but Brethren Miles Vogler, Herman Ruede, and Schmidt followed the Cherokees to the west where they founded New Springplace Mission in Oklahoma. (In 1975 the Moravians returned to Georgia and founded a church at Stone Mountain.) The court session mentioned above was the first held in Spring Place. Under the terms of the original act creating Murray County the March 1833 elections were to be held at New Echota. Thereafter the Justices of the Inferior Court could '"otherwise order and direct" that court be held in other places. They were authorized to choose the location for county buildings. According to early Murray County historian Charles Shriner the first court session was held in what is now Walker County between Ringgold and Lafayette. This was in 1832 or 1833 and David Irwin was judge. Shriner continued: The first volume of the Superior Court Record . . . opened with the following -As a Superior Court began and holden in and for the county of Murray on the first Monday in September in the year eighteen hundred and thirty-three, pursuant to the law. Present his honor, John W. Hooper." The First Grand Jury was sworn in as follows: Benjamin Clark, foreman, Asa May Eli Bouling, Daniel Anderson, Samuel Johnson, James McGhee, John R. Smedley Samuel Miller, Roger Markins, John Gillian, Ambler Casey, John W.Cain, Thomas Bryant, Robert C. Cain, John B. Marstin, Wilson R. Young, Robert Smith, Benjamine Wheeler. The First True Bill recorded is against George Tooke, charged with murder. W.J.. Cotter, then a young resident of Murray County, described Tooke's offense (although he gives the date as 1835) as follows: We suffered more from the bad Indians and white outlaws; for instance, the killing of the Bowman family, which consisted of Bowman, his wife and little girl, and an old blind aunt. Having a grudge against him, George Tooke, a bad Indian, and five or six more went to the house. Bowman fought them bravely, wounding one of them. Overpowering him, they split his head open with an ax, then did the same to his wife. They left the old aunt in the house to be burned. The Indians set the house on fire and stood around to see it burn. The little girl ran out. They saw the little girl, and Tooke snatched her up in his arms. She clinched his shirt sleeves in her hands. He then threw her into the flames, she with part of his shirt still in her hands. The whole family suffered death in the burning house. Tooke and his men remained in the neighborhood for some days. Creek Ben, the one whom Bowman had wounded, was thrown in a deep creek and drowned. Tooke fled to Cherokee County. Upon being arrested, he was severely wounded by a gunshot. He lay in jail at Canton until he was able to be carried to Cassville, where he was hanged. Charles Shriner wrote in 1911 that "several old citizens . . . informed me that the lawless element defied the courts for some time and that the next Judge, O.H. Kenan was the first who succeeded in holding court and enforcing respect for the law." Cotter agreed saying that The same conditions entered into the courts. This rougher element violated their oaths without a qualm of conscience, especially where the rights of the better classes involved. My father was deeply interested in public affairs and did what he could to have good men elected to office. He himself was a judicial offer. He suffered dearly for his effort in behalf of the general welfare and the office he held, on one occasion barely escaping with his life. One evening he was sitting quietly in his house when one of the outlaws forced his way through the door. He was a large man, and before we were hardly aware of his intentions he had given my father some heavy blows with a club. Father sprang from his seat and grappled with the the club. My brave little mother seized the assailant around the waist and cried to me: "William get the ax." This 1 did and began to use the blade with all my might on the man's legs. When I began this attack, the man hastily retreated. Allen Lumpkin Henson. in a book entitled Confessions of a Criminal Lawyer praised Judge Hooper, however and recounted this story about the judge and his "coterie of lawyers" who "rode circuit" with him in Cherokee country: It was uncertain . , . whether the Georgia courts would be accepted by the people or recognized by Federal authority .. . At Spring Place, in Murray County, deep in the heart of a territory somewhat untamed compared to other sections, the sailing was not so smooth. A man named Bishop was indicted for murder. Bishop was the leader of a powerful faction in that area. An opposing faction sensed the advantage of his downfall and commenced pushing the case. Soon every family in the county became embroiled. A feud was imminent. So marked was the fear of violence that Colonel Lindsey, who commanded Federal troops based nearby in Tennessee (probably sent there initially to keep an eye on Governor Lumpkin's militia), sent a detachment to Spring Place, the scene of the trial. When the judge rode into town, he found this detachment bivouacked conveniently nearby. Not sure that their mission was a friendly one, he ordered the officer in command to get his "foreign troops" off Georgia soil. He thought it the part of prudence not to open court until they were gone. The sheriff was more afraid of the Bishop faction than of the Indians or the soldiers. Insisting that trouble was certain if a court were organized to interfere with the way things were being run, he was reluctant to attempt it at that time. The Judge took him by the arm and walked with him to the entrance of the borrowed church building where the court was to be held, and stood beside him while he falteringly intoned "O-yez-O-yez, the honorable Superior Court of the County of Murray, the State of Georgia, is now in session! Press forward all ye who have grievances and ye shall be heard!" The court was organized and the Bishop case completed without incident. The sovereignty of Georgia has never again been challenged in the Cherokee Country . . . There was a good deal of rowdyism, as is invariably true in frontier settlements . . . Evidently, Murray Countians were at their "rowdyist" during the first election in January, 1834. Shriner wrote that they "excited bitter feelings . . . Fraud was charged, and street fights were common ... assault, riot, and murder are some of the charges that show the intense animosity that existed ... opposing forces sometimes would fight battles... with sticks and stones." Contested elections continued through the summer of 1834. In May an election was held at George W. Wacasser's to elect two justices of the peace for what was then Murray's "second district," probably the Pleasant Valley area. James Edmondson, a Justice of the Inferior Court, had trained Nathan Ward and Jesse Casey to manage the election. They questioned Edmondson's decision to allow George Wilson and Robert T. Banks to vote since they did not meet the residency requirement. Saying that he had "total control," Edmondson dismissed the men. He then hired Peter Fry and George Rollins. who were not even "freeholders" to hold a new election and voided the first balloting. Fry and Rollins allowed Robert T. Banks, another Banks, a Henry, Burton and Ambrose McGhee, Thomas J. Harper, and James Edmondson to vote�even though Edmondson was the only one who met the residency requirement, a1 least according to Nelson Dickerson who petitioned the Governor to call another election. Other county J-P-'s Larkin Satterfield and John R. Smedley took depositions Asa Keith Dickerson, Ward and John Gillian. Others who signed the petition were candidates Carey M. Jackson and Martin Keith (who had lost to McGhee in the second balloting), Elijah King. H. Hartness, Warren and John F. Sams, Joseph Richardson, Michael Wacaser, James Ross, Littleberry Jackson, Benjamin C. Sams, George Wilson, Samuel H. Keith, Duncan Terry, James Brookshien and Samuel Miller. The Governor must have ordered a new election because on August 16 the group met again at George Wacaser's to vote. This time, however, Edmondson allegedly did not advertise the election, failed to open the polls until "three or four o'clock" after many voters had left, and again allowed people to vote who had not lived in the district 6 months. Again some of the same men plus Moses Dunn petitioned the Governor. Records in the Georgia Department of Archives and History end with the second petition. Since the whites in Murray County fought with one another, it is no surprise that they did not get along with the many Cherokees who remained in the area. The same Nelson Dickerson who contested the election earlier, became the foreman of the jury which found James Graves guilty of murder in September, 1834. Two months later, Graves, a Cherokee, became the only person in Murray County history to be hanged (legally). Graves was accused of murdering a white man 4 years earlier. Elias Boudinot served as interpreter for the Indian while Cherokees James McDaniel, William Downing. John Martin, and David Bell testified that they had heard an intoxicated Graves boast that he had killed a man. Some of them had found a few scattered bones, considered by a few to be too small to be those of the supposed victim whose name was not known. Based on this weak, circumstantial evidence, Graves was hanged. The jury consisted of Dickerson (who was clerk). Sheriff James C. Bamett, Jesse Bookout. William Elland, Berry Jackson, William L. Dates. James Whittenburg, Thomas Simmons, Archibald Stone, Moses Dunn, William Holcomb, and William Gillehan. Since Murray had no jail, Graves was held at the Cassville jail until November 21, 1834 when he was returned to Spring Place for this sentence to be carried out: "between the hours of 10 a.m. and 4 p.m. you will be taken by the Sheriff of said County of Murray with a rope around your neck, and by him conducted to a gallows to be for that purpose erected upon Lot No. two-hundred and forty-five in the ninth district of the third section of the Cherokee Territory, now situate in the said county of Murray and by the said Sheriff hung upon such gallows by the neck until you are dead. And may the Lord have mercy upon your soul." A note in an old county record book reveals the "gallows and other expense or hanging James Graves cost $14.00." Even though, the U.S. Supreme Court questioned the trial and the sentence, Georgia Governor Wilson Lumpkin ignored e questions and allowed the execution to take place. The infamous murder trial was not the only important case to come before Murray's Superior Court that fall. On October 1, 1834 Joseph Vann secured an injunction against William N. Bishop, James Edmondson, James T. Gary, John J. Humphreys, James Donohoo, James Kincannon, Barney West, Harris Bradin, Johile Hilton, Matthew and George Kincannon, John Irvin, Wesley Raines Daniel Comwell(?), Jonathan Bailey, Nathaniel Connally, John Taylor, Paten Wade, and William Smith to keep them from "trespassing on the improvements upon lots of land numbers 116-137, 152-153, 163, 244, 245,243,262 189, 188, 190, 192, 154, 155.134.156,133,187,194, 224-225 in the ninth District of the third section of originally Cherokee now Murray County . . ." Judge Hooper granted the injunction, much to the dismay of Governor Lumpkin who wanted the whites to be able to get the land. However the Federal government had promised the Cherokees protection until the removal which was still years away. Georgia then passed the infamous "Law of 1834," under which any Indian with improvements could hold as much as two lots of land until he forfeited this right by violating Georgia laws in some way. Of course the legislators^ immediately added more laws to the books which were designed for the Indians! to break so to speak. The laws barred Cherokee witnesses in any court (a littlel late to save James Graves), banned Cherokee assemblies, voided all contracts! made by or with them, prohibited them from hiring whites as employees, and I referred to the Indians in degrading terms. (Not until the early 1960s were these laws removed from the Georgia code. Then Representative Charles A. Pannell, Sr. of Murray County led the effort to repeal these laws.) William Harden of Cassville, son of General Edward Harden who had purchased the Moravian lot in 1833, recommended none other than William N. Bishop to Governor Lumpkin as a suitable person to enforce the law of 1834. Bishop, already living in the county, was "energetic and zealous in his work to pursue the state's policy in the area." The appointment became official in January, 1835. By that time, however, Bishop was also Representative, Clerk of Court, and Commissioner for the new "county site"�Spring Place. According to Georgia historian Lucian Lamar Knight, white families from the Carolinas and lower Georgia settled near what became Spring Place in the latter part of the 18th century. The area was then called Vann's Town or Vann's Station and several whites are mentioned in the early Moravian diaries. Prior to this time the Indians had often stopped at the "Place of Many Springs" on hunting trips. The Moravians then named their mission Springplace. When the mission was confiscated. Bishop renamed it Camp Benton. Since the county officials had the power to move the site for court and elections and Spring Place had worked out well in 1833, by the next year Spring Place (now two words) was on its way to becoming the permanent county seat. On September 19. 1834 Abner E. Holliday and Matthew Jones jointly deeded 40 acres and a spring for the "county site." For a time the residents had considered calling the town Poinsett, but when the act passed the legislature December 20, 1834 it said that "the public site in the county of Murray shall be called Spring Place." Bishop, John J. Humphries, John S. Bell, Seaborn Lenter, and Burton McGhee were appointed the first commissioners. The name Poinsett probably came from Joel Roberts Poin-sett (1779-1851), a South Carolinian who had served as U.S. minister to Mexico and was an ardent Jacksonian Democrat on his way to the head of the War Department. He is also the person for whom that famous Christmas flower, the poinsettia, is named. The people of Murray County, however, disliked the name and the town remained Spring Place. Originally the town proper was the northeast corner of land lot 245. The mission was in the northwest corner of lot 244. Today these two lots join No. 225 and No. 224 (where the Vann House is located) for form the present town. Colonel Bishop wasted little time in asserting his new authority. Soon many Indians had violated the law in some way. By March, 1835 the Moravian diarist, though safely in Tennessee wrote: "Indians of all classes are being severely pressed by whites. They are being put out of their houses and driven from their Property by force, particularly at ... Spring Place and Sumach Creek." Even the wealthiest Cherokee, Joseph Vann, was suddenly told that it was illegal for him to keep his miller, a white man, for another year. He must vacate his home, too. Although some say that the event occurred in 1834, Spencer Riley, one of the principal characters in the drama, penned this letter clearly dated March 1 ] 1835. To the Public: There being many erroneous reports concerning the transaction detailed in the following statement, I have deemed it necessary to present ... the facts. I became a boarder of Joseph Vann, a Cherokee residing near Spring Place, in Murray County, in October last, and continued to board with him up to the 2d March inst., when the outrage hereinafter stated look place. On the 23d of February last, Mrs. Vann, in the absence of her husband, received a written notice to quit the possession of the lot, from Wm. N. Bishop, one of the agents of the State of Georgia, appointed by the Governor under the law of 1834. This was done without the request of the drawer or any person holding or claiming under him. It was known that one Kinchin W. Hargrove, brother to Z.B. Hargrove, had obtained a certificate from Wm. N. Bishop with the view of obtaining the grant from Milledgeville, in consequence of which the grant issued some time in February upon his application. This lot on which Joseph Vann lived is an Indian improvement and his right of occupancy is not forfeited by any provision of the laws of Georgia. It is known as Lot No. 224, 9th district and 3d section, and was drawn by a Mr. Turley of Warren; it contains a spacious two-story brick house and many outhouses and is very valuable, particularly as a public stand. It had been returned as a fraudulent draw by Major Bulloch, whose stive facias had obtained preference by being first filed. It was also returned by Z.B. Hargrove as informer in a second seive facias. Such was the situation of the lot on the 2d of March, when W.N. Bishop, as agent and acting under the state's authority, summoned some 20 men and placed in their hands the muskets confided to him by the Governor for another purpose, and furnished them with ammunition, came over to Mr. Vann's at the head of his guard, resolved to clear the house and put his brother. Absalom Bishop, in possession, who afterwards opened a public house. Some articles of Mr. Vann were allowed to remain in the house and he was permitted to occupy at sufferance a small room. 1 occupied a room on the second floor at the head of the stairs. This armed force was accompanied by one Kinchin W. Hargrove, a sort of deputy to Bishop. When they approached the house, I inquired of W.N. Bishop what all of this meant, and stated to him that he had given Mrs. Vann until Saturday, the 7th, in which to move. He replied that Joshua Holden was the agent. This man Holden is notorious in the upper part of the state for his vices and subservience to Bishop. Upon receiving this reply from W.N. Bishop, I inquired of Holden if he was the agent for the drawer. He replied, "No, I am agent for Mr. Hargrove, and have a power of attorney from him." Mr. Hargrove did not claim to have any right or title to the lot as derived from or through the drawer. Convinced as I was that this was all a trick to get Vann out of the house, and to put him out unlawfully and fraudulently, in order to get possession for Absalom Bishop, 1 demanded of W.N. Bishop to see the plat and grant and his authority for thus acting. He stated that Holden was seeking possession, but exhibited no authority, and there was no agent of the drawer or person claiming under him seeking possession. W.N. Bishop rushed into the house with his guard and commanded them to present arms. Having some things in the room I occupied, I went up to take care of them. 1 heard Bishop demand possession of Vann, who answered that he considered himself out of possession from the Monday previous. "Where is that damned rascal Riley?" inquired Bishop. The reply was, "He is in his room." By this time 1 had got to the head of the stairs and called out to Bishop that there was no use for any violent measures or for bloodshed, for if he would acknowledge he had taken forcible possession from me, he could throw my things out of doors. His reply was, "Hear P�Tdamned rascal; present arms and match upstairs, and the first man that gets a ' �* se of him, shoot him down." Upon hearing these orders given to his guard, I ^ eht it high'time to defend myself as best I could, and exclaimed, "The first man that advances to obey Bishop's orders 1 will kill!" One man named Winters, an itinerant carpenter, advanced upstairs with a loaded musket and his valiant commander behind him. As soon as they saw me they fired m� n me and fell back; 1 then fired, too. Their shot slightly wounded me in my hand arms, and immediately after, ten or twelve muskets were fired at me, but being protected by the stairs, the shots did not take effect. I being out of sight, they aimed at the spot where they supposed I was and shot the banisters to pieces. I then presented a gun in sight to deter their further approach, and prevent if possible the accomplishment of their murderous design. Then a rifle was fired by Absalom Bishop; the ball struck my gun and split, one part of it striking me glancingly on my forehead iust above my right eye, and fragments of it wounding me on several other places on my face. I desired them to bear witness to who shot that rifle, for I had been severely wounded. Wrn. N. Bishop called out tauntingly, "The State of Georgia shot the guns!" After 1 was thus wounded and bleeding freely, 1 opened the door of the room and called out to them that 1 was severely wounded, and they could come and take my arms. As soon as I showed myself, several more muskets were fired on me. One shot struck me on the left cheek, another wounded me severely on the head and one went through the door over my head. During this extraordinary outrage, W.N. Bishop was heard frequently exclaiming, "Kill the damned rascal; we've got no use for nullifiers in this country!" and K.W. Hargrove also often exclaimed I should come down dead or alive. W.N. Bishop procured a flaming firebrand and threw it upon the platform of the stairs, exclaiming that he would bum him out or bum him up. After the fire had made some progress, and probably recollecting that if the house was destroyed, Absalom Bishop would have no house to occupy, Vann was requested to go up and extinguish the fire. Being much debilitated by the loss of blood, I laid down on the bed. They soon after entered my room and seized my desk and papers as if 1 had been a malefactor. I desired them to permit me to put up my papers in my secretary and to lock it. Hargrove replied, "Let him put what he pleases in the desk, but don't let him take anything out." I had $10 in money in the desk. After 1 had locked it, they took the keys from me and the desk also, under the pretext that they would secure the costs. The money I never saw afterwards. Just before the close of the conflict, Hargrove called out to me and asked if I did not know that there was an officer who had a warrant against me. I answered, no, but if such were the case I would submit to the laws of my country and surrender to the sheriff. Bishop then abused the sheriff and cursed him. In a short time the sheriff, Col. Humphreys, came, and I was asked to show myself, which I no sooner did than several muskets were levelled and fired at me, but happily without much injury. It afterward appeared that in order to give their conduct the semblance of law, they had procured this tool of Bishop, Holden, to make an affidavit to procure a warrant for the forcible entry and detainer. Both affidavit and warrant, upon being produced, proved to be in the handwriting of Z.B. Hargrove, and dated first in February, but that month was stricken and 2nd March inserted. It is believed that this notable proceeding was planned in Cassville, 45 miles off, and given to Kinchin W. Hargrove when he went to Spring Place. After my surrender to the sheriff, I was taken out of his custody, conveyed before a magistrate, also under the control of Bishop, charged with an assault with intent to murder, and immediately ordered off in my wounded condition, 45 miles, in a severe snow storm under a strong guard, my wounds undressed, and filched of the little change 1 had in my pockets, and lodged in the Cassville jail in the dungeon. The guard received their orders from Bishop and Hargrove not to allow me to have any intercourse with my friends, and so rigidly were these orders observed that when I arrived at Major Howard's in the neighborhood of my family and desired him to inform them of my situation, and not to be alarmed, the guard threatened to use their bayonets if I did not proceed. Bishop even designated the houses at which we were to stop on our way, I was placed in a dungeon until my friends at Cassville, hearing of my situation, relieved me on bail. The foregoing statement can be attested by many respectable witnesses, and is substantially correct. The transaction has created a greet sensation in Murray County, and must have received the unqualified condemnation of every law-abiding citizen. SPENCER RILEY. The Riley-Bishop incident did indeed create a sensation and there are several versions in which details vary�according to which group the recorder happened to interview. W.J. Cotter added that "another battle was fought after this at Milledgeville. When Berry Bishop and Riley met, they commenced to fire. Bishop knocked Riley down and placed the muzzle of his pistol at his ear, but the gun flashed and did not fire. This ended the fighting ... at that time." Various Cherokee leaders were kept prisoner at Spring Place, often by Col. Bishop or his subordinate, Sgt. Young. In May, 1835 Walter S. Adair, Thomas F. Taylor, Johnson Rogers, Brice Martin, and Methodist missionary James I. Trott were arrested. One witness gave this account of the affair: These gentlemen were conducted to the headquarters of the guard, Spring Place, Murray County, where they found Mr. Thomas Fox also under guard . . . Through some of their friends, the case was communicated to Major Hansel ... As counsellor for the nation, he immediately appeared at the guard's Headquarters and was refused admittance ... It was known that the Sheriff was absent, and preparations were forthwith made to remove the prisoners. They were taken out about Vi mile upon the main road, the guard then struck into woods, & dodged about among unfrequented hills & deep swamps, thus hiding them for three or four days & nights from the relief of the law . . . After Major Hansel had departed, the prisoners were noiselessly marched back to Headquarters . . . [Later, after bond was posted, the prisoners were set free.] In June, Governor Lumpkin authorized Bishop to raise a company of forty men "to protect the people of the Cherokee territory and the friendly Indians." Housed at the mission, the company was not part of the regular militia and was to exist only until December. Before the group disbanded, however, they succeeded in drawing national attention to Spring Place when they arrested, in Tennessee, Principal Chief John Ross and famed writer, John Howard Payne.
John Howard Payne
Payne had written operas, had acted in some, and had compiled a great amount of data on the Cherokee Indians, but he is remembered mainly as the author of the lines: " 'Mid pleasures and palaces though we may roam, Be it ever so humble, there's no place like home;.. ." never had a real home in his adult life, so these words were written by a man who really knew how it felt to "want to go home." Sources do not even agree upon the date of Payne's birth. He was born in York City- they know, either on June 9, 1791, or January 9, 1792. He spentt much of his early youth on Long Island, and was described as a precocious child with considerable interest in acting and the stage. Following a short residence in Boston and 2 years at Schenectady's Union College, he went on the stage, playing in New York, Boston, Philadelphia, Richmond, and Charleston. For a time he enjoyed great popularity, but, by 1812. his reputation declined, and in January, 1813, he sailed for Europe. In Europe he made a tour of the literary and acting circles of London and Paris He remained abroad for 19 years and during that time he became acquainted with the actor Kembles, Samuel Taylor Coleridge. Sir Walter Scott, and Shelley, One of his closest friends was another expatriate American, Washington Irving, with whom he roomed in Paris. Payne teamed up with Irving for a time, and together they wrote a brilliant social comedy of the Restoration entitled "Charles the Second" or "The Merry Monarch." Since Payne was always in debt, once even thrown into debtor's prison, Irving helped him out several times. Payne was a fine writer, but a poor manager. He was described by E. Merton Coulter as: . . . sensitive and petulant, with an instability of spirit, vacillating from achievement to failure. He was a romanticist through and through; his emotions were deep. He was an impractical dreamer of grandiloquent schemes and ideas, and utterly incapable of knowing how to manage money. He loved beauty and nature in its wildest forms. He loved his country and hated injustice whenever he saw it. Payne met with initial success in Europe. He wrote 60 plays and several operas. "Brutus," his most successful play, finally ran for 7 years, with the famous Edmund Kean playing in the first title role. In 1823 he wrote a play which, though not his best, was certainly his most popular. Entitled "Clan, the Maid of Milan," the play was converted into an opera at the Covent Garden Theatre. One of the songs was "Home, Sweet Home." first sung there by Ann Marie Tree. Payne sold the opera, which naturally included the song, for 50 pounds, then about $150. His song became popular immediately, and in due course was sung the world over. The music was a tune which Payne had heard a peasant girl singing in Italy. If Payne had in mind any particular place as the "sweet home." it must have been his boyhood home on Long Island. In 1832 he left Europe to return to America. He was through with the stage and acting, but, still being literary minded, he vowed to start a magazine. His vision was an American magazine which would be as popular as European magazines were in the United States. It would be scientific as well as literary, but not political or commercial, with both American and European contributors, thus giving these little-known writers a reputation on both sides of the Atlantic. Subscriptions were $10 a year, and the name of his publication was "Jam Jehan Nima." This was the name of a mythical Persian cup; its meaning "The Goblet wherein you may behold the Universe." In 1833 or 1834, Payne next set out on a journey to increase subscriptions and to learn more about his native land. He toured Ohio, Kentucky, Indiana Illinois, Missouri, Mississippi. Alabama, and Louisiana before reaching Georgia' On the way from New Orleans to Macon, he came across a Creek Indian village There he saw two things which contributed to his quickly developed interest in the American Indian. One was the Green Com Dance, and the other was the chiefs daughter. Had he been allowed to remain in the village longer, Payne might have married this Indian princess and never made it to Spring Place, for he records in his letters that he felt a considerable attachment to the maiden. Payne's next authenticated stop was Athens, where his host was Edward Harden. There he became a close friend of Harden's daughter, Mary. The 40-year, old bachelor fell in love with the 18-year-old girl. He may have proposed to her then. If not, he did later, though he never saw Mary again. In September 1835, Payne left Athens to see more of northern Georgia. He met a Dr. Tennille, of Sandersville, who acquainted him with the accomplishments of the Cherokees of Georgia, remarking that it would be good if someone wrote the history of that tribe. A Mr. Samuel Rockwell put Payne on the right road and gave him letters of introduction to Chief John Ross. Payne met Chief Ross at his home just inside the Tennessee line, since Ros� had been forced out of his home in Rome. During the following days, Ross familiarized Payne with the political events of the last 30 years involving the removal of the Cherokees from Georgia. As Ross poured out the plight of the people he led, providing documents to prove his words, Payne became incensed with indignation. He began writing letters and articles to various places across the land. His actions angered the U.S. officials in charge of Indian affairs. One of those sent to obtain Cherokee signatures agreeing to removal was John F. Schermerhorn, a clergyman who had been at school with Payne at Union College^ Since they were on opposite sides, Payne enjoyed having it out with Schermerhorn. Tensions mounted, and on November 7. 1835, soldiers from Colonel William N, Bishop's Georgia guard stationed at Spring Place crossed the line into Tennessee. They entered the Ross home and accused Payne of instigating the Indians against signing the treaty agreeing to removal. Ross and Payne were arrested and taken to Spring Place to be imprisoned in a hut on the grounds of the Chief Vann House. Payne's papers were confiscated, and they were under close guard for several days. On November 15 Colonel Bishop ordered Ross released, but Payne was held until November 20 so that Bishop could examine his papers. The entire time, Payne had been protesting the arrest on the grounds that the soldiers had no jurisdiction. However, since he was imprisoned by the offenders, that had no bearing on the situation. Payne felt that the real man behind the arrests was Schermerhorn. because he knew that Payne would disclose his dishonest actions and the treatment of the Cherokees. Pavne was released, the news of his arrest spread. The press attacked the Georgia Guard, the Governor, Colonel Bishop, the War Department, and, in the end, even the President.. Payne then wrote an address "to his countrymen" expounding the Cherokee cause and the use of force upon them by the United States government, as well as his arrest. The address is a remarkable literary essay, not just a statement of facts. When it became too long for publication in newspapers, the address and another essay, "The Cherokee Nation to the People of the United States." were published in book form. By then Payne was joining the Whigs in fighting the Jacksonian Democrats who favored removal. Since he had been ordered by Colonel Bishop never to enter Georgia again, Payne could not return to his Athens sweetheart, Mary Harden. He went to his brother Thatcher's home in New York and began corresponding with the Hardens. Payne wrote asking Mary to marry him, but, for reasons lost to history, Mary refused. Neither Mary nor Payne ever married, and this led to exaggerated exploitations in imaginary accounts of their romance. Neither spent a life pining away for a lost love. The affair was never mentioned in Athens newspapers till after Mary's death, and her fellow townsmen seem to have been oblivious of her romance. As for Payne. Mary was one of many women Payne had been prepared to marry after one brief meeting. If his two biographers even knew of the Harden affair, they never mentioned it. Many legends arose about Payne, particularly involving his Harden episode, but others centered about his imprisonment at Spring Place. One, which incorporates several others, is that Payne was actually kept a prisoner in the Vann House and wrote the words to "Home. Sweet Home" on the basement walls. The story about the song helping win his release from prison is, like the others, completely false. Payne continued his interest in the Cherokees for some years after his Georgia adventure. He visited them in the West in 1840. However, the talented man was rarely a step ahead of his creditors and in 1842, with the Whigs in power, he obtained an appointment as consul to Tunis. After Democrat James K. Polk took office following the 1844 election, Payne was recalled but remained in Washington awaiting reappointment. At one of Jenny Lind's concerts in December, 1850, attended by President Fillmore, Daniel Webster, and other cabinet members, she saw Payne in the audience. Turning to him, she sang "Home, Sweet Home" with such electrical effect that Webster was seen to weep. If Payne's Whig support had not been sufficient. Jenny's singing "Home, Sweet Home" got Webster to support a reappointment of Payne as consul to Tunis. His reappointment came in March, 1851. On April 9, 1852, John Howard Payne died in Tunis and was buried there, William W. Corcoran, an old friend of Payne, provided the money for bringing Payne's remains back to his native country. The ship reached New York on March 22, 1883, and the coffin was taken to City Hall where it lay in state for a day. Over 12,000 people passed by. Payne's remains were then taken to Washington and interred in Oak Hill Cemetery. Paynes was at last resting in the country he loved. Many John Howard Payne stories live on in Murray County. Ross, not he, perhaps the principal target. John Oates, one of the soldiers who lived Spring Place for some years afterward, refuted Payne's words, saying that Payne was released quickly "when the fact was ascertained that he was innocent." and adding that the men were imprisoned in the Vann House, not in the old Spring Place "jail" which had not even been built! Payne clearly stated that he ': was in another building on the Vann property. He was also plainspoken when ho described that fascinating person in charge, William Bishop! Payne wrote: There was a sudden announcement of the arrival of the Captain-Colonel Bishop , .. the mighty chieftain appeared. He is a dapper, well-dressed, and well made little man with a grey head and blue coat, well brushed, and bright yellow buttons ... In manner, his grandeur was somewhat melodramatic. I have seen Napolean Bonaparte . . . the Duke of Wellington . . . Emperor Alexander . . . Emperor Francis-the King of England-the King of Prussia . . . most of the contemporary great men of Europe, as well as America; but I have never yet seen quite so great a man as the Tavern Keeper, Clerk of the Court, Postmaster, County Treasurer, Captain, Colonel, W.N. Bishop. Although Payne. Riley, and Vann disliked Bishop, the Indian leader Major Ridge praised Bishop's efforts to control things. W.J. Cotter added that "the wives of the Bishops were sisters and excellent women. Capt. A.B. Bishop lived in the Vann House and Col. W.N. Bishop in the mission house." During those early years after 1835 when the Cherokee signed a treaty for their removal, a large number of white families started to move into the area ofj North Georgia, assured of protection by the U.S. government. According to newspaper article written by an early pioneer. After finding a section of land, each one claimed title to as drawer (purchaser), than settled down and began to make improvements as he had opportunity, or, ability, being careful not to infringe on the Indians who might be living upon the same lot of land, his right of occupancy having been guaranteed to him until he was legally removed according to the treaty. The first business of the newcomer was to build himself a tent, or cabin for protection of his family, to build stalls for his stock, then clear land to cultivate corn, beans, potatoes, and other vegetables. In the meantime, he had to look out for provisions for his family and stock. The Indians sometimes sold venison, or ham, but no com. Ross Landing (now Chattanooga) on the Tennessee River was the nearest point where provisions could be obtained. At that time, there was only one wagon road leading to the section and that was a government road extending through from the Coosawattee River in a northwesterly direction to Ross Landing, but soon other ways were opened along the trails through the valleys and over the ridges from settlement to settlement. The road between the towns of Spring Place, in Murray County and La Fayette, in Walker County was opened in the spring of 1836. All the white men, liable to road duty, living in the 27th land district (which was nine units square) were called together to help do the work. When one had a cabin to raise, or logs to roll, all in the same neighborhood, extending four or five miles around would cheerfully meet and help do the work. At such gatherings it was not uncommon for persons to meet who lived seven or eight miles away. When supplies were needed, two or three teams and wagons were banded together and sent to Ross Landing. This was a necessity as the roads were new and rough, and the streams were unbridged and difficult to cross. This was a time when men felt their dependence upon each other. Friendships were formed which continued for life and may be traced today through the second and third generation of those early settlers By 1836 Murray was more and more of a white man's county. Mrs. W.L. Roberts Sr wrote in a 1958 article that William P. Nichols arrived in Spring Place in 1834 to learn that there were some "40 fine bubbling springs" in the area. Nichols worked for Eli Bowlin who made additional benches for the mission turned courthouse. He was then hired by Matthew Kincannon, surveyor and builder of a new road from Spring Place to East Tennessee. Mrs. Roberts continued: My father's next employer was Robert T. Banks who in 1834 got the contract to clear the land on which the city of Spring Place was to be a reality. Mr. Banks instructed the workmen to clear the 15 acres and Banks was paid $15 an acre to do !hc job. All trees and undergrowth was to be cut out and all stumps, except the trees seven feel tall were to be left unless they were too crowded for free movement of business, and only the most choice trees were left. My father said that it was a most beautiful sight to walk about in the grove of fine shade trees that remained to beautify the young town. He said that all underbrush and stumps were cleared off completely. Bowlin. James Kincannon. John Adams and Francis Burke were Justices of the Inferior Court which first convened at Spring Place on February 19. 1834. Thomas J. Harper was clerk. Many of Murray's first merchants also sold liquor. From early license applications names like the following can be obtained: McGhee & Ellison; Andrew Holder; Hiram Gillehan; Seaborn Lentor; Laymance & McGhee, Bowen & Traynor. and James McCasland (all 1834); Moses R. Thompson (1835), John Holbrooks (1838), B.C. Tyler, John Davis, Nathaniel C. Gordon, James H. Thomas. Puckett & Stacy. Spencer Riley (1837), Dean W. Chace, Mark Thompson, Thomas P. Robbins ("in his own home"), Charles Kilgore (1839), Caldwell & Ellison (1838), William C. Standley, George W. Wacaser, and Henry Landan (at Bean's old Stand) all 1838. Most of these were in Spring Place while John A. Duckett, Martin Keith. T. Cockbum. William Whitten. Thomas Leltifflp(?), John Lynan. W.T. Caser were located elsewhere in Murray. Other merchants included Harvey Harman, James P. Isbell, Finly M. Riley and Frederick Cox, Elijah Kursan, James Buckhanan, James Whitlenburg. and William A. Banks. A well-known business in early Spring Place was the Chester Inn. Built by William P. Chester, Jr., the Inn was a long white structure with many windows and possibly had three floors. "A guest of the Chester Inn was General Winfield Scott who made his home there while moving the Cherokee Indians west," said Ivan Allen, Sr., grandson of the owner. Chester's daughter, Mary Adams Chester, married George Reece Harris in the hotel in 1841. The Chesters then moved to Dalton where he served as postmaster and opened a new hotel. The Moravians at McNair's wrote in February, 1836 that they had "received numerous invitations from a Christian white family in Murray County (not Spring Place) to conduct a meeting in their area. On the 26th I preached at home of a Mr. Jackson in that county. The community, in large measure adhered to the Baptist faith. Never before had they heard a sermon by a Moravian Brother. They pleaded with me and insisted that 1 return to them." On. 10 the Brother held services at Mr. Carroll's at Sumach. The last record of a Moravian service in Murray County was on Easter sum day. 1837 when Clauder visited Spring Place and more than a hundred people attended. He reported "much joy among members" and that natives had been conducting services. Time was running out for the Cherokees, however, removal was closer than before and Colonel Bishop was still busy dominating Spring Place. Missionary Clauder wrote the following in a letter dated February 8, 1837:' From Capt. McNair I hear that Spring Place, of dear, though painful memory, is still a place of lawless violence. At their late elections-Bishop prevented the opposite party from coming to the polls-fi. in the fracas shot several persons, severely-the opposition party collected to about 80 in number and marched on, at the head of Sergeant Young (who is now antiBishop) to storm the Kennel-but lo! they found the Valiant Hero, Col. Bishop forted-in the brick house (Vann's formerly) & from sundry Windows & extra port holes, projected the ghastly muzzles of muskets & Rifles-threatening death & destruction to all who should possess the bold daring to attempt a reduction of the Castle; this Sergeant Young, -at the head of "80" sturdy fellows-wheeled to the "right about"-& left the "dapper" little Col. in the quiet possession of the Offices, gained at the Election &. everything besides . . . Another source said that 23 were killed. In the summer of 1837 a traveler named G.W. Featherstonhaugh visited Spring Place. This writer and diarist left the following entry concerning his visit: July 29 ... we reached a settlement prettily situated, called Spring Place, with a fine line of Cohuttie Mountains in view, and stopped at a tavem kept by a person named McGaughey, who very obligingly, upon my request, gave me a room upstairs. This I took possession of, and having made my toilette, descended to a comfortable breakfast... Understanding that another stage would depart in the morning for Gainsville in Georgia, a village distant about eighty miles, where I had directed my letters to be forwarded, I determined to go there and return to the meeting in the same vehicle. I should have been glad to have made an excursion in the neighborhood of the petty place but Fahrenheit stood at 90�, and it was so excessively hot that I was compelled to keep to the house, so getting my papers in order, I brought up my diary and wrote some letters. In the evening I ventured out to look at an ample and most pellucid spring in the vicinity, from whence the settlement takes its name. The water flowed copiously from seams in the limestone, which in its cavernous parts no doubt contained great bodies of it. Here I sat down upon a log; not a breath of air stirring, and it was still too close and warm to walk with comfort. A Georgian, however, whom I found there, told me he found it cool at this place compared with his residence in the low country-On my return to the village, 1 observed that almost every store in the place was a dram shop, and the evening's amusement of a great part of the population seemed to consist in going about from one to the other, and, when they got what they call in this part of the country "high," which means red-hot drunk with whiskey, they would go to the tavern and bully the people they found there. Several times in the course of the evening, the landlord had great trouble in turning them out of his house. Two incidents occurred before I went to bed, very characteristic of the habits of the country. A young white fellow came to the tavern with a frightful wound in his leg, and so drunk that all we could get from him amidst a torrent of the most audacious blasphemies was that "his horse had fixed it for him." Next came a halfbreed youth, about twenty years old, with his wife, a pretty Cherokee creature about seventeen, each on horseback on their way to the Council. This young fellow's head was bound up and when they removed the handkerchief, his eye was so dreadfully bruised that it appeared to me he would lose the use of it. He got beastly drunk on the road and tumbling from his horse the animal had struck him with his hoof. On August 4 Featherstonhaugh wrote: This morning, whilst we were at breakfast, a company of Georgia mounted volunteer! rode through the place on their way to the Cherokee Council. All had their coats off with their muskets and cartouch boxes strung across their shoulders. Some of the men had straw hats, some of them white felt hats, others had old black hats on with the rim torn off, and all of them were as unshaven and as dirty as could well be. The officers were only distinguished by having Cherokee fringed hunting shirts on. Many of the men were stout young fellow*, and they rode on talking and cursing and swearing, without any kind of discipline. These men were probably some of the same ones listed on the muster roll of the "Murray County Rangers" of 1838: 1. Bishop, Absalom, Capt. In January. 1838 a group of Murray citizens petitioned Governor George R. Gilmer to address "the subject of [their] exposure to Indian hostilities." J.W.P. Buckanan and William McGaughy apparently led the effort. The men wanted a "competent military force, composed of ... residents of the county, and therefore best calculated to protect it," feeling that "the time has arrived when! it is indispensable to the safety of the people and property of the section"! The mounted soldiers would be accepted as part of the U.S. forces protecting the frontier, but they would be stationed in Murray. Some 80 men signed the petition and soon the Rangers were formed, The Georgia Militia District system came to Murray County this same year. Among the surnames of the petitioners were Morgan, Smith, Keith, Douglass, Jackson, Ledford. McCasland, Robins.King,Mauldin,Graves, Shamblin, Laymance, Holbrooks, Edwards, Carder, Terry, Reid, Johnson, Cook, Cromwell, Martin Harper, Thompson, Satterfield, Burke, Burns, Morris, Hodge, Daniel, Williami Malone, Varnell, Slone, Young, Hetton, Wade, Fitzpatrick,Morton,and Adbrook. By the summer the Rangers were involved in the Indian Removal. One estimate of Murray's Indian population was 2,000, and several lost all their property. Cherokee Returns of Property left in Tennessee and Georgia listed several Indians of Murray County by name. Among them were Mushroom, Wootta, Batt. Neawee. Nancy Dogherty, Fool, Pumpkin. Oocoosa, Tykier, Connaoy, Rachel Manning, Walter Saunders. Enetic, James Toster, Toosawatter, Wifl Arnold. Sunday (or Tow-Ta-Waska), Watta, and Grasshopper, all of Coosawat-tee; Elijah Hicks (for a printing press) of Spring Place; Tin Cup, Swimmer, Wattayoha, and Kianee of Rock Creek; Chittawaygas Bearspan, Colaichee, Tons Galaspy, Willy Colarekey, Hot Water, and Sootoo all of Sumach;Muskrat of Holly Creek; and many others of Swamp Creek, Conasauga, Rabbit Trap, Chicken Creek, Oostanolla, Red Hill, Chatapatch, and Mountain Town. Historian Lewis Richardson tells the story of the next and most tragic event in our nation's history�The Trail of Tears. The army was assigned the grim task of planning and executing the move to the West . . . officers decided to build stockades in suitable locations. The scattered native families could be rounded up, brought to these spots and held until all hod been accounted for and travel plans were complete. The Army, following military practice, called these holding pens "Forts." . , . sites for the Forts [were] presumably based on the density of Indian population and topographical factors. The forts were usually large enclosures of upright logs with towers in each comer. Two of them were located in present-day Murray County. Fort Gilmer (sometimes called Coosawattee) mentioned as early as 1831, was officially established Dec. 29, 1835. The log structure was first occupied in July, 1838. By 1842 it had been abandoned. Located just off old Highway 411 near the Hemphill and Carter farms of today, only a historical marker gives evidence that the fort ever existed. Near Spring Place was Fort Hoskins which stood just east of Georgia 225 at the McGhee and Boyd Cox property line. (Some soldiers, either from this period or from the Civil War era, were buried on "McGhee Hill.") In the fall of 1838 the round-up ended and the march to Oklahoma began. Some of the dozen groups were on the road more than 150 consecutive days. Marion Starkey quotes a "historically-minded Cherokee" as saying "When Sherman marched to the sea, you Georgians got a taste of what your ancestors gave the Cherokees in 1838, and I'm bound to say it served your state right." The 1830s were troubled times. Such was the beginning of Murray County.
2. Sample, James, 1st. Lt.
3. Cloud, George, 2nd Lt.
4. Terry, Wm.
5. Lemming, John
6. Sams, B.C.
7. Hannah, Samuel W.
8. Hise, James
9. Lenning, Wm.
10. Car. Charmich L.
11. Terry, G.C.
12. Carder, Thomas
13. Bolan, Eli
14. Davis, Harrison
15. Fain, Samuel C.
16 Meares, AJ.
17.Lowry, Thos. F.
18.Greenwood, Beverly
19. Springfield, S.L.
20. Chase, Dean W.
21. Meare, John R.
22. Terry, Duncan
23. McCord,Wm. F.
24. Ellard, Jeptha
25. Haynie, Stephen
26. Walker, Thomas
27. Gillen, Hirarn
28. Holton, Miles
29. West, Barney
30. Martin, John S.
31. Oates.John
32. Jackson, Abel
33. Rollins, George
34. Harper, Brooks
35. Davis, Greenville
36. Haralson, John
37. Bradberry, James R.
38. Greenwood, Joshua
39. Stancit, Hillsman
40. Dates, William S.
41. McGhee,J.M.
42. McKoy.John
43. Nell, Adam
44. McNamer.James
45. Brown, Robert
46. Stancil, John
47. Springfield, Aaron
48. Springfield, Bennett
49. Hoopman, Jacob
50. Springfield, Hugh
51. Austin, Thomas 0.
52. Jones, Stephen
53. Senior, Albert N.
54. Nandyke,C.P.
55. Jones, Runsome
56. Griffin, Heath
57. Ward,Nathan
58. Blair, F.L.
59. Cloud, Issac
60. McGhee, James
The commander was, of course, Colonel William N. Bishop.
Murray in the 1840's
After the turbulent 1830's, the next decade must have seemed extremely tame to Murray Countians. Information about this era is sketchy, primarily from census records, deeds, and old minute books. Residents evidently saw the need to get this new county off to a good start following the Bishop era, although the man was around until about 1853. Absalom Holcomb was selected to be Murray's first census taker in 1840. He covered five large districts which included what is now Whitfield, Catoosa, and Murray Counties. Three schools were established early in this decade: Sandy Springs and Clear Springs (in Whitfield) Academies both in 1840 and Sharon Academy in 1841. Trustees of the latter school were James Edmondson. Eppy W. Morris. Dennis Carroll, Robert McCamy, and Charles Lewis. In 1842 a "Poor School" Fund provided education for 190 males and 176 females. Much of the county's activity centered around Spring Place. There James Edmondson, Latch & Ellis, Aaron Springfield, Andrew Holder, Hale & Murphy, and John H. Hawkins all applied for liquor licenses during the I840's. Wacaser's Tavern was located near the courthouse square in 1841. Edward Edwards (1842), William L. Phillips (1840). Uriah Duncan (1840), A.V. Hargrave (1841), and Willis Mote (1842) also applied for licenses. Edmondson owned a hotel. Ed Gault operated a lanyard and brickyard between the town branch and the Vann House. Thomas Seay and the Dwights were also prominent area residents along with James Morris, an extensive land owner, merchant, builder, "real estate" agent, financier, and benefactor of schools and churches. (The Morris family later moved to Dalton where Morris Street was named in their honor.) Mr. Morns also owned a lanyard which he sold to A.N. Hargrove in 1843. Hargrove ran the business at least until 1846. In 1843 newly selected Judge of the Superior Courts of the Cherokee Circuit, on. George D. Anderson, died at his lodgings in Spring Place during the March term. He was a native of South Carolina but was a resident of Marietta at the time of his death. Judge Anderson was a highly respected man and had risen rapidly in Georgia government, having been elected to the Legislature at the age of 35 and appointed Judge in the next session. He was 37 at the time of his death. According to The Bench and Bar of Georgia Judge Anerson, the son of John and Nancy Anderson of Anderson District, South Carolina, had held a variety of positions before becoming judge. The same book also includes this account of the Judge's death: On the morning of his decease. Judge Anderson arose as usual and opened his door that a servant might light a fire. He was for half an hour lefl alone, but at that time he was found expiring on the floor - . . His pulse had ceased to beat and he was perfectly insensible. It was an awful and sudden visitation of Providence, cutting him off in the midst of his usefulness and at the post of duty , . . Judge Anderson seemed to have died without the slightest struggle. His features were as placid and composed as if he had gently fallen asleep. From Spring Place the body was transported to Marietta to receive the last duties of his bereaved wife and little ones and his numerous friends . . . Members of the bar in the Cherokee circuit wore crepe on their left arms for 30 days "as a slight tribute to his memory." Legal matters were of major concern to Murray Countians in the 1840'| Court was first held in the old Moravian mission building. In 1839 the Grand Jury recommended that "a courthouse and a jail the size of the one at Cass be constructed. Henry Steed built it and it was located in the center of town. An old minute book records that on August 3, 1842 James Morris was paid $1,000 as the "first installment on courthouse." Apparently, Mr. Morris financed the building, but another reference, in 1853, is to "8% interest to be ' paid on money for a courthouse." Financing must have been a major problem because earlier county officials had sought to rent two jury rooms "in the west end of the courthouse ... to the highest bidder" (1849-51). In 1859 three chairs were purchased for the building at a cost of 60� each and three years later the building was recovered at a cost of $1,010. The old mission-courthouse was dismantled after 1867. Finances also created difficulties in the building of a jail. Mose Winters built the first jail on town lot 20 in 1835. This jail burned soon after because in 1837^ prisoners were sent to Cassville. An 1845 act of the Georgia legislature authorized a "tax of 25% for building a jail." The 1839 effort had apparently failed, but this one was successful. In July, 1849 plans to "build a house for the jailer,) James Buchanan, on the jail lot in Spring Place, 36'x 18'with a portico and two chimneys, 10'9" high, good well-burnt brick, with floor well-layed, with ceiling overhead in a workmanlike manner." According to county historian, Charles H. Shriner the second jail burned and this house was then used as the jail. "The! jail had two rooms, one for criminals and one for debtors.. . The debtor's room was better furnished and the debtor could take his own bedding ..." Murray's population increased during the 1840's as lots which had not be-claimed in the 1832 Lottery were sold. Many lots in Murray were purchase! by land speculators who then re-sold the acreage to people who were willing ti, move to this last Georgia frontier. (See Appendix B for Lottery records.) Historian Eulalie M. Lewis wrote that "freight and passenger train service was available over the W&A Railroad as far north as Dublin (now Resaca) in June, 1846. Any travelers or immigrants who came north into Murray County at that time could avail them selves of this new and faster means of transportation. They could then continue their journey by wagon or on horseback from this point. .. Many pioneers did move into Murray from other parts of Georgia. Another large group moved south into Murray from East and Middle Tennessee. South Carolina, and Western North Carolina. One early Murray settler was Dawson A. Walker who later ran against James Milton Smith for governor of Georgia in 1872, Unfortunately, Walker, by this time a county judge and a Republican, lost to the incumbent 104,252 votes to 45.812. Other pioneer settlers were C.B. Tucker. Arthur Gilbert, Thomas Hames (all in the 1830's), John Bryant, James McEntire, John Rollins, Jacob Holland, the Peeples family, John Otis (who had been a guard for the removal), the Bateses, George Cleveland (who had known Joe Vann), and Maynard W. Harris who had joined a company to remove the Indians but returned to Murray in 1844 to purchase 200 acres of land. George White's Statistics of the State of Georgia gives considerable information about Murray County in the 1840's. The population was 6,678 in 1845� 6,160 whites and 518 blacks. Taxes in 1848 totaled $2,199.65. Post offices in the county were Spring Place, Coosawattee, Dalton, Holly Creek, Red Clay, Sugar Valley, Tunnel Hill, Resaca, and Turnersville. According to White, Spring Place had "the usual county buildings, two hotels, one academy, four stores, three groceries, one saddler, one carriage maker, two blacksmiths, two lanyards, three lawyers, and two physicians (Anderson and Underwood). Population: 250." The author also felt that "religion and morality are on the advance. Thel religious sects are Missionary and Anti-Missionary Baptists, Cumberland Presby-1 terians, Methodists, Presbyterians, Roman Catholics, and Uni versa lists." Some! 322 children received education through the "poor fund." White added that "the amusements are dancing, racing, cock-fighting, gander-pulling, and bear fights!" He also praised the numerous fine springs, the acres of beautiful forests, and the abundance of fruits, minerals, and crops. The county boasted fourteen saw mills, twenty grist mills, and three "merchant mills." The roads were only fair and due to a "changeable climate," the residents suffered "considerably from sickness."
The 1850's
Mr. Holcomb was also the census taker in 1850, the last time Murray figures included what is now Whitfield and Catoosa Counties. Approximately 48% of the 12,503 inhabitants were Georgia natives. Fifteen percent were from Tennessee and South Carolina, while eleven percent were North Carolinians by birth. Seven percent were from the British Isles. The remaining four percent were from other states, like Virginia and Kentucky, or other countries such as Canada or Germany. Murray's citizenry included 2.047 dwellings, 6,604 white males, 5.888 white females, 3 free black males, eight free black females, and 1,930 slaves. There were 20 schools serving 646 boys and 442 girls. Three hundred benefited from the $1,100 in poor funds. Almost 300 males were illiterate as were 555 females. During the census year there were 98 marriage and 462 births. Twenty-five manufacturing establishments were operating and among the churches in existence were 17 Baptist, eight Methodist, and two Presbyterian congregations. The value of real estate was 51,660.705 while personal property was valued at SI,268,406. The 1.035 farms in the county included 51,102 acres of improved land and 163,470 unimproved acres. Spring Place was growing rapidly. At the time of the census, Franklin Morris, Addison Jarnagan, John Tyler. John Beall, and John O'Conner were merchants; Charles E. Broyles. Anderson Farnsworth, Dawson A. Walker, John C. Buich, William Loften, James Douglas, J.A.W. Johnson, James A.R. Hanks, Owen H. Kenan, Ambrose Blackwell. and R.H.L. Buchanan were listed as attorneys; James Henry. James Ramsey, William Hunter, Asa May, James Dykes, E.S. Bird, and Wesley Mauldin were blacksmiths; and James J. Allen, Samuel Dwight, William Anderson. Joseph McDowell, Baxter Brown, and J.A. Black were doctors. Brickmasons were Joseph Reuble(?), William H. Steed, Alfred Wheat and John Bowman-while George M. Brown, Mr. Dickinson, John Taiiaferro, and Hugh Goddard were tanners. William Chambers was a cooper, William Laughmiller was a saddler, Abraham Wilson made chairs, Benjamin Buchanan taught school, and S.H. Sterling was a barkeeper. Also on the census were tailors Robert Stansberry, J.M. league, and John H. Williams; shoemakers John Conally and William Stanfield; wagon makers Gordon Webb, Alex Paul; cabinet maker Thomas Crews; "plasterers" John Shamblin(?) and James Young, carpenter Hugh Shannon; and William Hames, a "gold digger." Clerk of Court Ralph Allison, Tax Collector Thomas J. Harper, Sheriff Buchanan, Postmaster Andrew Morris, and Presbyterian minister William B. Brown were also living in Spring Place. Another early Murray family was the Nathanial Harben clan, owners of a farm here before they moved to Dalton between 1855 and 1858 for the children to attend school. The youngsters born in Murray were Frances, Thomas, and Georgia, while Will, born soon after the move to Dalton. became a well-known Georgia novelist. While the census of 1850 was a major occurrence in Murray County, another important event was the establishment of the "General System of Public Schools." Apparently the old plan where the Justice of the Inferior Court (Ordinary) was responsible for administering school funds had not worked in Murray County. Therefore, an act of the legislature created the equivalent of a Board of Education whose duty it was to appoint a clerk/treasurer to receive and distribute "poor school funds." The Board of Commissioners as it was then called also had to examine the teachers for the poor schools. The first commissioners were J.A.W. Johnson, Dawson A. Walker, John C. Birch, John A. Tyler, and William R. Bernier. Permission to form school districts was granted by the legislature in 1857 and during the next year several were established. By this time the ordinary was once again paymaster for the teachers. Another act regulating schools in Murray was passed in 1859. This decade also saw the last major physical changes in Murray County. Walker County had been taken away in 1833 and Dade was formed from Walker 4 years later. Murray also gave up land to Bartow (1834) and Gilmer (1838). As the 1850's began the Murray-Walker line was adjusted and a small area added to Gordon. In 1851 Whitfield was created from Murray and two years later Catoosa was formed out of Whitfield. Other boundary adjustments were made with Bartow County in 1850. with Gordon (formed in 1850) in 1852, 1853, 1866 and 1876. and with Fannin in 1856. Taxes were increased and laws were changed in 1859. Within two decades Murray County had been reduced to approximately 342 square miles in area. The 1850's saw the first of several mining crazes spread across the county. Euclid Waterhouse, Gideon B. Thompson, Thomas H. Caloway, John Towns, and Thomas Leach made up the Tocoah Mining Company while Archibald Fitzgerald. Dawson A. Walker, Edward M. Gait, Francis W. Gait, John W. Wood, Caloway and Waterhouse comprised the Spring Place Mining Company. These ventures were chartered in 1854 along with the Conasauga and Cohutta Mining Companies. A drought occurred in 1852. G.W. Fowler and B.B. Brown were doctors in 1853 while Thomas May was Justice of the Peace in 1856. Also in Spring Place was the Jarnagan Tanyard located west of the Cleveland Road in the 1850's and 1860's. In 1860 H. Heart-sell sold his lanyard to John C. King who in turn sold it to Henry Williams 11 years later. Rev. Selvidge preached to blacks around Spring Place during the 1850's. In 1860 an act was passed to suppress the use of intoxicants at elections in Spring Place. A militia company known as the Spring Place Volunteers was formed in 1859. Within a short time these soldiers would be involved in the Civil War for throughout this decade the clouds were gathering. Eulalie Lewis wrote that at the time of the Civil War "a good hard-surfaced road ... led from Spring Place to Sonora (now Sonoraville)." Perhaps this was the road used by Major Lemuel Dillard (father of the late J.T. Dillard and grandfather of R.E. Dillard) when he brought mail on horseback from Cassville and other points south to Spring Place. On the eve of War a Mr. Garrett took the 1860 Murray County Census. The now smaller Murray included eight districts with the following post offices listed: Spring Place, Woodlawn. Rock Creek, Hassler's Mill, Fancy Hill. Holly Creek. Conasauga. Cohuttah Springs, and Upper King's Ridge (or Bridge). In Spring Place a few of the businessmen from the 1850 count were still around, but most of the names were new. Frank Vonberg and Mr. Crews were cabinet makers, John Russell was a silversmith, Mina Crews was a dressmaker, and Mary Adams was a seamstress while John O'Donally was a tailor, Burger Gaither a tanner, Hiram Garrett a carpenter, and Zachariah Walls a farm agent. N.P. Fams-worth was "a drygoods clerk," F.C. Farmer was a mail carrier, Joel Henry made wagons. John Glover was a miller, and Solomon Plemons made shoes. Doctors were E.H.L. Keister. P.P. Sloan, Anderson. Elias McCutcheon, and James F. Haley. Lawyers included William Luffman, John H. Moffett. W.W. Wilkens, Joseph Slate. Jarnes W. and J.S. Powell. John Oats, and Anderson Farnsworth. Several blacksmiths worked in the town. Among them were J.J. & James H. Cantrell, M.W. Woodard. James C. Henry, and Nathan Davis. Grocerymen and merchants included Matthew Adams, E.W. Jackson, John Edmondson, Whitfield, Robert Powells. A.F. Lowery. and Daniel Nix. John O'Connor and W.W. and Hannah Stone were hotel keepers while John Beall was postmaster. Teachers were J.H.H. Parker, James and L.A.G. Randle, and William Drewsford. James Adams and J.L. Burns were Baptist ministers while Rev. Brown remained at the Presbyterian church. N.T. Osborn was Clerk of Court. Murray County's early years ended. The struggles to establish the county were over, but another nation-wide struggle was beginning.
SLAVERY, WAR, AND RECONSTRUCTION
(1850-1900)
Slavery
Situated in the mountains of northwest Georgia, Murray County of the 1850's was an agricultural land of small farmers. Most inhabitants did not and would never own a single slave. However, all were a part of that agricultural system! upon which the southern economy was based and a minority of Murray residents were slave owners (See Appendix H). Both the slave owners and the non-owners were pretty typical Southerners of their class. Such a state would seem likely since most of Murray's original settlers came directly from the yeoman stock of the Carolinas and east Tennessee with the remainder moving from other parts of Georgia and middle Tennessee. Most of the Murray slaveholders migrated from one of the latter places. Since communication was slow in this region, the controversial national events of the 1850's such as the Compromise, the Kansas-Nebraska Act and Dred Scott, might not have mattered a great deal to those settled in this area. (There was no newspaper in this locale until after the War.) Perhaps the bitter arguments between the North and the South were too far away to worry about. However, by 1860 all had heard of Abraham Lincoln, the Republicans, and the four-way contest for the Presidency as well as what would happen if Lincoln were elected. Even in Murray County a little Negro boy asked his mistress why the blacks had to work for her and expressed a desire to be free. The Census of 1850 reported 2,047 families in Murray. Making up these families were 6,604 white males, 5,888 white females, 11 free Negroes, and 1,930 slaves. The next year a new county, Whitfield, was created out of Murray reducing its size from 625 square miles to 342 square miles and its population accordingly. By 1860 a few families owned a large percentage of the slaves in the then smaller Murray County. Among the slaveholders were the Morris, Seay, Black, Wilson, Treadwell, Tibbs, Fouts, Carter, Dwight. Edmondson, Bryant, and Waterhouse families. James Morris came to this area in the 1840's and made a good deal of money in real estate and as a merchant and planter. A letter written in 1897 by Elias Camp Morris of Arkansas speaks fondly of the Morris family and recalls numerous pleasant experiences. Elias Morris was a former slave and one of the many who adopted the name of their former owner. The letter, now in the Georgia Department of Archives and History, reads: Helena, Arkansas �����,1897 Mr. J.C.Morris Spring Place, Ga. Having learned when passing through Dalton a few weeks ago that you were living at or near the old homestead, 1 told my sister Sarah about it and she wrote you at once and received your reply today. I was exceedingly glad to hear from you. 1 have passed through there quite often and had I known any of you were still living 1 would have stopped off to see you. Perhaps you hardly remember me. I was only nine years old when we left to go to Dalton in 1864 but I have a clear recollection of you and all your people. Your father will remember me if he is still living, for 1 used to carry messages for my sister to her husband, Robert, when he was hiding from the patrollers. God bless your father, he was one of the best men that ever lived. I remember your Aunt Lizzie well and used to nurse for your Aunt Sarah. What has become of her boy by the name of Jeff Davis? 1 was so small I could hardly carry him about ... All the Morrises I ever saw were industrious ... I have four children. I am holding to the old family manners. I am very glad to hear that your children are doing so well . . . I can't tell you how near I feel towards you and all those who are left of the family. My father and mother used to talk about you all so much before they died. All us boys learned trades. Jim and William . . . learned the blacksmith trade under father. Tolliver and I learned the shoemaker's trade. I followed my trade with great profit until 1 took charge of a church. (17 years earlier). . . 1 am glad that you and I were on the same side of the political question in the last campaign. 1 was a delegate to the convention that nominated McKinley . . . 1 hope you will get whatever you aspire to, and if I can be of any benefit to you, command me, for I flatter myself to say that I stand as well with party leaders as any colored man in the country. I live in a Democratic stronghold but 1 enjoy the respect and confidence of all the people, white or black. Is old Temperance Hill church still standing? God bless the sacred old spot. I know you will tire of reading this, so will close. Yours very truly, Elias Camp Morris PS. I can almost feet the kiss which your grandpa gave me the morning we left to go to Dalton. An agreement between Wilson Norton of Whitfield County and John Bryant of Murray reveals that in July, 1863 Mr. Bryant purchased nine slaves, a single family, for $13,200. Even in the midst of war the slave trade continued. Upon reading the document one feels that Mr. Bryant might have bought the group just to keep the family together since the mother, Sidney, was only 32 years old and already had problems with her leg. The father, Frank, was 34 years old and referred to as "a boy." Family members say that Mr. Bryant sold all nine before the war ended. Following is the document (provided by Mrs. Louise Mitchell of Chatsworth): State of Georgia Whitfield County I have this day sold and do hereby transfer and convey to John Bryant, his heirs and assigns forever for thirteen thousand two hundred dollars to me paid, nine slaves 1 boy named Frank about 34 & 6 months of age, 1 woman named Sidney aged about 32 years and 6 months 1 boy named James aged about 14 years, 1 boy named Ben aged about 15 years 6 months, 1 boy named Jack aged about 12 years of age, 1 girl named Mollie aged about 8 years, 1 girl named Sallie aged about 6 years, 1 girl named Allis aged about 5 years 1 girl child named Fanna(?) aged about 2 years old, I warrant the title of these said nine slaves to the said John Bryant his heirs and assigns against the lawful claims of all others. I also warrant the said slaves to be sound and healthy and sensible and slaves for life. But as to the health of the woman Sidney she has some broken veins and (?) her leg otherwise healthy so far as I know. Given under my hand and seal This July 8th, 1863. Wilson Norton (Seal) Test. L.P. Gudger Wilson Norton (SEAL) Following is another slave transaction (courtesy of Jackie Gray. San Luis Obispo.CA). Georgia Murray County This ----- Made and entered into the March 29, between William Mitchell of the one part and John H. Hawkins and Charles D. Durham of the other part all of the county aforesaid. I the said William Mitchell Doth bargain and sell _____ to the said Hawkins & Durham three negroes One woman Sarah Twenty-eight years of age Two Boy children, the Oldest One by the name of Joseph Eight years old and the other boy Three years old by the name of Jeny-all Black Complettined I the said Mitchell for an consideration of the sum of Thirteen Hundred in hand paid Doth warrant and Defend from Myself and all other parties unto the said Hawkins and Durham the three Negroes above stated the Wright and Title for ever in fee simple. Signed Sealed in the present John B. Mitchell Wrn Mitchell The Seay and Wilson families intermarried and were reported as being very good to their slaves. The Dwights were wealthy and came from South Carolina. They built a fabulous mansion west of Spring Place called "Hopedale." Mr. Black, who was also a physician, sold all of his slaves to James Edmondson in the late 1850's upon the agreement that Mr. Edrnondson would not separate the Negroes. One of the slaves involved in the transfer was a young boy named Levi Branham. Levi possessed an excellent memory and later put the story of his life in a small book called My Life and Travels. Published in 1929, the book gives a fascinating account of life in Murray in the 1800's, though the greatest distance Mr. Branham ever traveled was to South Georgia. According to Levi, Mr. Edmondson owned many, many acres on several farms. Levi's mother was on her master's Tennessee farm while Levi was on the Spring Place plantation and, at other times, on his master's country estate at Mayhill in southwest Murray County on Holly Creek. Levi had much to say about his owners: One of my young masters was Tom Polk Edmondson. I was Tom Polk's waitman until he went to the Civil War ... All of the waitmen and waitresses stayed in the Edmondson house now known as the Chief Vann House. The room in which we stayed had a fine carpet on which we slept. Mr. Edmondson gave us fine blankets and we surely did sleep warm and comfortable. My old mistress, 'Miss Beckie," was very good to us. She took more pains with us darkies than our parents did, simply because she had more to care for us with, and she loved us ... I thought as much of 'Miss Beckie' as 1 did my mother. When all the white boys and girls would be away Miss Beckie would gather the little N children around the fire and talk with us. . . One day I said to Miss Beckie: �Why do we little Negro children have to work for you?' She said: 'That's the way our fore-parents fixed the matter.' My mistress told me that the Negroes were brought from Africa so that they could be enlightened and that they may be taught to serve God . . . My master owned all the land west from the ... Vann House to the Conasauga river . .. He owned 35 or 40 slaves . . . never had any overseers, but had a foreman. After crops were laid by, Mr. Edmondson would give a picnic for his slaves. He would take part. . The Edmondsons seem to have been unusually benevolent owners. Levi played with both the black children and the white. Many white people were among his closest friends. However, the kind owners also demanded respect and discipline for in another place Levi writes; My . . . mistress would always say she was going to whip me, but she never whipped me but once . . . one morning after the others had gone to work and I was still lying in the bed, my old mistress came upstairs to my room with an old cow hide and struck me three or four licks. 1 jumped up and ran to the fields . . . One day while a crowd of children and I were pulling up cotton stalks, my hands became very tired so 1 went to the House, Mr Edmondson asked my why 1 quit. I told him that 1 was tired, so to punish me for my laziness he carried me upstairs and put me on a very high porch so that I could not escape. . . Within a few days .. . I began to play off again, so Mr. Edmondson ... carried me to a dark room in the ... house and made me stay there until dark and ... I got enough of it that time. In still another chapter the writer states: In 1862 the slave owners had paddle rollers that they used to whip their slaves with when they were caught away from home. Once two slaves who belonged to Seay were caught on Mr. Edmondson's place ... I ran along behind them to see what the white people were going to do with the slaves. They whipped them ... All slaves caught after sundown without a pass were beaten. It was always an easy matter for Mr. Edmondson's slaves to obtain a pass . . . The slaves of other owners would hardly ever get a pass. The Edmondson's also allowed their slaves to attend the funeraJ of their former mistress, Mrs. Mary Black. The Edmondsons also allowed visitors to tip their slaves for things tike putting up horses or shining shoes. Levi saved his tips so that he could visit his mother in Tennessee. Though he lost the money on the way, Levi got there safely and visited for six months. When Levi returned to Spring Place in 1861, he was given a new job-that of fanning flies in the dining room during meals. Even though he was always well fed, Levi reports that watching the white folks eat all that good food always made his mouth water. Among his other duties were to help mind the calves, to carry water, to churn, and to carry sugar from its keeping place in the garret down to the kitchen each morning for breakfast. Soon, Levi begged Mr. Edmondson to let him stay with another white family, the Keisters. Mrs, Keister was extremely good to the young slave and taught him arithmetic, geography, and history. Levi also wrote: In 1862 Spring Place was a wealthy little town. Mr. Edmondson, Mr. Wilson and Mr. Scay were very good to their Negroes. Some of them around were regular speculators. I knew a preacher by the name of Selvidge who preached around Spring Place to the Negroes, and his text was "Servant Obey Your Master." And he would have them washed and dressed; then he would put them on the block and bid them off like a group of horses or mules. In 1863 the Edmondsons moved to their Terrell County farm as the war moved closer to Spring Place and Levi stated: "My master always said that his Negroes did not pay him anything; what he had, he had made in the legislature . . . Some Negroes had good masters and some had bad ones, but 1 think I had a good master." Near the end of the War all the Edmondson Negroes were sent into town to fast and pray. Levi prayed, "Oh Lord, please help Abraham Lincoln to whip Jefferson Davis." When Mr. Edmondson asked him what he prayed, the young boy answered: "Oh Lord, please help Jefferson Davis to whip Abraham Lincoln," to which Mr. Edmondson replied: "You prayed right," and gave the slave a half dollar. Thus the Edmondsons seem to have been much like many other slave holders in the South in terms of discipline, working conditions, and general treatment. Two other slave owners of Murray County were a little different. Euclid Waterhouse, a very wealthy native of Tennessee, owned much of the land in what became known as Little Murray, an area which was dominated by large farms. Waterhouse eventually acquired 3,000 acres of land at one tent an acre and increased his fortune by selling it at a higher price. Most of the land in Little Murray (much of which is still under cultivation) was cleared by slave labor. Mr. Waterhouse produced vast quantities of grain on his rich river-bottom land. After harvest and during the winter rains, the corn was shelled, loaded on barges, and floated down the Conasauga River and other streams until it reached market at Rome. The Waterhouse home was Oakwood, about a mile south of the state line on the Spring Place-Cleveland Road (Georgia Highway 225). Mr. Waterhouse was a pacifist, called in his day "a Union man," and hoped to just live quietly without trouble when the War began. However, his neighbors would not allow it and finally Mr. Waterhouse sold his property and freed all his siaves. He then moved north for the duration of the conflict. Even though it meant a severe decline in his fortunes, Waterhouse would not go to war to preserve slavery. His home was purchased by Major M.D.L. McCroskey and is now owned by the Colvard family. The largest plantation in Murray County was the famed Carter's Quarters owned first by Farish Carter . Mr. Carter was a self-made man who had amassed a fortune selling supplies to the U.S. Arrny during the Warof 1812. He first saw the Murray area and what was to become his home when Cherokees lived there. As the Indians were removed, he bought up the land lots from the Land Lottery drawers until he had about 15.000 acres. Here at Rock Springs, which was also called Coosawattee and has since been named Carters, Mr. Carter spent the summer months, returning to his home in the then state capital of Milledgeville in the winter. The operation of the farm was left to Farish Carter 's son, Samuel. Together: they ruled a vasl empire of several farms scattered over the state. So abundant; were the Carter crops that the expression, "more money than Carter had oats"' was formed to suggest the highest level of wealth in the ante-bellum days. The base of this wealth was the slave force, numbering over 300 in Murray County alone. Many steamboats came up the Coosawattee River to Carter's Landing and returned to Rome full of crops. The Carters treated their slaves extremely well. Food was plentiful, the slaves content, and the appearance of the quarters so pleasing to the eye that the plantation took on the name "Carter's Quarters." In the 1850's the elder Carter considered selling his slaves and investing the capital otherwise. This shocked his family and friends so much that his wife persuaded him no! to do so. Farish Carter died just after the firing upon Fort Surnter, leaving Samuel Carter to preside over the empire alone during the War and Reconstruction. The sway which Colonel Sam Carter exercised over his plantation was one of "firmness tempered with gentle speech and kind treatment. When he died in 1897, eight of his oldest servants acted as pallbearers for a beloved master to whom they had once been slaves and whose service they never left," according to his obituary in The Atlanta Constitution, This must have been one of the reasons for the success of the Carter plantation even into the twentieth century. However, the old way of life, the way of life for folks like the Carters, Ed-mondsons, Waterhouses, and Wilsons did not last, for war came-even to Murray County. Every citizen of the area was affected by this conflict between the North and the South
SLAVERY, WAR, AND RECONSTRUCTION
(1850-1900)
War Comes to Murray
The War Between the States drew closer and closer. The Southern states called for conventions to decide on the question of secession. Georgia was no exception and set January 16, 1861 as the date for the convention to open in Milledgeville. Each county sent delegates and Murray was represented by Euclid Waterhouse and Anderson Farnsworth (County Ordinary and Justice of the Inferior Court). Since plantation-owning, slaveholding men like Edmondson. Morris, and Carter were in the minority, the citizens of Murray, like most of the mountain counties, sent "Union" delegates to the convention to voice their opinions and vote against secession. However, the majority of the delegates voted to leave the Union and Georgia seceded. After Georgia cast her lot with the Confederacy, the men of Murray rallied to protect their homeland. Ten full companies went to the front from Murray led by R.E. Wilson, William Luffman, J.D.W. McDonald, John Beck, John Oats, I.W. Avery, William Harris, Tom Polk Edmondson. A.J. Leonard, and Sam Garner. At least 1000 men enlisted in Murray County and several hundred others enlisted in surrounding counties such as Whitfield, Gilmer. and even in Tennessee. Additional men left Murray County and joined the Federal troops, refusing to fight for slavery and see the Union dissolved. Levi Branham records seeing a group of soldiers drilling near Spring Place in 1861. Recruiting officers visited the area often and advertised their arrival like the poster below which was provided by Miss Lula Bates of Atlanta: The war began. More and more men left their homes in the shadow of Fort Mountain for Virginia, Mississippi, and Tennessee. Many felt the war would last only a few months and each side was sure of winning. Thus few long-term preparations were made to keep things going at home and by 1863 many residents were suffering though the war had not yet come to Murray soil. County historian Charles Shriner described the situation in Murray as follows: . . . turn with pride to the brave deeds and unselfish devotion displayed by Murray's sons on many a field of battle. . .The slaves as a rule, remained true to their masters during the war. While the men were away fighting, the slaves stayed to labor for and protect women and children at home. . .Murray's noble women deserve a tribute for their great self-sacrifice. Wilh their own hands often unused to toil, they struggled to keep the wolf from the door and even found time to make clothing. . .for the boys at the front. All honor to these noble women and may their daughters not be found wanting in those graces that have made their mothers immortal. Levi Branham adds: "Salt was so scarce that my mistress had her servants dig up her smoke house and boil the dirt down to salt." The Civil War Diary of John Coffee Williamson reveals the sad condition in Murray County by 1864. A member of General Joe Wheeler's party when it rode through Murray on its way to help defend Dalton, Mr. Williamson penned these lines on April 14. 1864: I came on into Murray. . .and found many. . .glad io see us. . The bushwhackers are having everything their own way. and are taking any kind of property they want. . . Passed through Spring Place and found things in a very dilapidated condition. No military action took place in Murray until the late summer of 1863 as the Battle of Chickamauga occurred. According to Mr. Branham the sound of that battle could be heard in Murray and as the Edmondsons "refugeed" to South Georgia, a detachment of Bragg's army rode through the Spring Place area. The Confederates won at Chickamauga and the Union forces retreated to Chattanooga. In November, 1863, the Confederates were driven south and Bragg set up headquarters in Dalton. In all likelihood Confederate soldiers visited Murray County to gather food for the arrny during the winter. Bragg was then replaced by General Joseph E. Johnston, who began rebuilding the morale of the troops. In the spring General William T. Sherman look command at Chattanooga, replacing Ulysses Grant who had been moved to Virginia to oppose Robert E. Lee. Two skirmishes took place in the vicinity of Spring Place. One occurred on February 27, 1864 as Thomas was advancing. The second and seemingly more severe was in April. Both encounters took place west of Spring Place. A letter from Union General George H. Thomas describes the April battle as follows; Early on the morning of the 15th Maj, Gen. Steedman, with two regiments of white and six companies of colored troops arrived at Dalton from Chattanooga and immediately attacked the enemy, driving him off toward Spring Place, after four hours of fighting. The enemy's loss was heavy-he left his dead and wounded on the field. Our loss was 40 killed, 55 wounded. We captured about 50 wounded and two surgeons. Thomas remained on Murray soil until the next day when he crossed the Conasauga River and returned to Dalton. On May 4, 1864, Sherman received orders to advance toward Atlanta. The strategy of General Johnston was to preserve the Western & Atlantic Railroad while the strategy of General Sherman was to move Johnston east toward Murray County away from the railroad. Therefore, Sherman placed very few troops other than scouting parties on the eastern side of Dalton, Most of these raiding and scouting parties were met by General Joe Wheeler's troops. The Federal troops advanced toward Dalton via Ringgold and Catoosa Springs, but they were met with heavy fighting at Tunnel Hill and "Buzzard's Roost." Sherman then went around Dalton, forcing the Confederates to retreat to Resaca in Gordon County. Many Murray soldiers participated in this battle. The Yankees camped at Tilton and some might have crossed over into Murray in that area. After Resaca, Sherman moved steadily toward Atlanta which after many battles and the siege, finally surrendered to him on September 4,1864. After the fall of Atlanta, General Hood, now in command of the Army of Tennessee, came back through Dalton in October on his trip to Nashville where he was again defeated. From October to the following April most of what took place in Northwest Georgia was guerrilla-type raids on Union troops. One of the most famous of these raids occurred in Murray County in April, 1865. The leader was none other than Tom Polk Edmondson. For many years the only knowledge of this battle was a poem entitled "North Georgia Scouts" written by James Maurice Thompson. Finally a Murray County historian, Conway Gregory, Jr., did extensive research on this topic and here we turn to his fascinating account of the life and death of Tom Polk Edmondson and his North Georgia Scouts. The entire Edmondson family strongly supported the tradition of slavery. Tom Polk was among the first Murray Countians to join the cause of the Confederacy, enlisting at the age of 17. He first joined the "Murray Rifles" but was soon given a position as staff clerk and later as a recruiter. Eager to see action and bored with his current assignment, Tom Polk paid someone to substitute for him. He then reenlisted as a second lieutenant in another regiment. Tom Polk immediately found himself in the thick of many battles having become a part of the Army of Tennessee. In 1864 he obtained the rank of major. During General Sherman's Atlanta campaign, Major Edmondson was in command of a small cavalry unit of about 75 men near Spring Place. From this base of operations, the North Georgia Scouts carried out raids against the Union Army and harassed citizens who were sympathetic to the Union cause. His tactics allegedly included killing men and women. From the Southern perspective, his guerrilla-type operations proved to be highly successful. These hit-and-run maneuvers finally drew the Federal Cavalry into the area to stalk Edmondson and his Scouts. On October 20, 1864 Major U.K. Fox wrote to Major General Steadman, commander of the Army of the Cumberland around Dalton, requesting that a cavalry unit of 25 men who were familiar with the area around Spring Place be placed in his charge to pursue Edmondson. During the fall of 1864 and winter of 1865 Major Fox tried in vain to track down the North Georgia Scouts. Not until April 3, 1865, during a Dalton-to-Spring Place expedition of the 147th Illinois Infantry and Sixth Tennessee Cavalry under the command of lieutenant Colonel Werner W. Bjerg, did Edmondson and his little band of Confederates meet their doom. Bjerg's forces left Dalton around 9:00 Saturday morning April 1, enroute to Spring Place. He had a force of 300 men at his disposal, infantry under the charge of Major Bush and an 80-man cavalry under Major Bean. After crossing the river at Glace Ferry, the expeditionary force camped in Spring Place Saturday night following an exchange of gunfire with pickets. Six known Rebel sympathizers were taken prisoner including A. and Z, Wilkins, Jared Fox, J.C. Henry, Charles Staples, F.C, Farmer, and Judge Ellro(d). On Sunday morning the Infantry and Cavalry began their advance south to Holly Creek. About two miles south of Spring Place, Bjerg's advance guard was attacked by a small force of Confederates under the command of a Captain Williams who was badly wounded in this skirmish. Oliver Brown, a Confederate private, was taken prisoner near Holly Creek. The Federal force moved down the Calhoun Road to Tucker's where a horse, a saddle, and a shotgun were confiscated. After passing Lee Allen 's house the company left the Calhoun Road to travel a country road to Hogan's house on the Coosawattee, On the way, B. Gassaway was taken prisoner. Since it was quite late in the afternoon when the Federals reached the river, Bjerg decided to camp at Hogan's house and wait until morning before attempting to cross the river. On Monday morning, April 3, 1865, the expedition advanced to McLoath Ford on the Coosawattee. There were two ferries near Mr. Hogan's, one above the house and the other below it. Bjerg planned to utilize the ferries in addition to the ford. With a force of between 150 and 200 men, Major Edmondson had set up headquarters and a line of defense on the other side of the river to thwart the Federal's crossing. His North Georgia Scouts had been reinforced with several squads under the charges of Captain Rodgers, Captain Willraur, Captain Tate, and Lieutenant Ring. Edmondson had his force waiting in ambush to attack when the attempted crossing began. Bjerg quickly ordered his force divided into two detachments. He sent Majors Bush and Bean up the Coosawattee with orders to cross and outflank the enemy. The Majors went about two miles up the river where they seized Samuel Montgomery's boat and successfully crossed the river. Bjerg took his other detachment 1 � miles south where he forced a Confederate sympathizer (known only a citizen Fuqua) to give him his boat which was anchored in the Sallicoa (Salliquoy) Creek. Under fire from hidden Rebels, Bjerg's detachment crossed the Coosawattee in the boat. Once across, the Federals captured and set fire to a small log house which the Confederates were using as a defense barrier. The force then began their advance north along the river. At the Rullarno Ferry, Bjerg divided his detachment. Half of the men were left to guard the ferry and the teams of wagons which were under constant fire from the Rebels. The remainder of his group continued their advance north toward Shepard's to link with Majors Bush and Bean. After rendezvousing with Bush and Bean, Bjerg moved swiftly back down the river to John Ballew's house which had been Edmondson's headquarters earlier in the day. When they arrived Edmondson and his force had already deserted the home. Bjerg ordered the torch set to Ballew's distillery and began his pursuit of Edmondson. The Federals advanced rapidly south along the river to Zachariah Wilson's house. Here Major Edmondson regrouped his forces and, after observing a scattered enemy force, decided upon an offensive assault on the Federal's rear guard. When the attack came, Bjerg moved to regroup his forces around the wagons and supplies at the Rullarno Ferry crossing. All afternoon, Edmondson ordered offensive charges against Bjerg's force as they retired back across the river. Each time the Scouts were repulsed. In one of the last charges of the day, personally led by Edmondson, the Major received a fatal wound to the face and back in hand-to-hand combat. At the end of the day, the Federals withdrew to Hogan's house and bivouacked for the night. They returned Edmondson's body to the Confederates, but kept his gun and saddle. The next morning they returned to Dalton via the Tilton Ford on the Conasauga River. Hogan. his son, and citizen Fuqua were taken prisoner. The Federals suffered only three casualties and no deaths in the entire day of fighting. Besides Major Edmondson's death, the Confederates sustained a loss of 12 to 15 men including a lieutenant whose name is unknown. Captain Rodgers assumed temporary command of the North Georgia Scouts which remained active until shortly after General Johnston's surrender to General Sherman in Durham, North Carolina, on April 26, 1865. Captain Rodgers ordered Major Edmondson's body returned to his family. Today he rests in the Spring Place Cemetery in the family plot. The tombstone, small but not hard to find, reads: "Tom Polk Edmondson Born August 1844, Killed in Battle, April 3, 1865." Thompson's poem which records the battle is well written and is the only historical reminder of the most important military engagement on Murray soil.
North Georgia Scouts
rode a horse, a dappled bay.
Coal black his mane and tail-
A horse that never needed spur.
Nor curb, nor martingale.
And by my side three others rode,
Sun-tanned, long-haired and grim,
Wild men led on by Edmondson,
Tom Polk, you 've heard of him.
Behind us galloped, four by four
A swarthy, mottled band
Of reckless fellows, chosen from
The bravest in the land.
Whether away on that fair day?
Oh, just a dash of fun.
To speed our horses and keep up
With Tom Polk Edmondson.
Behind our backs we left the hills;
We crossed the Salliquoy:
My right-hand Comrade smiled and said:
"I fished here when a boy. "
Then from the rise at Hogan 's house,
I saw as in a dream
Red-fringed and silver-blue and deep.
The Coosawatte gleam.
A shot rang out! A bullet split
The air so close to me,
I felt the keen hot puff, and then
A roar of musketry.
A leader wind blew from the wood;
We met it at a run;
We sped so fast along the lane
The worn fence panels spun.
A horse went down, a dying face
Scowled darkly at the sky;
A bullet clipped my Comrade's hat.
And lopped the brim awry.
"Come boys; Come on!"our leader cried.
Pell mell we struck the line.
My Comrade's pistol spat its balls.
And likewise so did mine.
A swirl of smoke with rifts of fire
Enveloped friend and foe;
Death, so embarrassed, hardly knew
Which way his strokes must go.
The fight closed in on every side.
And tore one spot of ground;
There was not room to swing an arm
Or turn your horse around.
A moment thus and there we broke
The circle of our foes.
Old Hogan, in his doorway, heard
The crunching of our blows.
Then, while we used our pistol butts.
As swords on many a head;
And yet, and yet, down in that wood
We left our leader, dead
So, now you know just how it was
We had our little fun,
Speeding our horses to keep up
With Tom Polk Kdmondson.
James Maurice Thompson, In History of Murray County, 1911
The residents of Murray suffered a great deal during this time. Mrs. Milma Earnest remembers her grandmothers telling of "hogbacks" who roamed the area pillaging and destroying property. "My grandmother Peeples' silver was stolen and my grandmother Stanford persuaded the raiders to leave a half-blind horse so that she and the children could make a garden," Mrs. Earnest says. The Home Guard, consisting of men too old for active service and boys who were too young, was left to protect the area. However, late in the War, the ranks of the Home Guard had been depleted as young men lied about their ages and older men were allowed to enlist when the conscription age was raised to 45 and then to 55 in order to fill the gaps in the Confederate ranks. Mrs. Bill Warmack reports that Joseph C .Henry was the only man left in the town of Spring Place one time because he was a blacksmith and indeed a very few males were civilians by 1865. Mr. J.M- McGhee of Spring Place hid his wife and children in meat boxes for protection on one occasion. The McGhees lived quite near the skirmish of 1864 as several soldiers were buried on their property. Many buttons, mini-balls, and relics were found in this area�now known as McGhee Hill, just south of Spring Place. On another occasion Mrs. Mary Amanda Cleveland McGhee found a 16-year-old Union soldier in her barn. She and the youngsters dug a shallow grave and buried him in the Spring Place Cemetery where the American Legion Post 167 placed a marker in 1976. A house near the Spring Place Cemetery was converted into a hospital in 1864. Some sources say the site was on the north side of the cemetery while others say the hospital was located a short distance west of the cemetery near the present Spring Place Church of God. Records reveal that several patients died of smallpox at this hospital. Other areas of the county were subject to raids also. One group of soldiers went through the northeast corner of Murray and it is said that they actually rode their horses through the wide, central hall of the old Summerhour House near Crandall, (Located on what is now Highway 225, the house was torn down in 1980) This group could possibly be the same one that raided the Alaculsey Valley area in the extreme northeast corner of Murray, deep in the mountains. One of the early settlers in this area was Solomon Fouts, a well-to-do businessman and slaveowner. Apparently he used slaves to help operate his mills and wood-working shop as well as his farm. His descendants tell that early one winter morning a raiding party came to the Fouts home and stayed four days. The invaders killed cattle and hogs, had the women cooking around the clock with no rest, took the beds, and crowded the fire, even burning the furniture. The men abused the children and finally hanged Solomon Fouts to a limb of a large oak tree in the yard. Following an argument, the group shot one of their own men. The women fainted and someone then discovered that Mr. Fouts was not dead! Evidently, the noose was not tied properly and so Mr. Fouts was released and ordered to bury the dead soldier. Finally the intruders decided to leave but took all the livestock and money they could, leaving only a calf and a pig. Over in the northwest part of the county three interesting incidents are remembered, all involving Rev. S.H. Henry, founder and pastor of Sumach Cumberland Presbyterian Church. Early in the War a group of soldiers raided his farm and impressed all of the minister's horses. Thus, Mr. Henry was forced to walk to meet his appointments for the next four years, but was never late to a religious service. The second incident was later in the War when troops entered the house while the family was having devotions and demanded the keys to the smokehouse. Rev. Henry calmly told the officers that he would talk to them when the worship was over. Soon the room was filled with kneeling soldiers. Instead of robbing the smokehouse, the soldiers thanked the minister for the prayer and departed. The last event happened during the August 1865 revival at Sumach. Rev, Henry unbuckled pistols from many Union and Confederate soldiers who still wore the blue and the gray, placing the firearms on the altar. Also, in this section of Murray, soldiers were buried on the R.F. Hill farm on Highway 225 North. Many other Murray residents report that soldiers' graves could be found on their property. Finally the long war ended, Murray soldiers were present with Lee at Appomattox and with Johnston in North Carolina. A number of the men returned to their mountain homes, but many did not. Some had wounds from which they would never fully recover, while others were soon restored to health and lived for many years after the war. There are many sad stories which could be recounted in this respect, but space does not permit the inclusion of all of them. However, two particularly touching accounts warrant mention. William and Lucy Morris Jackson, respected citizens who lived near the foot of Fort Mountain, had six sons who enlisted in the War. Three of them� Benjamin, Eppie and John�were killed in battle while a fourth, William, Jr., died from exposure soon after the surrender. Only Tom and Frank survived the conflict. In another instance Harris Bramblett, who lived south of Spring Place, was over 50 and did not enlist until July 1, 1864 as Sherman progressed through Georgia. He already had two sons fighting for the South. He was mustered into service on July 2 and was sent to Atlanta. There, on July 22, he was killed, only 21 days after enlisting. The sons were in the same battle. All of those who returned to Murray soil were shocked at the state of their society. They had given their all for a lost cause. Murray County was not a Richmond or a Vicksburg, but it, too, suffered greatly during this War Between the States The veterans returned home to rebuild their lives and their county, succeeding very well. For the remainder of the nineteenth century these veterans dominated the government of Murray County and were among the most respected of all citizens. No history of the Civil War would be complete without letters and sketches written by the participants. James Y. Baynes, who lived in the Bull Pen District, penned these lines to his wife, Bettie, from Portsmouth, Virginia, June 23,1861-soon after the War began: Dear Bettie, I received your letter two weeks ago it was only four days on the way here. I was very glad to hear from you that you were all well. 1 wrote to you a few days ago but the letter by some neglect of our mail boy it was not carried to the office, so I will not send that one but the one I write today, 1 was very sick last week but I am well at present. There has been two deaths in out regiment and one drummed out on account of being a rouge, . . his company beat him neatly to death, he was from Augusta. Another from the same place had to wear a ball and chain fourteen days, he deserted last night. Another has been severely punished this week, he has a large pasteboard on his back with "A coward in war, bu( base enough to offer violence to a woman" in great big letters on the pasteboard, he is chained . . .for public spectacle. He is from Covington but 1 forget his name. There is nearly two hundred men sick in our camp with measles and pneumonia. Ben Hollis is very sick at a friend's house in Portsmouth ... We in our regiment has had no fight yet, but can hear the guns of those that are fighting everyday. It is very probable that we will have chance soon as we are expecting orders to march into Pennsylvania .. . We are well supplied with corn, meal, flour, bacon, beef, mutton, peas, beans, cabbage, and sugar and coffee, living very well I think, each mess has a negro woman to do their cooking and washing ... $1 for each man, Bettie I never have had the least idea of being killed or wounded. 1 do not believe that god ever intended for a Yankee to kill me. I'm not afraid of being killed ... 1 am willing. 1 never think in the least that we are parted forever. I believe firmly we will meet again and live some time in peace and happiness ... I will have money to send you very soon ... do not refuse to take what was promised to me by my Captain that you and the children should be provided for... Kiss Bob and ____ for me and I want you to take particular care of them for you have nothing else to do....your affectionate husband,. James Y. Baynes P.S. 1 weigh eight pounds more than I ever did in my life and they all say here that I look younger... I will look so well when I come home I am afraid you will fall in love wirh me! (Courtesy of Louise Coker) This undated and unsigned letter shows the sadness endured by the young who were separated by the conflict: My Dear Esther, 1 regret to have to report to you that 1 have to report to Dalton tomorrow at my company and you see that I can not go with the one that feels dear to me to Calhoun. My loving Esther if you please take my watch and ring and keep them for the one that loves you dearer than any person until I get to see you. I am going to try and get a furlough when 1 go over to Dalton. 1 will return, if not I will stay with my company. I would like to see you before you left but I suppose I can not. 1 wrote you a note by your ______ last evening but I did not know at that time that 1 would have to go but since I have been informed different. Betsy has said a great deal about you and I instructed her last nipht on your account and I will again, I do not allow people to talk about my friends if I can prevent it. 1 think I did right. If it is agreeable with you I will visit you at your new home but 1 want you to address me at Dalton and 1 will be sure to get it. If I come back home Mr. Durham will bring my letters to me. The mail is so uncertain at Spring Place, I might not get it. Direct in care of Capt. Wilson Co. A 87th a Reg. Bells Brigade, Dalton, Ga. 1 will think of you often and 1 hope you will of me. I would be glad that you would stay but 1 hope you will return with me in the summer. My dear please write me a note. By M,_______ Letter courtesy of Mrs. Jackie Gray, San Luis Obispo, CA One veteran wrote the following account several years after the war ended. (Retaining his spelling and punctuation.)
SLAVERY, WAR, AND RECONSTRUCTION
(1850-1900)
A Sketch of My War Reccord as a Confederate Soldier
I voleteered as a private solier for 12 months under Capt. N.A. Mcghee in Co. A 3rd Ga. Battallion. on May the 10 1861 from Spring Place Murray Co., GA. From Spring Place I went to BigShatyGa.at that time we could not be mustered in for 12 months. So we were given 2 weeks to raise our Co to one hundred men for 3 years or during the war. Mcghee resinded. We then elected R.E. Wilson Captain & in 2 weeks we had our Co. up to the standard of one hundred. We remained in Cobb Co about 2 months drilling. We ware then called Stovealls 3d Ga Battallion 7 company. M.H. Stoveall Lieutenant Col Commanding. We left Ga for Va the 7 day of August 1861 arriveing in Linchburg Va We were ordered to gotn to camps as we were too late for the first Manasses Batle. I remained in Linchburg nea 2 months then was ordered to Richmon Va, remaining 4 days there. Our command was ordered to goldsbarrow NC there we remained until Nov 1861 From there we were ordered back to Richmon From there our Battallion was detached from the regular Army & sent to East Tenn, We were stationed a long the railroad from Moss Creek to Greenville where we taken up deserters & Bridge Burners until Feby 62 when we were ordered to Cumberland Gap where we were stationed until! 1863 when we were ordered to fall back We moved back some 20 miles The Federals then advanced a cross the Cumberland Mountain to Taswell We then advance on them & drove them to the Cumberland Mountain with but little loss. We then were attacked to the renolds Brigade and went to Lexing-ton Kentucky on arriving in Lexington we the 3rd Ga Battallion was detailed to Lenores Station there my Battalion was a gain detached and ordered back to garrison the citty there we remained untill the army fell back to East Tenn, Cumberland Gap There we petitioned the war department to be released from that station so we were ordered back to the regular army on arriving at Lenores Station we were attached to General Rains Brigade it was com posed of the second 20 & 27 Tenn & the 4 Ky and the 3rd. Ga Battallion we went from Lenores Station to Murfress Burrer Tenn there on the 30 & 31 days of Dec 1863 we had our first hand faught batle. General Rains was killed Wm. B. Bates of Tenn was promoted to Brigadier General in this batle My Co only lost two men Dead W. Gladden & Abe Kindry Severile were woonded in our brigad and especially our 3rd Ga Battallion gained a glorrious victory driving the Federals 3 � miles. our 3d Ga Battallion was in good trim we capture on the first line severile peaces of arttilery & a nice Brass band from Crown Gardens and Archives Charles F. Durham, son of veteran Charles D. Durham, though not an actual participant, was as true a Rebel as any who were soldiers. A merchant and farmer near Ball Ground for many years, he wrote the following to his Oklahoma relatives in July, 1913: I suppose . . . you nave been keeping up with (the) . . . reunion at Gettysburg, Pa. This old county gave some of its most gallant sons for the Southern Cause at this great Battlefield. On Cemetery Ridge where Gen. Meade had his artilery, Hills Brigade of Georgians . . � made just famous a charge as did Picket with his Virginians. Hills Brigade charged the Federal Infantry . . . and . . . artilery . , , The Rebs held the Ridge 4 hours In this was a Murray co(untian) L.F. Peeples ... a 1st Sargant (and A.K. Ramsey ... a Capt. . . .thenext day . . . the Yankees had them surrounded 6000 to 400 . . , Mose Holland killed a Yankee Capt to keep the Capt from putting him through with his sword. This is just a little side history that you cannot get from the books- (Letter provided by Mrs. Jackie Gray, San Luis Obispo, CA) Records in the Murray County Courthouse reveal the following: March 19,1863 Certification exam of Achley? Martin. Found sound in every particular, in every way qualified to perform alt duties of a soldier. Signed J.A. Stewart Asst Surgeon 37th(?) Confederate Cavalry Also in 1863, records contain a lengthy description regarding the case of Private James Ellard. He had lost his left arm at Manassas, August 30, 1862 and his superior officers were trying to procure work for him.
Carnp near Shelbyville, Tenn.
Deed Book L, page 157
SLAVERY, WAR, AND RECONSTRUCTION
(1850-1900)
The Reconstruction Era
The returning veterans united with those who had settled in Murray while fleeing the Yankees to rebuild the county. They faced a difficult task as is reflected in the following announcement which appeared in The North Georgia Citizen (published in Dalton) in June 1868: Notice The citizens of Murray County are respectfully requested to meet at the courthouse in the town of Spring Place, on the first Tuesday in July next, for a thorough organization of the Conservative Party. Corne out gentlemen, laying aside all party prejudices and past political differences and save, if possible, our ruined country-Murray. W.S. Callaway, Sheriff Anderson Farnsworth, Ordinary Though the task was difficult, the men rebuilt the county. Several important events helped bring about the needed improvements. One was the formation of the Board of Roads and Revenues by act of the Georgia Legislature in 1873. The act read: 282. SECTION I. Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of Georgia, and it is hereby enacted by the authority of the same. That from and after the passage of this Act, there shall be established in the county of Murray a board of five commissioners of revenue, roads, bridges, ferries, paupers and pauper's fund, with full power to levy all taxes for county purposes; to appoint all road commissioners; to establish new roads and abolish old ones; to establish or abolish ferries; to build and repair bridges; to change lines of militia districts or to establish new districts; to appoint overseers of the poor, and to say who shall be beneficiaries of the pauper fund. The first board shall consist of John Bryant, Miniard W. Harris, Samuel M. Carter, John H. Kuhn and William Luffman. The commissioners above stated shall hold their offices for the term of four years, and shall be commissioned by the Governor and take the usual oath of county officers, and to hold their offices until their successors are elected and qualified; which election for the second board shall be at the same time and place of the election of Ordinary and other county officers. 283. SEC. II. That the said board of county commissioners shall meet at the Court-house in said county at least four times a year, and as often as the interest of the county in their opinion require; and may appoint a clerk who shall keep a complete record of all the orders passed by the board, but his (the clerk's) salary shall not exceed twenty-five dollars per year. 284. SEC. III That the board of commissioners shall receive no emoluments for their services, but shall be relieved from road, jury and militia duty. 285. SEC. IV. That the county board created by this Act shall audit and pass upon all claims for and against the county, and the county treasurer shall obey and respect all orders for money ordered to be paid out by the board and no others. 286. SEC. V. That the said board shall have all the powers the Inferior Court had prior to the adoption of the Constitution of 1868, as prescribed by the Revised Code on all county matters, but shall have no other jurisdiction. 287. SEC. VI. That the vacancies in said board by death, removal or resignation shall be filled by the Governor, upon the recommendation of a majority of the surviving board. This Act to go into effect from and immediately after its passage. SEC. VII. Repeals conflicting laws. Approved February 21st, 1873. In 1874 The North Georgia Citizen reported the following about Murray: The taxable property of the county according to the Tax Receiver's report . . . amounts to one million two hundred sixty-five thousand and sixty dollars, an excess over last year of one hundred forty-six thousand and forty-seven dollars. There are twelve hundred twenty seven . . . who pay poll tax ... twelve professional characters-four attorneys and eight physicians. Another 1874 issue of the paper recorded that the scholastic (school) population of Murray was 2006, one-seventh of these being Negro. While some signs of recovery were visible, the area still struggled because the same year (1874) Bennett Springfield wrote to his son, George, who lived in Texas that "we have the worst prospects for a crop in this country I ever saw. .. it has been a wet spring , , . and now it is dry . . . for we haven't had any rain in 4 weeks . . . what people is to do, 1 don't know," Four years later J. B. Springfield wrote to George, his brother, that "everything is cheap. Wheat from 60 to 80 cents a bushel. Corn from 45 to 50 cents . . . Bacon from 6 to 8 cents per pound. Flour from 2 to 2% cents . . . This is a hard old country to live in but a man can live here if he will work. I believe I had rather stay here and have good health than to go west and be sick all the time . . ." (Letters from the Springfield family.) However, everyone did not feel the same as Mr. Springfield, because frequently entire families, tired of the hardships in Murray, left to begin new lives "out west," particularly in Texas. Hardly a Murray family did not have relatives in the west by 1890. Railroads even offered special rates for "emigrant tickets to the west." Sometimes the family would return to Murray County, often leaving behind the graves of a mother or a child who did not survive the rigors of "the west." Perhaps one of the things which contributed most to Murray's reconstruction was the establishment of the count-wide educational system in 1877. Due to the dedicated service of many of the finest men in the county, the system was a success. Rev. S.H. Henry, the first superintendent, served until 1900. The First Board of Education, appointed by the Grand Jury on February 6, 1877, consisted of James Y. Hempliil), William Johnston, Benjamin Wofford, and James A. McCamy who served on the board for 14 years and during his 7 years as chairman never missed a meeting. W.D. Petty was added to the Board in August, 1877. (See Appendix J for other Board of Education members and superintendents.) The Board paid Mr. Henry $130 for the year 1881. In December 1896 the Board was in debt for the first time, owing $51. Beginning in 1897 regular monthly meetings were held on the 30th unless the 30th came on a Sunday. Until the 1890's the Board also decided which textbooks would be used. The Board and the superintendent were general overseers of the county school system. Much authority and much work was left in the hands of the local school district trustees appointed by the Board. The first contracts with teachers were in 1881. Teachers were paid on the basis of average daily attendance and a considerable length of time was needed to convince the Board to pay teachers monthly rather than at the end of the term. In 1891 teachers' salaries were $25-$32 and Teachers' Institutes were held each summer, led by "an expert" (Prof. M.L.Parker in 1896). Teachers were fined if they did not attend unless they presented a doctor's excuse. In terms of statistics, four colored schools operated from 1886-1889 with a fifth one being added in 1890. The number of white schools varied from 41 in 1886, to 39 in 1887, 38 in 1889, and 46 in 1890. In 1887 the average attendance for the term was 1,600 while in 1889 the average attendance was 1,961. The 1890 total included 1,084 white males, 998 white females, 194 colored males, and 190 colored females. The general concensus is that the public education system was the best thing to come out of Reconstruction, particularly education for blacks. However, another outgrowth of Reconstruction was a very controversial organization, directed to a great degree against the blacks. Murray County, too, was touched by this organization-the Ku Klux Klan.
SLAVERY, WAR, AND RECONSTRUCTION
(1850-1900)
The KKK
In northwest Georgia, though the whites usually outnumbered the Negroes, relations between the two groups were terrible. The Ku Klux Klan, representing themselves as the ghosts of soldiers who were slain in battle, was organized to deal with the problem and whipped offenders for sass, insolence, and theft, as well as lynched those accused of rape. The blacks and some whites were warned against loafing, thievery, and prowling. The warning, sometimes a stern lecture but often a bundle of switches left on the offender's doorstep during the night, was enough to cause anyone, regardless of color to stop his wicked ways. The Ku Klux Klan was condemned by Congress and by negative sentiment in the South and, as far as Congress knew, the Klan disbanded by 1869. But in Northwest Georgia, including Murray County, the flame of the Klan had just kindled. The KKK and its successor, the "White Caps" were responsible for several hangings, shootings, and whippings in Murray County in the last decades of the nineteenth century. The first Murray County Klan members were very respected men, mainly Civil War veterans, who wanted to keep order and were reasonably successful in doing so. The men met during the day in front of the courthouse in their regular clothes to plan their nocturnal activities. At night they would ride through the town toward their destination wearing their white robes. Seeing the Klansmen start out on a raid was exciting and frightening for children who happened to be looking out the window! Although the Klan was a secret organization, most people had pretty good ideas as to who were members. Some people still do not want anyone to know about membership in the Klan, while others are like Mr. Hill Jones of Chats-worth who quickly states that his grandfather, M.M. Bates, was a Murray County Klansman. Another self-admitted leader was Dr. E.G. Stafford of Ramhurst. Both were well-known Murray residents. In Murray County, the Klan was active in the 1870's. A black man. Carter Griffin, was hanged by the Klan in Spring Place in 1874. Levi Branham wrote in his My Life and Travels that the Klansmen entered a store to buy forty feet of rope with which to hang another Negro, John Ward, in 1875 and told other customers, "Every rat to his hole." Mr. Branham continued his account of the episode by saying: "I suppose every rat did get to his hole. I know I got to mine ... I don't know whether I made any tracks or not, but I got home." In a newspaper article of 1930, Branham told that in 1885 a rumor started that a black Ku Klux Klan existed in Murray because a white man poisoned a black man. Of course, the white KKK immediately investigated, but no organization was discovered. However, by this time, the old Klan was dying out in Murray County, having served whatever purpose it had had for a time. Unfortunately, another organization arose, similar to the KKK in dress and occasionally in leadership. This organization was called the "White Caps." Although not formed for that purpose, it soon became involved with the whiskey business. Since the county voted "dry" in 1886, moonshining abounded. County historian Charles Shriner wrote in 1911: Although many joined it (White Caps) from honest motives, it must be admitted that reckless daring and love of adventure prompted others. Persons who were suspected of reporting stills were beaten or killed. Personal malice quite often prompted their raids. They soon became dreaded by the law-abiding citizens as a menace to public peace and safety . . . Fortunately the strong hand of the law has put a stop to the Order in this part of the country and none perhaps are more pleased to have it so than the very men who unthoughtedly instituted it. In the winter of 1888-89 the "Distillers Union" was formed in the Cohutta Mountains and spread to other counties. This so-called Union was the White Caps. Each area had a club with captains, a lieutenant, and four referees. They were mostly autonomous within each district and at first wore black caps and hoods, but then began wearing the white hoods modeled after the KKK. They were responsible for at least 18 night attacks and acts of collective violence between 1889-1894. The peak was in 1894 with five reported raids. Naturally, not all events were reported in what newspapers then existed and if any cases went to court, there were fewer convictions because some of the "White Cappers" would be on juries. In 1889 the White Caps, alias the KKK, shot John Duncan, a black tenant farmer living with a white woman. Later they attempted to raid Walker Dwight's farm, but he and his wife hid and were never found by the men. Dwight was also a black man. In 1891 members of the White Caps killed Hosey Jones on what has been termed a personal vendetta and also shot John Bentley Davis, another black man who was involved with a while woman. The most famous of the White Caps' escapades occurred in 1894 and was the turning point in the history of the organization. Levi Branham wrote that on June 7, 1894, he and Will Roper went to Nix Spring to purchase some whiskey. Four days later five White Caps shot Roper and threw him in a pit in the hills of east Ramhurst. The men felt that Roper had reported the site of iheir still. Branham said that Roper was not actually a "reporter," but he had testified against moonshiners. Roper remained in the pit for five days according to official accounts, though some say eight or nine. He survived on roots and water found in the bottom of the pit until a Mr. Springfield heard Roper's cries while hunting and rescued him. After being nursed back to health, Roper went directly to the sheriff who arrested the men who had thrown Roper into the pit. When he testified against them, four of them were sentenced to ten years in prison along with a $1,000 fine while the fifth man received an eight-year sentence and a $500 fine. The White Caps, who were mostly Democrats and owned little or no land, had been condemned by the "Murray County Farmer's Alliance" for their night riding in 1890 and 1891. The Alliance could not stop them, but Mr. Roper did! The White Caps died out after 1894 and following the turn of the century the KKK in general weakened. However, the Klan was revived in 1915 with bitter opposition both state- and nation-wide. The revival began in Atlanta and the major concern was World War I. Colonel William Joseph Simmons of Atlanta and Imperial Wizard of the KKK visited Chatsworth on Sunday, March 31, 1918. Following an introduction by Mr. R. Noel Steed, Col. Simmons gave what The Chatsworth Times termed "an eloquent address" to "a large crowd assembled at the courthouse." Members of the local Klan attended wearing their robes. The Times went on to say that at the end of the speech "the audience ... expressed its appreciation in a great burst of applause. The local Klan at Chats-worth . . . received its charter and elected officers Tuesday night (April 2). It is steadily adding to its ranks.. ." As the revival continued in the 1920's, Murray County was again touched. On October 25,1923, the following appeared in The Chatsworth Times- If you are interested in the principles for which the Knights of the Ku Klux Klan stand, and desire to know more about this growing patriotic organization, or to become a member of the same, address inquiries to Box C, Chatsworth, Georgia, and the same will be referred to the proper authorities. Since the 1930's the Klan has become less and less active in Murray County, though crosses have been burned at various intervals. The Chatsworth Times of March 31 I960 reported, "A cross was burned on the vacant lot next to Chatsworth Cabinet and Supply just outside the city limits on March 26, 1960. Just who was responsible or exactly what was the motive has not been determined." Thus a part of Reconstruction has lingered well into the last half of the twentieth century. Though Confederate veterans had organized the original KKK in Murray County, they must have looked upon the new organization with dismay. While the White Caps and new Klansmen rode through the land or aroused others with their oratory, these stately old gentlemen were elected to local offices in order to rebuild Murray through good government. They came to represent the best of the Old South and Old Murray.
SLAVERY, WAR, AND RECONSTRUCTION
(1850-1900)
Confederate Veterans
Space does not permit mention of all the veterans who achieved great recognition for their work, but a few cannot be overlooked. William Luffman, a member of the Eleventh Regiment of Georgia Volunteers, rose to the rank of lieutenant colonel by 1862. Col. Luffman was commander of the regiment until he was wounded at the second Battle of Manassas, and his regimental historian described him as "a cozy old bach, reaching . . . forty, and possesses withal a very presentable contour. He is indifferent to danger. . . speaks quickly, thinks independently, . . . acts decisively . . . quite communicative . . . indulgent and reasonable, and to the orders of his ranking officers all obedience-provided those orders correspond with his ... opinions ... a lawyer by profession . . ," Col. Luffman generally accompanied his men into battle rather than merely sending them. The historian wrote later, "Col. Luffman . . . has been severely wounded in both legs . . . able to walk only with great difficulty, still stays with and encourages his men until the relief arrives." After the war Col. Luffman continued his law practice in Spring Place, one of the few lawyers who bore the title "Colonel" from actual combat and not just from respectful courtesy. He died in 1893 and is buried in the Spring Place Cemetery. Two veterans who settled in Murray after and during the war were Col. John H. Kuhn and Col. William H. Tibbs. Col. Kuhn, a resident of Tennessee when the War began, fought with the Confederate cavalry in that state as well as in Georgia and the Carolinas. His descendants lived in Murray for several decades following the conflict. Near the end of the War another reknowned Southern gentleman from Tennessee moved to Georgia and purchased large tracts of land in Murray, including the Vann House property at Spring Place. Col. William H. Tibbs had served in the Confederate Congress and in the Army. Though he spent most of his time in Dalton, Col. Tibbs' name is preserved on the Tibbs Bridge across the Conasauga which joins his adopted counties west of Spring Place. Inclusion of the summaries of all careers would be impossible, but several bear mention. Several physicians from Murray served in the War including Doctors E.G. Stafford, T.H. Hall, and E.H.L. Keister. Mr. Emory A. Earnest served as secretary in the service of Robert E. Lee and others won the respect of the entire community such as Maj. R.E. Wilson, Lt. Col. James A.McCamy, Lt. William Jasper Peeples, Lt. A.K. Ramsey, D.E. Humphries, Maj. M.D.L. McCroskey, Pleasant McGhee, S.L. Trimmier, L.F. Peeples, B.W. Gladden, W.C. Tilton, M.M. Bates, W.H. Ramsey, S.G. Carter, J.D.W. McDonald, S.G. Tread-ell, W.G. Harris, J.A. Baynes, and many others. Several years after the war, the veterans in Murray formed the "John B. Gordon Camp of Confederate Veterans." Named in honor of the famed general and governor of Georgia, the organization enjoyed a lengthy period of success. According to the constitution of the organization, the objects were "the preservation of Confederate history and memories, the promotion of good fellowship, the renewal of old ties between the surviving soldiers and other organizations in the service of the Confederacy, to keep alive the memories of our dead comrades, and to care for the needy orphans." Members also served as pall bearers when a veteran died, certified war records so that veterans could receive pensions, and assisted widows of veterans who were in need. The group also lobbied to get pensions increased. Membership was open to any honorably discharged veteran and eighteen-year-old sons of veterans were permitted as auxiliary members if they paid the 25 i annual dues. Veterans had to apply for membership in writing and the camp had to vote on each application. Meetings were sometimes held monthly, but the group specified four meeting days each year: Robert E. Lee's birthday (January 19), Confederate Memorial Day (April 27), the anniversary of the first Battle of Manassas (July 21), and the fourth Saturday of October. Officers were elected at the January meeting and nine members constituted a quorum. Among the first officers were Major R.E. Wilson, Commander; Col. William Luffman and John McNeal, Vice-Commander; J.A. McCamy, Adjutant (Secretary); T.A. Ramsey, Quartermaster (treasurer); E.W. Rembert, Aide-de-Camp; M.M. Bates, Chaplain; and T.H. Hall, Surgeon. Early members of the Camp included:
J.S. Addington
Etisha Allen
W.W. Anderson
J .A. Baynes
R.T.Beck Amos Bishop
W.R. Black
W.H.Bramblett
John B. Brindle
W.C. Campbell
S.G. Carter
Joshua Chapman
M.R. Chastain
Henry Coker
W.E. Covington
E.E. Daniel
WJ.Duncan
C.D. Durham
Weldon Durham
S.W. Eldridge
W.A. Ellis
O.C. Goins
C.D. Gilbert
B.W. Gladden
E.H. Gladden
W.C .D.Gordon
C.C.Halman
J.W. Hammock
W.G.Harris
W.D. Heartsill
B.B. Hemphill
W.G. Hill
G.R. Howard
C.C. Howell
D.E.Humphries
Jesse Jackson
A.O.Johnson
W.J. Johnson
F.M.Kendrick
Frank Kilgore
J.H.Kuhn
J.T.Kuhn
W.J.E. Long
J.D.C. Loughridge
J.D.W. McDonald
Pleasant McGhee
J.W. McCamy
D.F.McMahan
J.W. Mackey
A.K. Martin
W.C. Martin
W.M. Moreland
J.F.Nolen
L.F. Peeples
W.J. Peeples
F.M. Pierce
J.M.Plemons
T.C.Pope
J.D. Priest
A.K. Ramsey
W.H. Ramsey
G.M. Roberts
M.L. Smith
W.W. Smith
S.E.Stanford
W.H. Staples
C.N.Stroud
W.C. Tilton
S.G.Treadwell
S.L. Trimmier
J.W. Tucker
W.R. Tyson
John W. Webb
M.M. Welch
G.W. Wilbanks
Henry Williams
W.J. White
Several of these men had enlisted in places other than Georgia and thus the list includes the names of many folks who moved to Murray after the War. Some of the men were "sons" and classified auxiliary members. In 1903 Mr. T.J. Ramsey became Adjutant of the Camp. His descendant, our current representative in the Georgia House, Tom Ramsey, has preserved the minutes Mr. Ramsey recorded during his fourteen years as secretary. The minutes reveal that the Camp encouraged its members to write histories of their war records for the United Daughters of the Confederacy. The U.D.C. Chapter also awarded medals called the "Southern Cross of Honor" to surviving veterans or their widows near the turn of the century. On October 4, 1904 Mr. Ramsey wrote that the group "marched to King Spring . . . some 25 in number to have a picture taken." This must be the picture below as it is the only known picture of such a group. Notice that several of the men are wearing their medals. Unfortunately not all the men can be identified but among those who have been are John M. Plemons standing 4th from left, WJ.E. Long seated first from left, W.W. Johnson 5th from left, D.E. Humphreys 6th from left, Perry Bramblett 7th from left and Henry Snow Hoi-comb is seated on far right. S.G. Carter is also in the picture.
Evidently the Camp was organized prior to 1893 and Major Wilson remained Commander until his death in 1902. W.J. White succeeded him and served until his death in 1908. In 1910 Mr. Ramsey noted in the minutes that the group was trying to get those who were not in the camp to join since "we are dropping out and going to that last role call very fast." B.W. Gladden was elected Commander in 1908 and probably served in the capacity until his death in 1919, though the Camp seems to have been inactive by that time. The last minutes are from 1917 and record that there had not been enough members present to elect officers for the year.
Members who joined after the formation of the Camp include:
J.J. Bates
J.Y. Baynes
H.R. Beamer
J.E. Beck
John S. Bettis
W.G. Blassingame
Dock Bond
S.C. Calhoun
W.A. Campbell
E.H. Dickson
E.A. Earnest
J.W. Ellard
L.W. Ellis
G.W. Etheridge
Albert Green
J.W. Gunter
Robert E. Hannar
N.H. Henry
Sam Higdon
W.J. Holloway
J.P. Kelly
W.R. Lackey
J.A. Langston
James Lawson
Daniel Leonard
J.A. Mathews
G.W. Mooney
E.M. Morris
W.L.? Morris
TJ.Oveby
R.H. Patterson
J.A. Richardson
J.L. Robinson
John A. Robinson
W.G. Sanders
J.C. Spears
J.B. Springfield
T.J. Springfield
N.W. Stroud
John Thomas
John Vaughn
S.W.Waggoner
Elijah Williams
H.M. Yother
Many of the men served as officers at various times. Mr. Ramsey also made special notes of veterans and widows of veterans who died whether they were members of the Camp or not.
Most of the Camp meetings were held at the courthouse in Spring Place, even after the county seat moved to Chatsworth. The most important meeting of the Camp, however, was the annual picnic which drew members and non-members as well as the entire community. The site seems to have changed at various times, though the first ones were held at the King Spring in Spring Place or at the spring on the Old Federal Road near the former Harrison (more recently Ensley) Home. One was held at Chatsworth. but after Mr, Gladden became the Camp commander the picnics were generally held at Gladden Springs (on the present Highway 76). Mr. Homer Luffman, a long-time resident of Gladden Springs, remembers the gray-bearded men making proud speeches on a platform near an equally proud oak tree. He thinks the last reunion took place in the early 1930's since most of the aged soldiers had passed away. Henry Beamer, the last surviving member of the Tom Polk Edmondson company, died in 1932 at age 92 and Murray County's last Civil War veteran, Mr. W.C. Graves, passed away January 18, 1942. Mrs. Nola Beaver Rodgers, widow of Newt Rogers, was the last Civil War widow in the county.
Though the Civil War and Reconstruction had ended many, many years before, the memory of the war and its aftermath lingered in Murray much longer. As early as 1905 the John B. Gordon Camp discussed the formation of a Sons of the Confederacy chapter in Murray County. Several "sons" joined the camp and in 1912 the camp minutes record that a Sons chapter had been formed though The Chatsworth Times of October 9, 1919 reports that the new Sons group, which had 54 charter members, elected J.C. Ellis, Commander; T.P. Ramsey. First Lieutenant; and W.B. Robinson, Secretary-Treasurer. The Group was named in honor of Major R.E. Wilson who attained one of the highest ranks of any Murray Countian in the War and served as Doorkeeper in the Georgia Legislature. He was also asked to introduce President William McKinley at a gathering in Atlanta on one occasion. The Sons camp has been inactive for many years.
From the minutes of the John B, Gordon Camp it seems that an informal or unofficial group of United Daughters of the Confederacy met in Spring Place as early as 1904, possibly as a unit of the Dalton chapter. In 1922 a U.D.C. Chapter was organized in Chatsworth, sponsored by the Dalton group. Appropriately, Miss Lula Gladden was elected president. Other officers included Cora Peeples Gregory, recording secretary; Lela Wilson, vice-president; Nettie Gladden, treasurer; Vera Edwards McGinty, registrar; Maud Edmondson Gudger, corresponding secretary, and Mrs. W.J. Johnson, historian. Other members were Etta Bradley Barnett, Nannie Bradley, Mrs. Jim Springfield, Nett Winston Campbell,. Alta May Fincher, Frances Annie Heartsell, Ella Bell Fincher, Marguerite Heartsell Barnett, and Pauline Booth Green. This group, too, has been inactive for many years.
The memory of the War Between the States and Reconstruction lingered and then faded, but it is a rich part of Murray County's heritage.
-Chapter IV-
TOWNS, COMMUNITIES, AND MILITIA DISTRICTS
(1880-1980)
Spring Place District
Spring Place By C.R. Vance In a little southern village How picturesque and pretty 'Tis not a noisy, smoky city Though I may travel a thousand miles One of Murray County's oldest and most historic areas is Spring Place District which surrounds the town described in the above poem. Originally numbered 824 among Georgia Militia Districts. Spring Place was the first such division created in Murray County and was named for the many springs in the vicinity. Today Spring Place is No. 1895 and is bounded by Shuckpen District on the north, Chatswoith (Town) District on the east, Bull Pen District on the south, and Whitfield County on the west. Most of the springs in the town of Spring Place empty into Town Branch. Among them are the King Spring, Clear Spring, Bradford Spring, Lucy Hill Spring, and five west of town. Others which join the main stream are the Sand Spring near the Spring Place Church of God, Trank Spring near Sand, and Walls Spring. The Spring Place District Justices of the Peace have included H. Heartsill (1885-93). S.G. Carter (1889-93), J.M. Campbell (1893-1905), T.B. Camp 0893-97), L.M. Jones (1894-98). W.D. Heartsill (1904-12), W.A. Childers (1909-21). L.F. Peeples (1912-24), J.S. Keister (1917-24), J.L. Robinson (1923-38X M.L. Roberts (1924-29), and B.E. Pritchett (1938-40). Several schools have operated within the district. Teachers in 1882 were J.D. Varnell, Mattie Lockaby, O.M. He art sill, and E.W. Ballenger. Victoria Johnson taught at "Forrest House" in 1885, the second year that school operated. A Steed School operated during the next decade. Bates Smith and William Holland (1891) and J.G. Chapman (1893-94) were teachers there. School sizes ranged from an average attendance of 18 up to an average of 49 in the largest school. Spring Place now has an active Ruritan Club but in earlier days had a Junior Order United American Mechanics (1910-11), an Odd Fellow Lodge, and a Masonic Lodge, The Spring Place Lodge I.O.O.F. was instituted about 1898 with C.L. Henry the first leader. In 1911 the group had 81 members. The Spring Place Masonic Lodge, No. 145, began in 1851 as the Cohutta Lodge. David J. Johnson, William A. Lofton. and Dawson A. Walker were the charter officers- When the' name was changed to Spring Place in 1869 James McEntire, Walter J. Johnson, and William Hassler were the leaders. In 1902 T.J. Ovbey, W.L. Isenhower (in town as D&A Railroad "Commissary man"), and D.C. Kenner were active masons. By 1919 lodge leaders included J.M. Wilbanks. J.E. Bradford, and C.N. King. People from throughout the district attended meetings at Spring Place until the 1930's at least. The city of Spring Place was once a thriving town and the center of activity for the entire county. In addition to a variety of businesses, the town had two schools, three churches, and many houses. There were plank sidewalks and. as county seat. Spring Place was the site of many exciting Election Days and "Court Weeks." Many interesting events, some good but some tragic, have occurred in this "peaceful, healthful, place of many springs." Surprising to us today is that Spring Place once had a high volume of liquor sales. Liquor licenses had been approved by the Georgia legislature in 18634 and 1869. Until several years after the Civil War as many as five saloons or public taverns operated in the town. In 1875 a "local option" measure attempted to control the sales, but was amended and then repealed during the 1876 legislative session. An 1878 newspaper said that Spring Place then had "two bar rooms and two dry goods stores." In 1882-3 other acts raised the license fee and restricted sales, but in September, 1883 The Spring Place Times said that "neither local option or high license has given that village a temperance aspect." Finally in 1886 the county was "voted dry." The "manufacture of liquor" in Murray County was prohibited by a 1901 Legislative Act. Other newspaper tid-bits from the 1880's record that the Conasauga River was extremely low in September, 1883 and that "thieves were operating in the village of Spring Place" in February 1885. Mr. John O'Conner, a native of Ireland who had come to Spring Place in 1844, died in December, 1885 at the "advanced age" of 73. January. 1886 was extremely cold and one account even mentioned "a blizzard." Captain W.C. Tilton was pushing "Mineraline," an "excellent lubricator" of "his own discovery." Reporters also remarked that "Texas fever" hit North Georgia "occasionally." Many Murray families did move to Texas, hoping to begin new, prosperous lives there. Frequently the trip and settlement was rough, dangerous or even tragic and some returned to Georgia. Some pioneered and persevered in the West, but today several of their descendants return to this area in search of their roots and wonder why their ancestors ever left these beautiful mountains and valleys. In 1885 the newspaper reported that one must "sadly shed a tear" because Dalton was larger and was receiving more business than Spring Place. However, several promising events were occurring in Murray County. In early 1885 a North Georgia Citizen correspondent in Spring Place reported that the "mineral excitement continues." Another hot issue was the building of a railroad, first proposed as early as 1875 when the following act passed the Georgia legislature. Section 1. Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the Slate of Georgia, That from and after the passage of this Act, John E. Meister, J.D. Wilder and H5. Chamberlain, and such persons as may be associated with them, be, and they are hereby, constituted a body politic and corporate by the name of the Murray County Mining and Railway Company, . . . said company shall have the powers, facilities franchises and rights necessary and proper for the carrying on the mining for iron, copper, S�ld, silver, slate, mica, and such other minerals as may be found on the land now owned by them, or as they may hereafter acquire by law, purchase, gift, grant or otherwise, for the erection and carrying on mills, furnaces, and all other buildings, machinery and fixtures, necessary for the successful operation of the business of said company, and the beneficial management of its property, and for the transportation of its iron or other mineral or minerals to market; and shall have all the power and authority of a natural person to acquire, purchase, lease and hold any property, real, personal or mixed, which may be deemed by said company necessary or advantageous for its purposes . . . Sec. Ill, Be it further enacted. That said company shall have the privilege of conducting either a broad or narrow gauge railroad from the City of Dalton, in Whitfield county, to their mining property on Cahuttah mountain, in Murray county, with such branches, as they may deem advantageous, from the main line to any of their present or future acquired mining property on said Cahuttah mountain, and for the purpose of constructing and maintaining said railroad, all the rights and privileges , . . with all the burthens and liabilities ... are hereby granted to and conferred on the Murray County Mining and Railway Company ,.. Three decades passed before Murray County got a railroad and any mining became successful. Newspapers reported in 1885 that companies had been formed to "mine in the Cohuttahs" and mentioned legal tender silver mines. One account told that "another" vein of silver had been discovered on the "plantation of Jesse and Gid Jackson." The writer added his hope that "with others this will result in a financial boom for the county." In May. Mark Leonard discovered a gold nugget but refused to "divulge the exact place" of the find although he was positive that there was more. In 1903 a special term of the Murray County Superior Court was ordered for the purpose of granting charters for the Cohutta Gold Mining Company and the Cohutta Talc Company. Both businesses were successful for a time, but the gold mine, located on Fort Mountain, closed during World War I. The talc mines have operated for more than eight decades. In 1905 the North Georgia Mining and Milling Company was chartered at Spring Place. Throughout 1885 and 1886 articles mentioned the Augusta and Chattanooga Railroad. Little progress was made on the A&C project and by 1888 Dalton had thought of a new proposal. A September 20 editorial in the North Georgia Citizen explains the situation as follows: A Railroad to Operate between Dalton and Spring Place? Some Facts and Figures about the Project - Will Whitfield and Murray Counties Build the Road? A railroad from Dalton to Spring Place! This is a project that the people of Dalton and Murray County have quietly agitated for some time. We do not know that it has ever been put squarely before the people, but it has been discussed more or less by them and through the public prints. It is generally admitted by everyone who has given the matter thought and consideration that the road would pay. It would be the only road tapping the County of Murray and it would be the means of developing a rich section. That county furnishes a large amount of trade that Dalton receives, and, if by chance it should be lost to this city, il would materially affect our business interests. It behooves our people, then, to unite with the county of Murray and give them what they have long wanted and needed-a railroad connection. If this is not done by Dalton, it may be done by some olher place. If the Augusta and Chattanooga railroad is built it is not certain it will come by Dalton and if it goes in another direction this town will be completely shut off from Murray County trade ... as well as the trade of that section of the country. The citizens of Cartersville will apply to the next legislature for a charter for a railroad to run from that place to Carter's Quarter and if built, and Dalton will have no railroad into Murray County, the trade will be directed that way. As to the question of whether or not the road will pay . . . The agricultural products that Murray County annually sends out, the passenger traffic, the express business, the carrying out of mails and the new business that will be developed, offer to those who will go into il a safe investment for their money. The running expenses would be very small. What would it cost to build a road? It is only ten miles to Spring Place and the cost certainly would not be great. People Of the two counties could build the road and not fee! it. To be exact, the road can be built and equipped and ready for business and with everything necessary to run . it for one year for forty thousand dollars at the most. (This included tracks, cars, an engine, 2 depots, switches, 2 bridges, 2 tanks, a roundhouse, 2 safes and office supplies, picks, shovels, and 4 side tracks.) . . . Now how is this $40,000 to be raised? Forty men subscribing $1,000 each could build the road. There are gentlemen who have large interests in Murray County who have expressed themselves ... to subscribe to one-third of the stock if the people of the two counties would raise the balance ... The Citizen gives the above for the consideration of all who are interested . . . hopes that it will meet with the attention that it deserves. We are here to advocate the interest of this section of the country and any scheme that will be of benefit of the people will receive the enthusiastic aid and championship of the paper. If anyone feels disposed to say anything on this subject, the columns of the Citizen are at his disposal. The only mention of the road in the next week's edition is that the price for building the railroad had been upped to $50,000. However, other interesting things like the number of churches that were being built in Murray, the suggestion of a fair for Murray, Whitfield and Gordon Counties, and the fact that the cotton crop was doing better than expected received additional attention. These plans moved slowly and by the turn of the century another had surfaced. Georgia historian Allen Candler wrote the following of Spring Place in 1901: When the projected railroad from Dalton, Ga., to Murphy, N.C., is built, it ought to give to Springplace the impetus that has built up so many towns in Georgia. Its location is attractive, being in the midst of charming scenery, with the Cohutta Mountains in full view, and within ten miles of the Cohutta Springs, whose waters are said to possess great medicinal values. It has a handsome court house, good schools and churches, a money order postoffice with rural free delivery and stores welt stocked for the country trade. The population of Springplace according to the census of 1900 was 213. Murray County historian Charles Shriner recorded the fate of this railroad like this. "The Dalton and Alaculsey R,R. was begun in 1902, and for a time went rapidly forward. The grade was almost completed and the road had come to be considered an established fact, when it was suddenly abandoned." According to other informants, the company simply "went broke." The plan had been for the tracks to start near Cisco, located at the end of the Alaculsey Valley where much timber was cut. The road then went south through Pleasant Valley (now Eton), before curving west in front of the present-day Hardee's. (Part of the grade is still visible in front of the Tom Greeson residence on the old Ellijay Road near Murray County Junior High School.) Following a southwesterly path, the "D&A" reached Spring Place where a depot was to be built near the Vann House and the tracks were parallel to the town branch. Several sections of present-day Georgia 52 and U.S. 76 follow the old D&A railroad grade from Spring Place to the outskirts of Dalton. The optimism the A&C and the D&A railroad projects had brought to Spring Place is expressed vividly in this letter from septugenarian Martl Durharn of near Ball Ground community to her daughter, Mrs. Richard (Mary) Bramblett in Texas. Dated January 18,1902, the letter says: . . . there is a railroad (D&A) building through Murray, It goes through Spring Place by where the old school house used to be, then on to Dalton, The Augusta & Chattanooga road is coming on. It will cross the big road between here and Ramsey. It has been said that Springplaee was finished, but il's booming now with a first class school, livery stable, telephone, big flour mill, cotton gin, railroad, and lots of other things we never dreamed of. , ," Unfortunately for Spring Place the D&A did not materialize. In February 1905 "condemnation proceedings" began for the Atlanta, Knoxville, and Northern Railway Company's L&N line. As Mr. Shriner wrote in 1911, the Louisville and Nashville "did not prove to be a disappointment . . . Several thriving little towns {sprang] up along its route." One of them was Chatsworth which came to rival Spring Place for the county seat. Other interesting events took place in Spring Place, also. In 1890 Spring Place formed a military company and the town's residents were probably envious of "a lady living at Dunn (near Eton)" who had "several silk worms at work." A newspaperman remarked that "silk spinning [was] something new in Murray | County." In 1891 or 92 "Blue Mountain Show," a combination carnival-circus, came to town. Bessie Mae Adams remembers night performances and high wire acts as part of the show. Also, during his term as state representative, JJ. Bates.] introduced a bill which would have established an agricultural branch of the University System in Spring Place. Needless to say, this never came to be. However, Spring Place also had its share of tragedies. Foremost among them were the many fires which plagued the town. In 1884 a store, one residence, and the courthouse were destroyed. All were eventually rebuilt. The courthouse, built by Henry Steed was a brick structure which had replaced the old Moravian Mission courthouse. A March, 1885 news item said that Spring Place was "to have one of the neatest and most convenient of courthouses." Court was held in the three churches until James Bible and his nephew William H. Williamson, who were given the contract for the new facility, completed their work. According to an 1886 newspaper they were "rapidly working to rebuild the courthouse." The new edifice, located on the old site on the southwest corner of Ellijay and Elm Streets, was completed and by February, 1887 the county was out of debt. The walls of the courthouse were 27 inches thick at the base and 12 inches at the top. Interior walls, also of brick, were 18 inches thick. Offices were located on the ground floor and the courtroom on the second while a third floor room was used for lodge meetings. In 1906 the grand jury recommended that "a wire of proper height be placed around the Solicitors' and Clerks' stands so as to keep the public from crowding upon them during business hours." Soon after the courthouse was completed efforts to build a new jail began. In the early 1890's a two-story brick building replaced the old wood and brick two-room structure. This old jail later burned. Located near the ford of Town Branch at the north end of Elm Street, the new jail also provided living space for the sheriff or a jailer. Since the county seat has been at Chatsworth this last Spring Place jail has been converted into a residence, preserved by its owner. Mrs. Dessie Roberts Walls. The saddest of all Spring Place fires, sometimes called the worst event in Spring Place history, occurred in 1899. The following account of the Bagwell fire appeared in the May 12 edition of the Spring Place Jimplecute:
Where the atmosphere is good,
And fragrant flowers blossom
In the home of my childhood.
Are the scenes about the town.
With the mountains in the distance
And the rivulets winding 'round.
Where men bustle, fret and worry
But just a quiet little hamlet
Is the County seat of Murray
My steps I must retrace,
If I would find the garden spot
For after all, 'tis old Spring Place.
TOWNS, COMMUNITIES, AND MILITIA DISTRICTS
(1880-1980)
Horrible Holocaust
Dr. Bagwell, Three Children, and Mrs. Williams Burned to Death Last Wednesday morning at 2 o'clock all that was mortal of Dr. L.P. Bagwell, his three children, Emmelt, Ernest, and Florence, (aged six, three years, and six months, respectively) and Mrs. Williams, who kept house for him, went up in the flames and smoke of his burning residence-the Dr. and Mrs. Williams dying with the children in their arms, martyrs upon the cross of parental love and sublime duty. Dr. John Gilbert and Frank Williams were sleeping in another room and were awakened by the smoke and groans of the dying ones, and bravely tried to go to the rescue, forcing a window and enlering, but were driven back by the angry flames. The heat was singeing to their hair and severely blistered the ears and face of young Williams. Dr. Bagwell had returned from a professional visit about 1 o'clock and as the fire undoubtedly started in his room, it is supposed that he left a lamp burning, and it either turned over or exploded, or that he had unthoughtedly dropped a lighted match upon the floor before retiring. About two o'clock the alarm of fire and the whole population turned out to Tight the flames but they were too late, the entire front of the house being a sheet of fire. When it was seen impossible to help the ones in the fire, attention was directed to the protection of adjacent property, and it took a hard and furious work to accomplish this seemingly impossible task, but every one did his duty and in an hour's time the heal had abated to such an extent as not to be dangerous, in view of the fortunate fact that not the least air was stirring-else there is not a doubt that every building in that part of town would have been burned. As soon as it was possible to get (here one line is faded out) carried bucket after bucket of water and threw it upon the coals of that part of the house, (the northeast window) at which the bodies were supposed to be and soon a ghastly spectacle was before the anxious workers. There, just inside the window, on the very brink of life and safety, lay the charred remains of Dr. Bagwell and Mother Williams and by and under them the blackened trunks of the three babies. What a sacrifice upon the pyre of affection had this noble father and grand old lady undergone for those innocent and helpless babes! What pathetic and sublime heroism they exhibited during the last moments of their existence. It is a towering monument to their spotless memory. Too brave and too loyal to leave them, they gathered the little tots to their bosoms and, together, they joined the waiting wife and mother in the realm of the Omnipotent Ruler. The harrowing details of the holocaust are without a parallel in this section. No description can give one not present an insight into its horribleness. Strong men wept and ladies grew frantic at the appalling destruction of human life. All five bodies were found in a heap, lying on their faces within a few inches of the wall under the window, through which they had intended making their escape. The Dr.'s body was nearest the window. His limbs were burned off from the knees down and his whole frame was scorched, blackened, and drawn beyond recognition. Mrs. Williams' body was nothing but a ghastly black trunk without head or limbs or human shape. The oldest child's legs were burned off and the back of his skull had bursted leaving the entire brain exposed. Ernest, the second child, was wholly consumed, except the spinal column and the heart and lungs. Only one body was recognizable, that of the baby, and its features had been protected by being held under the breast of either Dr. or Mrs. Williams. Dr. Bagwell was a native of Pickens County, and moved to Spring Place less than six years ago. His success as a physician was phenomenal from the first, his practice growing greater every year. As a man and citizen he had no superiors. His unobtrusive manner and genteel disposition made a friend of every one he met-he never had an enemy. No one ever appealed to him for professional aid and was denied. A manlier man, truer friend, nobler citizen never lived. This county is bereft of one of its most potential powers for good and every citizen feels deeply and keenly the loss of this embodiment of all that was grand and noble. Peace to his precious spirit. The funeral service was held at the Baptist Church yesterday, conducted by Rev. J.W. Bailey. Kully one thousand people formed the procession to the grave, all the bodies being buried in one grave, those of the Dr. and children in one casket and that of Mrs. Williams in another. The Masonic fraternity conducted the exercises at the grave. Appropriate resolutions follow:: Spring Place Lodge No. 145 F. & A.M. Brethren :-We your committee appointed to draft suitable resolutions to the memory of our beloved brother, Dr. L.P. Bagwell, submit the following: It having pleased the Supreme Architect of the Universe to call from labor to refreshment our dear and devoted brother and friend, be it resolved, 1. That we bow in humble submission to Him who doeth all things well, in this our great affliction, and let us rejoice in the hope that we may, by and by, join him in that country from "whose bounds no traveler returns," and meet him on that level where parting is no more. 2. In the untimely death of our (here it Is faded out) member-one of her chief supporters has fallen, the community a worthy and enterprising citizen and a useful man to his profession. 3. That we sympathize deeply with those of his relatives who are weighted down with grief, and, 4. That a copy of these resolutions be furnished the father of the deceased; spread upon the minutes of our lodge and published in the "Spring Place Jimplecute." Fraternally Submitted: J.A. McKamy TJ. Ovby C.N. King, Committee The North Georgia Citizen of May 11, 1899 contained some additional information about the fire. The L-shaped house faced east and was across Elm Street from the Temple Hotel. One theory of the fire's cause involved a paper cone placed over a chimney of a lamp which normally burned low throughout the night. Dr. Bagwell returned from a call about 1:30 a.m. and possibly left th lamp turned too high or else the paper cone got too hot. Another theory that either the doctor or Mrs. Williams accidentally turned over the lamp while getting up to care for the baby. The Citizen added that the caskets were "draped" bv Charlie Carter and J.T. Newsom of "J.A. Carter undertaking establishment in Dalton." The victims of the tragedy were buried next to Mrs. Bagwell who had died just a few months earlier. The graves are marked with a prominent monument in the southeast section of the Spring Place Cemetery. The Bagwell house was located south of the courthouse on what later became a recreation area for the Lucy Hill-Spring Place Schools. A marker inscribed "Bagwell Memorial Playground" is still near the spot where the family lost their lives. Dr. Gilbert, one of the fire's two survivors, went on to practice in Murray and Gordon counties for some time. Frank Williams, who was Mrs. Williams' grandson, later moved to Texas. Mrs. Williams, the former Nancy Rogers and a native of Murray County, has many relatives in the Rogers and Springfield families living in Murray County today. Unfortunately, the new century saw more fires in Spring Place. In 1906 a jewelry shop and a store burned while in 1909 the Bond Johnson Hotel and the entire block was destroyed. The Shields Hotel burned about 1914 or 16, and other fires occurred in 1920, 1921, 1922 when the D.D. Kemp house burned, 1927, and 1929. Several other structures burned in the 1930's and the 1970s. Another tragic event, not just for Spring Place but for the entire county, occurred in 1907 when sheriff Ben Keith died from wounds received in the line of duty. The North Georgia Citizen of August 1, gave front page coverage to Keith's passing as follows:
TOWNS, COMMUNITIES, AND MILITIA DISTRICTS
(1880-1980)
Brave Sheriff Dead
Ben Keith Passed Away Last Sunday Morning - End Came at 5 O'clock Ben C. Keith ... died Sunday morning about five o'clock, after lingering between life and death for five days. His death resulted from a bullet wound which he received while making the arrest of John Harper, an escaped murderer for whom there was a reward of $300. In conducting his prisoner from Eton, where the arrest was made after Harper had fired the shot which later proved fatal, to Spring Place and lodging him in the Murray County Jail, Sheriff Keith gave an exhibition of true grit. With the bullet lodged in his bowels, he kept a tight grip on his prisoner until he was locked in a cell. He then went home and a physician was summoned. Dr. S.A. Brown . . . was the physician who attended him, and, seeing the dangerous condition of his patient, he called in Dr. J.G. McAfee (of Dalton) and Dr. J.M. Gregory. The very best of medical attention was given, but (he wound was of such a serious nature that the doctors could not avert the end . . . The wound from which President McKinley died was nearly similar . . . Such a wound almost always proves fatal. Mr. Keith, at the time of his death, was about thirty-five years of age. He was a son of Mr. Amos L. Keith, one of the most prosperous and highly respected farmers of Murray county. He married a sister of Dr. W.L. Looper, of this city, and three children were born to them. He was a brother of Mrs. H.H. Gregory, of Dalton. Though, at the time of his demise, he had served only a small portion of one term as sheriff, he had, on all occasions, proved himself to be a brave, conscientious officer, serving the people to the best of his ability. The expressions of regret heard at his death, give evidence of his popularity among all who knew him. All Murray rang with praises for his courage in making the arrest of Harper and for his exhibition of grit in taking his prisoner to jail after having received the painful wound. The murderer, John Harper, was tried at Spring Place, found guilty and sentenced to hanging. The gallows were built east of the Morris-Pendley House between Elm and Pendley Streets, but were never used because Harper's sentence was commuted to life imprisonment. According to the late Mrs. Johnnie Hartley Harper was taken to Atlanta's Fulton Tower where he later escaped. The gallows meant for him in Spring Place stood for some time-possibly as a reminder of this sad event. Life went on, however, and in 1913 Spring Place lost the county seat to Chatsworth after a bitter, year-long fight. Many old residents moved to the new town taking their business enterprises with them. Spring Place would never be the same. In 1920 Spring Place got "a new light plant" and in 1930 had three stores, a gin, a post office, two school buildings and two churches (active). A 1937 WPA writer said that the town then had "a population of 219, a post office, Postal Telegraph and Western Union facilities, and an altitude of 730." The author had to include the fact that "Chatsworth is the nearest railroad." The 1950's brought many improvements to the town as the community got involved in many activities such as Ruritan, Vacation Bible Schools. Youth Recreational Clubs, paving and improving streets, remodeling houses, beautifying grounds, organizing church groups such as WMU, starting 4-H Clubs, helping the school, building a picnic area near the gym, and restoring the Chief Vann House. Loren Ross was chairman of the community improvement in 1953 and Mrs. Attie Myrtle Ballew was president of the Spring Place Home Demonstration Club in 1957. In July, 1963 a storm struck the town. High winds did damage at the cemetery, Floyd Cook's, Mike Ballew's,.Cecil Roe's. Mrs. Sidney Rouse's, J.B. Green's, J.C. W right's Store, and the power station. In 1977 the WhitfieId-Murray Historical Society began the restoration of the old Spring Place Methodist Church. Many residents of the town contributed to the project and sought help from former citizens as well as other groups, businesses, and individuals in the area. Journalist Olivene Godfrey, then of The Chatsworth Times, wrote this account of the dedication ceremonies: At the restored old Spring Place United Methodist Church, May 20, 1979, Sen. W.W. Fincher, Jr.. paid tribute to Ben Fortson, Jr., Georgia's secretary of state, who was to have been the guest speaker at the dedication. Rep. Tom Ramscy announced at the beginning of the service that Fortson had died Saturday night and asked for a moment of silent prayer. Sen. Fincher, who was to have introduced Fortson at the service, gave a brief biographical sketch of the secretary's background and said, "In my lifetime, the greatest statesmen Georgia has seen are Sen. Walter George, Sen. Richard Russell, and Ben Fortson." Tim Howard introduced special guests and acknowledged those whose contributions brought about the church restoration. Murray County Commissioner Kirby Patterson commended the Whit field-Murray Historical Society and members of the restoration committee for their work and asked that members of the community assist the group in the future. The Rev. Walton McNeal, pastor of the Spring Place United Methodist Church gave the invocation and the Rev. Danny Walters, pastot of the Spring Place Baptist Church, gave the benediction. Dr. Oscar Poole, pastor of the First United Methodist Church of Chatsworth, gave the ptayer of dedication and presented the prelude, "Largo" (Handel). Dr. and Mrs. Poole sang a duet, "Bless This House." Mrs. Emily Davies led the congregation in the vows of dedication. In 1977 the Whit field -Murray Historical Society voted to sponsor the restoration of the old church. The restored building houses a small museum of Murray County, a historical research library, and meeting facilities. Howard, chairman of the restoration committee, said the restoration was financed through personal contributions, a paper drive and a SI,000 donation from the City of Spring Place. Rooms in the building were named to honor outstanding members of the Spring Place United Methodist Church, the Whit fie Id-Murray Historical Society and the Spring Place Community. Howard introduced those whom the committee honored by naming rooms for them. Introducing Mrs. Katherine Raine, he said, "The research library was named for an active member of the WhiIIleld-Murray Historical Society, the Hist Baptist Church of Chatsworth, and Eastern Star. The Murray County native spent 38 years as & public health nurse to Indians in the southwest and was one of the main persons behind the restoration of the church." The committee room was named in honor 01 Mr. and Mrs. Curl Davis. Howard said of them, "This room is named in honor of a wonderful couple. Mr. Davis was a longtime member of the Murray County Board of Education and served as mayor of Spring Place. They are members ol Spring Place Baptist Church where Mr. Davis has served as a deacon for 59 years. They have been married 62 years. We're grateful to their children for furnishing this room." The upstairs display room was named for Miss Agnes Kemp and Mrs. Minnie Gryder. In his introduction of Miss Kemp and Mrs. Gryder, Howard said, "This room has been named for two wonderful members of the Spring Place Methodist Church, One of them has served as a teacher for 47 years and has been a member of the church since 1914. Miss Kemp has been the backbone of the church, always willingtodo more than her share in the new church as well as helping with the restoration of the old building. Mrs. Gryder has been a keen inspiration to many in her over 40 years as a Sunday School teacher and community leader. A room was named for Howard, a Berry College student and active member of the Whit fie Id-Murray Historical Society, who devoted a great deal of time and work to bring about the church restoration. This room was furnished by his parents, Mr. and Mrs, Jim Howard. Members of the restoration committee are Howard, chairman, and Mrs. Raine, Sarah Dillard, Kenneth Ross and John Wilbanks, Howard expressed gratitude to members of the committee and said that during the summer of 1978 a new roof was put on the building and it was painted. Over the ne\t six rnontlis committee members and volunteers painted and cleaned the interior of the church. He also thanked Polly Boggess, director of Crown Gardens and Archives, for making curtains for the church sanctuary. Howard recognized those who helped to paint and clean the building and those who helped to prepare for the dedication service. They include Mis. Sybil McLemore, Mrs. Reba Wcstfield, Mrs. Mildred McCamy, Mrs. Mary Petty, Jimmy Wilbanks, Miss Allison Ross, Mr. and Mrs. Jim Howard, Jon Howard, Mr. and Mrs. James Lough-ridge, Frances Heartsell. Pilot Club of Chatsworth, Mrs. Olivene Godfrey, Louise and Earl Coker, Others acknowledged were Mr. and Mrs. Tom Edwards, Mr. and Mrs. Bobby Mosteller, Averil Ballew, Mr. and Mrs. Dick Haffner, Edna Dunford, Jesse Jones, Albert Edwards, Doug Griffin, Mrs. Ed Warmack and family, Mattie Co.\ Robinson, the church's oldest living member, Mrs. Bessie Mae Adams, Mrs- Mattie Lou Pritchett, Galaxy Carpet, Chief Vann Carpet, Harry Wilbanks, Mr. and Mrs. C.H. Pcikins, Betty James, France Adams, City of Spring Place, Dottie Stewart, Inez Gurley. Howard expressed special thanks to those who gave financial gifts and assisted in the paper drive. Appreciation was expressed to the following who provided cookies for refreshments: Marie Kelly, Ruth Mauldin, Mildred McCamy, Louise Coker, Mary Petty, Willie Mae Sexton, Agnes Kemp, Syble McLemore, Nell Ruth Loughridge, Reba Westileld, Ina Ballew, Gallic Knight, and Mrs. Gryder. Sarah Dillard kept the guest book. Hosts and hostesses were Mrs. McCamy, Mrs. Davies, Kenneth Ross and Jon Howard. Since those ceremonies the work has continued. Additional furnishings have been obtained and the original altar rail has been reinstalled due to Mr & Mrs C.N. King. former members. The church was the site of the first autograph session for Lela Latch Lloyd's book If the Chief Vann House Could Speak in 1980. Groups such as the Pilot Club, the Northwest Georgia Travel Association, Historical Society, Lucy Hill reunion classes, the Chamber of Commerce and the Springdale Estates Property Owners Association have used the building for special events. Upon the death of well-known Murray Countian R.E. Chambers, the church became the depository for his papers which reveal much about his long life and contributions to Murray as well as the growth of the county. In 1981 Miss Agnes Kemp and Tim Howard of the Historical Society asked Spring Place Mayor Carl B. Davis to place a historical marker near the old courthouse site With the assistance of County Commissioner Kirby Patterson, the marker was erected just south of the actual spot where the courthouse sat on Elm Street.
TOWNS, COMMUNITIES, AND MILITIA DISTRICTS
(1880-1980)
Spring Place Post Office
The Spring Place Post Office was the second one opened in Northwest Georgia. Established shortly after Rossville's office, Spring Place operated for a century and a half. Since the first postmasters were the Moravian missionaries, the mission was the first post office. After the Indian Removal the residents picked up mail at various places. Frequently the office was located in a store, but eventually a small building south of the courthouse was officially designated as the post office. Later it was moved north and east near that corner of Elm and Ellijay Streets, William N. Bishop replaced the last Moravian postmaster, Henry C. Clauder, on February 26, 1833. Clauder had served less than a year. Succeeding postmasters included John L. Beall (1837-49). Andrew M. Morris (1849-53), Franklin B. Morris (1853-55), William C. Loughmiller (1855-57), John S. Beall (1857-66), William Anderson (1866-74), William J. Worsham (1874-78), John Gates (1878-81), William Anderson (1881-87), Daniel C. Ken-ner (1887-90), M.W. Shields (1890-91), Miss Mary E. Morris (1891-93). E.H. Keister (August 12-18, 1893), Margaret A. Keister (1893-1901), James C. Curett (1901-06). Theodosia E. Everett (1906-10). Charles W, Brown (1910-16). Mary S. "Miss Mollie" Brown (Mr. Brown's widow) (1916-41), Mrs. Elizabeth M. Freeman (194142), Miss Sudie L. Walls (1942-57), and Maxine H. Freeman (1957). On October 30, 1957 Spring Place post office became a rural station from the Chatsworth office. Mrs. Marie Roe became the postal official and the office was in her home on Elm Street. In 1973 the office was discontinued. Rural Free Delivery began in 1904 and Spring Place had three routes. The first carriers were Ben F. Bates. William Lowery, and M.W. Shields. Other mailmen included E.W. Shields. Richard Springfield, Mr. Everett. and Will Roberts who transported mail from Spring Place to Chatsworth. Minerva Bagwell and Mrs. William Lowery were also postal employees at some time. In 1931 Spring Place had only one rural route. A post office named "Eldow's" was operated by John L. Davis outside Spring Place in 1884.
TOWNS, COMMUNITIES, AND MILITIA DISTRICTS
(1880-1980)
Spring Place Government and Politics
Spring Place was designated as Murray's County Seat in 1834 although court had been held there a year earlier. Naturally the town was the center of government and politics for the entire county. Perhaps since it was the county seat and administered by county officials almost no "city" government existed until 1885. Prior to this time the only legislative acts concerning governmental functions in Spring Place involved "road hands" (1839) and a tax for roads and streets (1860). An act of the Georgia General Assembly incorporating the City of Spring Place passed on October 9, 1885. However, few city records exist for the next 100 years. The town's population varied little after the county seat moved to Chatsworth-186 in 1930, 219 in 1940. 214 in 1953, 194 in 1960. and 241 in 1975. The city limits extended � mile from the north steps of the courthouse to form a circle. The government consisted of five people. The person receiving the most votes was declared mayor with one of the four remaining councilmen designated as Clerk. When the county seat moved to Chatsworth, the city government became less and less active as time passed. Some of the mayors of Spring Place were W.K.. Jones, Jason Robinson, D.D. Kemp. C.N. King, Jr. and Floyd Cook. John Cole was once a councilman. In 1952 the city government was reactivated when residents felt the need to secure water services. In elections held on the first Saturday In January, Floyd Cook won the mayor's office. He served two terms and saw Dalton Utilities bring water to Spring Place. Later natural gas came to the town also. Carl B. Davis was elected mayor in 1956 and served until his death more than a quarter of a century later. Councilmen elected at that time were E.B. Sexton, Leslie Kilgore. Robert Ballew, and John Wilbanks. The city received a new charter in 1957 which re-defined the corporate limits, provided for elections, terms, meetings, salaries, and taxes, and granted powers to the mayor and council. Other tax measures were passed in 1960 and 1961. A Mayor's Court was also provided for under the 1957 legislative act. Another act of the General Assembly authorized "alley closings" in 1953. Although the city government is considered "inactive," the necessary services of water and natural gas are still provided. There are no taxes, but Georgia Power and Atlanta Gas and Light Company give the city 3% of their revenues from within the city limits. During the last decade the City has provided funds for paving streets, assisted with the establishment of the Spring Place Cemetery perpetual care fund, placed historic markers at old Lucy Hill and at the old courthouse sites, and assisted with the restoration and maintenance of the old Spring Place Methodist Church as a museum/meeting place. The city is now part of the Spring Place Militia and School District. In 1984 this district had 1.455 registered voters. According to an Atlanta Constitution story on October 30 of that year, the Spring Place voting district was "no longer solid for Democrats," although it had been for most of the past 150 years.
TOWNS, COMMUNITIES, AND MILITIA DISTRICTS
(1880-1980)
Spring Place Residents & Businesses
Over the years many, many businesses have been located in Spring Place and countless people have lived there. To compile a complete listing is impossible-Spring Place alone could fill an entire history book. Residents of the town operated a wide variety of enterprises from mining companies to hat shops, and from cotton gins, stores, and livery stables to a brick plant, a bank, hotels and saloons. In 1866 Spring Place had a population of about 300. The Murray County Gazette of 1879 cost 50� for a year and was "a lively weekly paper on live issues, published every Wednesday morning at Spring Place." M.F. Boisdair was editor and H.C. Holcomb publisher. The June 3 issue included several advertisements. William Luffman and W.D. Harris were attorneys with "offices on the public square south of the courthouse." J.P. Cole operated a Leather. Shoe, and Harness Shop while L.S. Dates'& Bro, offered "dry-goods and groceries" as well as boots, shoes, and harness. Dr. E.H.L. Keis-ter's office was in his drug store and W.C. Tilton wanted workers "to dig soap-stone" and haul it to Dalton. J.C. Henry & Co. offered "the largest and best stock of staples and fancy goods." John H. Evans "tendered his thanks to his friends and to the weary traveller, and solicits a continuance of more patronage." He kept "on hand a full line of groceries consisting of confectionaries. pure whiskies, brandies and wines." Prospective customers were told to "look for the saloon on the west side of the public square." Doctor William Anderson and C.W. Coie were druggists dealing in "medicines, chemicals, perfumery, soaps, pomades, cosmetics, hair dyes, and toilet articles." Kenner and Holcomb were real estate agents. The newspaper also carried ads for special train rates for trips "to the West" as well as the following. A young man 5 feet 6 inches high, weighs one hundred and thirty pounds, has a fair education, and in the best standing of society, wishes to correspond with some young lady. Object, amusement, improvement and perhaps marriage. Address Amo, care editor Gazette Spring Place. It is rumored that Col. Tibbs will shortly put up a steam flouring and saw mill at the Morris mill site, on the Conasauga. Our jail is only encumbered with one prisoner, and he is charged with larceny. He complains of the low stature of the jail stories, and is compelled to lie down all the while for rest! Attention is called to the advertisement of Messrs. Anderson and in this weeks issue-Drugs fresh and cheap, and polite gentlemen in charge. On Vornberg & Henry corner, near post-office. An evening entertainment at Maj. Wilson's residence was given on Monday last-quite a number of the gay and festive gave protracted attention. Prof. Boswell, well and favorably known to our citizens will deliver one of his popular lectures in this village on next Saturday night on the subject of Intemperance. We notice a determination on the part of our corporate authorities to fix up properly the public, and otherwise to improve the village by arranging safe side walks. Can't our ladies manage to call a meeting in a short time and in connection with the gentlemen, determine on a day to clean off and better adorn our cemetery? It is sadly in need of repair. William G. Stuart was also a prominent Spring Place merchant who died in 1873. Ramsey, Ovbey, Moss, and Moss were manufacturers of bed springs invented by E.T. Moss. Operating successfully from 1882-1885 in a location near Ram-sey's store across from the courthouse, the business then moved to Ovbey's House. W.H. Ramsey was Secretary-Treasurer. His time book records that at least 50 different people worked for the men during that 3-year period. Near the Ramsey building was one of Spring Place's most famous establishments�the Temple Hotel. People came from miles around to partake of the wonderful meals served at the Temple House. One Dalton lady recalled "straw rides out to Spring Place to the Temple House where there would be a table groaning with everything under the sun good to eat, outrivaling anything of old Nero's feasts-and all for 50 cents!" In i896 Dalton Argus writer Scylla Thomas wrote the following upon the death of Mr. Temple: With the passing away of the genial innkeeper, J.D. Temple of the Spring Place Temple House, to the undiscovered country in which bourne no traveler ever returns, a sigh of sincere regret went from many hearts. How many of us have enjoyed those delightful moonlight drives to the little city of Spring Place? How many of us have been the recipient of many kind attentions from his hospitable board and enjoyed the delightful suppers for which he was famed? Time, with inexorable slowly passing steps, has brought many changes and many of the bright laughing faces that have gathered at that hospitable board are in distant states or in the tomb; but the news of the grim reaper's visit will sadden many hearts for memory's picture recalls most vividly those happy days gone by. There are those who have knelt at Hymen's altar in the little parlor, for long the resort of runaway lovers from Dalton-and they always received a parental blessing and Godspeed from Mr. Temple. Will they not too grieve? And so with us all. In 1899 The Spring Place Jimplecute carried much more Dalton advertising than earlier papers. Fincher & Brother was then the leading store in Spring Place, advertising hardward, clothing, shoes, ladies' hats, groceries, tobacco, and produce. Bagwell Brothers were the largest drug store operation although Drs. James B. Hughes and W.W. Anderson had "doing considerable practice" due to "an epidemic of malarial complaints in the community." W.W. Sampler, C-N. King, J.J. Bates, and Luke Henry advertised their legal services. J.L. Robinson was sheriff while W.L. Henry (Chairman), J.C. Morris, H.R. Beamer, D.M. Peeples. and E.W. Bond were on the county Board of Roads and Revenues. A November, 1902 issue of the Jimplecute, edited by J.C. Heartsell, recorded that John N. Burks of Holly had been appointed assistant doorkeeper of the 8fineral assembly, and that "Arrowood & Dunn completed their new shop, in South Spring Place." Lucy Hill Institute, Pleasant Valley High School, and Sumach Seminary were recruiting students while Hull Kerr. Lewis Thompson, and J.L. Robinson were the leading merchants. Shriner and Everett were closing their store and dissolving their partnership. Bill Jones and Will Childers were challenged by George Moore and Sid Keister in the race for town constables. Pendley & Son were buying all available cotton seed while W.J.& J.E.Johnson had "greatly replenished their stock" to have "one of the neatest stores in town." S.A. Brown and J.H. Steed, physicians, had formed a partnership while W.W. Anderson continued his practice, King's Spring had become the popular Sunday afternoon gathering place for young people. By 1908 Hull Kerr's major competitor was Arrowood & Rouse according to the November 23 issue of the Murray News. The Pendley Gin was about to close, since the family had opened a new brick plant in Chatsworth. Dr. Steed continued his practice and Mr, Kerr had entered the insurance business. Mr. Shriner had opened his photographer's shop. By this time, also, the Cohutta Banking Company had opened. Founded in 1905 with a capital stock of 525.000, the Bank is now Murray County's oldest business. Original officers were President M.C, Horton, Vice-President C.N. King, and Cashier Elbert N.Whitmire. Others associated with the bank during its Spring Place days were Cashier, W.Z. Latch, Cashier Florence Lowery, M.W. Shields, Bill Martin. Jack Keith, George Arrowood, Mr. Strickland of Cartersville. A later but equally important business in Spring Place was the C.B. Davis Store. In highlighting the owner's 85th birthday Chatsworth Times reporter Ruth Cox included the following account of the store in 1981: Among my earliest memories are those of visits to what was then known as the General Store or the "Old Country Store." As 1 was talking Saturday with Carl B. Davis of Spring Place, I was reminded of those days. Mr. Davis went into the store business in 1922, moving from Eton to Spring Place where he became a successful businessman. Not only did folks go there to replenish their flour bins, salt cellars and sugar bins, but come cotton pickin' time, everybody in the household would get a brand new pair of shoes which would last until the next year. The C.B. Davis Grocery was the place to go to buy these shoes. If the patches in your best pair of overalls were too numerous to menlion, this was also the place to 6� to get yourself a brand new pair. Remember the Duckheads and "Osh-Gosh-B-Gosh" brand? . . . One could even buy plows, planters and fertilizer. Just about anything a person would need to use on a farm job which so many people depended on back then. At one time Mr. Doc Roe even had a grist mill there. Mr. Davis' son, Leon, recalls working in the store as a young lad when gas was selling for IB cents a gallon, and 1 for one, remember the old gas pumps at the C.B. Davis Grocery. Leon recalls working at the store after school hours. He told about the school kids who would come in the store to trade eggs forcandy. To them, this was very convenient since the school was located just across the road. A lot of penny pencils and nickd tablets were also sold to the students. I remember that a stalk of bananas hung just inside the door, and if you cared to purchase one for a quick snack, you just took it from the stalk. Mr. Davis was the first store in Spring Place to sell ice cream and the brand was Mayfield's, still going strong today. The first loaf of bread ever sold in Spring Place came from the C.B. Davis Grocery. It was delivered by automobile and before entering the store one could see the advertisement which read "Colonial is Good Bread" displayed on the screen door. Mr. Davis had a lot of customers and among some of them were such names as the Ballcws, Kemps, Coles, Smiths, Jones and Rouse. Mr. Davis remembers Mr. Arthur Coffey who would catch the "short dog" at Eton and travel to Chatsworth. l-'rom there he would come by bus to Spring Place most every day to play checkers on the old checker board at the store. In talking with different folks I find that the pot bellied stove and the old checker boards are two of the things they remember most. Rembert Ballcw remembers it very well as he was telling about the checker games of the late Doc Cox and John Cole. He said some of the players would be so deeply involved in a good checker game that they would just skip lunch. Mr. Davis didn't play checkers very much because his customers always came first. He was usually busy trying to please a customer with whatever they came in to buy. Rembert Ballew said "I've stood under the tin roof on the front porch of that store many a time and watched it rain." Among other things on sale at the store were the loose pinto beans and even material with which the madam could make her a Sunday dress. For a time Mr. Davis even ground his own coffee and the coffee mill is still in the family, being passed on to son Rembert. In later years when the boys went off to college, Mr. Davis found himself alone in the store. This was when he sold his goods to Mr. Keat Jones and the store was finally torn down. The old country store went out of business in 1953 but many memories linger. Lumpkin. Coffee. Forsyth. and Cumming were other street names in old Spring Place. They were probably located north of the courthouse square, near the last jail- Among other professionals who worked in Spring Plage at various times included lawyers Ben F. Carter (1885), Noel Steed, H.H, Andersen, and W B Robinson along with doctors L.C. Greer(1877), E.H. Hope (1885), Horace G Evans (1876), J. Black (1850's). George L. Chastain (1892). John H. Steed (1902). B.W. Bagwell (1904). O.C. Mills (1893), M.W. Anderson (1911). and dentist F.S. Rorox (1909). Alexander Leonard owned a grist mill near Spring Place in the 1800's, and in 1879-80 the Vonberg mill produced 336,000 pounds of meal and 42,000 pounds of feed in only 6 months of operation. Two of the oldest stores in Spring Place were operated by the Morrises (on town lot No. 4 in 1869) and the Nixes (1851-80). Other store owners included Bob Gudger, Sam Kelly,and Harve Long (1922). "Cage" Everett once had a blacksmith shop and the Patrics also had a shop. Presently Spring Place boasts Crossroads formerly G & H Supermarket and Gas Station. Chief Vann Video, Golden Gallon Food Store, Hatton's Tires, two lawn mower repairmen. Craig's Fruit Stand, a beauty shop, and the popular Four Way Drive-in Restaurant, now in its second location. Other enterprises have existed along Highways 225 and 52. north and west of town. Even though so much of the old Spring Place is gone, the town does have several old houses along Ellijay and Elm Streets as well as the Vann House and the Rouse-Branham-Gurley Home. The Rouse home dates back to the 1850's and was restored by Mrs. Inez Rouse Gurley in 1967. The house, a white, two-story structure with an L-shaped wing and a red tin roof, originally had a hall that ran through its center. The fireplace in the living room has its original brick and the post at the foot of the stairway came from the old Spring Place Courthouse. Mrs. Gurley named the acreage surrounding the house Vann-Mont Farm in honor of the Vann House which can be seen in the distance and in memory of her grandmother whose maiden name was Mont, an Indian word meaning Mountain. The Gurley home, once owned by the Henry Rouses and the Levi Branhams, was on the Pilot Club Tour of Homes in 1976. Another Spring Place house that has been restored and opened to the public on occasion is the Starr-Maddox-Robinson House on Elm Street. This two-story Victorian structure was built by attorney Trammell Starr as a gift for his new bride, Miss Leona Frances Kelly. Mr. Starr had purchased the land from his wife's grandmother. Nancy Ogletree. By early 1892 the Starrs had moved to a home on Thornton Avenue in Dalton. and Mrs. James (Martha) Maddox became the owner of the house in Spring Place. Mrs. Maddox died soon after and willed we house to Miss Mary Maddox who lived there with her relatives, the Pierces, u"til her death in 1905. Murray County Ordinary, R.M. Gudger. owned and occupied the residence from then until 1919 when J.L. Robinson purchased it. (Note: Book included a drawing with numbers keyed to Spring Place Landmarks. Although that drawing could not be reproduced here, the descriptions of the landmarks are included.) Key TO MAP OF SPRING PLACE 1.Phipps, later Roe, House 2.Tenant House 3.Will Latch House {laler tenant house, burned 1921) 4. Carries House (also a tenant house, dismantled 1910) 5.Dipping vat to treat cattle for parasites before sales (early I900's) 6.Seay House (later owned by Treadwells, made 2-story by the C.N. Kings, burned 1976) 7.Tieadwe!l Cemetery, once known as Black-Seay Burial Ground 8.J.J. Bates home, built about 1900, owned by the C.B. Davises for many years. 9.Tom Elrod Home 10. John Rouse Home, later Levi Branham residence, now owned by Inez Rouse Gurley. 11.Flour Mill - owned for some time by "Chip" Owens, Sid Keister worked there, possibly officially known as North Georgia Milling in last years. Now site of Golden Gallon Food Store. 12.Cotton Gin - Among the owners at various times were Owens, Phipps, Vonberg, Anderson & Huffstetler, the Bishops (Jim & Henry), and Gregory (1950). Fires plagued the gin operation, destroying the business or the warehouses in 1927, 1929, and 1933. Johnsons and Kemps also owned the property, as did Jason Robinson (1900's), and J.W. Langston (1S9S). IS.Rankin Blacksmith Shop (1940's). 14. Ford of Town Branch which is formed from the waters of the numerous springs in the area. 15.W.T. Richards Store (1936-58), later operated by J.C. Wright and Leon Grecson. In more recent years the site of restaurants operated by Joan Leonard, Bill Penland, and the Chief Vann Restaurant owners, Leon and Vivian Ridley. 16.Lucy Hill Institute 17.Site of the Moravian Mission Complex 18 Probable site of the Moravian Mission Cemetery and Camp Benton (1830's) 19.Dr. Anderson Home, {since in the W.R. Ballew family many year)) 2Q.Edmondson House, now owned by Mr. & Mrs. N.A. Ballew 21.Steed House, long occupied by the Prilchett and U\bert Sextons, now owned by Marvin & Trilba Bcaveis. 22.Methodist Church parsonage, later owned by the Mark Bagleys, dismantled in 1975. The W.W. Samplers also lived there earlier. 23.Tom Ramsey House, later owned by the Kings. Now site of Annie B. Gallman residence. 24.Spring Place Presbyterian Church 25.Dixon, now Roe, House 2SA. Jim Dixon Blacksmith Shop, once owned by Branham & Austin 26.Pickering Home, now owned by Vilena Kilgore 26A. Dr. James Hughes Home (1902-12), later Roberts residence, now occupied by Aileen Kilgore 27.Charlie & Mollie Brown Home, later occupied by Slaffords, now owned by the Bob Hills. 28.Site of last official post office building; Mr. Brown once had a soda parlor with the post office here 29.Probable site of the Chester Inn (dismantled in 1900 after it had been converted into a store. Another store building was con-stnicted. Among the merchants on this site were John Luffman, Davis, Charlie Williams, and in earlier days had been the Rouse Hat Shop before it became Arrowood's Store and soda fountain. 30. Last jail at Spring Place, has since been converted into a residence now owned by Dessie Walls. Earlier the Charles Staples Inn, Store, and Stables had been in this area (1860's). Samuel M. Walls helped select this site for the jail. 31.Hull Kerr's Store, formerly Alvin Jones's, later site of Roland Rouse and B.E. Pritchett Store. Burned 1930. 32.Site of the old Cole & Henry Blacksmith, Harness Shop & Livery Stable. Also once owned by Mr. Vonberg. 33,George Jones Home, later owned by the Chester Hannahs and now by the Richard Ridleys. 34.Site of the Jones Livery Stable 35,In earlier days the site of the Frank V. Vonberg & Bill Henry Store, furniture & Cabinet Shop. They also made coffins. In more recent years the site of a store operated at various times by W.K. Jones, Walter Walls, Cecil Roe, and Dutch Jones. 36..Cohutta Bank Building (had law offices in the rear), former home of Johnson Store. 37. Once the site of a saloon. 38.Frank Peeples House, now owned by the Craigs. 39.Shriner House, also parts were used as a shoe store, and photography studio at times 40.Charlie Wilbanks House, burned 1976; last owner Randall Pharr 41.Tenant house now site ot Craig's fruit stand 42.Cole Warehouse (for the coffins Mr. Cole sold). 43.John Cole House 44.Will and Mattie Robinson Home (burned) 45.George Moore, Pritchett House, now owned by Mrs. Delanie Lewis 46. Johnson Hotel {burned 1909) operated by Fannie McGhec Johnson47.Delma Wood's Hat Shop - 47A. Print shop and newspaper office. 48. Findier, Rouse, Wilson, Lowery House-a 2-story (later burned). The J.B. Green House now occupies the site. 49.Spring Place Cemetery 50.Robinson, Batnes House; also Pinchers 51.Frank Vonberg House, now owned by Mr. & Mrs. Robert Ballew 52. Site of the first Spring Place Baptist Church 53. Site of the old "calliboose" or small jail 54. Kelly, Thompson. Cole, Steed, and Anderson Store. Steed also had a cotton gin. Later site of Lucy Hill and Spring Place School. Now Retirement Home. 55. Dentist E.B. Hall's office, possibly Dr. E.H.L. Keister's office once, later a barber shop. 56. R.A. Davis Jewelry Store (burned 1906) 57. Site of the second two-story brick house built by one of the Morris brothers, later home of Mr. Kenner-postmaster, merchant, and captain. Susie Kenner was "an authoress of sheet music" according to an 1882 newspaper. Several of her works were published. Later site of the Ernest and Mattie Lou Pritchett House, built in 1930's. 58. Dixson Ho use-Miss Alva was a seamstress, Miss Lizzie ran a boarding house (1920's) for school teachers. Dr. J.E. Bradford also once lived there. 59. Heartsell Home 60. Site of the old Russell Store possibly 61-Will Henry House (burned and rebuilt once) 62. Third and Fourth sanctuaries of the Spring Place Baptist Church 63.Shields House, later Sue Brown's, now site of the new Baptist Church sanctuary. 64. Rouse, Pendley, Etheridge, Shields Home, last occupied by Mrs. Addie Wilbanks, dismantled as new church was constructed. 65. McGhee House and Farm 66. Johnson Farm 67. Site of the Cherokee Removal era "Fort Hoskins." 68. Frank Vonberg cotton gin and mill 69. Pendley Lumber Co., cotton gin, brick plant, and planing mill 70. Blassingame House. Further south on this road was the Wilson (later George Cox) home (burned 1983). 71. The Everett, Anderson, and Baggett home. 72. O.K. Bates Home, for many years the home of Henry & Laura and Gordon & Ina Ballew. 73. Spring Place Methodist Church 74. Luke Henry, then Noel Steed house, occupied for many years by another lawyer, W.B. Robinson and wife Mattie. Built early 1900's. 75 .James Morris House, owned in succeeding years by the Stone, Pendley, Love, Robinson, and Jones families, among others. Now restored by the Carlton McDaniels. Built ca. 1840. 76. Site of the second Spring Place Baptist Church, later the school, and then the Hilliard Livery Stable. 77. Starr-Maddox-Robinson House, now owned by Gene Cook &. family 78. Elliot! House 79. Lem Jones House 80. Dr. L.P. Bagwell House - burned in a terrible fire in 1899. 8l. Fincher-Robinson Store - operated by Mr. Jason Robinson for some time; building faced courthouse and had long front porch. 82. Dr. Brown's office and "drug store" 83. Dr. Anderson's office 84. Lowery's Cloth Store on one occasion; Dr. Bagwell's office (1899) 85. Old post office; later Dr. Hughes' office; then Dr. J.E. Bradford's 86. Keister House buill ca. 1852 by builder Thomas Pierce to replace an even older house. Now owned by the Bob Andersons. 87. Edmondson House, since owned by Mr. & Mrs. Cecil Roe. Also once the Lowery home. 88. Nolie Smith House, now owned by the Russell Franklins. 89. King and Kelly Store and/or warehouse, although could have been on the west side of Elm on another occasion. Later Lynch home. 90. Former site of George W. Howard's cobbler shop and house (1860's), later owned by W.W. Giddens before it was added to the Temple property. Earlier known as the D.A. Walker lot. 91. Once called the Temple Grocery House lot (1860's); these lots were later the site of the Temple Hotel, later known as the Shields Hotel which burned in 1914. The fire began when a gas tank exploded as Dr. J.E, Bradford, then a hotel guest, was putting gas into his car-one of the first automobiles in Spring Place. Sam Carter's Store was later located there. 92. This had to have been the busiest corner in Spring Place! W.H. Ramsey had a store here in the 1880's and it was also the site of the Oats Store in the 1890's. Later owners or operators were John Luffman, Bob Bates (1918), Mashbum, Shields, and C.B. Davis. The Odd Fellows Lodge held meetings on the second story of the brick Shields building in space later used by Dr. Bradford (1923). A newspaper note of 1908 mentions that "the Lynn or Osborne corner is being improved by M.W. Shields." He took it when it was out of repair, insured it, and when the old building burned, used the money to rebuild the brick structure. 93. Stables for Temple Hotel 94. Site of old Jail 95. Dobbs House 96. Site of another Pendley Cotton Gin 97. Louis Thompson House, later owned by the D.D. Kemp family. The large two-story house burned in 1922 and a smaller house was built on the site. Now home of Miss Agnes Kcmp. 98. Iitheridge Home (burned) 99. Greeson Home site 100. Walls House 101. Chamblee House site 102. Site of present-day Spring Place Elementary School, built 1969. 103. T.J. Ovby House, later owned by the Smith family. Now owned by Mrs. R.E.Dillard. While living in the house, Mr. Gudger performed the marriage of Mr. & Mrs. Sam Kelly. Mr. Kelly was the nephew of the original owners. During the years of Robinson ownership, several families lived in the house including the Claude Andersons. the Joe Loves, the Herbert Andersons, the Milrnores, and the Ed Johnsons. After Mr. Robinson's death in 1938, his widow "Miss Nora," continued to occupy parts of the house and rented other rooms at various times. In 1969 Gordon and Carolyn Wills purchased the house from the Robinson family. Paul and Sue Anderson bought the structure and surrounding lots in 1971.] During the next decade they carefully but completely restored the house. In 1983 they opened their home as a major attraction of the Whitfield-Murray I Historical Society Christmas Holiday House Tour. The house in now owned by |the Gene Cooks. Of course the oldest house in Spring Place is the Vann Mansion, built in 1804. Often used as rental property, this structure has had 16 owners over the years. Among them were Spencer Riley, James Edmondson, William H. Tibbs. D.D. Kemp. Dr. J.E. Bradford, Mrs. Tom Dill. John Bryant. and Oscar Coins. The Coins family owned the Vann House from 1877 until 1895�long enough for the house to gain a new name, Coins Hill, rather than "the Vann House." Mr. Coins, a Tennessee native, was a merchant and Civil War veteran who first settled in Murray County in 1873. A Coins descendant, Mrs. Louise Richardson of Paragould, Arkansas, contributed this letter written by Mr. Coins from the Vann House. Spring Place, Ga Sept. the 13. 1881 Dear Son, Yours to hand. 1 was glad to hear from you all So to hear that you was well and doing we"- Vou stated that your boy could ride a horse. I would like to see him. I know he must have a smart mother. Well, Preston, I think I will come out and see you next fall. We did not make a good crop this year. It was almost a failure. We won't make a half crop here, I would like to have 10 bushel of good seed oats. If you can send me 10 bushel I will send the cash as soon as 1 hear from Them. We think the west oats does better sowed here than ours. I will be ____ to send the money by post office money order. Where is your nearest money office? Is Charleston a money office? If you can get good seed wheat at $1.25 you may send 10 bushel of that. I can buy oats at 50� and wheat at $I.40 here, but they ran out. We think they do pest when we send off for our seed. How far are you from a railroad? If you haft to haul too far don't buy the wheat and oats, I would send the money now and pay for them if I knew how much to send. So 1 will close for this time. Hopeing to hear from you often. Give your wife and boy my love and tell them I am coming to see them next fall. Yours truly, O.C. Coins
TOWNS, COMMUNITIES, AND MILITIA DISTRICTS
(1880-1980)
Schools in Spring Place
The first school in Murray County was the Moravian Mission School. Immediately following the closing of this school, the Murray County Academy was incorporated in 1833. Original trustees were William N. Bishop, Nelson Dickerson, William Oats, James C. Barnett, and John J. Humphreys. James Morris and Charles Bonds were later added to the Board. Located near the Presbyterian Church, the school evidently suffered financial difficulties following its 1835 opening. Sheriff Bonds had to sell the property, described as being "a little piece below the public spring." in 1845. Trustee James Morris bought the lot for $25 and the money was divided among the trustees which included Alfred M. Turner, William P. Charles(?), James A.R. Hanks, and Franklin Morris, as well as the purchaser. In 1849-50 a system of "common schools" for the county was established and a group of residents asked the legislature to incorporate the Spring Place Academy. Apparently this school was built on the same lot of land which had been designated for the earlier school. Little specific information is available about this school, but several 19th century Spring Place deeds mention the "Academy Lot" as a point of reference. The original legislative act of 1850 lists Robert McKamy. John W.A. Johnson, Gideon Gamer, John A. Tyler, James Edmondson and Francis B. Morris as trustees. The self-perpetuating Board had total control of the school. The next detailed information about schools in Spring Place is this paragraph from the July 30, 1874 North Georgia Citizen: Spring Place has just shaken off her literary lethargy and now demands patronage for two schools. Both seem to be in successful operation, one in the charge of Mrs. Mattie Lockaby and the other in the charge of Miss Crawford of Chattanooga. One of these schools was the Academy, sometimes called the "Central Academy." while the other educational facility was generally referred to as the "town" school. Academy teachers included J.D. Vamell (1885), ___ Pricks (1893), W.A. Gladden (1894-97), Hattie Poag, and Nettie Gladden (1899-1900). The location of the town school evidently changed at various times. For a time classes were held in the old jail located between Elm and Pendley Streets-Kate Keister went to school there. In the early 1890's "Professors" Stousberry, Bates, and Harper taught in the old Baptist Church and on other occasions students met in the Methodist building. In 1896 Mollie Glass (Brown) taught in the Hull Kerr store building, directly north of the courthouse. Teachers at the town school included J.F. Harris (whose school was "flourishing" in 1881), A.B. Smith and Lela Wilson (1884), D.C. Trirnmier (1891), Aggie Ramsey (1891-92), J.B. Terry (1893), Minnie Daily (1894), M.W. Shields (1895), Miss V.B. Osborn and Jennie Gilbert (1897), W.H. Harler (1899). M.S. Blassingame (1899-1900) and D.D. Stanton (1877). By this time the Georgia Public School System had been created and each school district had three trustees appointed by the county Board of Education. Trustees for the town district had included Richard Walls (1877-90), Captain J.W. Patric (1877-79), M.R. Chastain (1877-90), J.C. Henry (1879-83), A.B. Walls (1883-90). B.W. Gladden (1890-91), C.P. Vance (1890-91), Gus Hill (1890-95), Trammell Starr(1891).J.S. Addington (1891-92), Elisha Allen (1891-92). J.L. Robinson (1892-95), J. Etheridge (1892-95), James Ellis (1895), S.H. Fincher (1895), and J.W. Langston (1895). Finally residents felt the need to combine the schools and began fundraising efforts for a "Spring Place School." In late 1899, 2 � acres of land were obtained from Julia E. Jones and construction began. Then came a large donation from George Hill in memory of his daughter Lucy. The school, erected south of the old Academy near a spring just off Ellijay Street, was re-named Lucy Hill Institute. Opening in 1900 or 1901, the school became one of the most famous facilities in the county, but its story began a few years earlier with the tragic death of Miss Lucy Hill. Lucy Hill, born in 1879. had attended the Sumach Seminary and had begun teaching by 1895. In October of 1895 her beloved parents fell ill and Lucy had to go get medicine. A correspondent for the Dalton Argus recorded the death as follows: Again our community has been plunged in deep gloom and sorrow by the tragic death of Miss Lucy Hill, daughter of G.W. Hill, Thursday evening. She had been to Dr. Price's at Sumach; and on returning, it is supposed her horse ran away, and, near Parson Henry's, threw her and killed her. The horse galloped home riderless, and her brother, Willis, started back on search and was the first to find her. She was already dead, her head crushed, arm broken, and back dislocated. Miss Lucy was one of those few young ladies that had not an enemy in the world. She was kind and affectionate to all alike, and being an only daughter, was the idol of her parents. It seems hard that one so young, so beautiful, so talented, and with so bright a future, should be so suddenly and shockingly snatched from her friends and loved ones. But "He that doeth all things well knoweth best," Miss Lucy was a Christian girl, and no doubt has gone from her present home on earth to her better home in heaven. She was interred Saturday near the home of her parents . . . "Beaverdale Dots" in the Dalian Argus. Oct. 12, 1895 The Sumach correspondent to the Argus added the following: The death was a sad one. [Lucy] was one of our prettiest, sweetest, and most accomplished young ladies. She had been a student of our high school, of the Dalton Female College, and also of the Cleveland, Tenn., Female College. Consequently, she had a host of friends ... After Lucy's death her father wanted to do something to honor his daughter's memory and a school seemed a fitting way to do so. When he and the Board of Education agreed on the spot, the Hill money went to work. In 1901 a Georgia legislative act was passed to establish a system of public schools in Spring Place, Murray County, Georgia, and to provide for the maintenance and support of the same by local taxation and otherwise; to provide for the government of the same; to provide for a board of education for said public schools in said city; to authorize and require the county school commissioner of Murray county to pay over to the treasurer of the board of education, for the use of said public schools, such of the State school funds as may be the just pro rata share of the said city of Spring Place, to be determined by the school census of the said city of Spring Place, and for other purposes. The original Board members were Willis Pendley. W.J. Johnson. C.N. King. Dr. J.B. Hughes, and S.H. Fincher. By 1903. when an additional piece of land "in the wash back of the Presbyterian property . . . north of the Dickson's Shop," was obtained. T.J. Ovby, C.L. Henry. J.L. Cole. Mr. King, and Mr, Fincher were on the Board. This Board had total control of the school whose "principal" also served as "city" superintendent. Under the terms of the act the mayor and council could put the question of the independent system to the city's voters every 6 months "until said system is established," The school enjoyed several years of success. In 1919 a high school was added and these students attended school in the old courthouse where former offices became classrooms and the old courtroom was converted into an auditorium. Primary pupils continued to attend classes at the old Institute building until 1924 when a new brick structure was erected across the road, west of the courthouse-school. A year earlier the 1901 school act had been repealed when Lucy Hill was designated to be the official county high school and was returned to county control. Officers of the Spring Place Board of Trustees at the time were C.N. King - President. W.B. Robinson -Secretary, and J.E. Bradford -Treasurer. After a period of time as a private residence, the Institute building was dismantled in 1930 and a large wooden gymnasium was constructed on the site. This was in keeping with the terms of Mr. Hill's gift that the property be used for school purposes. As much material as possible was salvaged from the old structure for use in the gym. Spring Place merchant Carl B. Davis provided nails and other materials for the project at cost while Mr. D.D. Kemp donated logs and some lumber. Paul Smith. Hill Hannah. Luke Ballew, and Ted Kemp were among the other townspeople involved in the project. The gymnasium served Lucy Hill High School and its successors until it burned in the 1960's. The Spring Place Ruritan Club then constructed a picnic shelter on the grounds which they continue to maintain. Although the institute is gone, the memory of Lucy Hill lives on. George Hill's descendants still own the large farm in northwest Murray County on which the Hill family cemetery is located and pictures of Lucy Hill and the Institute still hang in the Spring Place School library, A marker at the former site commemorates the school and the young lady for whom it was named. Each year modern-day Spring Place pupils visit the area for recreational activities and to learn about their school's history. Since 1977 former Institute, High School, and Primary School students have gathered there to relive their days at Lucy Hill. Among the often talked about memories are the Lucy Hill baseball and basketball teams. Gus Terry. Raymond Cox, Willie King, George Colvard, Houston Childers. Harry Smith, and Vanoy King made up one basketball squad of the 1920's while Max Keister. Malcolm Anderson, Ed Cox. Will Overby, W.B. Robinson, Lee Cox. Dennis Groves. Fain Heartsell. Colquitt Cole, and Grover Henry comprised an early baseball team. Another important athletic event was when Lucy Hill won first place in five of six events the school entered in the 1929 Northern Division of the Seventh District Track Meet. Lucy Hill brought home the cup due to the efforts of George Ross who won both the 100-yard and 440-yard dash, Loren Ross who won in pole vaulting. Homer Robinson, the shot put winner, and Heartsell Bond who captured the high jump. Lucy Hill also boasted a "Cherokee Literary Society." Clara Gregory, Verna Gregory, Mary Robinson, and Mary Harris were active in this group in 1930 and presented several programs of songs, readings, and recitations for the school. In 1918 The Chatsworth Times carried this front page announcement: GRADUATING EXERCISES - LUCY HILL INSTITUTE The graduating exercises of the Lucy Hill Institute at Spring Place, will take place on next Tuesday evening. May 28, at 8 o'clock. The members of the graduating class are Misses Annie Lou Bates, Nettie Winston Campbell, Clarence Edith Heartsell, Vivian Clyde Loweiy. Mary Adalyn Kemp, Thelma Merritt Treadwell. PROGRAM The program is as follows: Reading-"Shall Autocracy or Democracy Live?" - By President of Claw. Pantomime-"Star-Spangled Banner." Response-"America"-By Audience. Delivery of Diplomas-By Hon. C.N. King, President of Board of Education. Vacation Song-By Piimary Boys. Play-"Prof. James"-By Seventh and Eighth Grades. Song-"Maidensof Japan"-By Primary Girls. Play-"My Mother-in-Law"-London Scene-By Senior Class. , Curtain. In these days students "graduated" from the eighth grade. Murray King and Bill Cole (Warmack) had been the first to graduate. Former Lucy Hill students and teachers Willie Anderson Freeman, Frankie Anderson Zimmerman and Agnes Kemp remembered the Lucy Hill Institute School Song as follows: In the shadows of old Cohuttta Not far from Maddox Hill Is the little town of Spring Place And a school called Lucy Hill. Chorus (repeated after each verse): Then three cheers for Spring Place and give them with a will What's that awful noise we hear The hissing and the rattle Three miles east of town you will find They boast about the guano mill The song, which captured some of the rivalry of Eton, Chatsworth, and Spring Place residents, was sung to the tune of "Way Down in the Diving Dells." Its author was teacher Charles H. Shriner. The Lucy Hill Reunions have always been enjoyable although none have measured up to the first one, attendance-wise. More than 100 former students and their families returned to Spring Place that year, but since then the ranks have grown thinner. The only relic of Lucy Hill Institute which survives is the school bell. When it was salvaged from the demolition of the building, the bell was broken. In 1956 Luke, Robert, and Michael Ballew transported the bell to Manly Jail Works in Dalton. That firm supplied the steel and former student Steve Luffman repaired the old bell. Placed in storage until the first reunion, the bell once again called students to Lucy Hill. The Spring Place Ruritan Club plans to mount the historic artifact in the present Spring Place Elementary School. During the almost three decades of Lucy Hill's existence, many people served as instructors. Among the earliest teachers were "Professors" Nelson, Sampler. J.V. Trotter, Roach. Harper, and C.G. Byington (1902) in the upper grades along with Mollie Glass Brown and C.H. Shriner in the primary grades. Other teachers at the Institute included J.C. Bell (1917-18). J.C. Adams, Jennie Terry, Mr. Johnson. Oscar & Fletcher Charles. Luke Cantrell, Meady Shields (1916-17). Mamie King Trotter, Pansey Heartsell, Mrs. J.C. Barnette (1917-18), Gothrie, Choice Perkins and Chloe Cochran (1916-17), Lula Gladden (Principal 1918 or 19), Louise Picket!, Annie Lou Bates and Mary Kemp Ellis(1919), Sudie Walls, Christine Bagwell, Edith Heartsell Bullard, Marguerite Heartsell, Frankie Anderson (1919), Florida Harris, Mattie Lou Walls Pritchett (1917-21), Mrs. Sat-terfield. Agnes Kemp, Blanche Salts, Winona Salts, and the Freeman sisters. High School teachers included Mr. White (1919). Principal W.F. Huffaker (1923-30), Principal Roland D. Carter (1930-34), Margaret Reems (music), pfpe Hill, Zack Head, Rose Blankenship (music), Frank Huffaker, Beulah Naive (music), Sarah Lee Leonard (1929-32), J.H. Morion (1932), Mr. Entrekin (1930), Pauline Ogle tree (1932-34), Mrs. Roland Carter (1931-34), Allen Pannell (1931), Charlie Pannell (1932-33), Mr. Horton, Misses Murphy and Yates, and Alwayne Bowers. Lucille Rogers, Thelma Cox (1933-34), Mrs. W.F. Huffaker (1929-32), Grady Robinson (1932). Eula Mae Thornton, A.N, Sanders (1929-30). Wright Loughridge (1933-34), and Agnes Kemp were among the primary teachers during the high school's existence. Mr. D.D. Kemp was a trustee for some time. Willie Walls (1932), C.C. Whit-tenburg. C.C. Smith (1931). J.H. Robinson (1930). James Bearden (1931), John Luffman (1934), and J.A. Wilbanks (1933) were among Lucy Hill's last trustees. Mr. Shriner also penned these lines about the famed institution: There are places that may be fairer than ours. Other schools may be more noble and grand. But for true honest friendship and bliss. Lucy Hill is the first in the land. When all county high schools were consolidated in 1934, Lucy Hill High School became Lucy Hill Grammar School. Classes were held in both the courthouse and the 1924 building which was enlarged in 1949 with the addition of six classrooms. Additional land was obtained from the Pritchetts in 1953 and in 1956-57 the courthouse building was closed and dismantled. A lunchroom, new offices, a library, and more classrooms had been added to the other building which housed grades 1-8. Older students continued to use the courthouse lot as a playground until 1969. School trustees during this era included Odell Ingle (1947-52), Paul Smith (1947-52). Chester Hannah (1947-52), Walt Scott (1947-50). C.B. Davis (1951-53). Bob Holcomb (1953), Ben Jones (1954-56). Walt Baggett (1954-57). Leslie Kilgore and Jess Fowler (1954-56), Cecil Roe, H.E. Rouse. Bill Timms, and W.K. Jones (all 1956-57). and John Wilbanks (1966). The school lunch program began in 1947 with Mrs. Ruby Cook as the manager. The cafeteria was housed in an old army barracks that had been moved from Fort Oglethorpe. In 1985 Mrs. Cook and her long-time co-worker Rosa Ross gave Chatsworth Times writer Ruth Cox the following information about the lunch program. Other schools probably had similar beginnings. ... it was a cold day in January and two pot-bellied stoves had been set up to heat the building. A wood burning cook stove was used to cook the meals. The first few years, of course, were the roughest, considering that they had no refrigeration or other conveniences such as we have today. The milkman delivered in the late morning, ll was then taken outside to keep cool until lunch time. In the first days, a few picnic-style tables that had been brought from Fort Oglethorpe were used as well as a long shelf built along the walls on which the children could tat. No chairs were available, therefore they stood to eat. Later, long tables with benches were erected. Due to a limited amount of cooking utensils, food was cooked and removed from pans so as to use these pans for cooking more food. Sometimes by 11 a.m., the dry beans were not done after being on the stove all morning. If this happened, the stove eye was lifted, and the bean pot was placed over the flame in order that the meal be ready when the children came in for lunch. Cabbage used for cole slaw was grated with a hand grater and potatoes were peeled by hand. Hours spent in the early lunchrooms were long; the work was hard and some of the work was done without pay, just loyal dedication to the job. On the opening date there were four workers and the salary was a mere $12 for five long days of labor. The price of lunch was 10 cents for each type-A lunch served with one-half pint of milk. All of the food, milk, and salaries for lunchroom employees were paid from this money. The wintertime weather at the old barracks was unbearable, but with deterrnina-tion, they managed. Frozen water pipes would often burst and ice would remain on 'he floor all day. Workers would cautiously prepare lunch under these conditions and try to avoid the ice by standing in pasteboard boxes to serve and prepare foods, 'n the summertime the employees worked in 100-degree temperature. Before moving from the old barracks, the workers began selling school supplies and were allowed to use the money for little "extras," such as paint, pots and pans. The year 1956 was the time when the lunchroom was moved into the new addition. The equipment was more up to date. To be out of the barracks was good within "self, but here they had two refrigerators, a chest-type freezer, two electric stoves and ovens, and even a dish washer. They thought nothing could be any better. The barracks then became classroom space for the next dozen years. Sometime during the 1950's the school was officially re-named Spring Place Elementary School. Lunchroom workers include names such as Estelle Hannah, Rosa Ross. Edna Burt, Martha Cook Hamrick, Ruth Ross, Henrietta McDaniel. Marcelle Kilgore. the late Mrs. Mattie Robinson. Attie Myrtle Ballew, Averil Ballew, Aileen Pritchett. the late Mae Davis. Ruby Davis. Glenice Ridley and possibly others. Mrs. Cook retired in 1979, 10 years after the school moved to a new location near the southeastern edge of town on the Leonard Bridge Road. The new land had been obtained from Mr. & Mrs. Ed Burger. The Church of God of the Union Assembly eventually bought the old property and converted the building into a retirement home for its members. With the move to the new school Spring Place residents left behind memories of eighth-grade graduations, various school athletic events, a multi-level building, barracks rooms and rooms made from combining former "cloak rooms." and a coal-burning furnace. During the years following the closing of the high school. Lucy Hill-Spring Place had many fine teachers. Among them were Charlie Ross. Ruth Kemp-Eldora Ballew. Nadine Wilbanks. Thelma Cox, Will Frances Robinson, Guy Jones. Ralph Richards. Elvira Hicks. C.W. Bradley, H. H. Cordell,, Fred Driver, and Verna Gregory all in the 1930's. Principals of the school in succeeding years were Hoke Jackson (1945-48). Wallace Petty (1942-45. 1948-55), W.A. Crump (1955-56). L.B. Ross and Carl L. Davis who has the record for years of continuous administration at any Murray County school. Spring Place was fortunate to have a very stable faculty during the 1940's. 50's. and 60's. Indeed some of the teachers came to be as much of an institution as the school and were the living symbols of education in Spring Place. Miss Agnes Kemp, who taught at the old Institute building went on to teach for more than 40 years. Willie Mae Pritchett Sexton was another long-time educator who came to the school in the 1920's and spent the better part of four decades at Spring Place. Mrs. Annie Ross Welch also taught at the school for a number of years as did Mrs. Mamie Hannah. These taught in at least three of the school's buildings. Other teachers in this era were Birdie Lyles (1942, 1952-56), Cordelia Timrnons (1942). Troy Richards (1950-51), Ella Mae Duvall (1950-51). Ruby Burnette (1950-53). Margaret Gregory (1952-55), Joan Peeples Leonard (1952-55). Thelma Petty (1953-55), Billie Morrison (1955-59.1965), Mrs. H.C.Boston, (1955-56), Mrs. Fred Fraker (1957-58). Mrs. W.C. Heirs (1958-60), Bernice Groves (1965-67), Charolette Ford Cantrell (1965-69), Julian Coffey (1965-67) Hiram D. Coffey (1965-68), Juanita Coulter (1966-68), Sue Tanksley (1967-69),' Nadine Keith (1967-68). Irene Malone (1967-69). and Gordon Horner. Another group of long-time faculty members who retired after extended service at Spring Place includes Jennie Peeples (1952-68). Frances Jordan Green (1942, 1948, 1950-76). Attie Myrtle Ross Ballew (1952-70), Gallic Peeples Knight (1952-59). Loren B. Ross (1953-72), Sybil McLemore (1964-76), Frances Townsend (1975-86), Estelie Townsend (1955-85). Maxine Tracy (1969-74), Hubert Seal, and Milma Earnest. Today Spring Place is the largest elementary school in the county with an enrollment twice as large as the 582 students who attended the new school in 1969. Three wings have been added to the main building which now houses most of grades 1-6. Separate structures provide classrooms for kindergarten, special education, and other students. A new gymnasium was built in 1976-77 due largely to the work of the Spring Place Ruritan Club and the school's PTA, led by Carl and Wanda Poteet and Mike Ballew. A $10,000 contribution from the Governor's Emergency Fund also helped complete the project. Jean Ballew, a long-time English teacher at the school who succeeded Bernita Harris and Jetta Vinson as librarian, is now the senior faculty member at Spring Place. Two other teachers, Ann Green Bailey and Lois Faith Parrish, also taught at the school's former location. Mildred Ingle and the late Byrd Daviswere also school employees for some time. Since the move to the new school, lunchroom manager Martha Ridley and teachers like Clarinda Ballew Ridley, Kinma Huffstetler Bond, Ranelle Hannah West, Sheila Spivey Rich. Gary Garland, Nell Wilburn, Diane Hester. Nan Oz-ment. Nancy Kinser, Lois Tilson. Judy Reece, Gary Ross, Darlene Hilton Hoi-comb, Lynn Murphy, Leroy Hamrnett, Karen Ross Waters, Filbert Lewis, Rickie Elrod Caldwell, Betty Henry, Marvene Green, and Assistant Principal C.L. Dunn have worked at the school for several years. Spring Place Churches Since the days of the Moravian Mission, Spring Place has generally been the home of three churches. In the 1830's the town boasted Baptist. Methodist, and Presbyterian congregations. Then, in the early days of this century, the Church of God was established just as the Presbyterian church began its final decline. The Spring Place Presbyterian Church was formed prior to 1835 and is thought by some to have been the second church organized in Murray County. Presbyterian missionaries had visited the area as early as 1817. Deeds show that on October 8, 1835 James Morris sold 4 acres of land to the trustees of the church for "worship and for an academy." The trustees included James A.W. Johnson. S.M. Nelson. William C. Lough and Mr. Nedler. While many believe that the church had only one home, it most likely had two. for not until the 1850's was the real church structure built. Where the Presbyterians worshipped until then is not clear, but in that decade Robert Woods built the brick structure using slave labor. This building was one of the most beautiful in the county. It had a fine organ, red carpet (as did no other church), and "gates on the pews." The church was successful for many years. William Beard Brown of Chattanooga served as minister in 1862-63 and the North Georgia Citizen of September 3, 1874 carried this bit of news; Sabbath services at the Presbyterian Church in Spring Place were unusually interesting and impressive. Rev. Mr. Jones preached to a large and attractive audience in his unusual fellicitious style. Col. James A. McKamy was ordained Elder and sacrament administered to a goodly number of communicants. In 1893 an issue of the Spring Place Jimplicute contained this story which was re-printed in the Dalton newspaper since Rev. Matthews lived in that city, but also served Spring Place. "Rev. Mark Matthews came over Friday and filled his appointment here. Regardless of the rain a good crowd assembled and heard a fine sermon on "Consider The Way.' Our reporter called on Brother Matthews and had the following interview: " 'Good evening Mr, Matthews.' " 'Good evening my dear friend. Come in. 1 am glad to see you and I hope you are well and happy.' " 'Well, Mr. Matthews, tell me of your work,' " 'Well sir, my work is very heavy. 1 have as much as two men ought to do. But the work is prospering in every respect. I am happy when I can be doing the work of the Lord. If I go a day and don't make somebody happy I don't sleep good at night. 1 am truly a servant of the people. I have been coming to this place about a year and 1 feel that some good has been accomplished. I come without the hope of any financial reward and 1 have not received any thing and do not want it. You can say to the little 'doodlebugs' who have been prying into my business that I am not needy. Yes, I love the people of Spring Place and 1 will always love them for their kindness to me.' " For many years, services were held regularly and attendance was good. However near the turn of the century the church began to decline. Many members had died or moved away. In an effort to improve attendance, services were moved to Sunday afternoons so that people who lived in other parts of the county or attended other churches could get to Spring Place, too. Efforts to rebuild the congregation failed and in the teens services were discontinued. In 1932 The Chatsworlh Times printed this account and letter on the front page. Presbyterian Church Al Spring Place Being Demolished The Presbyterian church building, at Spring Place, which was built in the eighteen fifties and which has become one of the outstanding historic spots in this county, is being demolished. The destruction of this building has caused much protest from those who have known about it and Miss Lela Wilson, one of the members of the church, and probably the only one now living, has written a letter of protest and requested that it be Published. A Protest A few days ago two of my nephews and I were driving from Dalton and they expressed a desire to drive by and see "Mother's Old Church," as they called it. What was our consternationtosee it being demolished. My very soul was hurt to see tile only spiritual home 1 have ever known being destroyed. My earliest memories of Christian things were learned tlicre. My church vows were also taken there and with my people I for years took the communion there. To me every brick in its walls was sacred, and its altar holy, I exclaimed: "Who has dared profane this sanctuary?" My grandmother, moving here from South Carolina, was instrumental in its erection and the largest doner and remembered the church in her will. My family, impoverished by war, made every sacrifice to keep it alive and provide a minister. This is well known over the county. 1 am the only communicant left in the county, and it strikes me if the church was to be handed over to a member of another church, common courtesy demanded 1 at least have notice. There were many things of no intrinsic value 1 would have treasured for their association, but I sec even God's house is not immune from slick trading. The last and bitterly hurt member of the dear old Presbyterian church at Spring Place. LELA WILSON, While Miss Wilson's words were very stirring, she was a bit inaccurate in one instance. She was not the last member of the church for at least one other member was. and is still, living in Murray County. Mrs. E.P. (Bessie Mae) Adams joined the Spring Place Presbyterian Church around 1903 or 1904, Her father, Thomas B. Davis, was ordained an Elder of the congregation on November 14, 1906 and Mrs. Adams possesses many memories of the church as well as the last records. In this first decade of the 20th century, the group pledged support ranging from 50� to $6 to obtain a regular pastor. Rev. Kiddo P. Simtnons of Rome served from 1907 until 1908 at least. Regular monthly preaching services continued, but often the members sought financial support from leading Spring Place citizens like W.W, Sampler, R.M. Gudger, George Chamblee, Frank Peeples, Lewis Thompson. William Pendley, and O.K, Bates who attended other churches. The membership roll numbered 23: Elders James McCamy (who died in 1906). f H Dickson, Mr. Davis, and T.J. Ramsey (also ordained in November, 1906), John McKamy. Nancy McKamy, Mrs. E.H. Dickson, Lizzie and Eva Dickson, Mrs. T.J. Ramsey. Mrs, M.B. Stewart, James Whitecotton, Mrs. R.E, Wilson, Lela Wilson, EulaEdmondson.Marnie and Addie Pendley, Elizabeth Ellen Rouse, Harvey Rouse, Ethel Chamblee, Mrs. Laura Davis, and Bessie Mae Davis (Adams). Other names associated with the church in earlier days included James A. Randell, Dawson Walker, W.W. Gilles, A.L. Ramsey. M.B. Stewart, and Elder John Glass whose daughter Mrs. Mollie Brown was a long-time postmistress in Spring Place. Mr. Davis did much to beautify the church and grounds. According to Mrs. Adams the church boasted a pretty altar, solid wood pews, a beautiful yard with much shrubbery, nice windows, a picket fence built by Mr. Ramsey, an open porch, and a plank walkway in front of the building. The yard extended westward to the road which went to Lucy Hill Institute while the small cemetery was very near the church on the east side. Mr. Ramsey was the long-time caretaker and lived across Ellijay Street from the church. He also tolled the bell for services. This bell had once rung at the Moravian Mission and is now at the Vann House Historic Site. The church also had a successful Sunday school. When the Presbyterian Church property was sold, Mr. C.N. King, a well-known lawyer, became the owner. Today, Mr. Mike Ballew's residence stands on the site of the old church. The history of the Spring Place United Methodist Church also goes back to the days of the Cherokees as a mission to the Indians. The exact date of the establishment is not known, but the first reports to the Holston Conference of Tennessee were in 1835, The mission was a member of the New Town District along with seven other missions. After 1832, when the Cherokee lands were opened forwhite settlement, the early Methodist settlers also worshipped at the mission. The Cherokee Removal in 1838 saw the group at Spring Place become an all-white congregation by 1839. The Holston Conference met Oct. 9, 1844 and the area of the conference within Georgia was given to the Georgia Conference. This territory, including Spring Place and Murray County, was formally accepted by the Georgia Conference on January 18- 1845. Nathaniel Harrison was an early member. The mission was located near [he old Moravian Mission on what is now the old Ellijay Road. In 1851. the congregation moved to a site on Elm Street in Spring Place and built a brick church facing north. James Morris sold the land to the trustees for $5. The trustees were. John O'Donnall, David Jay.W.W. Stone, R.S. Morris and E.H.L. Keister. James Edmondson and Sarah H. Powell had earlier held an interest in the property. Over the next quarter of a century the church grew, surviving the Civil War which divided the Methodists into the Methodist Episcopal Church and the M.E. Church South. In 1870 Trustees Keister, William H. Steed, U.H. Duncan, and William J. Worsham purchased additional property from the Morris estate, At one time the church also owned a parsonage on Ellijay Street. W.H. Staples and A.J. Leonard were also trustees in the 1870's. In 1873 Frank Vonberg sold another parcel of land to the church and 2 years later a new building was erected on the brick foundation of the 1851 building which had burned a short time before. The new edifice faced east, however, and was to be the Methodists' home for the next 101 years. As Spring Place grew, so did the churches. Regardless of denomination, the citizens worshipped at all the churches as the circuit riders made their rounds. Many home-comings, conferences, box suppers, Sunday school meetings, revivals, and women's group meetings highlighted the history. After the county seat moved to Chatsworth, a new church was established there and the membership at Spring Place declined. However there remained a faithful number to carry on the church. Pastors of the church during that century were numerous but included J.S. Embrey (1876), Freeman Rush Smith (1890). B.N. McHan, J.B. Godfrey, N.A. Parsons, Rev. Cook (1941-44), Clyde Blackstock, H.G. England, Ellis Brashear, Horace Webb, Boyd Wagner, Charles Burton, John Underwood, Robert Cagle, C.L, Peck, and Walton McNeal. During the 1970's the congregation saw the need to build a new church with more parking space. When no land became available in Spring Place, 5 acres were purchased just north of the Vann House and a new sanctuary completed in 1976. Rev. McNeal left the church in 1979 and was succeeded by Charles Davis, Mark Westmorland, and David Bilhimer, Over the years many dedicated leaders worked and worshipped at Spring Place Methodist Church. Among the older ones are Mattie Henry, Sally Kemp, Sam and Laura Fincher (superintendent and organist), Mr. & Mrs. Frank Vonberg the Cox family. Edd Pritchett, Mr. & Mrs. W.B, Robinson and Kate Keister w[io often tolled the bell for services and to sound the alarm of a fire in the town. Other long-time leaders of the congregation include Miss Agnes Kemp (a member since 1914), Mrs. Minnie Gryder (a Sunday school teacher for most of four decades). Mr. & Mrs. C.N. King, Jr., Mr. & Mrs. Odell Ingle, Mr. & Mrs. Paul Smith, Mr. & Mrs. Carl L. Davis, Mrs. Rosa Ross, Mr. & Mrs. Jay Cox, and Mr. & Mrs. William L. Hawkins. The WhitfieId-Murray Historical Society has preserved and restored the old Methodist church which is now used as a museum and as a public meeting facility. The exact date for the founding of the Spring Place Baptist Church is not known, but it is possible that it was founded by Humphrey Posey, a staunch Baptist who was an early teacher and a zealous missionary in the area during Indian days. In 1846 Spring Place left the Coosa Baptist Association to join the new Middle Cherokee Association so the church was established sometime earlier. The first home of the church was a log building located northwest of the present church near the Robert Ballew residence, not far from the cemetery. According to tradition this structure burned while in use as a school. Early pastors included A.E. Vandivere (1848) and W.A. Ellis (1849-50). Around 1850 a second church was built directly across Highway 225 from the 1956 church. A deed made by James Morris, M.D. Jones, Mitchell Jones. Mary Jones, and Frances Jones was recorded in September. 1850 and mentions "where the Baptist Church is built." The church still owns the property which was the church site for 40 years. In 1870 Martin Isbell was the Spring Place pastor while James C. Henry and C.B. Holland were leaders. Records of the North Georgia Baptist Association show that the congregation included 12 Negroes, Also in the 1870's the church obtained another parcel of land from W.W. Gibbs (or Gillas). Deeds mention a parsonage and a nearby brick kiln. The North Georgia Citizen carried the following somewhat premature announcement in December. 1874: There is a strong idea afloat that at no distant day the building of a Baptist Church in Spring Place will be commenced. A small amount of funds with which to begin is now all that is required. Not until November 7, 1891 did the church appoint J.F. Harris. John McNeal, M. Roberts, T.J. Overby, and O.C. Coins to "lay off" the building on land given to the trustees by J.C. Henry. A beautiful white frame building was constructed by the members in 1892-93. Bill Henry and Frank Vonberg made the pews for the third Spring Place Baptist Church. The old building was then used as a school but later became a livery stable. Mattie Lou Walls Pritchett remembered the structure as a wide, "low-like" weatherbeaten and, unpainted building with a gently sloped roof when she went there in 1903 to ask Mr. Hilliard, the liveryman, to take her to her first teaching job in Whitfield County. "Miss Mattie Lou" said that the building had a big wide door and faced east. The windows had been boarded up when it was converted from the school into the stable. Along-time member of the Church, Mrs. Pritchett. saw four Spring Place Baptist sanctuaries, this older one which was torn down or burned around 1915 as well as the three which have followed. The 1892 building was used by the growing congregation until it was dis-mantled in 1955. The best lumber and materials were salvaged fromtheold building and used in a new brick sanctuary with several classrooms which was dedicated in 1956. The dour trim from the last Spring Place courthouse was placed over the front door of this structure. By 1980 the congregation saw the need for another sanctuary, more classrooms, and a fellowship hall. A building program was begun with Alton Wagnon, Johnny West. Maynard Young. Ernest Witherow. Leonard Thomas, Randall Richards and Mike Ballew on the original committee. The new masonry building with a wood arched roof was occupied on Easter Sunday, 1982. Danny Walters was the pastor. Noteburning services were held in December, 1985. In 1875 Spring Place Baptist had 136 members; 110 years later it boasted 345. Some of the earliest members of the congregation were the Anderson, Henry. King, Johnson, Lowery, Carter, Rollins, Ellis, Temples. Roberts. Henderson, McGhee, Hill, Etheridge, Black, Bagley, Adams, Howard, Shields, Wells and Ovbey families. Several generations of Ballews, Rouses, Elrods, Robinsons, and Richardses have also attended services there. Many men have pastored at Spring Place including W.P. Fore, J.W. Bailey C1899) V.J. McVeigh, H.D. Gilbert, E.H. Scott. W.C. Luther. J.E. Hudson MQOO)' C.C. Maples (1913), Revs. Austin and Stone. A.F. McDenne?. M.H. Welch (1920- W.F. Huffaker, W.M. Kelly, Charlie Plemons. Kirby Park (1946), C E Ward, Walter Harper, Frank Harper, Revs. Compton. Seymore. and Bur-nette Bob Porch. Tom Turner (1960's). Marshall Bamett, Jack Whitehead (1970's), and Danny Walters. Mike Purdy is the present pastor. Deacons at the church in times past included C.N. King, Sr., W.L. Roberts, C C. Smith. Oliver Pierce Ballew, W.R. Ballew, Tom West, Carl B. Davis, Luke Ballew, Joe Tucker. Troy Richards, Tom Morris, Ed Ballew, Jim Roberts, and Emest'Pritchett. J.W. Robinson, C.W. Brown, W.L. Roberls. C.N. King, WJ. Johnson, and C.E, Wilbanks all served as clerk. The third church in Spring Place today is the Church of God, now located west of the cemetery on the Ellijay Road. Founded in 1909, the first services were held al Shriner's store in Spring Place. When charter members Sam Latimer. Lee Jones, Bill Coker. and Mamie Carter organized this group, it was only the third Church of God in Georgia. Land for the church home was donated by Lee Jones and Mrs. Arthur Jones. In 1913 the original building burned and during the next year a second structure was built. The present building was constructed in 1936 and has been remodeled in 1961, 1965. and again in more recent years. Some of the past pastors were: S.W, Latimore, Wesley Murphy, T.S. Payne, Henry Murphy, S.L. Cantrell. Joe Moon, J.H. Nix, J.R. Davis, W.M, Murphy, C.A. Culpepper, Hubert Davenport, J.P. Green. Frank Swaggarty, Francis Bell. Joe Jordan, Homer Milon. L.C. Smith, Don Tatum, J.D. Bazemore. Bill Cantrell, Hoyt Scroggins, Clyde Richmond, Roy Shields, Richard Harkins, Annette Whitley. a Hulsey, Bob Cox, George Douglas. Edd Messer. Rev. Bill Parker, a great-grandson of charter member Mamie Carter, has been pastor of the church for several years, (Information from Margaret Jones.)
Three rousing cheers for Spring Place and three for Lucy Hill.
Friends we are to Spring Place and friends we'II ever be.
For Lucy Hill and Spring Place are good enough for me.
Come rolling o 'er the land?
That's not an earthquake, children.
That's just the Eton band.
Disturb you as they pass
Don't be alarmed, children,
It's just the natural gas.
All on the L&N
Will someday be the capital
And they will tell you when.
Perhaps it's just as well...
No trouble finding Chatsworth,
You will know it by its smell.
TOWNS, COMMUNITIES, AND MILITIA DISTRICTS
(1880-1980)
Spring Place Cemeteries
The Spring Place area has some of the most historic burial grounds in Murray County. The oldest cemetery was the God's Acre of the Moravian Mission. The final resting place of Cherokee Chief Joseph Vann's mother, a devoted missionary, Indian children, and others, this graveyard has been long since destroyed. A State Historical marker, a D.A.R. marker, and a marker for Chief Charles R. Hicks stand at the corner of Ellijay Street and Highway 225, commemorating the mission and the cemetery. The cemetery was actually located east of that spot. According to Mrs. Bessie Mae Adams and the late W.K. Jones, the Presbyterian church had a cemetery also. However, the names of any who might have been buried there have been lost. Undoubtedly the congregation had an area set aside for a cemetery, but all of their known leaders are buried elsewhere, so the church plot must have been used very seldom and in early days-if at all. A third cemetery near Spring Place is the Williams-Reed family burial ground off the Williams Road, north of town and south of Green Road. The Williams family were once very prominent in the town and owned much land near the cemetery. Those buried in the cemetery were all related to Seaborn Reed who lived from 1809 until 1884. His four daughters. Morning Reed, Mrs. Williams, Mrs. Gallman, and Mrs. Johnson and their descendants are interred there. In 1921 Mr. Charlie Williams asked the deacons of the Spring Place Baptist Church to accept a deed to the Williams-Reed Cemetery. Nol used in more than 30 years, the cemetery is not in good condition. South of Spring Place off the Bishop Pond Road was an old black cemetery, possibly dating back to pre-Civil War days. Long abandoned, the graves were barely distinguishable in the 1920's. The most famous cemetery in all Murray County is Spring Place's Treadwell Cemetery named for Smith Treadwell, an extensive landowner, whose face is said to have appeared on his monument soon after his burial. Treadwell descendants Ethel Green Brown and Aldyne Maltbie supplied the following information about Mr. Treadwell. In 1838, while living in Henry County, Georgia, Smith Treadwell, Esquire and William White purchased land in recently created Murray County. Soon after, he moved to Murray County and in 1840 married Mary (Polly) Mobley {1818-1851}, the daughter of Peyton and Susannah Hill Mobley, residents of Cross Plains (Dalton). Smith and Polly lived in the Tunnel Hill area and he rode horseback to Spring Place where he served as a county Justice of the Inferior Court for a time. The couple had seven children: Mary Ann, Susan Ann, Rachel F., John, Martha E., Miriam, and Smith Jr. called "Tuck. " Polly Treadwell died in 1851 and was buried in the "Mobley Hill"Family Cemetery in present day Whitfield County. Before her death, Polly asked her husband to try to win her sister, "Betsy," as his second wife and on November 12, 1854, Smith married Nancy Ann Elizabeth Mobley (1826-1905). To this union were born Sarah Jane, Mahala Evaline, Ellen Lucinda, William Peyton, Tuton /Torn/, Nancy Augustine, Stephen Lee, andAdelade. Mr. Treadwell served as State Senator from the 43rd District (Murray, Gordon, and Whitfield} in 1857-58. Also during this time, he accumulated many acres of land, owning property in Floyd, Cass, Terrell, Whitfield, and Murray Counties. He owned a colonial home at Tilton and his descendants still own portions of this property. During the war Between the States he moved the family to his Terrell County plantation near Dawson so they would be out of danger while he was away at war. Though he was too old for active duty, he enrolled from the Eleventh Senatorial District in Military Company District 1150 under the Reorganization Act of 1863. Mr. Treadwell was sent to guard prisoners at Andersonville, Georgia. After the War, he freed his Terrell County slaves and moved to Spring Place. His home was a two-story colonial home on the Chatsworth Highway, later owned by the King family. Also on his property was a small cemetery called the Seay, or sometimes the Black, Cemetery. From this time on, however, it would bear the name of its most famous owners-the Treadwells. During the time he lived at Spring Place, Smith Treadwell built and owned several wheat and com water mills and also several bridges. According to his descendants. Smith Treadwell lost much of his land paying damages to other landowners whose property was destroyed when heavy rains caused the mill ponds to over-flow. Fortunately, he had given most of his children some land at the time of their marriage. In his later years Smith moved several times, living at Tilton, and in Rome before returning to Spring Place in 1888. On February 20, 1893 Smith Tread-well passed away and was buried in the Treadwell Cemetery. A short time after his death, a marble monument was placed at his grave and soon people who visited the grave noticed that the streaks in the marble resembled the face of a man. Levi Branham, a former slave, who knew Smith Tread-well for many years, wrote the following about the marker in his book, My Life and Travels: "1 helped bury Mr. Treadwell but I did not help put the tombtohis grave. 1 was there a few days after his tomb was put up, but I never saw any sign of the picture which resembles a man. Within a year 1 noticed the picture. "I think it resembles him very much. It seems to me that the picture becomes plainer every day ."(p. 47) Walter L. Bogle wrote the following about the marker: "The face on the tombstone in the cemetery just off the Dalton Chatsworth Highway near Spring Place is a wonderful likeness of the man who is buried beneath it. The marks in the marble outline the face in a remarkable way and hundreds of sightseers have visited this." {Daily Citizen-News, May 22, 1875, p. 4) However. Mrs. Thelma T. Bond of Dalton, a granddaughter, says the likeness in the stone bore little resemblance to pictures of Smith Treadwell. So the question. "Was the likeness on the stone really that of Smith Treadwell?" will continue to amaze people. Two people who knew the man write that it was his likeness, yet pictures do not bear this out. When asked why the likeness came on the monument, Mr. Branham replied: "1 was not able to tell them. One man asked me if the picture came there because Mr. Treadwell was a good man ... or a bad man ... I told him ... a good man. I had ... always found him to be an honest man. He attended to his own business and let other folks' business alone. That's what it takes to be a good man." {p. 47) Family members and others who knew or knew of Smith Treadwell agree that he was a good man. However, another statement by Mr. Branham throws a different light on the picture of Smith Treadwell: "In 1889 Mr. Treadwel! told me that he had distilled whiskey and brandy nearly all his life, but he had never been arrested ... If anyone wanted to buy whiskey from him . . . they would have to carry it from his premises. 1 suppose that accounted for his not being arrested." The statement is true, but requires clarification. Mr. Treadwell did make whiskey at times, but for the government, reports Mrs. Bond. She adds that Mr. Treadwell "was not a bootlegger," Murray County was not voted dry until 1886 (Georgia Laws 1886). Regardless of the tales told about Smith Treadwell a man's likeness did exist on his marker. Photographs reveal this, but the face is more easily visible to those who know they are supposed to see a face. The Smith Treadwell marker received national attention when it was featured in Ripley's "Believe It or Not" column sometime in the 1930's. The article featured an exaggerated drawing of the marker and the following information: "The Tombstone Portrait�Spring Place. Georgia. A few years after the death of Smith Treadwell an exact likeness of him appeared on his gravestone." After this, hundreds of people visited the grave site and almost that many tales about Mr. Treadwell sprang up. One said that the likeness appeared because he was a mean man who had murdered his wife. Another said he was a thoroughly dishonest man and a bootlegger. The list is as long as mankind's imagination. Mr. and Mrs. Carl B. Davis moved to Spring Place in 1922 and bought a house near the entrance to the cemetery. In the months following the Ripley's column, people were constantly at their door, asking about Smith Treadwell. the cemetery, and the marker. The Davises said people would come at all hours and they never knew who or what they would find at their door next, nor what new tale they would hear. As the years passed, the Treadwell saga would be revived now and then and a new stage of visitors would descend on the cemetery, Mrs. Bond, and the Davises. In 1951 the marker was stolen and was not located for some time. Finally, some fishermen found the marker in Mill Creek near Dalton. The family had grown tired of the phone calls, unwanted visitors, undesirable publicity, and much damage and vandalism in the cemetery so the decision was made not to re-erect the tombstone. They welcomed the relief and wanted to let Mr. Treadwell rest in peace. Mrs, Davis said that many stories were told about the theft of the marker, Someone even said that foreigners stole it and sometimes people in uniform would go to the Davis' making inquiries about the marker. Mr. Davis told of another interesting burial at Treadwell Cemetery. In 1941, while digging a grave, the workers discovered an earlier burial. The men, one of whom was Mr. Davis, obtained permission to move the coffin to another spot. In doing so the men found that the coffin was buried north and south, not in the usual manner facing east. Another fascinating thing was that the coffin was , solid iron and sealed air-tight. In the process of moving the casket, a piece of ; glass over the face of the body was broken and the men discovered that the . deceased was a golden-haired girl about seven or eight years old. The men reinterred the coffin a short distance away, once again in the north-south direction. Mr. Davis made many inquiries but no one had any knowledge about the old burial, the unknown girl, or the solid-iron coffin. Mr. Davis said the only thing that might have served as a marker was a cedar tree at the end of the coffin. However, the men had already cut down the tree before discovering the grave. The oldest marked grave in the Treadwell Cemetery is that of Margaret Baxter who died in 1847. Other pre-Treadwell burials include Caroline Buck-hanan (1852), Elizabeth Seay, and Mary Black (1860). Mrs. Bond said that she felt that these women were related to the Seays since the cemetery once went by that name. The main Treadwell section was once surrounded by a hedge, fence, and filled with cedar trees. Now only part of the hedge and a few trees remain. In the early 1900s another section was added, north of the Treadwell family plots. Among those families using the newer part are the Ridley. Elrod, and Ballew families. Spring Place Cemetery is the oldest and largest burial ground in the area which is still is use. An 1868 deed from W.W. Gates to A. Dexter and C.C. Clark provided 2 acres for a graveyard in lot 246 (9th District, 3rd Section). However marked burials date to the 1840's. Located on the Ellijay Road at the western boundary of Spring Place, this cemetery is the final resting place of many interesting and prominent Murray Countians. Dimple Johnson Ferguson of Atlanta told the story of the Unknown Soldier who is buried near the original entrance to the cemetery: Mrs. Ferguson wrote that he was . . . found in the McGhee barn after a contingent of Yankee soldiers marched by on the Calhoun Road. He was very young, 15 or 16, He was unconscious and died of dysentery a few days laler. They never knew his name. Granny told us that the women and children of Spring Place buried him because the men were all away at war. All my life we have visited this grave and told this story. 1 told it once to a Mr, & Mrs. Jones who were working in the cemetery and they, in turn, told the American Legion who contacted me for details. On a Sunday afternoon in November, 1976 they marked the grave with a lovely Patriotic Ceremony. Two former slaves. Issac and Patience Venable, are also buried in the cemetery. Moving to Spring Place after the Civil War, the couple lived on the McGhee farm for many years. Only one of the graves is marked�as "Patient Venerable"� , on the westernmost edge of the graveyard. In 1975 well-known Murray County journalist Olivene Godfrey wrote about some of the other important burials at Spring Place: Captain W.C. Tillon who died in 1897 buried his bird, a parrot named "Ludie," in the family cemetery plot. The bird's marker reads: "Ludie, brought from South America. October, 1368 - died October 23, 1892 - Beautiful Bird - sweetest of pets." Stories handed down by old-time citizens say the bird was gorgeous and a "great talker." Another old marker reads: "Captain Francis Marion Dwight, Company 36, Regiment C.A. Vol. died May 13, 1816, at 49 years old." When a fire swept through Spring Place in the 1800s, a Dr. Bagwell, his six-month-old baby, two small boys, his housekeeper, a Mrs. Williams, were burned to death and are all buried at the Spring Place Cemetery. V.C. Picketing, a prominent Murray County pioneer, who served as a state senator and helped to build the first hospital here is also buried in the cemetery, Mr. Pickering is credited with helping to build a road across Fort Mountain and the building of several Murray County churches. George Campbell, a midget who worked as a comedian for Paramount Pictures and for Ringling Bros, Circus, is buried in the cemetery. Byron Campbell, a pioneer resident of Murray County, and Charlie Campbell, who served as Justice of the Peace for 16 years in Chatsworth are buried in the cemetery. Mrs. Virginia Bernard of Chatsworth had her husband, Lew Bernard, buried in the Spring Place Cemetery, Mr. Bernard, a native of Vienna, Austria, performed in silent movies and was later a banker before his death in 1955. Among the other prominent Murray citizens buried there are Dr. J.E. Bradford, Civil War Colonel William Luffman, Major R.E. Wilson. War of 1812 Veteran George Cleveland. Educator Lula Gladden. Dr. J.F Harris, Jason Robinson, Dr. Anderson, Samuel Field. James, John and Tom Polk Edmondson, Dr. Sam Dwight of Hopedale, and many who served as county officials. Margaret Jones and her late husband, Luther, have worked for many years to beautify and maintain the cemetery. Due to their work and the generosity of Mrs. Edna Loughridge Gregory a perpetual care fund has been established for this historic burial ground.
TOWNS, COMMUNITIES, AND MILITIA DISTRICTS
(1880-1980)
Other Communities in the District
When the county seat moved to Chatsworth. the Spring Place District was renumbered No. 1895 among Georgia's militia districts. Chatsworth became the No. 824 or "Town" precinct. Today voters go to Spring Place Elementary School to cast their ballots and the district encompasses several other communities-old and new. West of Spring Place on the Conasauga River near present Highway 76 was the town of Amzi. The name has Biblical origins and is found in I Chronicles 6:46. A post office was established there in 1892 and in 1900 the Cyclopedia of Georgia recorded that Amzi was a post village with a population of 35, Postmasters at Amzi were James M. Stone (1892-94), M. Lartgston (1894-97), A.T. Dickson (Dec. 1897-Feb. 1898). Robert Fletcher (Feb.-Mar. 1898), James A. Langston (1898-1901). Jesse W, Langston (1901-04). and L. Choice Perkins (1904-09). Amzi and several other Murray post offices closed in 1909 when rural free delivery began. The Langstons had a store at Amzi and sold everything from sugar, coffee, and beans to shoes. The area also had the Bettis School during the 1870's and 80's. John S. Bettis, a trustee, deeded 2 acres on land lot 184 (9th & 3rd) for a school "public or private." The land "fronted on the Spring Place-Dalton Road," The only known teachers were L.D, Bettis (1877), Miss Bettis (1881), and Mrs. Gideons (1884). although the school operated until 1888 at least. On the same land lot was Bethel Church which appears on maps into the 1890's. Nearby is the Morris-Varnell Cemetery. Named for John Morris (1796-1871) and his wife Elizabeth (1794-1878) who were among the first to be interred there, the cemetery was in use until the middle of this century, but is today largely overgrown. Signs of many unmarked graves remain and one interesting gravestone simply says "Saphronia Key age 91." Other family names found in the cemetery include Bearden. Rainey. Ellis, Bettis, Vamell. Whitfield, Busie, Elrod, and Lollar. The cemetery, located just south of Highway 76 east of Keith Road, was set aside "for a neighborhood, graveyard" according to an 1886 deed which also included a road right-of-way. J.E. Bettis (and later the Treadwells) lived "opposite" of the cemetery. Names mentioned in the deed were trustees Joseph C. Morris, John F. Vamell, and John L. Lollar. Dr. J.M. Harris had an Amzi address in 1893 and in a 1902 newspaper brief, Jesse Langston was called "Mayor" of Amzi. The most famous landmark in the Amzi community was the impressive Treadwell Mill. The largest of all of Smith Treadwell's milling operations, this mill was built around 1870 (give or take a year) and had three stories. Anchored to the river bank, the building extended over the river and boasted two large, "undershot" mill wheels. 20 feet high and 12 feet wide. The mill ground flour as well as meal and the complex also included a gin in addition to a sawmill where shingles were made and lumber was dressed. The wheels were replaced by turbines in 1903 and the mill continued to operate until the years between the World Wars. Early efforts to build a bridge across the Conasauga in this vicinity had failed due to "freshets" and shifting banks, so a ferry operated about 30 yards above the mill for some time. At one time a covered bridge was constructed but a metal structure spanned the river for many years. This Treadwell Bridgewas replaced with a more modern one when the present road was built, north of the old mill site. In 1957 Mr. & Mrs. Leroy Coulter bought the Perkins home near the former mill complex and guard over the remains of the once thriving business. In the recent past the Coulters revived the old name with the Amzi Craft Fair held each October. In 1980 another church came to this communiiy when the Keith Road Baptist Congregation was organized. Charter members were Mr. & Mrs. Conway Gregory. Rev. & Mrs. B.F. Babb, Pastor & Mrs. Richard Lawless, and Ricky Lawless. In less than 2 years the $100,000 building was completed and membership grew to 110. Deacons Danny Deal. Clay Ryles, Jr., Johnny Carden, Charles Stone, and Fred Russell joined the ministers and Mr. Gregory in note-burning activities in the summer of 1982. In earlier days a school had existed between Keith Road and the River. Called Riverbend after an older school by that name (located farther south) which had closed, this school operated for a short lime. Teachers included T.P. Thornton (1933-34). Eula Thornlon (1935-37). and Ralph Richards (1937). The school was destroyed by fire in 1937. Keith's Store and Murphy Ridley's Store were also well-known businesses in the Amzi-Treadwell communiiy. In recent years enterprises such as Loudermilk's Barber Shop, Sherwalson Carpets, Colonial Printing. O'Ryan's Carpets and mobile homes sales have been located on the "Chatsworth Highway," a four-lane from Chatsworth to Dalton since 1980. Just east of Amzi is the Gladden Springs community, named for a well-known Murray family who lived there. In early days this was the site of Civil War reunions while Murray Homes, stores, Sandy's Beauty Shop, and a branch of Cohutta Bank (1974-84) have since been located there. Several businesses, have also operated on what is now Highway 52 between Spring Place and Gladden Springs. Flood's Auto Parts, H & K Superrite owned by Hoyt and Kathleen; Ridley. Elrod's Store, Colortone Carpets. Thomason Heating & Air, and Chatsworth Salvage along with a cloth store are some of the enterprises. The H & K building has since been the home of Fellowship Baptist Church, pastored by George Johnson, while another congregation has met in the old Elrod store. A bit farther east of Gladden Springs is Jimmie's Florist, operated by Jimmie Hayes and her daughters, next door to the Free Hope Baptist Church and parsonage. Free Hope was originally a Primitive Baptist congregation, but this group disbanded sometime before 1895. The Missionary Baptist Church was constituted August 2. 1895. The organizing presbytery consisted of Rev. E.J, DeWeese, Rev, Robert Parker, Rev, Joseph Fore, and 13 charter members including J.W. Langston, Maggie Langston, William Davis, Mary Davis, B.F. Jones, Matlie Jones, Joseph Mallett. Margaret Mallett. E.E. Daniel, Hattie McHan, Jane Luffman, Robert Fletcher, and Isabella Fletcher, Rev. Parker moderated the first conference on August 24 and Rev. DeWeese, who often walked from his Ellijay home to the monthly services at Free Hope, was elected pastor while J.W. Langston became church clerk. J.C. Morris. E.E. Daniel, and J.M. Luffman furnished land in an August 23, 1895 deed and soon the congregation enlarged the small, one-room Primitive Baptist Church. The church joined the North Georgia Baptist Association the same year. The original building was used until 1921 when it was torn down. A large frame structure with an auditorium and two Sunday school rooms was erected. About 1948 a building fund was started and. upon land given by Alice Hill Scott, a brick building consisting of an auditorium and seven Sunday school classrooms was erected about 1/4 mile west of the old site. The reason for the change being that the new Chatsworth-Dalton highway ran at a distance to the rear of the building. This building was completed in May, 1953. Mr. George McHan drew the plans for this building and Rev. Frank Harper, a carpenter, helped build it. This building burned to the ground on Thanksgiving afternoon the same year. Although the church was paid for, there was no insurance. With much sacrifice on the part of the members, donations by friends and churches, and a sizable loan from the Home Mission Board, the church was rebuilt in 1954 almost exactly like the one destroyed by fire, and it is said by many to be one of the nicest rural church buildings in this section. It is of brick and block construction with hardwood floors, gas floor furnace heat and has beautiful memorial windows. The auditorium seats 350 and there is ample parking space. The following have served as pastors: E.J. DeWeese, Joseph Mallett, J.M. Cash, W.R. Lackey, M.S, Shugart. Ben Vaughn, T.A. Brown, Walter Bennett, J-W. Pitts, Robert Elliott, William Campbell,W.E. Self. B.R. Hogan, W.J. Darnell. T.P, Thornton. W.E. Chadwick. W.H. Cummings, E.G. Davis, J.O. Dantzler. J-M. Owens, M.M. Fowler, Lynn Wood. Alonzo Gibson. Frank Harper, Ernest Young. Van Compton, Gene Ridley, Charles Hambright. Raymond Gordon. Rembert Moore, Milton Wood. Carl King, Willis Moore, Bill Elsberry, T.D. Hooker. James Brownlee. Richard Lawless, and C. Lonnie Adams, present pastor. The church now has a pastorium built next to the church site with a full-time pastor on the field and has added a new sanctuary complete with padded seats, plush carpet, and baptistry. There is also a Fellowship Hall in the rear. The grounds have been landscaped beautifully and the parking lot is paved. The Free Hope Cemetery is located east of the church, south of Highway "6. It began as the McHan-Luffman burial plot, according to some. On two occasions Free Hope Schools existed. In 1884 "local subscriptions" were received from various Spring Place area residents "for the purpose of building a school house" to be located near the residences of E.E. Daniel, J.C. Morris, H.H. Luffman, and others. Among those who contributed either "a day's work" or money ranging from gifts of 50� to $I were Trammell Starr. W.H. Ramsey, L.S. Dates, James C. Henry, Frank Vonberg, L.L. Gault, J.P. Hix, L.F. Henry, H.L. Smith, J.L. Robinson. Pleas McGhee. James Dickson. C.N. Vance, Jim E. Gait, James McCamy, P.M. Stewart. R.E, Wilson, D.C. Kenner, J.T. Henry, V.J. Peeples, J.H. Ellis, S.J. Ellis, J.H. Peeples, L.F. Peeples, and Elias Gladden. Daniel. Morris, and John M. Luffman provided land for the school in 1884 and 1888, Known teachers at the school were J.E. Jackson (1885) and "Professor" Fricks (1891). Evidently the school closed and the trustees then deeded the property to the Church. In 1911 Maggie and S.J. Jackson deeded 1 acre in land lot 186 (9th & 3rd) for a school "just north of Free Hope." Teachers here included Sallie Johnson (1916), Mattie Bagley (1917), May Johnson (1918), and T.P. Thornton (1920). Joe Scott. J.H. Walker, and Johnny Vaughan were trustees for this second Free Hope School. Today a thriving community north of Spring Place is Central, located at the intersection of Georgia 225 and U.S. 76. Paul Jackson Ford opened there in June, 1985 and Grassmore Carpets is also at Central. The crossroads also boasts s Golden Gallon Food Store, the Brass Lantern Restaurant (formerly Howard's Country Kitchen and others), a drive-in restaurant, and other businesses including the Central Barber and Beauty Shops, operated by Jay and Ruth Cox. Mrs. Cox. a writer for The Chatsworth Times wrote the following account of Central in July, 1984: Many years ago, my brother, Odell Ingle, had a dream. With this dream in mind, he purchased the land now known as Central. It was not until years later that he decided to build the first business on the southwest corner of the crossing. In 1951, work had begun on the building which would later be known as Central l-'ood Market. Today this building serves as a place of worship for the Day Spring Ministry where Rev. Lynn Hayes U the pastor. Even though the work had begun on a new building, Odell had no idea who might want to rent such a building. As the footing was being poured, the late Arnold Hufstetler stopped to express interest in renting both the grocery store and the adjoining service station. After renting the buildings, Hufstetler decided that the location needed an official name. He said that since this spot was in the center of the county, population wise (east and west), and geographically (north and south) a good name would be Central. They both agreed. Excitement over the business places mounted and the store was built to Mr. Hufstetler's specifications. A bam, owned by the late John Wilbanks, had to be torn down to make room for the new service station to be operated by the late Wink Goodman. Today the station is operated by David Stover. Odell's dream became a reality when Hufstetler opened the Central Food Market. A short while later, Frankle and John Woods became the new owners. The February event in 1952 is still vivid in Frankie's mind as she says, "When I first walked into that store, I thought it was the prettiest thing I had ever seen." It took a lot of determination and hard work to make this venture a success, but Frankie and John supplied plenty of both. At this time, only seven houses could be seen from either direction. Today most of those houses are gone but many more have taken their place. Grady Bagley remembers when mules, wagons and a few cars did not generate enough traffic to warrant a traffic light at this intersection. He recalls the deep ditches, a few homes and the cotton and corn fields which were a part of Central al that time. Going back many years before Central, John Cox,, Jay's grandfather, lived on the corner where the RTK Service Station, owned by Neil Keener, now stands. At one lime there was a hog lot and wallowing pond at this location. In the later 1950's the dream became even bigger with the opening of the coin-operated laundry. It has been in operation since that lime. The Central Beauty and Barber Shops became a reality in 1961. We have made many friends here since that time that will hold a special place in our hearts. At one time, three corners at Central crossroads were owned by Odell. He sold the property where the Golden Gallon now stands. However, he was directly or indirectly responsible for almost a dozen businesses in this area. He and another brother, Buck, built the Trinity Carpet Mill building. They leased it for many years but finally sold it. In my salute to Central, let me close by saying that when my brother is no longer seen around the comer at Central, he will have left something for everyone to remember, just as Arnold Hufstetler left the name. For a time Calfee's Minute Market No. 19 operated in the Central Food Market building and the Sanford family's "The Yam Center" is located just north of the crossroads. Also north of Central is the Chief Van Subdivision begun by R.E. Chambers, Charles A. Pannell, and Jim Springfield on the Hamilton Farm in the 1950's. Two schools have operated in this section of Spring Place District. At the northern edge was the Garden School, built before 1871 on Simon Weaver's property. Trustees were Pleas McGhee, J.A. McCamy, and Jacob Miller. In what is now Central, the Bermuda School opened in 1897. W.J. White provided 3/8 of an acre on lot 172 (9th & 3rd) for the school which was located atop a hill on the present-day site of a carpet mill near the intersection. Teachers there included J.D. Smith (1899) and Victoria Osbom (1900). The Steed children, who became prominent citizens, attended classes at Bermuda. The county poor farm was located near Mill Creek at the northern boundary of the District. Also, at least six graves are located on the Leonard property east of Central on the north side of Highway 76. The area is accessible only by an old field road. Today Highway 225 and particularly Highway 76 between Central and Chatsworth are dotted with many businesses, but factories like Candlewick, Fort Mountain Spinners, Galaxy, Chief Vann Carpets, and others are predominant. For some time Spring Place had a black community which centered around the Pine Grove school, located on the Treadwell farm on the Williams Road north of town. Levi "Uncle Boisey" Branharn was a well-known teacher while other older teachers were Isabella Whitecotton (1881) and Fanny Rivers (1896). Later teachers included Eula Moore (1916-17), Eula Branham Wynn (1929) Nina Moore (1933-35). Essie Mae Branham (1936-38), and Lucille Branham (1937). Trustees were Aaron Rhodes, Jim Bonds, and Joe Branham. During 1921 a young, progressive minister, Jesse C. Murray from Dalton was sent to Spring Place to preach and teach. The result of his work was the establishment of the Pine Grove Baptist Church. Church members Kate Kemp, Charles Bonds, and Curtis Rivers helped Nina Moore Hill compile the following history of the Pine Grove congregation: On the farm of Mrs. Ida Keith Treadwell was a little, old, worn one-room schoolhouse called Pine Grove, located in a beautiful shady grove of pines with plenty of playground space for the children and sufficient room for parking wagons and buggies. This is the little building where Rev. Murray was sent to hold services. Rev. Murray came from Dalton on the jitney bus and usually got off at the Branham mailbox on the west side of Spring Place to visit or spend the night before services on Sunday. Sometimes he brought Mrs. Murray and their little daughter, Janie, with him when he could get transportation. Not too many people had cars in those days. Rev. Murray had high hopes and was anxious to get a church building there. He visited Mrs. Treadwell with other members to see if it would be possible to build a new church on her property. Mrs. Treadwell readily agreed, promising that the land was theirs as long as it was used for school and church purposes. All the people had a mind to work to raise money for the new church. Mrs. Treadwell and other white and black friends gave the group much financial and moral support. Mr. Murray invited a group of ministers and laymen from Dalton, Lafayette, and the Shiloh Church to help with the organization of Pine Grove. Those present at the October 7, 1923 organization meeting included Revs. Tom Ray of Hopewell, C.H. Maxwell of New Hope, Wynn ofMt. Ridge, Standard of \ Fair Ground, Lee Mack of Shiloh, Lean McCamy and Murray both of Liberty along with Deacons Aaron Anderson of Mt. Ridge and Sam Ware of Liberty in addition to Tom Beck, Levi Branham, Matthew Branham, Onnie Beck Branham, Eula Branham Moore all from Shiloh. After the church was organized in the little old school, the people really went to work soliciting funds. Box suppers, rallies, picnics and all kinds of\ methods were used and soon they had enough money to start the church. Then, at last, the new white frame building was completed on the west side of the road. Pretty wooden benches, wall kerosene lamps, and a nice wood heater furnished the sanctuary. Everyone was proud when the structure was dedicated on May 1, 1927. Rev. C.H. Maxwell preached the dedication sermon. Rev. T. Ray led in prayer, and Deacons John and Joshua Betton received the offering. Among the first deacons were Levi Branham, Aaron Rhodes, Houston Bran-ham (church treasurer), Jim Maynard, and Jim Bonds, Sr. Thelma Branham was the first member to unite for baptism and was named Mother of the Church. Many others followed. The church prospered for several years and people came [ from miles away to hear good singing and preaching. In 1930 Rev. Murray, who had postered several other churches at the same time decided to leave Pine Grove. He was succeeded by Frank Williams, Rev. Reynolds, and Rev. Harris. During Rev. Williams'nine years at the church other ministers visited from time to time including Rev. Robinson, and White from Chattanooga. By the 1940's most of the blacks were movingtoChatsworth or other places and interest in Pine Grove lagged. The church became delapidated and Geneva Wofford, Lillie Rivers, and Carrie Ramsey attempted to save the building, but if was too far gone. Some other ladies who worked faithfully in the church were Julia Gilbert, Addie Phillips, Elsie Bonds, Esther Moore, Florence Branham, Eula Branham, Fannie Bonds, and Carrie Moore. Time passed and the church was rebuilt on Sixth Avenue in Chatsworth. Rev. Womble led the reorganization and pastored a faithful few for many years. Curtis Rivers became the pastor in 1969. Other leaders at the new home have been Kate L. Kemp, Secretary, and Deacons Willie Kemp, Charles Bonds, Ernest Ramsey, and Bennie Bonds. _____ While Amzi, Gladden Springs. Central, and Pine Grove are communities north of Spring Place, others exist within the district south of the old town. East of Spring Place on Leonard Bridge Road is the Mt. Olive Baptist Church, organized March 28, 1956. Charter members were Rev. & Mrs. Ernest Tudor and two children. Deacon & Mrs. J.D. Sanford and three children, Deacon & Mrs. L.H. Sanford. Sr. and two children, Mr. & Mrs. Bradford Long. Barbara Long, and Mr. & Mrs. L.B. Thomason and one child. Rev. Trammell Long was elected pastor and Bradford Long was superintendent, while Althea Thomason was clerk and treasurer. Associational Missionary J.C.Williamson led ground-breaking ceremonies on April 4. 1956. Succeeding pastors have been John Coe, Raymond Ballew, Floyd Childers, and Billy Ray Scott. Near present-day Mt. Olive was Hill House or "Chigger Hill" School. In 1894 Mrs. Mary F. Hill sold 1 acre of land on land lot 265 (9th & 3rd) to the Murray County Board of Education. The school had operated for several years already, however. Known teachers there included Miss M.J. Williams (1881). M.W. Shields (1892), Mrs. Marintha Wells (1893). George Kelly (1894-95), W.D. Wilbanks (1896), MX. Peeples (1897), Amanda Peeples (1899). and W.E. Waters (1900). South of Spring Place on the Ramhurst Road near the Adams and Bishop farms was once a school sometimes called the Adams or "Couger" School but officially named "Gum Swamp." Miss Lela Wilson taught there in 1881 and 2 years later G.G. Adams deeded "thirty square yards where the school now stands" on lot 278 for a school and Baptist church. In the 1890's. operating as Gum Swamp, the school was threatened with closing several times apparently due to the p00r condition of the building. Talk of building a new facility in 1897 did n�t get results and the doors never reopened. Teachers included George Kelly, M.W. Shields (1891). Sybil Keister (1893), Hardie Phipps (1894), and Mollie Glass Brown (1895). Later this area was served by the Oakland School near Smyrna Church where the Spring Place District meets Bull Pen District. West of Spring Place on the Ellijay-Dalton Road were the famous Hopedale Plantation and the Marble Hill School. Called "the garden spot of Murray County." Hopedale was originally the home of the Dwight family. Dr. Samuel Dwight was born in Oak Grove in Georgetown District. South Carolina, in 1786, moved to Murray County, became successful, and died at Hopedale in 1859. The Dwight daughter married Captain W.C. Tilton and during their ownership Hopedale reached its zenith. Although they were nut very active in Spring Place "social circles," the Tiltons had large house parties twice a year and invited guests from Atlanta. The grounds were beautiful with walkways covered with marble slabs. A large house with a high, wide porch. Hopedale's most original feature was that the carriage house was underneath the main structure. Located west of the present-day Church of God, Hopedale burned, but was rebuilt in a similar style on a smaller scale. The Jones family has owned the property for many years. Mr. Tilton was responsible for the discovery of talc in (he 1870's. Sometimes called "tripoli" or "soapstone," the talc operation went on for several years, but ended around the turn of the century. The mines were located on the north side of the road, west of Hopedale near the Walls-Robinson farm. Mr. Tilton died in 1907 just as the talc industry in Chatsworth was beginning. He and his family are buried in the family plot at Spring Place with their tall markers surrounded by an elaborate, iron fence. Marion Williams was a business associate of Mr. Tilton and lived at Hopedale for a time as did the Harve Hannahs and Claude Andersons later on. The Walls Springs were a popular place for school picnics and other gatherings. Students from both Spring Place and nearby Marble Hill visited there in the 1890s. Probably so named because traces of marble had been found in the area, (he school operated for almost a quarter of a century near the present-day site of Claude Chapman's home and garage. Begun about 1895 or so. Marble Hill's first teacher was Eula Edrnondson. Others who taught there were George Barks-dale (1899). Mollie Glass Brown (1900). Harold Willingham (a summertime visitor to Hopedale who lived near Marietta), Mattie Lou Walls (who had 75 students enrolled), Ella Davis (1912-13). Bessie Mae Davis Adams (1914-15), Agnes Kemp (1916), and Sally Johnson Robinson (1917-19). The school consolidated with Spring Place in January, 1920. A 1913 deed for Marble Hill School mentions Robert T. Heselton and his wife, Eveline, of Bradford. York County. Great Britain, as previous owners of the property. Mr. Tim Ovby also organized a Sunday school at Marble Hill in the 1890's. Miss Mattie Walker was a teacher and Mr. Rucker Mauldin led the singing. A long-time landmark in this vicinity was Tibbs' Bridge. Named for William H- Tibbs an extensive landowner during the Reconstruction Era, the first bridge was probably erected in the 1880's. Between 1913 and 1918 a steel bridge was constructed across the Conasauga at the site. This historic span was replaced with a concrete bridge around 1980 when flood prevention measures were taken, also. In times past, another road joined the areas around Tibbs' Bridge with the Brown's Bridge vicinity. Smoke's Ferry (1900) formerly James Morris', located on the river between the bridges. A lanyard was once located on Tibbs' Bridge Road and in the same area was the old Ebenezer Campground. On August 29, 1848 James Morris deeded 2 acres on lot 320 (9th & 3rd) to trustees Elisha Trimble. James C. Loughridge, Bayles Donaldson, A. McHan, and Harvey McHan of the Methodist Campground at Ebenezer Church. Located "near the Lough-ridge Spring," the land could be used for school purposes, too. On November 7, 1868 Methodist Trustees E.H.L. Keister. W.H. Duncan, and John Gates sold the land to Mr. Tibbs. Three years later John G. Glover deeded property on adjoining lot 319 to Methodist Trustees William Mathis. William Morgan, James Lough-ridge. I.E. Casey, and S.J. Wyatt. By far the largest community in the Spring Place District is the Springdale Estates Subdivision built on the former Brown farm off Highway 225 south of Spring Place. Work began on the subdivision around 1971 and within a short time scores of people had moved into newly built houses along streets named Torino, Charger, Chevelle, Bonneville, Skylark. Corvette. Electra, Grand Prix, and Monte Carlo Drives. Among those who began the development were Tom Turner, Charlie Richards, and Charles Bearden. Jim Howard moved Howard's Grocery and Service Station to a location at the south end of the subdivision in 1971, In 1976 James Ridley bought the business and renamed it Springdale Superette. The blue metal building burned in 1979 and in 1982 Lamar Kilgore rebuilt on the same site to open another store. On Wednesday night, April 3, 1974, a tornado hit Springdale's southern portion after earlier damaging houses on Brown's Bridge Road. Several homes were damaged, but were quickly rebuilt. Less than a year later, during the winter of 1975, a severe ice and snow storm knocked out power in the area for over 2 days. Presently several hundred people reside in Springdale. The 1980's brought the organization of the Springdale Estates Property Owners Association with Margie Keener as president and the construction of a branch station by the Murray County Fire Service, Several carpet establishments have dotted the landscape on the east side of Highway 225 across from Springdale. Majestic-Meridon, later Johns-Mansfie Id and now Beaulieu, was the first. It was rebuilt following the tornado. Other establishments have included Yarnset, Chatsworth Carpets. Pic-n-Pay, Malibu, Tesco, and Reed Tufting.
TOWNS, COMMUNITIES, AND MILITIA DISTRICTS
(1880-1980)
Bull Pen District
Bull Pen District, bearing one of the most unusual names of any Murray County militia division, is bounded by Spring Place District. Holly Creek, and the Conasauga River. Until the post-Civil War era there had been little growth in the southern part of Murray County, but during Reconstruction the population began a slight increase and another militia and school district was needed. Bull Pen was formed in 1877 as No. 1291 from the original eighth District and named for die creek which flows across the district, No major town ever developed in Bull Pen, but a number of communitites centering around schools and churches have characterized this area. Apparently the first community was Brown's, located on the Conasauga River. As time passed Tickle Gizzard. Hooker's and Hipp's Chapel became important community names along the Spring Place-Tilton and Brown's Bridge Roads. All four places were in fairly close proximity (by today's standards at least) and are now grouped under the name "New Hope Community." west of Highway 225 near the church which presently bears that name. Nearer the center of the district on the present Highway 225 is what has been called Stafford's, Haw kins', or Young's Crossroads at various times. A short distance east of this intersection is the Center Hill community which was known as Osborn's earlier in its history. In the extreme eastern part of the district, near where Chatsworth, Doolittle, Spring Place, and Bull Pen Districts are almost ^distinguishable, is the Smyrna Community, close to the old Oakland School. When Murray Countians think of the Bull Pen area a few families immediately come to mind, for the Robinson. Baynes, Bramblett. Kilgore, Ridley, Long, '-'avis, Young. Johnson. Fox. Baggett. Gray, Luffman. and Thomas families have been residents in large numbers for more than a century. However, in Bullpen's past the names of Brown. Hooker, Dugger. Stafford. Wilson, Weaver. Shannon, Osborn, Epps. Walton, Bagley. Parsons, Spence. Jennings. Martin, Wagnon, Fincher, Williams. Smith, Adair, Luffman, Ellis. Hipps. Stuart. Morgan, Fortner, Carter, Beamer. and Price were also prominent and have now been joined by family names like Walls. Thompson. Green. Langston, and Forrest. These are the pioneer families of Bull Pen. The most widely known landmark in Bull Pen District was the historic Brown's Bridge over the Conasauga River. For many years the only links people in Bull Pen had with Whitfield County were "Smokes Ferry" (north of the present bridge) or the Zants Ford (down the river from the old bridge). Finally about 1890 plans were made to build a bridge near the Brown family's property. The result was a narrow, one-way, part steel and plank, part steel and concrete bridge-with a 30 degree turn in the middle. (Some people have said that the bridge was built about 1909, but a long-gone plate on the old bridge said 1890.) Various explanations have been given for the unique construction of the bridge. One is that builders began on each side but did not make careful measurements so the angle was an accident. Another, and likelier, explanation is that the Murray side was built first while the Whitfield County section was added later. The land on the Whitfield side is much lower and was subject to flooding so when builders began the Whitfield portion, they sought a higher, firmer spot and decided to join the two spans at an angle, thus avoiding the expense of filling in or of building a longer bridge span. As population grew and means of transportation changed, the bridge received increased usage. Time also took its toll as metal rusted and the plank surface of the Murray side deteriorated. The major problem, though, came as larger vehicles had difficulty getting across the structure. Then, in the early 1970's a mobile home subdivision was begun just southwest of the bridge and since this was the most direct route to Dalton, the bridge received even more use. "Travel at your own risk" signs had been on the bridge since the late 1960's, but large amounts of traffic continued to cross the bridge daily (even large Coca-Cola delivery trucks). Finally, in 1973, plans were announced that a new bridge would be constructed a short distance upstream from the old one. This time the Georgia Department of Transportation would see that a wide, straight bridge was built! The new Brown's Bridge was opened in January, 1976 with various state and local dignitaries present. The total cost was $I million and Simpson Construction Company of Cleveland, Tennessee, did the work. A few months later the old bridge was dismantled. In addition to families and landmarks, schools and churches have played an important role in Bull Pen's history. Early school trustees were Monteville Roberts (1877), John Shannon (1877), John Moore (1877). J.J. Forrister (1880-82), Dr. Bean Brown (1881). W.D. Hunsucker (1882), M.M. Morgan (1882). D.B. Brown (1883). V.A. Stuart (1883), P.M. Kitgore (1885), Samuel Brown (1885). A.J. Baynes (1892), Martin Roberts (1895), Robert Weaver (1895), and Henry Ridley (1895). Early teachers (whose schools are not known) included: M.M. Brown (1877), Elizabeth Moore (1877), N.E. Penderson (1877), Miss Bessie M. Gault (1882). and Miles Bramblett (1882). One of the first schools in Bull Pen was a! Brown's Chapel, The chapel and school had once been located further south on Holly Creek before the group moved to a site just a few yards south of the old bridge following a fire at the old place. Little is known about Brown's Chapel, but most believe that no services were held there after 1900. A Mr. Thorn ton was one of the teachers at Brown's. The Bartonfield family lived in the old school after classes were moved up the road to the place with the unusual name "Tickle Gizzard," Tickle Gizzard was located on the Spring Place-Tilton Road at Alf Ridley's. While the exact year of its construction is unknown, it could have been built as early as the 1870's. The one-room building was made of logs and according to the Murray County School records, the official name of the school was Williams'. Split logs served as seats and girls sat on one side of the room while boys sat on the other. There was one teacher who taught all subjects. Grades did not exist but advancement was made by learning certain books. Slates and chalk were used for "letters and numbers." Pupils studied and then recited lessons to the teacher. Noah Webster's Elementary Spelling Book was used to teach many subjects in addition to spelling. It was a reader, a dictionary, and a grammar book. The alphabet was printed in both block style and script while spelling words were printed in syllables with pronunciation marks and definitions. Sentences showing correct grammatical usage were also used as reading lessons. They covered all subjects, but dealt primarily with proper conduct and well being. Fables were included also. Near the dosing of a school term spelling bees were held. The entire family attended school that day and watched as the members of both teams spelled until only one person remained standing. At these special gatherings pupils often recited poems and presented skits as well. Among the teachers at Williams' House or Tickle Gizzard were Miss Carrie Brown (1881. 1885). W.A. Teasley (1884), Rosie White (1891), A.R. Howard (1892), Lou Wilson (1893), and Hattie Foster (1894). Mrs. Bert Robinson remembered one year when Tickle Gizzard School had 75 pupils and a brush arbor was constructed to handle the overflow. The Tickle Gizzard School was also used as a meeting place by the congregation of the New Hope Baptist Church. In 1889 fire destroyed the old building and Mr. Ridley deeded land to trustees A.B. Ridley, W.F. Langston, A.N. "Bud" Thomas, and N. Robinson for a new building. While the transactions were taking place, students attended school at Hipps Chapel a couple of miles away. Hipps Chapel (or some say Hipp's) had been a Methodist Church for several years, but when the group disbanded the New Hope Baptist congregation made the Chapel their permanent home. Even today some people still refer to it as "the Chapel." Hipps Chapel continued to be the name of the school there which operated at the same time as the rebuilt Tickle Gizzard. Teachers at the Chapel school included J.Y. Baynes(1881), W.D. Allen (1884), B.W. Huckabee (1885), Lela Wilson (189J), Charles H. Shriner (1892). Mattie Patric (1893), Mary Ann Walker (1877), James Baynes (1894), Betty Baynes, and Jim Steward. Hipps Chapel was at the intersection of the Spring Place-Tilton Road and Tibb's Bridge Road. Pastors of the Chapel included Revs. Meeks, Dawn, Cochran. Turner, and Caleb Pitts. In 1895 the Board of Education voted to combine the Chapel and Tickle Gizzard Schools to form Hooker's Academy at Robert Hooker's spring. This was a good location, between the two older school sites, at a good source of water and on the Spring Place-Tilton Road. The consolidation was gradual but after the closing of Tickle Gizzard the Ridley family used the former school for a home. The building is still standing, but in poor condition, covered with ivy and hedges. Hooker's Academy enjoyed a long period of success and occupied three buildings at the same location. Henry Ridley built the first school of logs at a cost of SI 10. Mr. Hookergave the land for this first school. The second Hooker's building was of wood and logs. This structure was dismantled and replaced with a larger brick building about 1930, The Board of Education furnished S200 for this purpose. Early teachers at Hooker's were John Gregory (1896). A.S. Vining 0897), Hattie Foster (1899). and George Barksdale (1900). Other teachers included Martha Holbrooks (1913). Jennie Parker. Mamie Morgan, Mr. & Mrs. Frank Howell, Richard Howard. Callie Black, Sally Robinson, Mr. & Mrs. Jewel Brown (1947), Dot Howell, Sybil Richardson (1930's), Bessie Mae Adams (1926). Sarah Kelly (1926-27), Jennie Mae Edmondson.W.V. Beane (1950-53), George Fuller (1950-53). Annie Woods (1915, 1917-18). Mrs. Ella Davis (1921), W-H. King (1916-17), Lucille Terry (1929-30), Oma Anderson (1929-30), Guy Jones (1932-34). Mrs. Omagene Smith (1932-33), Louise Johnson (1935-37), Ruth Goswick (1936-37), Hazel Currie (1937-39), Doris Leonard (1937-39), and Julian Kilgore (1947-48). Mr. Troy Richards had the longest tenure of any teacher at Hooker's, working for several years in the 1930's and I940's along with his wife Rilla Robinson Richards who was a native of the community. One of the teachers at Hooker's, Mr. W.V. Beane. taught in many Tennessee and Georgia schools. Upon his retirement Mr. Beane wrote his autobiography entitled In Retrospect (1957). Following are his remarks about Hooker's School: . . . I . . .found myself in Murray County, Georgia in a small school called Hookers . . . a two teacher school . . . Due to the desperate need for teachers, however, 1 had the best pay I had ever had . , , Hookers presented a rather uninviting appearance, but of a different aspect. The children the year before had gone "hog wild," so when we entered the school house we found the stove overturned, the books scattered over the floor, the doors off their hinges, and practically all the windows broken out of the three room brick building. The ceiling of the main school room was covered with the imprints of what had apparently been a violent eraser battle. The superintendent was a bit "abashed" and I frankly told him I had never seen anything quite like it. One of the citizens was with us, however, and explained that my predecessor was a young man without experience, who came to school late in the mornings and left early in the afternoons before the children had gone home. He said that things were not quite as bad as they looked. Although my wife advised against it, after a few days of thinking it over, I accepted the place, despite her prediction that 1 wouldn't stay there a week. First, I secured me a place to board in the community , . . Next I got to school first every morning and left the last one. I provided at my own expense balls and bats and put the children to playing ball at recess . . . They . . . seemed full of appreciation. Mr. Ray Bagley, superintendent, sent me a loyal, conscientious man, Mr. George Fuller, for a helper, I gave him the first three grades and 1 took the other four. We worked harmoniously and the parents came in and we organized them into a working group. The yards were improved and put in grass, the rooms were painted, and we put pictures on the walls. The superintendent replaced the broken windows and put everything else in shape. Enthusiasm was at a high point and the supervisor provided us with moving picture shows both for the classrooms and for the parents at night , . , The children, upon the whole, were sweet boys and girls and during those two years we sent quite a number on to high school. Mr. Beane goes on to relate more about the patrons and pupils of the school. Since ... the people were so appreciative of my services, I wish to make special mention of a number of my fine patrons and their children. Mr. & Mrs. Lee Timms . . . graciously took me into their home to stay the first year. Their four fine children were Louise, Myrazelle, Paris, and Rachel . . . J.E. Baynes, Grandpa, father of Mrs. Timms was a venerable old gentleman .. . The next year I boarded with Mr. & Mrs, Claude Gallman who had three children . . . Hazel, Wayne, and little Cheryl ... I was never treated more royally in my life and could never forget [them] if 1 lived to be a million years old. Perhaps my most outstanding parents were Mr. & Mrs. Van Robinson who have ten children . . . Shirley, Georgiann, Edith, Peggy, Henry, Norris, Myrazelle, Jeff, Pam.and David . . . Other patrons and children [were] Mr. & Mrs. Tom Ridley-Tommy, Grace, & Grethel Mr. & Mrs. W.A. Baynes-William, Harold, Eloise, Dimple Mr. & Mrs, J.P. Robison-Lloyd,, Frank, Jesse, Larry, and Phillip Mr. & Mrs. Grady Timrns-Janette and Janelle, Paul and Mildred Mr. & Mrs. Tom Fox-Annie and Fannie Mr. & Mrs. Buford Ridley-Caroline, Bobby, Randall, Jackie Mr. & Mrs. Earl Ridley-Paul, Erlene, and Leon Mr. & Mrs. Kenneth Davenport-Wimpy and Billie Mr. & Mrs, Sid Baynes-Willie and Helen Mr. & Mrs. Edd Orman Ridley-Steve and Harold . . . two most wonderful patrons. Other children in the school were: Huey Ridley, Edna Elrod, Glenn Johnson, Bill Bagley, Donald Young, Billy Carter, Leroy Cagle, Betty Jean Callahan, CJ. Walls, Roy Lee Walls, Lamar Kilgore,Charles Kilgore, Florence Walls, and her older brother ... Mr J.E. Ridley, an old-time resident lived near the school house ... He had a wonderful personality and two fine daughters, Velma and Lora . . . Mr. Beane also gives a good account of why the Hooker's school closed: Georgia was in the midst of a school building program, and it hadn't occurred to me but that our school would be enlarged and made into a much more up to date educational center. But not so, Georgia . . . has petty politics, and there was a move to do away with our school and move it over into a more "desolate community" much farther away from the high school "center." A "bus driver" was putting the project over. Our people rebelled against this move so it was suggested the patrons of this community could just abandon this school and go to a larger one near by, which was rather near the high school. I advised them to do so, though in doing so I would be out of a job in Murray County. Students who would normally have gone to Hooker's were soon attending Spring Place. Men who served as Trustees of Hooker's included R.F. Jones, C.W. Langston, T.W. Ridley, J.E, Baynes, Walton Robinson. Claude Kilgore. C.C. Langston, John Fox, Ed Ridley, Barney Gray, Charlie Kilgore. and Van Robinson. The New Hope Baptist Church is now the central landmark in this part of Bull Pen District. The earliest records of this congregation have been lost, but the account of how the group came to meet at Hipp's Chapel has already been mentioned. Following the move to the Chapel the congregation had a disagreement and some of the members returned to Tickle Gizzard for a short time. Later they reunited at the Chapel. Revs. Shugart and Lackey were two of the pastors during this period. New Hope joined the North Georgia Association of churches in 1908 after belonging to the Coosawatee Association earlier. It is now a member of the Murray County Baptist Association. After a number of years in the old Chapel building, large attendance necessitated additional worship space. Mr. Samuel H. Fincher, owner of the adjoining property, deeded additional land as a gift for a new building in 1934. A Mr. Watkins and Walter Harper were the contractors for the new building which is located about 30 yards south of the Chapel site. Mr. and Mrs. Conroy Pickering were very supportive, both personally and financially, in the construction. Mrs. Pickering was the former Essie Langston whose family were long-time members of the church. When the Chapel was dismantled, the materials were given to Mr. Pickering. Many church members donated their labor in constructing the church. Some of these were J.E.. Sid, and W.A. Baynes, Lee and Trammell Bramblett, Barney Brown. Luther Kilgore. Charlie Langston, George Ridley, Tom Ridley, Van Robinson, Lee Timms. Charlie Walls, Kirby Young, and Pete Young, The building was constructed of rock which came from two nearby farms including Tom Ridley's. The first service held in the new building was the funeral of Mr. Leondus Robinson, The workmen had to rush to get the ceiling installed and finished the morning of the funeral. The worship area was doubled in length and four large Sunday School rooms were added in 1963 while additional interior improvements were done in 1977. Early family names of members included Baggett, Carter, Ellis, Holloway, Holley, Jennings. Johnson, Jones. Lance, Strickland, Thomas, and Westmoreland besides those already listed. Since 1908 the following have served as pastors of New Hope: E.O. Davis. J A. Bonner. J.H. Fincher. M.H. Welch, S.W. Bennett. R. Womack, H.C. Shepherd, J.O. Dantzler, J.C. Cochran. J.N. Padgett, J.M. Owens. W.D. Lambert, L.C. Sluder. Floyd Dugger. Frank Harper. Keith Langston, Floyd Childers. John Raper, Grady England. John Bearden, Leon Ensley. and Thad Osborne, In 1972 the church had 300 members. Information provided by Louise Coker, Bertie Robinson, Mr. & Mrs. Lee Timms, & Mr. Charlie Walls, Cemeteries in the New Hope area include an old Indian burial spot north of the Spring Place-Tilton Road on property now owned by Mrs. Bea Charles, the Williams (Baynes) Cemetery in the same area, the Epps family Cemetery off highway 225 on the Dimple Bramblett Ledford property, the Smith Cemetery on the Johnson Road which contains two unmarked graves, and the large Robinson-Kilgo re/New Hope Cemetery between 225 and New Hope Church. This last cemetery began as members of the Robinson and Kilgore families (who had intermarried) set aside a portion of their inheritance for a family burial ground. Gradually as more and more people became related to these large families and as the community grew, the family plot became a community cemetery. New Hope Church has purchased property in recent years to enlarge the cemetery which has been maintained by donations through New Hope and Maranatha Baptist Churches for several years. Maranatha Baptist Church was organized in the fall of 1962 by former members of New Hope who wanted an "Independent Missionary Baptist Church." The group first met at the home of Otis Burger and then at the home of Mr.& Mrs. J.E. Young where the first officers were elected on October 2. Grady England was selected as pastor, James Howard as clerk and treasurer, J.E. (Bo) Young as choir director, and Keith Langston, Ruth Young, and Grapell England as Sunday school teachers. Other charter members were Odetta Howard, Lucille Langston, Mr. & Mrs. Ralph Compton, Mr. & Mrs. Sam Kilgore, Irene Beason, Mrs. J.A. Forshee. Minton Young, Wonda Young, Bemice Burger, Mae Fox, and Annie Fox. The name "Maranatha" meaning "Our Lord Cometh" was taken from I Corinthians 16.22 by Ruth Young. Trustees of the church are James Howard, J.E. Young, Ralph Compton. Keith Langston, and Otis Burger. After meeting in rented facilities in Dalton for a year, the church moved into its own building on Highway 225 three miles south of Spring Place on January 5. 1964. The land had been purchased from Sam Kilgore. A $32,000 addition was completed in 1976 and the church now has over 200 members. Following Rev. England, Kirby Young served as pastor from 1965 until his retirement in 1979. Rev. Donald Young is the present pastor. In the communities on the east side of Highway 225 other churches and schools arose. Three deeds are recorded for churches and schools on land lots 46 and 47 (8th District, 3rd Section). In 1876 John H. Thomas deeded one acre for a "school and preaching." Four years later Thomas W. Thomas deeded additional property for a school and church to Thomas Lowery, Silas Luffman, and Allen T. Osborn. trustees. The church was organized as "The Disciples of Christ at the Osborn School House" in 1881. Mary Gray deeded land on an adjoining lot to William Davis. trustee of Center Hill Baptist Church, in 1887 for the purpose of erecting a church. Evidently this effort at establishing a Baptist church failed for the Disciples of Christ remained the only church at Center Hill/Osbom for several years. An old church roll reveals the following as members of that church. WW. Adair (Evangelizing Elder), Elder V.A. Stuart, Deacon A.T. Osborn, Deacon Joseph Bridges, Deacon and Clerk G.W. Adair, AJ. Thomas. R.H.A. Ellis. James and George Bridges, Sister N.A.S. Adair, Sister M.H. Stuart. Pollie C. Osborn, Sister, M.J. Adair, Sister M.L. Ellis. Betty Bridges, Jane F. Swann, Francis P-Thomas, James Adair, C.E. Lence, G.W. Ridley, Martha E. Ridley, Thomas Lowery. Elder M.T. Osbom, Nancy E. Osbom, E.S. Adair, Sister S.E. Adair, David Brown, Sister M.A. Brown, Ransom Turner, Susanna Turner, Malissa J. Lence. Hiram Stepp, T.J. Lowery, Mahala Stepp, Sister A.P. Williams, Manda Stuart. SisterM.G. Bridges. Maggie Adair. Margaret Wade, Jane and Cicero Stuart, Samuel J. Springfield. David Baggett, Sarah Thomas, Georgia Ann Baggett, "Hozy" Holcomb. Sister E.M. Adair. Gloria Jane Osbom. Frank Vonberg, Sally Thomas. Rosey Adair, John A. Osbom, William Kilgore, R.A. Ellis. Thomas Brown. P.A. Pitts. Sister L.J. Pitts. Martha and Lillie Thomas, Ella Adair, S.C. Britten, R. Holloway. Susie Gravely, Mamie Osborn, Lizzie Stuart, Marah Thomas, Nat Moreland. Thomas Adair, Marah Springfield, Liza Whitt, C.E. Morris. Stella Adair, Fannie Stuart, Lisey Thomas, James Edwards, May Osborn along with later members J.C. Osborn, Mary E. Osbom. Susie Hudgins, Irene Roberts. Thomas, Sinie, William. Walter and Henry Standley, Guy and Lula Dean, Hershell Roberts. Joe and Claudia Malinda Hensley, and Osie Panter. The last date of memberships is 1918 and within a short time the group must have disbanded. The Center Hill Baptist Church was organized in 1924 at the old school with Charley Fowler, Mary Fowler, Charlie Davis (clerk), and Richard Sisson as charter members. Representatives Dawson and Lewis from Holly Creek, W.R. Posey from New Hope, Martin O. Casey from New Prospect, and G.W. Dyer and James Martin from Rock Creek made up the presbytery. W.R. Posey was elected moderator of the church for the following year. In 1940 a new church building was erected on land given by Mrs. Sadie Wilson, Additions were made in 1967 and 1970. Members of the Gray and Hawkins families have long been members of Center Hill, Among the ministers who have pastored at Center Hill have been Kirby Young, Troy Ridley, J.E. Glass, Andy Kirby, Martin D. Casey, Berry Waters, Floy Bailey. Junior Johns, H.C. Hensley, John Gibson. and Danny Jenkins. The Osborn Family Cemetery is now known as the Center Hill Cemetery and is maintained by the church. Information provided by Mr. Roy Hawkins. The Osborn School employed several teachers over the years such as Miles Bramblett (1881, 1884, 1890). S.H. Fincher (1885), W.A. Jones (1891), Lela Wilson (1892-97) and Eula Edmondson (1899-1900). After the turn of the century the school became known as Center Hill (before the church by that name was organized). Teachers here included: Maggie Woods. Annie Woods (1930), Mamie Osborn, Edith Allen , Howard Tate, Ruby Kate Poag, Ford Cochran. Zona Cochran (who in 1940 had a "large school progressing nicely" according to The Chatsworth Times), Lois Whitener (1937-39), Delia Howard, Sue Osborn Hawkins, Robbie Sue Wilson, Lucille Wilson Page (1932-37). Stella rown Woods (1942-43), Emma Woods (1917-18), A.R. Howard (1916-17), Pauline Luffman, Susie Bramblett (1928-30), and Mrs. Sam (Wilma) Caldwell had a salary of $45 monthly in 1944. Among the trustees for the Center Hill School were Coleman Osbom, Tom Sringfieid. Henry Emberson. John Hawkins. John Gray, Oscar Luffman. Prince Beam,andHornerCoker.The school was consolidated with Spring Place in 1946. Southeast of Center Hill the Edmondson family owned a large plantation that extended into the Eighth District. Several Negroes worked on the farm and at various limes a school was opened there. Early county school records reveal that in 1881 B.D. Daniel taught there while in 1891 Amanda Branham had 19 pupils enrolled. Mrs. Branharn also taught there in 1895 and 1900 when it was called "Edmondson's Colored School." According to several residents the Ku Klux Klan killed a Negro on the Edmondson place. An old slave cemetery was located on the farm and four unmarked graves in another spot. Residents also report an old cemetery on the north side of the dirt road from Center Hill to Holly Creek. Most say that these were Indian graves though others say that this was a Morris family plot. Few signs remain today. At the eastern edge of Bull Pen District is Smyrna Baptist Church founded in 1901. The community is much older than the church, however, as some marked burials in the Smyrna Cemetery are much older. The Davis family settled in the area over a century ago. Smyrna Missionary Baptist Church was constituted September 14.1901 with the following presbytery. Revs. E.J. DeWeese. John Poindexter, and J.F. Davis along with Deacons Martin L. Roberts of Spring Place, J.L. Long of New Hope. Taylor Swanson of Pleasant Valley. Thomas Brown of Holly Creek, and J.B. Walters. The 13 charter members were Samuel Jones. Martha Elizabeth Jones, U.N. Jones, Martha Jones, Malinda Jones. D.A. Young, J.F. Davis. W.C. Adams, L.J. Adams, J.C. Young. Tiney Swanson, W.L. Roberts, and Docia Roberts. The site chosen for the church was on the old Ramhurst-Spring Place Road and a one-room white frame building was erected in 1904. In 1955 the old structure was sold for S350 and a new brick veneer building was constructed. Additions were made in 1963 and 1972. The church had 257 members in 1972. Rev. J.F. Davis was the first pastor and W.L. Roberts the first church clerk. The first Sunday school superintendent was P.N, Gates and the first secretary was Emma Roberts. Early pastors of the clu'rch were J.F. Davis (1901-02.1905-07), W.R. Lackey (1902-05), E.G. Davis (1907-10), M.H. Welch (1910-16. 1918-26, 1937-41), J.W. Dooley (1916-18), W.R. Hogan (1926-27), J.M. Owens (1928-34), J.O. Dantzler (1934-36). and Fred Brown (1936-37, 1941). Other pastors include Blake Carter. H.C. Hensley, Trammell Long. Floyd Childers, MilasWink-ler, Raymond Gordon. Tom Turner. Alton Stevens. and Grover Broom. Several schools have been located in this area including one "near Monteville Roberts' house" in the 1890's and one at "Old Lady Davis' " in 1892. Among the teachers were Mrs- Maggie Giddens (1881). Miss Mat Lockaby (1884). D.H. Harris (1885). Sam Jackson (1891 had 27 enrolled and "advancing very well"). Mrs. Mattie Bradford (1893). William Morris (1894), and B.F. Collins (1895). A more recent and better known school in the area was Oakland. Though technically in Spring Place District, many Bull Pen families attended the school which was located on the Welch homestead on the road to Spring Place just north of Smyrna Church. Teachers at Oakland were Lela Wilson (1916-17), Posey Wells. (1917-18). Fred Long (1929-33.1936-37), S.O. Williams (1933-34), Willie Frances Robinson (1933-34),Guy Jones (1935-39), Frankie Groves (1935-36). Annie Ross (1937-39). Dot Richards (194243). Zona Cochran (194243). Marie Kelly, and possibly several others. The school suffered wind damage in 1931 and was rebuilt. It was consolidated with Spring Place in 1946. Among Oakland's trustees were P.L. Long. M.H. Welch. T.J. Welch. J.M. Owens. Will Roberts, C.J. Welch. Walter Jones. J.L. Long. Millard Welch, Harlan Davis. and Jesse Baggett. Though Bull Pen has been characterized by farms, several small businesses have been located there. In the New Hope area Mr. Bagley, Frank Vonberg (1930's). Roy Ridley (1930's-1940's). Tom Ridley (1930's-1940's). and the Langston family all ran sawmills. More recently Roy Green has had a successful sawmill operation. Syrup mills were operated by Kirby Young near his home on Bull Pen Creek and by Tom Green about id mile east of Brown's Bridge just off the Spring Place-Tilton Road. Several stores operated in the New Hope area. As early as 1890 Jake Hooker ran a store at what is now the intersection of Brown's Bridge Road and Young Road, A Mr. Jackson operated a store at Brown's in the early 1900's while Mr. Ed Ridley operated a store and grist mill, first near Tickle Gizzard and then at his home near Hooker's for many years. Will Walton had a store in a log building near Hipp's Chapel and Joe Nix had a business near Young's. George Robinson ran a store at his home east of the Robinson-Kilgore Cemetery while Hughes (and later his wife Martha) Kilgore had a business south of the present Maranatha Baptist Church on Highway 225. In the 1940's John Fox sold school supplies, candy, gum. etc. at his home on the Spring Place-Tilton Road (between Hooker's and Tickle Gizzard) as did Albert & Dollie Winters at their home on Young Road. However, the most popular store for many years was the Pickering establishment near New Hope Church. Marion Thompson was a long-time operator/ partner with Mr. V.C. Pickering. Mr. Harve Long was also involved with the business for a time. The Finchers, popular Spring Place and Dalton merchants, had a branch store at Johnson's for a time. More recent stores have been Ervin Ridley's business near the church (1959-85), Gallman's near the river, and Green's County Discount also near Brown's Bridge. Mr. C.W. Langston was one of the first to sell gasoline and did so at his home just west of the church on Tibb's Bridge Road. Mrs. Langston worked in the early textile industry distributing bedspreads to various people for hand tufting at home. Grist mills were prosperous enterprises for some like George Ridley, Bill Baynes, Ed Ridley, and Marion Thompson. Nathan Robinson made and sold baskets and John Shannon was a carpenter while John Fox and Bill Baynes were blacksmiths. Over Center Hill way, John Hawkins ran a grist mill and Mr. Oscar Luffman had a store for a time. The most famous store at Center Hill was Coleman Osborn's. Located just east of the present church on the left, the store received statewide attention in 1927 when Mr. Osbom was murdered there. The three suspects-Cliff Thompson, Jim Hugh Moss, and Eula Thompson were found guilty in a speedy trial at Chatsworth and sentenced to the electric chair. The men were executed, but Eula Thompson's sentence was changed to imprisonment. She was later released. Mr. Sam Blassingame had a store near the Smyrna community. The intersection of Highway 225 and Brown's Bridge Road has long been an important stopping place. Once called Stafford's crossing for the Joshua Stafford family who owned the land, it was the site of a Morris store and mill while later on John Hawkins owned a building in which Charlie Hall, Walter Chapman,and Jim Howard (1961-71) operated stores. During that time some people began calling the place Hawkin's Crossroads, but now many refer to it as Young's as that family has operated the store there since 1976 after a period of operation by Max Henson. Just south of the crossroads on Highway 225 is Weaver Hill, so named for Mr. Ab Weaver's family who once owned the property, now owned by the Horace Chapmans. Further south is the North Georgia Speedway, a dirt racetrack which has operated periodically for several years. Ernest Young was among the original developers. Also in this southern portion of Bull Pen is the relatively new Cochran Cemetery (on the east side of the highway) and the very old Wagnon-Martin Family Cemetery, Located off 225 behind the Gordon Elrod home, the Wagnon-Martin Cemetery is the burial place of one of Murray's very first white settlers. Alexander Martin (1797-1874) obtained his large farm in the Cherokee Land Lottery. Members of his family operated a mill on Holly Creek at the dividing line between Bull Pen and the Eighth District. One of the descendants who ran the mill for many years was Alexander Wagnon (1856-1940). He is also buried in the family cemetery. Regarding elections and officials. Bull Pen has had several polling places. The earliest "court ground" for elections and justice of the peace courts was at Stafford's Crossing where Taylor Stafford was an early justice of the peace. Then a building was erected near the New Hope Church for voting purposes. When this building burned a new courthouse was constructed west of Ridley's Store near Albert Johnson's. When this building was no longer used, elections were held at joker's School until the building was torn down. The next polling place was the old Kilgore's Store building on Highway 225. In 1962, due to a fire at the Kilgore building, John Hawkin's garage at the Crossroads was the place to be on Election Day. The present voting place, in use for several years now, is the clubhouse next to New Hope Church. The "court ground" has returned to former locations twice in Bull Pen's history. Justices of the peace have been V.A. Stewart (1886-94). J.W. Fincher (1889-1893), P.M. Kilgore (1893-97), J.A. Baynes (1894-1904. 1907-1911), J.Y. Baynes (1901-05). W.R. Lackey (1909-12), JC Langston (1911-15). J.D. Robinson (1912-17, 1921-25), W.W. Luffman (1916-21). J.M. Nix (1920-25). George T.Robinson (1926-60's). Van Robinson. Henry Robinson, and Jim Parrish. Mail service to Bull Pen was sometimes a problem. For many years residents sent someone to Spring Place to get the community's mail. Then a carrier from Spring Place would drop off mail at designated spots such as Stafford's or Coley Johnson's. Rural delivery was a problem and today residents in west Bull Pen still get their mail from Dalton because Chatsworth routes were slower to arrive.br> The "rolling store" was an important part of life for many Bull Pen residents, particularly those around Center Hill and Smyrna where stores were not as numerous. These moving warehouses supplied many households for many years. While residents of the area could generally get doctors from Spring Place, many mothers called on mid-wives to deliver their babies. Mrs. Mollie Young and Mrs. Florence Walls were two of the ladies who assisted in the births of many infants. Other noteworthy items relating to Bull Pen are the presence of a steam mill land Lot 10 on the Center Hill to Smyrna Road in the 1880's, the paving of Highway 225 in the early 1950's. the arrival of telephones and electricity to homes in the late 1940's and 1950's in some areas, and the formation of New Hope Home Demonstration Club in the 1960's. The Club was very active for a while and helped the county build a community clubhouse where elections are now held. The population of Bull Pen has increased in recent years due to the trailer park near Brown's Bridge, the breaking up of some old farms for land sales, and the availability of jobs in the carpet industry. Several small carpet plants have had businesses within Bull Pen including James Smith and others. Most notably Riverside Carpets which was operated by the Greens for several years. Robert Cruse and family have operated the Bull Pen Pillow Company for a time now. Thus the Bull Pen name is carried on by more than just the district and the creek.
Other things of note in Bull Pen are the high Fincher's Bluff on the Conasauga River north of Brown's Bridge and "Hainted Holler," a dark forest area, west of where Ridley's Garage is now, that young people of the past were told to avoid. A rather large cave existed on Land Lot 320, but the area is now part of the rock quarry which has been in existence for several years.
TOWNS, COMMUNITIES, AND MILITIA DISTRICTS
(1880-1980)
The Eighth District
The Eighth District (Georgia Militia District No. 984) is located in the extreme southwest corner of Murray County. This district is so named because most of the land is part of the Eighth District. Third Section, on the original 1832 land survey of old Cherokee County. (Some of the land on the western edge is in the 13th and 3rd.) The Eighth is bounded on the north by Bull Pen District and on the east by Ball Ground. Many people still refer to the area as the "Bloody Eighth" due to the numerous conflicts among residents over the years that resulted in bloodshed. Many stories of fights, knifings, and moonshining have settings in the Bloody Eighth, but there is much more to the history of the District than tragedy. In some early county records (1863) the Eighth is called "Tucker's" and this family was among the very first to settle here. Some say the Tuckers were in Murray County before the Indians were removed. Other early families include the Brindles, Caseys, Loughridges, Brights, Timmses, Halls, Ingles, Browns, Cagles, Touchstones. McGinnis, Blankenships. Ellis, Hoopers, Gallmans, Beam-ers. Luffmans, Tates. Gilberts, Foxes, Couches, Pritchetts, Rogers, Hogans, Johnsons, Morgans, Mashburns, Sextons, Elrods, Jordans, Bracketts, Hawkins, Causbys, Burks, McBrayers, Teasleys and Sanders. Many of these names are still popular in the Eighth District. Agriculture was the primary occupation of the districts's inhabitants. Some like Sam Weaver were sawmillers while others such as Henry Cagle, Frank Tucker, and Jack Cagle had syrup mills. Early doctors in the area were R.E. Dillard (1884), J.A. Craven (1889), and Thomas Hall. Dr. Hall (1837-1904) was a Confederate veteran who had a large family and was very well known in Murray County. The "Courtground" or voting place for the area has long been in the Sardis community, though it was probably once located near present-day Casey Springs. There was once a "courthouse" at Ike Couch's north of Sardis and in more recent years elections have been held at the Davis store. Local officials formerly included road commissioners such as Belton Stancill, a Mr. Parker, and Henry Beamer, along with school trustees and justices of the peace. Early school trustees in the district were J.E. Jackson (1877), ___ Galaway (1877-78), E. Clary (1887), Absalom Weaver (1880), Thomas Clary (1881), Henry Beamer (1885-1890, 1892), Rev. J.H. Phillips (1882-1890), Ben Teasley (1890), A.J. Martin (1890-92), Ben Bright (1890), Abe Looney (1895-98), John P. Morgan (1898), and Drake Loughridge (1895). In 1877. the year the Murray County School System was organized, four schools operated in District No. 984. The teachers were B.A. Kuhn, T.M. Callaway, C.W. Grant, and J.W. Langston. In 1882 four schools continued to operate with Miss Bettie Moore, J.F. Petty, J.E. Eldridge, and Thomas S. Kelly as teachers. In 1885 A.L. Cleary had a school called Wilsons. Justices of the peace for this district have included: J.H. Kuhn (1886-97), W.R. Lackey (1885-89), G.W. Couch (1889-93), A.O. Johnson (1893-97).W.F-Dugger (1904-12, 1924-32), W.J. Holcomb (1911-15, 1923-27), T.C. Bright (1912-17), James Ragsdale (1915-19), J.N. Burks (1916-20), S.C.Rogers(1916-21) I R. Buckner (1919-23). Harrison Ingle (1920-24, 193240). S.G. Hall 0920-25). J.M. Gallman (1924-29), T.C. Haygood (1927-29), W.W. Luffman (1928-32). WJ. Hall (1932-36). Knight Gallman. John Tucker, George Sissom, Alec Wagnon, ___Loughridge, Zach Sexton, and Ben Bright (1958-78). Due to their location on the Murray-Gordon County line, residents of the Eighth District often have closer ties with Calhoun and Gordon Counties than with other Murray Countians. Census records reveal that families sometimes moved back and forth across the line and marriages were often recorded in Gordon County. Perhaps this is best evidenced in that much of the Eighth District is served by the Southern Bell Telephone Company from Calhoun. Thus, it is still long distance for those who live south of Holly Creek to call friends in Spring Place or Chatsworth. Electricity was extended over most of this area in the 1950's though even today there are some "gaps" in the lines in secluded, non-populated areas. Mail service now comes from Route 4, Chatsworth, and Route 1, Resaca. As is the case in several Murray County Districts, no major town ever arose in the Eighth, but four principal community centers have existed. While the communities' names sometimes changed, their locations were not very far apart. Holly Creek forms the dividing line between the Eighth and Bull Pen and near where the creek crosses Georgia Highway 225 was the thriving community of Holly (or Holly Creek). Holly was the oldest village and the only post office the Eighth District ever had. According to tradition the village was named for a Cherokee clan and one Georgia historian described Holly as "a post hamlet at an elevation of 727 feet above sea level." While some feel that the Holly post office existed as far back as 1834. it must have been just a mail drop since official records do not begin until 1843 when Absalom Bishop was appointed postmaster. Succeeding postmasters were Edward J. Bumyard (February 4, 1847 and re-appointed September 22, 1847), Arthur Gilbert (July 16, 1847), Elijah M. Ellis (December 21, 1853) and Churchwill B. Tucker (April 22, 1857). The post office was discontinued in 1866 and then re-established February 5, 1879 with Thomas M. Callaway as postmaster. Mr. Tucker returned as postal official a month later. Other postmasters at Holly Creek were John D. Townsend (1883-89), John H. Phillips (1890), Andrew J. Martin (1890-94). James A. Looney (1894-99). Jackson T. Cooper (1899-1901), Marion W. Pritchett (1901-05), and John N. Burks (1905-09). The Holly Creek post office was discontinued for good in 1909 as the days of rural free delivery began. Until then people had come for miles to pick up their mail at Holly Creek. Holly Creek was the scene of a slight skirmish during the War Between the States. A Georgia historical marker on Highway 225 describes the event as follows. Old Holly Creek P.O. May 16, 1864. Brig. Gen. J.D. Cox's Div., 23rd C.C. (F), having crossed the Conasau-ga River at Hogan's Ford, 2 mi. south of Tilton, camped at or near Holly Creek P.O. in this vicinity. May 17- Learning that 20th Corps troops (F) had usurped the Coosawattee Rivet Crossing at McClure's Ferry (at Pine Chapel), Cox moved his troops S. (via Audubon crossroads) to Field's Mill - two miles above McClure's where they were joined by the other two divisions. The 23rd A.C. was the left flank of Sherman's army, enroute S. in pursuit of the Confederate Army, retreating from the battlefield of Resaca after two days of battle. In March. 1865 additional activity occurred. Following the War. the KKK was fairly active in this area. A Mr. Brindle was sentenced to 5 years in prison for holding horses for KKK members on the old road from New Prospect to the old Brindle settlement. Due to its location near the creek, the dominant feature of Holly was a grist mill. Gaits mill was in operation in 1854 and Alexander Martin once deeded property to James Morris for a water-powered grist mill, a sawmill, and possibly a cotton gin in this locale. The most famous owners at Holly Creek were the Edmondsons who had a vast domain extending north and east from the Creek for many acres. The Edmondsons also established the May Hill factory which made wooden chairs and broom handles. In operation by the 1860"s, the factory must have been named for a lady named May Hill since residents say there was no hill in the area. Due to the presence of the factory some people began calling the area May Hill and the bridge over Holly Creek (first built in 1874) was called May Hill Bridge, Bricks may also have been made at May Hill. While no one knows the exact dates that May Hill operated. The Dalton Argus of November 16, 1895 reported that "Judge John Edmondson of Holly Creek has rebuilt the mill property which recently burned." The factory must have closed near the turn of the century. Later owners or operators of businesses at Holly Creek were the Pritchetts and the Burks. John Burks had a store at his home on the east side of highway 225 just south of the creek and some reports are that he had a cotton gin. a mill, and a blacksmith shop as well as the post office. Alec Wagnon had a mill and store on the west side of the bridge. Some say he also had the "post office." but it must have been just a mail drop after the Holly Creek office closed. Long-time residents of the Holly area report that in 1925 the creek was almost dry, but that it frequently overflowed its banks and often froze�particularly in 1937 when snow drifts were 13 inches deep. Much timber was destroyed during that winter. By the 1880's another community had arisen at Casey Springs, just south of old Holly Creek where Fox Bridge and Fidel Roads join 225 which was then called the Calhoun or New Town Road. The community was named for the Casey family and was a busy place for many years. Among the features of the Casey Springs area were a school, two churches, stores, and gins. The Coopers ran a store in this locale very early and some say that Mr. Alec Wagnon moved his store here for a time. Henry James from Eton then had a business here which was next operated for many years by Mr. Jeff Green who also had a grist mill. Albert and Ruby Boekel were the next owners. Orvitle Stanley then bought the business and continued to operate the store into the 1970's. Other Casey Springs businesses at various times were Frank Brindle's Grist Mill. John Bagley's cotton gin (near the Methodist Church on the branch), a flour mill, and Pendley's country store next door to the Methodist church in the 1930's or 4G"s. Henry Bearner was a "veterinarian" while Emma Kuhn Beamer (1848-1908). Savannah (Babe) Elrod Mullinax Hayes (1865-1938). and Martha Hall Bramblett Elrod (1875-1945) were midwives. One of the two churches bearing the Casey Springs name is the Church of Christ which was founded by members of the Stanley family, probably after the Church of Christ congregation at Center Hill disbanded. The older of the two Casey Springs churches is the Methodist group. Casey Springs Methodist Church was the second effort to start a Methodist place of worship in the area. On October 15, 1863 William A. Marshall. Robert Jennings, and A.J. Weaver accepted a deed from Nathan Jones for 1 � acres of land where the Marshall's Chapel "meeting house now stands." Located on land lot 141 (8th and 3rd) west of Casey Springs, the group must have dissolved a few years later for on November 12. 1870 a deed from the Marshall's Chapel group to Jane Jones, widow of Nathan Jones, is recorded. By August. 1871 property on land lot 138 (8th and 3rd) was in use as a campground and thus Casey Springs Church was born. For many years the Campground was known far and wide as a place of good preaching, of much spiritual Power, and for large congregations. In August, 1878 Isaac Casey, Sr. and Isaac Casey, Jr. sold 4 acres of land to trustees William Mathis, A.T. Weaver, and Andrew Mauldin for $24. Casey Springs' first church, a log building, was erected soon after. For some time the brush arbor at the campground co-existed with the church and people came in wagons to spend the entire summer at worship Among the early members of the church were William Hooper (trustee) John. Liz, Fannie and Jane Couch. Jim Loughridge (trustee), Tilda Green' Rome Buckner, Bill Morgan, and several of the Ingle, Long. Rogers, Causby' Hall, Gallman, Hayes, Tucker, and Blankenship families. John Hames and Robert Wood are also listed as trustees on early deed records. A prominent church member for many years was Albert Tipton Weaver. An early history of the congregation describes him as follows: "There were few men of greater will power and he spoke his sentiments fearless of any man. He was a good farmer and was ever experimenting with things that promised progress. His most marked work as a citizen was for Casey Springs Church and Campground. He led in the organization of the church and was a trusted leader and official in it. For many years he was Sunday School Superintendent and directed the training of the youth of the community. When the new church was built, he took a large part in it both in money and work. Weaver was a liberal man in supporting the ministry and all the benevolent agencies of the church." The new church was built by 1888 and some of the logs from the old edifice were used in the white frame building of today. The church has been on a circuit until very recent years, so, many men have served the congregation. Among them have been Revs. Thurman (1880's or 90's), Turner, Cochran (1908), Hampton, Cook. Chastain, Poteet. Posey, Smith, Duckett, AttiaParker, Stuart, Blackstock. Grady England, Brasher. C.B. Kinsey (1951), J.B. Godfrey, Bert Ingle, Boyd Wagner (1956-57), Charles Burton (1958-61). J.K. Underwood (1961-62), Bobby Cagle. Harrell. Peck, and WaltonMcNeil, Ken Phillips is the present pastor. The greatest revival is thought to have been in 1926 when Brother Cook was the minister and Richard Poteet was preaching. Cook was a beloved minister who began the annual Homecoming and Decoration Day in the 1920's. Older members recall the days when Rev. Cook and John Brindle led the congregation, marching two by two, to the cemetery while singing "When the Roll is Called up Yonder" for decoration services. During the 1950's Casey Springs was on the Spring Place Charge with Mt. Zion and Spring Place. In 1956 a parsonage was built just north of Spring Place on Highway 225 and on many occasions the congregation was served by a student minister. In the early 1960's many improvements were made to the church structure including painting, adding a steeple, reflooring, reroofing. as well as installing a new ceiling, a heating system, and windows. Membership was then about 76 with 35 attending regularly. Many contributions from former members such as the Weaver family helped finance these improvements. Since then a new porch and other additions have been made to the original building. Mr. Bob Causby, a long-time member, was superintendent for many years as was Mr. Ingle. Casey Springs Cemetery, situated on a hill across the highway from the church, was donated to the church, but unfortunately a deed was never recorded so, many years later, the church had to actually buy the land from the Stanley family. Mr. Henry Blankenship worked for many years to beautify the cemetery and now a special fund has been established for the upkeep of this historic urial ground. The oldest marked grave is that of a child. Robert Morgan, who died in 1873 at the age of 4. {Information provided by Minnie Gryder, Maxie Gray, Ethel Curd, Rosco Long, the late Mrs. Columbus Tucker, and the late Mr. and Mrs. Bob Causby.) As was so often the case in the rural South, the church building was also used as a school. Located east of the present church structure, Casey Springs School was operating as early as 1880 and enjoyed three quarters of a century of success in at least two buildings. T.L, Hilley and Mr. Green donated land to the school in later years and one school structure had four classrooms, kitchen space, and an auditorium. Trustees for Casey Springs School included John A. Johnson (1921), M.B. Tucker (192]), J.B. Sanders (1932). T.L. Hilley. W.W. Bright (1931). J.J.F. Brindle (1931), E.E. Brindle (1932, 51). W.F. Dugger (1933), W.F. Brindle (1944-50). P.L. Jordan (1944), John Brindle (1947), Columbus Tucker (1947), Grady Moore (1951). Elbert Bright (1951), and Martin Greeson (1951). In its 75 years of operation. Casey Springs School had many fine teachers. Among the earliest educators there were C.W. Gram (1881), ___ Huckabee (1884). J.M. King (1891), Sam Weaver (1893-94), ___ Bagwell (1895). B.F. Collins (1896), John Gilbert (1897), John H. Loughridge (1899), and E.Q. Anderson (1900). Other teachers included Mamie Osborn (1916), Jessie Wells (1917). Vie Tucker (1921). Mary Stealy (1919), Maggie Woods (1929). Arvil Vaughn (1929), Beulah Ballew and Lucille Davis (1932), Gretel Cochran and Seward Mix (1932-1934). Charles Ross (1932-35). Hazel Williams (1934-36). J.P. Mosteller (1934). Ray Bagley (1935). Loren Ross (1935-38), Walter Richards (1938), Inez Brindle (1938-39), Mrs. Branch Tucker (1947-52), Mrs. EllisonHayes (supply 1947). Ava Nell Johnson (1948-5 l),Miss Gazel Turnage (1951-53). Betty Long (1952). John Bradley (principal (1953-54). Mrs. Wright Loughridge (1952-53), Frank Hall (1954). and Luke Hawkins (principal (1947-52. 1954-55). Among other educators remembered by local residents are Eula Edrnondson (described as "rough and tough"). Jennie Edrnondson, Will Smith, Minnie Stephenson, Octavia Perkins. Pansy Heartsell. Marguerite Heartsell, ____ Lewis, Minnie Barksdale. Charles Shriner, Lela Wilson, Sally Johnson, Charlie File, Murrell Vess. Paul Brindle, Cloe Middleton, Ruth Blackwell, Geneva Sanders. Troy Richards. Dot Richards, Mattie Charles, Willie Mae Pritchett Sexton, Tennie Cantrell, Zona Cochran, Grethel Tucker. Blanche Allen . Eunice Blackwell, Mildred Adams (1917), Zessie Whitfield, Choice Perkins. Jirn Ragsdale. Mary Blankenship.ClarlieMcAfee. Charlie Leonard, and _____ Brindle. In 1956 Southwest Elementary School was built, consolidating all the rural elementary schools in the Ball Ground and Eighth Districts, Troy Richards served as principal until this facility was consolidated with Spring Place in 1969-Teachers and staff members at Southwest included Rilla Richards (1956-1969), Kathryn Loughridge (1956-67), Zona Cochran (1964-69). and Annette Patton. Trustees for Southwest included Grady Moore. Jeff Mashburn. John Fox, J.C. Hall. Ernest Brindle, Walt McBrayer, and Wright Jones. The former school, located on 225 at the intersection with Fox Bridge and Fidel Roads, was purchased by the Church of God of the Union Assembly and is used as housing for members during special church gatherings in Dalton. Just south of Casey Springs is New Prospect Baptist Church, the oldest te\i-gious group in this part of the county. On September 15,1848 James C. Loughridge deeded 2 acres in land lot 150 (8th and 3rd) to Arthur Gilbert and Edward J. Bunyard. deacons of the New Prospect Baptist Church. When additional property was obtained in 1868 Kinney Johnson was the grantor while Mr. Gilbert and Gilford Martin were listed as deacons. The first church was a log building on the east side of 225. Union soldiers are said to have burned this structure and about 1868 another building was erected at the site (second deed). In 1870 the congregation reported 138 members to the North Georgia Baptist Association and W.A. Elhs was pastor. Messengers to the Association meeting were M. Roberts and A.J. Hunsucker. In the 1890's the church moved across the road to the present site and built a new sanctuary. In May. 1978 a tornado severely damaged this frame, weather-boarded church and a new modern block building was constructed. The first services were held in the new church in January, 1979. From May until December, the services were held in the Chatsworth Christian Academy, located on the site of the first two New Prospect buildings. This Christian school was started by members of New Prospect-Max Henson. Danny Jenkins. Bobby Brindle. Clarence Baggett. and Max Chastain. The school had been renamed Canaanland Christian School and is now directed by Rev. Isaac Johns. Members of New Prospect recall many good revivals back in the "ole days" when Casey Springs Methodist and Timms Chapel Church of God would join with New Prospect for the meetings. Schools dismissed early so that students could attend revival services during the day meetings. Other deacons of the church have included C.P. Brindle. Albert Hayes. Ernest Brindle, Malcolm Brindle. Danny Jenkins. Clarence Baggett, and Bobby Brindle. A special event at New Prospect was the ordination of M.O. Casey on November 1. 1919. "Preacher" Casey went on to pastor almost every Baptist congregation in the southern part of the county and enjoyed a long life. He died at the age of 95 in 1982 and was buried at New Propsect. Pastors of the church since the turn of the century have been J.M. Couch (before 1906). J.F. Davis (1906-1910). J.T. Hales (1910-1913), W.J. Moore (1913-1914). J.W. Pitts (1914-1915). J.M. Waters (1915-1918). S.H. Pendley (1918-19), M.J. Taylor (1919. 1922-24). C.M. Pitts (1919-20, 1921), M.O. Casey (1920-21, 1924-30, & 1937-40), L.C. Sluder (1930-33), E. Oscar Davis (1933. died January, 1934). W.D. Lambert (1934-37), Charlie Hambright (1940-45). Kirby Young (194548). H.G. "Grady" England (1948-52). Jim Moore (1952-58). M.L. Clark (1958-61). Sammy Allen (1961-62). J.E. Glass (1962-66). Max Henson (1966-78). Danny Jenkins (1978-81). and Ed Kilgore (1981 to date). Church clerks have included C.L. Frost. J.S. Rodgers, C.P. Brindle. W.A. Chapman, W.D. Sanders. Harlan Brindle, Nettie Long. Isaac Johns. Truy Ridley. C.T. Rollins. and Bobby Brindle. (Information provided by Jtmelle Chapman andMr. and Mrs. Frank Brindle.! The New Prospect Cemetery has many old graves including countless unmarked burials. The oldest marked graves are those of infants Mary and Sarah Fain who died in 1854 and 1856. A little further down 225 from New Prospect is the Timms Chapel Church of God. This body was organized in 1934 and the next year Jim and Exie Timms donated land for the church. The first trustees were Mr. Timms, W.W. Bright and Lawrence Jones. C.L. Hall served as pastor for several years. Like New Prospect. Timms Chapel also received damage in the tornado in 1978. Total damages to the two churches, the Christian school and private property (at the Jenkins' and the Stanley's) was estimated at over $150.000. but no one was injured. In years past three smaller communities have existed west of Holly Creek Post Office. Casey Springs, and New Prospect in areas that are now sparsely settled. One of these and perhaps the oldest was on Holly Creek near the spot where the Creek empties into the Conasauga River. Here the Teasleys and Browns were large landowners for many years. A Teasley family cemetery dating to the 1860's or 70's is the only reminder of this settlement. A Baptist church was founded in the area before the Civil War and on May 22. 1877 W.L. Brown deeded property to the trustees of a Methodist Episcopal Church South on Land Lot 73 (8th and 3rd). The trustees included T.T. Teasley. J.H. Kuhn, G.M. Brown, and Zion Spriggs. A school operated here for some time (from the 1880's at least) though a deed from I.B. Teasley and S.M.R, Huggins was not recorded until 1907. The property was located on the "south side of the public road leading from the Oscar Brown place to the Renfroe Huggins fence." One of these early churches could have been the one that moved to Browns. New Hope, or Tickle Gizzard in Bull Pen District. Below Holly Creek, Looper Bend Road joined the road from Bull Pen and Spring Place, became one. and then crossed the river at Looper Bridge though the Vickery Ford was located in the vicinity at the turn of the century. This area is almost inaccessible today as parts of the road have not been maintained in many years. South and west of the Teasley settlement, at the next bend of the Conasauga River, was the Touchstone settlement -about 2 or 3 miles east of the Whitfield County town of Tilton (named for W.C. Tilton of Spring Place). Landowners other than the Touchstones included the Townsends who gave their name to the Bend in the river at Tilton. the Hogans, Foxes. Shannons, and Bracketts. The residents of this area had many ties with Tilton after the Tiiton Bridge was built about 1885. For many years the area was served by John Gentles, a mail carrier from Tilton. (In recent years the one-lane, metal and wood Tilton Bridge has been replaced.) The Jones Ford was east (up river) of the Touchstone community where a school operated from 1891 until 1897. Teachers there included W.A. Teasley, Mary Gilbert, and two others whose names are not recorded in school records- Further east in the rugged area still known as the Bracket! Ridges was a school known as Bracketts or "Lone Cherry." (Maybe there was a single cherry tree there!) In the 1870's M.S. Vandever sold for $I an acre of land in lot 181 (8th and 3rd) for a school and Board of Education minutes mention Lone Cherry as operating in 1880. On June 30. 1897 J .B. Bracket! deeded property in the same lot for the Lone Cherry School, Teachers here included Mrs. Maggie Giddens (1881). Miss Mat Lockaby (1884), D.H. Harris (1885). Sam Jackson (who had 27 enrolled and was advancing very well in 1891), Mrs. Mattie Bradford (1893) William Morris (1894). B.F. Collins (1895). and M.W. Shields (1900). Tom Fox once had a country store on the Tilton Road. The third community in this section of the Eighth District was Bright's View, located on the road between New Prospect on 225 and Tilton which goes through the Bracket Ridges. Named for the Brights who were prominent residents of the area for many years, this school operated for some time. Among the teachers were Rev. Thornton, Julia Quarles (1916). Oscar Charles (1917). Edith Wells, and Bill Colvard. Frank Hayes was one of the last trustees for Bright's View before it was consolidated with Casey Springs in 1921. When the school closed J .W. Looper obtained the property from the Board of Education. Much of the area just mentioned was included in an Industrial City created the Georgia Legislature in 1973. The city was to consist of a 24-square-mile area in Murray. Whitfield. and Gordon Counties and provide a central location for industrial expansion in the three counties. Some 6,768 acres of Murray land was to be included. Following several meetings of county leaders and the passage of the bill by the General Assembly, a committee was appointed by the Governor, the Speaker of the House, and each county to oversee the city. Torn Mitchell was selected Mayor, Adkins Henderson of Calhoun was Vice-Mayor and Stan Maples of Whitfield County was Secretary-Treasurer. Board members were Bob Collins of Calhoun and Bobby Mosteller of Chatsworth. This Council had complete authority over the area and received a grant to help finance the development. However, they faced the economic recession of 1973-74 and plans for the Industrial City were halted. Also, accessibility was a problem. The Industrial City project was dependent on another project which has never gotten off the ground-the Dalton Dam and Reservoir. As planned by the Army Corp of Engineers, a dam would be built on the Conasauga River in an area near the Holly Creek junction with the River. An 8,650-acre lake and reservoir would provide water for the Industrial City, but also change the Eighth, Bull Pen, and Spring Place Districts very drastically. Plans for the dam were halted during the Nixon Administration and, though mentioned periodically, still seem far in the future. In 1975 the number of Murray Countians living in the Industrial City, whose northern boundary is the Brackett Road, was 168. The eastern boundary of the proposed Industrial City was Highway 225 and in the area where 225 enters Gordon County a community has long existed. Union Grove or "Heppsedam" was west of 225 while Gallman's or Davis* is on the highway. Crick Hall had a store at Heppsedam while Knight Gallman ran a gin and Marion Gallman had a store near Sardis Church of God. Branch Tucker made syrup and in 1923 J.C. Fox had a garage on Route l.Tilton. Churches in this area include a Methodist church at the county line (Land Lot 250. 8th and 3rd) which received a deed from John C. Mathis and Sarah Lewallen on September 13, 1869. Trustees were Daniel Johnson, H.T. Weaver, William Davis, Robert Woods, and RJ. Harris. The name of the church is not known. The Sardis Church of God was organized in the 1940's. On February 17, 1947 Lawrence Jones deeded property to Trustees H.A. Duck, Ford Stancil, and J.C. Blackstock. The Sardis Cemetery is much older because a "Hardshell Baptist" church had existed at the site many years before. The oldest graves in the cemetery are from the 1860's or earlier and Sardis Church appears on a map of about 1890. but the church must have disbanded soon after the turn of the century. Older residents recall an old, delapidated building on the site of Sardis in the early 1900's. A school operated at Sardis in 1885 with a McBrayer as the teacher. Six years later the school was open once more with Miss Naomi White the teacher. Miss White taught again in 1893 and was followed by Mary Gilbert (1894), G.W. Brogden (1896). J.H. Collins (1899) and J.W. Martin (1900). Miss Mamie Osborn also taught there. The longest lived and most successful school in this area was Union Grove which was more commonly called "Happsedam." Spellings for the name vary and the origin of the name is unknown, but it could have been carried over from the school at Sardis. On November 20, 1905 Miss M.E. Kuhn deeded land on lot 217 for a church and school. The school at Sardis disappears from records about this time and soon Union Grove is listed. Located west of 225 on the road to Resaca across Pole Cat Creek, the Union Grove building was used for church services and singings at least until 1919. Trustees for the school included Tam-Piell Hall (1947-1952). W.H. Holcomb, W.I. Davis. R.M. Greeson. H.E. Gallman, and H.R. Hall, all in the I920's and 30's. During its long history Union Grove had many teachers including Jessie Wells .(S916-18). Henry Mauldin (principal 1929-30), Beulah Ballew, Mrs. V.L. Brown-M Lizzie Swanson, Beatrice Hemphill and C.L. Hilliard (1932), Agnes Kemp (1932-33; Annie Ross (1932-37). Johnnie Shields (1933-34), Ruth Kemp (1933-38), Eldora Ballew (1933-37), Winfred Leonard (1934-35), Loren Ross (1935), Kachel Middleton and Cloe Middleton (1935-36), Katherine Ernest (1936-37), Harriet Smith and Opal Jenkins (1937-38). Aileen Clayton (194243), Dave and nomer Holcomb (1943-44), C.E. Hawkins (194748), Jeffie Gallman Sexton (1949-50), Marnie Osbom, Nadine Wilbanks, Ruby Causby. Miss ___Greeson. armie Freeman, Mr. ____ Henderson, and the last two teachers before the school closed in 1952. Beatrice Defote (later Chapman) and Fred McBrayer. Both had taught several terms at Heppsedam. In 1954 the old school building was sold to Mr. Jones. Two other schools in the area west of Heppsedam included one named Concord that was operating in 1880 but then disappears from records until 1893 when Rosie White was the teacher. Other teachers were Mollie Glass (1894). Rosie White (1895), John Loughridge (1897). and Mrs. M.B. Patric (1899). In 1884 a Miss Wyatte had a school "at the county line." An old family in this vicinity were the Tales. Jacob Tate (1807-1888) and his wife (1817-1896) are buried on their old farm on the south side of the road to Resaca. In more recent years Glen Davis's store has become a landmark in this section of the Eighth District, but long-time special events in the area were the Henry Gallman picnics. Mr. Gallman was a colorful, old-time local politician and served on the board of education for some time. It was through his efforts that the Southwest Elementary School was built in this district. Mr. Gallman's picnics were usually held in connection with his birthday and the festivities drew many Georgia political figures including Jimmy Carter. Bert Lance, Rosalynn Carter, and David Gambrell, Begun about 1929. the picnics were annual affairs for many years before Mr. Gallman's death in 1974. He was buried in the Sardis Cemetery. The eastern boundary of the Eighth District is the road which leads from Casey Springs to the Gordon County "post hamlet" of Fidel (or Fidelle). Along this road lived the Blankenships (who had one of the first radios in the community in the teens), the Mashburns. the Pettys, the Hoopers, the Jordans, and particularly the Brindles. This early family gave their name to a school which operated on their property (lot 245, 8th and 3rd) for several years. Located on the west side of the Fidel Road, Brindle's School had the following as teachers: __ Galbreath (1884), Minnie Dailey (1891-92). Julia Hunsucker (1893-94), May" Addington (1895). E.J. Anderson (1896-97), Mary Edmondson (1899), and J.E. Everett (1899-1900). The school was then renamed Fairview. Later teachers included Frankie Anderson. Mattie Lou Walls (Pritchett). Tennie Can-trell. Wesley Everett, Posey Wells (1916), and Mary Brown (1917). The school was consolidated with Casey Springs about 1918. Several business enterprises were located on or near the Fidel Road. Isaac Blankenship ran a store where the Emery Scotts now live and have a barber shop. G.W. Brogden and Henry Cagle had stores east of the road while George Overby once had a gas-powered grist mill on the Macedonia Road which is off the Fidel Road. Jeff Edwards also had a business for a time. Mr. Hayes was a sawmiller and Leach Richards carried the mail in the area. Doctors in the vicinity included Dr. Burton at Fidel and Dr. File who lived at Resaca but made calls throughout this section of the county. Also at Fidel was a community cemetery, stores, and a post office on the Gordon County side of the line. Jim and Jeff Mashbum ran a grist mill, a shingle mill, and a store at Fidel. The Mashburns have long been residents of this area and Dave Mashbum, one of the patriarchs of the family, is buried in an unmarked grave on his former farm west of the Fidel Road behind the Dollar's home on land now owned by a pulpwood company. Another early family in this community were the Sextons. They have a family cemetery just inside Murray County off the new road. The Sextons were early members of the Maple Grove Baptist Church and donated the land for the building in 1895. Church leaders mentioned in the deed were Joseph Rodgers, M.F. Petty, Ambrose Johns, and John M. Sexton. Rev. M.D, Lambert was the first pastor and J.M. Sexton. Jr. the first clerk. Other early members were G.L. Johns. Troy Etheridge, Rosa Sexton. Uzzie Sexton, G.W. Dean, and Blanche Dean. The church had an uneven history in its early years and for brief periods was a Methodist and Holiness Church. Finally, in 1935, the Baptist Church of today was reorganized. Pastors have included Berry Waters, Walt Ballew, Blake Carter. Charles Moulton, Griffin Crumbley, Fred Winkler, Isaac Johns, and Johnny Payne, In 1948 while Rev. Crumbley was pastor, a new church was built beside the old structure. Since then the church has been remodeled several limes and in 1978 had 169 members. Homecoming is celebrated the second Sunday in July and an annual revival starts the second Sunday in August. The church now has a cemetery on adjoining property. For about 10 years from 1928 until 1939. school was also held at Maple Grove. Trustees were John Sexton, Dennis Johns. Mr. Edwards, and Mr. Fiowers. Teachers included Geraldine Kendrick (1928-30). __ McBrayer (1832-33), Winfred Leonard (1933-34), Eula Martha Smith (1933-37). and Rossie O'Neal (1937-39). Since the area was so closely associated with Fidel and Gordon County, many early residents of the area are buried in the Fidel Cemetery. Several other cemeteries are scattered across the Murray-Gordon line at various points east and west of Maple Grove. Fidel, Montgomery's and Carters. Among them are the Noblett, Evergreen. Corinth. Hopewell. Thompson. Westbrook. Holbrook, White Graves (Coosawattee). Baxter, and Durham cemeteries. Sometimes churches adjoined these burial grounds such as at the Baxter meeting house, Hopewell. and White Graves. Several families such as the Humphreys. Jacksons, Nesbits, Robinsons, Edwardses, and Coxes were "across the line" neighbors to Murray County residents in the vicinity of the Eighth and neighboring districts.
TOWNS, COMMUNITIES, AND MILITIA DISTRICTS
(1880-1980)
Carters - Ball Ground District
Lower Murray County was once divided into three militia districts-the Eighth, Carters, and Ball Ground. While the Eighth is still geographically the same, Carters and Ball Ground have been realigned several times. Both areas have histories which go back to Cherokee times. Militia District No. 825 was the second one formed in Murray County and was named for Farish Carter who owned some 15,000 acres of land in the area. By the 1880's the western part of this district was called Ball Ground, but then (to confuse matters) around the turn of the century another district, Coosawattee No. 1807, was formed when No. 825 was called Ball Ground. In 1934 District No. 825 in the extreme southeast comer of the county, once again became Carters and No. 1807 between Carters and the Eighth became Ball Ground. At last the name was official. Around 1959, however, the two were once again joined and No. 1807 was abolished. In more recent years Carters has been combined with Doolittle for voting purposes. Geographic features of these areas are Fields Gap and Buck Knob Mountain in the northeast corner of Carters District, Talking Rock Creek in the southeastern corner, the Coosawattee River on the southern edge and Buck Creek north and west of Ball Ground. Parts of Sugar. Rock, and Holly Creeks form of the northern district lines. Several springs are also found in these areas. As evidenced by the creation of an additional district and then two reductions in districting, the population of the area increased for many years, but then began a steady decline between the World Wars and afterward. Farming was the Primary occupation in this section of Murray, but "moonshining" was widespread for some time! Many people left the somewhat secluded areas to be closer to other jobs and better schools. Even today many roads are unpaved, houses are far apart, and some areas are not joined by power lines and telephone cables. Many acres are owned by pulpwood companies like Bowaters. Other is now part of the Carters Dam complex and the Coosawattee Wildlife Magement Area. Recently, however, some slight population growth has occurred. Carters-Ball Ground never boasted a large town, but at least a dozen small afies or communities have existed within their boundaries. Justices of the peace and school trustees are the only district officials on record. Past holders of the trustee position include John Berry (1877-92), J. Love (1877-79). John D. Spruell (1877-78). James McEntire (1878-92), Cicero D. Gilbert (1879-92) A.J. Martin (1892-95). Ben Becton (1892.95). David Heartsill (1892-95). Steven E. Cowart (1895). W.J. Smith (1895) and J.D. Durham (1895). Teachers in No. 825 during the first year of the Murray County School System (1877) were D.V. Thomason, J.C. Ellis, M. Hubbard.G.B. Bolan, and T.R.Johns (colored). Teachers in 1882 were R.P. Messer. G.C. Dalton, J.L. Simpson.W.C. Martin, and Miss H.I. Spruell. H.W. Bagley was a long-time justice of the peace in the district serving from 1885 until 1893 and again from 1897-1901 before holding the office from 1904 until his death in 1929. Other J.P.'s include W.D. Heartsll (1885-93), S.G. Carter (1885-89), D.L. Ridley (1893-97), L.N. Moore (1893-97). J.D. Durham (1895-97), W.P. Hemphill (1905-09), Patterson Messer (1907-11). C.F. Durham (1911-15), J.D. Calhoun (1915-24). T.B. Foster (1924-28), D.W. Smith (1929-32) and C.C. Deal (1933-41).
TOWNS, COMMUNITIES, AND MILITIA DISTRICTS
(1880-1980)
The Ball Ground Area
The Ball Ground area received its name in Cherokee days as Indians met in the vicinity to play ball in a game similar to lacrosse. Even now older residents sometimes refer to the spot as "ihe Ball Ground." Ball Ground has always been an important community because five roads meet there. The road on the west joins Ball Ground with Casey Springs and is sometimes called the May Hill-Ball Ground Road, while the one on the north connects Ball Ground with the Center Hill area. Two roads are on the east with the upper road crossing Rock Creek and leading to Ramhurst. while the lower road crosses Sugar Creek and goes to Coniston and Carters. The May Hill-Ball Ground Road forked east of Casey Springs and the south-em branch curved toward Montgomery's. Off this road was the Macedonia Baptist Church. Mr. Elijah Pitts deeded this property in land lot 227 (8th and 3rd) to the church on December 14, 1900. The church was joined to the Eighth District by another road which connected with the Fidel Road. Among the families who attended Macedonia were the Pates. Pitts. Scotts. Maxwells. Bakers, and Holdens (who had three children buried near the church). M.O. Casey, G.W. Thomason, and Kirby Young were among the pastors of Macedonia before the congregation disbanded in the early 1940"s. Joe Robinson once had a store near Macedonia. Long-time residents in the area west of Ball Gound were the Elrod. Ballew, Hayes. Pritchett. Davis. Cagle. and Walraven families. Tom Elrod (1823-1896) was a miller, Oliver Pierce Ballew ran a blacksmith shop, and Henry P. Ballew had a syrup mill. Two of these families-the Elrods and Pritchetts-gave their names to schools in the locale. The Elrod school was established in 1890 on the old Elrod farm south of the Ball Ground Road near where Jim Cagle later lived. The first building was made of logs and was also used for Sunday school. Elisha Allen was the teacher in 1891. From 1893 until 1900 Elrod's was known as Pritchett's school since that family also lived nearby and provided two teachers at the school: M.W. Pritchett (1893-96) and W.H. Pritchett (1897 and 1900). Wesley Everett was the teacher in 1899. In 1908 J.H. Pritchett deeded part of land lot 192 (8th and 3rd) fora new Elrod facility and a nice wooden structure was erected. Other teachers at Elrod School included Victoria Bagley, Pritchett Tucker (1916), Ernest Pritchett (1920). Will Welch. C.P. (Paul) Brindle, Willie Mae Pritchett. Hattie Cochran (1917). Jessie Mae Wells. Posey Wells. Luke Cantrell. Joel Carney,.Will Smith, and Alfred C. Puckett (1921-22). John Pritchett and Mr. McRee had stores near the Elrod School which was officially named East Point in 1917. In the early 1920's the Elrod/East Point School burned and a deed of September 3, 1923 mentions "the land on which the East Point School is now located." Rebuilding had resulted in a new location for the school on a more public road, but some still refused to call it East Point. The new East Point school was about 1& miles south of the old spot and about 2 miles north of the Gordon County line at Mashburns. The structure here was also wooden, but many felt the construction was inferior to that of the old Elrod building. One teacher at the East Point School was the late Icy O'Neal Plemons who wrote the following: "I taught at East Point or Elrod one room school in 1929-32. One boy (Floyd Mathis) was in 10th grade. His mother had died and he could not leave his father to board and go away to high school. The next year he went to Calhoun and graduated. The children-and sweet children they were-were families of Elrod, Mashburn, Moore, Scott, Johns, Mathis, Sosebee, Cagle, Blankenship, Johnson, and Jenkins." Other teachers at this school were Clara McEntire, Viola O'Neal, Azzie Mc-Brayer (1928-29), Maggie Woods (1932-33). Opal Jenkins (1934-36), Ralph Richards (1933-34. 36-37). Neptha Rogers, Walter Richards (1937-38), and Ainslee Vaughn (1938-39). Trustees here included W.W. Shelton, Lee Yother, J.S. Rogers. Jeff Mashburn, J.D. Elrod. and W.I. Blankenship. The school was consolidated with Casey Springs. Ironically, just over a decade after the Elrod school was moved south, another school was established a short distance north of the old Elrod location. In 1933 W. Gordon Mann and James Q. Steed deeded 1 acre of land lot 155 (8th and 3rd) "for school purposes." Some thought of this school as a new Elrod School, but its name was officially "Coosawattee"�though it was not that close to the river. The first teacher here (1934-36) was Miss Nina Middleton who reported that she had about 20 students with most of them from the Elrod, Cagle, Wal-raven, and Pritchett families. The reason for building this school was that the area was not on a bus route and it was some distance from other facilities. Other teachers here were Ruth Middleton (1936-37) and Mrs. Pauline Middleton (1937-39). The new East Point School had been built at a high point east of a very old settlement called Montgomery's and later McEntire's. These related farnilies were large landowners and had been slave holders. They had a fancy surrey and were described as "well fixed." Coosawattee River steamboats stopped at their farm to load wheat to take to market at Rome. The Montgomerys operated a at the river for many years�until about 1917 when the first Montgomery Bridge was built. The Montgomery Ferry had once been Reel's Ferry. Other families in the area were the Brogdens. Martins, and Berrys. In 1880 and 1881 a school operated at the Berry farm with a Miss Spruell as the teacher. This school soon closed, but in the 1890's the Montgomery School opened. Teachers here included F.J. Leamon (1891), Minnie Daily (1893), Miss Jennie Gilbert (1894), Mary Edmondson (1895). J.H. Berry (1896-97), Lizzie Keith (1896). B.T. Freeman and W.H. Pritchett (1899), and George Berry (1900). Residents of the area remember a tornado that hit on the river in the mid-teens. They also think that the Montgomerys had the first telephone in the area. Across the river in what is now Gordon County a post office called Humphreys had briefly existed in 1848 with Mr. Enoch Humphrey as postmaster. In the late 1800's a post office called Coosawattee was located here (not to be confused with Coosawattee in Murray County). The Montgomery Cemetery is south of the old homeplace near the river. It is the final resting place of the family patriarch. Hiram Montgomery, who was born in 1796 and died in 1867. Most of the burials here are relatives of the family and include Littles. Davises. Berrys. Brodgens. and McEntires (the most recent interments). North of Montgomery's on the road toward Ball Ground (sometimes called the Montgomery or McEntire Road) was the community of Wells, founded about 1880. The Wells post office was established December 15, 1885 with George W. Johnson as postmaster. Later postmasters were Alfred Smith (1886-93). William L. Smith (1893-1908), and Marcus L. Bagley (1909). The office was discontinued June 15. 1909 as rural free delivery was begun. For many years the Carters rural route served the area. Wesley Everett delivered the mail in his buggy and John Tucker was his substitute. Generally the post office was combined with a country store as was the case with Mr. Bagley, Besides the store and the post office. Mr. Bagley had the first car (a two seater) at Wells and was co-owner of a cotton gin with Fred Tolar. The Wells community also boasted a blacksmith shop. Fletcher Blaylock's grist mill. Gazaway's sawmill, and George Martin's store. Drs. J.F. Gilbert (1900) and J-A. McGuire (1892) had Wells addresses and for a time the "courtground" or vt>ting place was just above Wells on the Carter's Road. Candidates for office were certainly on hand at the annual Fourth of July barbecues held at Wells for many years. Families in the area were the Hollands, Strouds. Whites, Mitchells. Deals, Blacks, Cowarts, Stepps. Haneys, Nixes. Owens', and Pulliams. The school at Wells was begun before 1906 when J.F. Petty deeded 1 acre on land lot 201 (8th and 3rd) for a school. In 1917 the school became known officially as Sugar Creek. Teachers at Welts included Victoria Pritchett Tucker, Jessie Mae Wells. Hulda Runyan (1916), and Lee Jones (who later moved to Dalton and became a successful banker). Other teachers at Sugar Creek were J.S Moore (1917), Minnie Barksdale, Charles Pannell, Sr..W.T. Richards (1928-30), "Madeline Pulliam (1930, 32-34). Maxie Harris (1934-35). J.P. Mosteller (1935-36, Robbie Sue Wilson (1936-37), Sue Tanksley (1938-39). Wayne Westmoreland (1938-39). and Mattie Bagley.. Trustees included George Overby (1921), J. L. Manley. J.B. Sitton, Bug Pulliam, Horace Stafford (1931), George Dyer (1930), J.R. Dooley (1932). Mel Pulliam (1934), and J.E.Jones (1933). At Ball Ground itself the long-time landmark has been the Mt. Herman Baptist Church. On January 31, 1852 E.S. Rains deeded land for the church to Trustees Charles Wood. Stephen White, and John Cerce (Searcy?). From the location given in the deed this first church must have been just east of the cemetery (land lot 160. 8th and 3rd). About 1890 another church was built on the site of the present building. A deed dated December 30. 1902 lists J.D. Durham, O.P. Ballew. and Dillie Smith as deacons of Ball Ground Baptist Church so with the move the name must have changed. When Mr. Will Pritchett was dying in 1908 the newer building had not been sealed and Mr. Pritchett instructed his wife, the former Victoria Bagley. to use money from his estate to pay for work on the building. Some pastors at Ball Ground or Mt, Herman included W.R. Lackey, J.A. Austin of Resaca who served several years between 1910-1920, W.C. Haddock, Rev. Thomason. M.O. Casey, Berry Waters, and M.H.Welch (about 1920). In 1870 Giles Dunn was pastor and the church reported 51 members to the North Georgia Baptist Association. Leaders at that time were A.M. Ford, U.S. Stephenson, and Mr. Pritchett. Later leaders were Oliver Pierce Ballew, W.R. (Rob) Ballew. John Pulliam. Newt Holcomb, and John Smith, while members of the Glass. Scott. Burger, Thomason, Phillips, McRee, Brarnblett. Bennett, Bagley and Cowart families were faithful members. T.J. Cowart was a special singer at the church and Mrs. Jim Bagley was the organist. In recent decades the church has had an uneven history with services held irregularly. However, not a year has gone by that some meetings were not held. The Ball Ground Cemetery, with marked burials as early as Daniel Ballew in 1861. is the final resting place of many early settlers of this area. Before the days of the Wells School. Ball Ground was the site of an educational institution. Classes were held in the old church as early as 1880. W.C. Martin (later a well-known resident of Dalton) taught there in 1881 and Mr. Meady Shields was the teacher later in that decade. Miss Jennie Gilbert was the teacher in 1891. 1899, and 1900 while Eula Edmondson taught in 1893 and 1895. Other teachers at Ball Ground School were Nora Warmack (1894). Miss M.L. Wilson (1896). Bertie Payne (1897). and Mollie Glass (1899). This school closed in favor of Wells/Sugar Creek. Also at Ball Ground Mr. Jim Bagley was a blacksmith and operated a store and mill. He made and sold coffins there as well. The "courthouse" was near Ball Gound in later years and another church had also existed at Ball Ground just a short distance west of the present building on lot 158. On February 9, 1858 Jacob Goodwin deeded property to Trustees William A. Marshall, Jacob Humphreys. Uriah H. Duncan, John Connally, and Benjamin Brenn? of the Methodist Episcopal Church South. Evidently this effort at establishing a Methodist church in the area was unsuccessful-possibly due to the coming of the War Between the States. This church could have been named Goodwin's Chapel. After the war another Methodist church was founded northeast of the 1858 property. A deed dated November 24. 1888 reads as follows: "C.D. Gilbert... for and in consideration of the love he bears to the cause of Christ... donates, transfers. and conveys to the M.E. Church South, three acres of land situated on lot 130 8th District. 3rd Section ... (on Spring Place & Ball Ground Road) where Friendship Church is now situated. Said premises shall be kept, maintained, and disposed of as a place of divine worship . . ." The church was successful for a time, but then declined and disbanded. No other information has been discovered about Friendship Church. The area to the north and east of Ball Ground was and is sparsely settled. One reason for this is that a few families owned rather large farms or plantations in this section of the district. The Brambletts owned several acres on Sugar Creek where Harris Bramblett was "bushwhacked" while working in the fields in 1900. He was buried on a hill overlooking the creek. Later, his wife. Barbara, and other members of the family were buried in the cemetery. Another story is that when some counterfeiters in the area were about to be captured, they hid the plates on the bank of an old field road on the Bramblett farm. Some of the counterfeiters were caught and served time in prison. Also, the White Caps, an off-shoot of the KKK who were involved in protecting the moonshiners of the district, reportedly hanged a man north of the Bramblett property. A grave was dug beneath the tree where the hanging took place and the rope was cut to let the body fall into an unmarked grave. Two branches of the Connally family moved to Murray County in the 1840's and became prominent citizens. William Connally who received land in the 1832 land lottery and his brother Samuel moved to Murray from Franklin County. Their nephew, Thomas "Cushi" Connally came to Murray in 1843 and served as sheriff in 184648. According to family members he bought over 1,000 acres in the Ball Ground District and lived there the rest of his life. Thomas (1808-1878), his wife Mary (1806-1870), his son John W. (1835-1879), and infant Elijah Connally (1877) were buried in a family cemetery on their farm west of the Ramhurst to Ball Ground Road. The graves were surrounded by an iron fence and were left on a barren hill when the timber was cut in the 1970's. In 1982 two of the markers were stolen. Samuel Connally (1797-1878). his wife Pyrene (1808-1891). and son Drewry (1832-1853) are buried in the Mt. Zion Cemetery. William and his wife moved to Walker County and are buried there. Other Connally family members moved west to Texas where many became prominent political figures including Governor John Connally. In recent years members of the Texas Connally family have visited Murray County in search of their roots. The Hemphills. Edmondsons, Loves. Wrights. and Stewarts were also large property owners in the area. Mrs. Laura Holbrooks Wright ran a post office "ear Holly Creek from 1902 until 1904. Located on her family's farm, the office was known as "Prune." For a time a school operated near the Love farm and was named for that family. Among the teachers at the Love school ^ere Florence Barksdale (1928-30). Mattie Bagley (1930-31). Mrs. W.B. Adams (1932-33). and Rachel Middleton (1933-34). Trustees included Felton Quarks (1932). John Glass. Belle Morrison. John Morrison (1935). James Stoker (1933), and Bloomer Moore (1934). Near the convergence of Holly and Rock Creeks. James Moman Venable had a plantation with slave labor by the 1850's. He was a purchasing agent when the Civil War began, but he died in 1862. Mr. Venable was buried near two of his children in a cedar grove on his farm. His widow, for former Martha Welch, continued to operate the farm and later married another Confederate veteran purchasing agent, Charles D. Durham. Thus the Venable name gave way to the Durham farm following the war. Mr, Durham, who was related to the well-known tobacco Durhams of North Carolina, was an excellent businessman and well-to-do in his own right. In Murray County he formed a partnership with Mr. John Hawkins in a successful merchant business. When Mr. Durham died in 1895 his son. Charles F.. took over the business. After his mother died In 1920, Charles F. Durham sold the Venable-Durham farm to Berry Bennett, a well-known figure in the area. The "Berry Bennett Place" is now a familiar point of reference for residents of the vicinity. During her lifetime, Martha Durham corresponded regularly with her daughter Mrs, Richard (Mary) Bramblett whose family, like so many others from Murray, had moved west in the 1880's. Her great-granddaughter. Mrs. Jackie Gray of California, has returned some of Mrs. Durham's letters to Murray County and they give wonderful insights into life in Ball Ground before and after 1900. The earliest, dated June 13. 1885. says (keeping her spelling and style)1 Dear Daughter and family � � � 1 have been busy this week cooking for Ivins and children to hoe out Pritchett's crop. We have had so much rain everybody got in the grass, some had to plant over. Brasky (Willerson) had 12 acres drown out . . . times are harder here than 1 ever saw ..... . Fanny (daughter) is gone to Ballground to meeting today, tomorrow is communion day. They had the graveyard cleaned off and decorated in May. I spent the day with Mrs. Gilbert this week , . , W.C.M. sends his kind regards . . . Jeff goes to see Mary G. but some how 1 don't think it will be a match. Mrs. Woods hasn't walked in six weeks, the calf pulled her down against the edge of the veranda floor-hurt her hip. Josephine Carter is very bad off ... I don't think she will last long. She has a verry smart daughter ... she is 11 ... does all the house work and waits on her mamma , . . Mr. Durham came home . . . from exploring the gold ... he found a little . . . but not the vein . . . C _____'s wife had been down 11 weeks . . . with consumption. Mint was hoeing in a big field of grassy corn by herself, her mother can't hoe attall this year . . . Ella lives close by ... Bart works with Brasky . . . Louis and family lives where Wilson lived last year . , . Louis has good health . . . Mary takes 'he children out in the orchard and hoes cotton . . . Betsy's cow giving a little milk. I have not seen any of Tom B(tamblett) folks this week . , . Jennie and B.L. are rite "ice girls, got ... much politeness , . , and fixes nice with what they have to fix with. Bob Smith goes to see Jenny , . . Harris has bought a heap of com and flour this year. Ma and Aunt Pol Connolly staid a week with us ... Aunt Pol is lively as a girl . . told about Texas folks ... Jim Smith is going west this fall. Milas (Welch) and family are well and got a tolerable fair prospect for a living . . . fresh land in this year ... I ^w Colonel B(ramblett) two weeks ago ... all was well . . . Bill Brarnbletts also was well . , . Well, we have got all sorts of vegetables but beets . . . planted peas the second time ... got about 60 chickens ... If there is any "excursion" the 4 of July, 1 will "lake my shadow at some Te\as hut soon after ... I was told there was to be excursion-$7.5O to any part of Texas-30 days. If so, goodby Georgia ... 1 will quit . . . Your loving mother P.S, Martin gave a lecture to sabbath school this morning which was interesting-large attendance, washing feet. Now past 70, Martha wrote the following on January 18,1902: Dear Daughter, there has been some very cold weather here and lots of rain . . , people have to buy feed this year to make crops . . . Some can't make crops attall . . . there will be land plenty that will lie out. Mr. John Edmondson died about two months ago. his family have moved to the May hill. Mrs. Willison died the 17 of December . . . Bart has been dead one year today . . . this is the 21 and its rained all day ... Fannie is piecing her a crazy worsted quilt . . . She don't believe in spiritualists no mote . . . Jeff (Durham?) lives at the Shields place or the old Jim Adams place-was all well last week, the kids going to school . . . this is the 21, its rained last knight and today & is cold. 1 have protracted this letter thinking I would hear from the boys . . .We had a new post office ... the rider left our mail at home-it was so nice, but somehow it stop! . . . Sometimes there is nothing hear to brag about , . . few have enough to make another crop . . . lots of labour going to public works . . . Ella Mullins washes all around & can't keep bread. Tom went to Ala &. married. Brasky has 5 kids & in debt . . . yet he feeds Nan &her kids .. .is cloudy, muddy. 1 have been in the house till I can't hardly get my breath. We do all our work except washing. Have all our com & flour to buy like Texas folks, 1 feel like quitting . . . Your devoted mother, Martha Durham Martha did not quit, but did eventually leave the farm. On January 17, 1920 she wrote a much shorter letter with the heading of Ramhurst. Though in her 90th year, she said: ... 1 am well except my back. Mrs. Henson's health has been bad 2 years . . . C.P. came in ... reported a hundred cases of flu at Spring Place . . . Maggy Seward? died about a month ago at 91. Sindy Smith is dead, 1 forgot if 1 wrote you about Patience (a former Venable slave who died at Spring Place in 1919) . . . Mrs. Butler lost 2 of her girls last year, one with flu ... Mandy's boy (Charles Bramblett) was killed in action . . . Berry Bennett's girl & Tint Mitchell's boy married last week. Mrs. Sarah Bell lives near us &. helps churrn & gets milk & butter ... We have a plenty of good neighbors, plenty to eat, but not room enough. 1 can't keep house or I would buy one ... We all get along well. Did your war boys get back . . . love . . . Martha Durham A few months later. Martha Venable Durham died and was buried at Ball Ground. With her died apart of Ball Ground's history.
Martha Durham
TOWNS, COMMUNITIES, AND MILITIA DISTRICTS
(1880-1980)
Carters
Carters is the second oldest district in Murray County and the area was occupied by Indians even before the Cherokee era. In fact, many believe that th Spanish explorer. Hernondo De Soto visited a settlement on the banks of the Coosawattee River in 1540. The town's name was Guasili (or Guaxile) during that time and the Cherokees then called it Coosawattee "Old Town" or "0ld Creek Place." Much of our information about the earliest days of this part of Murray County cornes from William J. Cotter's Autobiography written about 1910. A respected Methodist minister in adulthood, Mr. Cotter had spent some boyhood years in present-day Murray during one of the most exciting times in its history-the 1830's. Rev. Cotter wrote: ��I saw that part of the State when all was new-waters ... as clear a! crystal; rich valleys, hills, and mountains covered with a thick forest; a land of beautiful flowers . . There was plenty of wild game . . .When first seen, all was in lovely, beautiful spring, and 1 was nine years old (1834)," Cotter vividly recalled the troubles encountered with bears, panthers, and wolves when his family first moved to Murray County. According to Cotter, traders came to this area, then in the midst of the Cherokee Nation, after the War of 1812. A James Monroe received a permit to live in the Cherokee lands near Rock Spring before 1816 and soon several white men had married into the Indian families of the area. Among the first mentioned are the Martins, George Harlan. William May, and the McDaniels followed by the Calheys, Peepleses, Caseys, Bateses. Blacks, Brights. and Smiths-all of whom had lived in Murray before 1840. Mr. May was a well educated men with a plantation on the Coosawattee which used slave labor. George Harlan, who married Miss Anna May, was part Indian and had a two-story frame house, a fine orchard, and a large herd of cattle. Also on his farm was a fine spring coming out from a large limestone rock which gave the area the name "Rock Spring." The Harlans left for the West in 1834 and Mr. Cotter noted that the Catheys next lived at this spot, located below the Martin Place (now Carters). About a mile north of the Harlan place on the Federal Road was the old McDaniel home. Mr. Colter estimated that this place had been settled about 1770 and remembered a cemetery located there. With the coming of the white people, churches became important and Mr. Cotter noted that there was once a Baptist "mission" project in the area and that Murray was then in the Holston Conference of the Methodist church. Among the ministers who traveled through the Rock Spring area were Revs. A.H. Ross. W.M. Rush (1836), and Elijah Still (1837). Despite the religious presence, several mentions of liquor licenses in Rock Spring are found in early county records. In 1836 Edward T. Jones applied for a license. A.M. Turner had a store at Rock Spring in 1837 and the next year he had a partner, a Mr. Humphreys. They applied for liquor licenses both years. Ben Parker had a school at Rock Spring in 1838. Other settlers in the area included Jeremiah Harrison. Littleton Atkinson. and the McEntires. While most of the these families, including the Cotters, soon moved away from Rock Spring and Murray County, the McEntires came to stay and descendants of the first siblings who came to Murray from Ireland by way of North Carolina still live in Murray. Their cemetery, later used by the Hemphill family, just east of old Highway 411 and is one of the few reminders of the Rock Spring community. The oldest burial is that of Rachel McEntire who died at 2 years of age in 1845. Rock Spring was the first post office in the area and in 1836 the young William Cotter remembered carrying mail from here to Spring Place. Absalom Bishop was appointed the first postmaster on July 5.1834. A year later Littleton Atkin-son succeeded Mr. Bishop. On March 1. 1836 the name of the post office was changed to Coosawattee and Mr. Atkinson continued as postmaster until John Baxter was appointed to the office on April 3. 1837. In December of that year Alfred M. Turner became postmaster and was in turn succeeded by James Me-Entire on August 31. 1841. Other postal officials at Coosawattee were John Steward (August 26. 1845-May 14, 1847) and John H. Hawkins who served from 1847 until the office was discontinued in June. 1866. Apparently when the name was changed from Rock Spring to Coosawattee. the location moved from Rock Spring to the site of former Coosawattee Old Town near the river. By this time, the Carters had settled in the area and established their plantation. Unlike any other district in Murray County. No. 825 came to be centralized around one family and their property. It seems that the entire area revolved around and depended upon Carter's Quarter for leadership and survival. Farish Carter had first seen his "Quarter" when it was the property of Judge John Martin, treasurer of the Cherokee Nation. According to W.J. Cotters Autobiography Martin had Indian blood and was a chief though he was a blonde. Martin had two wives at the same time-the McDaniel sisters, Lucy and Nellie-who also had some Indian blood. Martin had almost identical homes for them-one on the south side of the Coosawattee near the Sallicoa and the other north of the river near Rock Spring. Cotter noted that Martin, his wives, and his children were saddened to leave their Georgia home for lands in the West abou 1836. but Martin believed that emigration was the only solution to the India problem in Georgia. Martin had "a noted farm" and owned about eighty slaves according to Cotter. In the 1832 Land Lottery. Sarah Bosworth of Muscogee County drew the Martin lot (No. 45) which was purchased by Farish Carter on November 16, 1833. Over the next decade he acquired some 15.000 acres of land in Murray, Gilmer. arid Gordon Counties for about $40.000. Soon he boasted one of the largest, most productive plantations in the South and inspired the expression "more money than Carter had oats." However, life for Farish Carter had not always been one of prosperity. Born in South Carolina on November 24. 1780. Farish was the posthumous son of Major James Carter, a distinguished Revolutionary War soldier who was killed in the siege of Augusta. Farish was probably descended from the Carters of Virginia. His widowed mother remarried and a rift later developed within the family, now living in Georgia. Farish ran away to make his fortune, did so. and increased it during the War of 1812 when he was U.S. Army contractor for Georgia. In 1811 Carter married Eliza McDonald whose brother Charles was governor from 1839 until 1 843. The Carters settled in Scottsboro. near Milledgeville, then the state capital. From this home Farish Carter supervised his growing empire of farms, steamboats, banks, ferries, mills, marble quarries, and factories in Florida, Alabama. Mississippi. Louisiana. Arkansas. Tennessee. Indiana, and Illinois. Among the wealthiest of all Georgians, he was well known and had the town of Cartersville named in his honor. Following the Indian removal the Rock Spring or Coosawattee plantation was the largest single unit of Carter's holdings and eventually became Carter's Quarter. Here large quantities of wheat, rye. oats. corn. hay. fodder, tobacco, peas, beans, potatoes, rice, wool, and cotton were produced. His Murray plantation was not just self-sustaining but also produced quantities to sell and to supply his other plantations which grew mainly cotton. The Carters used the old Martin home only for a summer residence and according to legend three attempts were made on Mr. Carter's life here. Word of his wealth spread! Farish and Eliza had five children including James who grew up to direct a Carter plantation in Macon County. Alabama, and Benjamin who died while representing Murray County in the Georgia legislature. Another son, Samuel MacDunald Carter (born 1826), became "Colonel Sam" of Carter's Quarter. Farish turned the operation of the Murray County plantation over to his son when the young man married Emily Colquitt in 1850. The younger Carters became the first of the family to live in Murray full time. Parish died in 186] just after the Civil War began. As noted in several Carter stories, his life coincided with the golden age of the Old South. His widow died in 1865 and both are buried in Baldwin County. Under "Colonel Sam's direction Carter's Quarter continued to prosper. During the Civil War the family "Refugeed" to Milledgeville but following the conflict returned to North Georgia to make the transition from slave to free labor. They did so with apparent ease. Two of Mrs. Carter's brothers were senators and one became governor. She and Colonel Sam had five children including Farish who died while a student at Norwood School in Virginia; Walter C.; Mary who married Benjamin H. Hill; Kate Mitchell; and Benjamin F, who married Lillian Whitman of Dalton. Mrs. Emily Carter died in 1867 and Colonel Sam later married Sallie Jeter of Columbus. Five children were also born to this marriage: Emily (Zelinsky), Sarah (Barnett). Pauline (Maben), Eliza (Home), and Samuel MacDonald. Jr. who became known as "Mr. Sam." Colonel Sam was a true Southern gentleman and enjoyed a grand life at the Quarter. Described as a "baron." he was respected by all and revered by his former slaves. Newspaper accounts of his death in 1897 record a moving funeral scene in which former servants mourned their friend and protector for hours. His widow died in 1909 and was buried beside him in the family cemetery near the old home off old Highway 411. Several other members of the family are interred there in graves covered with marble slabs which record the family's history. Under the terms of Colonel Sam's will the vast original Carter acreage was divided among his surviving children and entailed to the grandchildren. Mr. Sam occupied the house, bought some of his sisters' interests, and continued to operate the farm. An active member of the community, Mr. Sam served for several years on the County Board of Education. Though a bachelor, he continued to entertain his family and friends at Carter's. The mansion remained the scene of weddings, picnics, family reunions, and house parties such as the one described as follows in a 1926 Dalton newspaper: "Picnic supper al Carter's Quarter was the filling climax to the round of festivities which have been given, honoring Miss Mary Hamilton and her guests. On Sunday the crowd motored over in the afternoon and enjoyed a swim in the river and later had a picnic supper spread on the lawn by ihc big spring. In the group were Mr. & Mis, George Hamilton, Mr. & Mrs. Qayton Moore, Misses Mary Hamilton, Frances Bryan, Mary Bryan, Virginia Deakins, and Messets Colquitt Carter, Ozzie Horton, Tom Horan, Albert Howell, Wells Moore, and Sam Carter. Mr. Sam died in 1945 and a scholarship fund in his memory was established for agriculture students at Murray County High School. He left a large estate which included not only many acres of land in two counties, but stock in AT&T, Coca-Cola, Eastern Airlines. Cohutta Bank, American Tobacco Co., General Electric. General Motors. Georgia Power. Gulf Oil, Phillips Petroleum, Union Carbide. RCA, Woolworths, and several railroads, utility companies, and businesses. He was definitely a true heir of Parish Carter! Administrator R.E. Chambers worked 8 years to settle the estate. The Carter's Quarters interests of Mr. Sam were divided among various neices and nephews including Colquitt Carter. Mary and Samuel Barnett. and Mary and Emily Hamilton, all of Atlanta or Dalton, who maintained the house and grounds for their mutual use on weekends and for vacations. Other descendants of Colonel Sam. including the Mabens and the Homes (who also have a large farm) owned other Carter property. Today the house and the surrounding land is owned by Colquitt Carter and his daughter. Mrs. Nancy Bland, both of Atlanta. The original Martin part of the house was built about 1800 and faces south. As the Carter family grew, several additions were made at various times. In 1935 these haphazard additions were removed and major renovations made. The Atlanta architectural firm of Ivey and Crook joined the original house to a duplicate end wing by a central two-story section, thus achieveing a pleasant balance between the old Indian house and the newly constructed addition. Electricity and indoor plumbing were added in 1936. The interior of the 12-room house features plaster and pine-paneled walls, original doors, ornate window casings, hand-carved mantels in the old par) wainscoting, a cantilevered staircase, hardwood and old wide pine floors, wooden peg construction, wrought iron box locks and hinges, and plantation furniture made on the primises. Built in the early Georgia "plain plantation" style, the exterior of the two-story, one-room-deep house is built with pine siding, gable roofs, high chamfered columns, scalloped cornicing, five brick chimneys, and shutters. Water for the house is still furnished by the spring and the house is surrounded by park-like grounds which include ancient cedars and elms, beautiful large boxwoods, and a rock garden featuring native wild flowers and trees. The house is significant historically and architecturally as well as in agriculture for it was and is the hub of a large farm. Eight surviving outbuildings surround the house including the springhouse, the old kitchen, the plantation office building, the trunk house (for storing guests' trunks during extended visits), and a slave cabin which all date to around 1840 along with a kettle house for rendering lard, a dairy keeper's house, and a barn which were built in the early 20th century. Farming operations are still carried on at Carter's Quarter though to a much lesser degree than 100 or even 50 years ago. For many years Carter's Quarter grew Hasting's seed corn and boasted prime beef cattle, excellent horses, and one of the finest dairy herds in Georgia. Following the Civil War the plantation had been divided into smaller farms and was tenanted by former slaves as well as whites. Many lived in the old slave quarters which some say had given the plantation its name in the beginning. Actually "Quarter" was a common expression for a large tract of land owned by a single family. Other cabins were sometimes left empty for use by travelers on the old Federal Road. The farmland is dotted with geographic features. In addition to springs, a cave, legendary gold mines, and Indian mounds, names for the numerous fields and pastures dating back to the Martin era are still in use. Among them are the Wood Fork Field, so named because Indians cultivated the land with tools resembling wooden forks; the Race Field where Indians held races; Six Toe Field named for an Indian who had six toes; the Big Martin Field named for Judge Martin and now part of the Home Farm; the Bell Field named for another wealthy Indian; the Town Field; Coniston Pasture; and Katherine Field. The Carters have now owned the property for over 150 years and have carefully preserved the old Martin house. The only parts of the original tract thai have gone outside the family were sold for Carters Dam. (The Martin house on the south side of the river was torn down as the dam was built.) In 1985 the Carter House, the outbuildings and 116 acres of land were nominated to the National Register of Historic Places, a great honor for any site. Also in 1985 the public was allowed to tour the mansion during the Historical Society5 Christmas Holiday House. More than 2,000 viewed the home during the firs'' ever open house at the famed Carter's Quarter. The Carter name extended further than just the family's land holdings. In 1876 the Carter's post office was established with Eugene P. Taylor as the first postmaster. James B. Johnson was the second postmaster from 1879 until 1881 when W.C. Carter succeeded him and served until 1891. John A. Tankersley was postmaster from 1891 until 1893 when Samuel Carter was appointed to the office. When Mr. Carter died in 1897 his wife. Sallie, took his place and served until April 22, 1909 at which time their son. Samuel McDonald Carter was appointed postmaster. Robert P. Messer was the next postal official and served from 1925 until his retirement in June, 1940. During Mr. Messer's tenure the apostrophe was dropped from Carter's in official postal records and Carters was designated a "4th Class" office. One rural route from Carters had also been established. Mr. Messer also ran a store. Ralph Messer became postmaster on July 1, 1940 and served until his death on January 9, 1963. His widow, Mary Stone Messer (later Abbott) succeeded him and served 5 years. Rufus Porter Donaldson was appointed postmaster on April 5, 1968 and served until the Carters post office closed in 1973. Herman Milam, a long-time postal employee, was the last Carters rural carrier. Located at first on the Coosawattee River and the Old Federal Road and then later on the River, the Louisville & Nashville Railroad, and U.S. 411, Carters was long an important community. During the heyday of the Carter plantation steamboats came up the river to Carter's Landing to load cotton, lumber, oats, and wheat for shipment to the markets in Rome. While some steamboats were in use before the Civil War, many made trips up the Coosawattee following the war, particularly after 1873. Samual Carter was part owner of the "Etowah Bill" from 1878 until 1880. This boat had a capacity of 98.55 tons. Owners found sternwheelers more profitable than fiat boats and in 1880 the Oostanaula and Coosawattee Steamboat Company was founded by the Carters. Kimbroughs, and Humphreys (who lived west of Carters). Other boats which traveled the river were the "Coosawattee," "Hill City" (1882-1893), "MitcheU" (1884), "Resaca," "Mary Carter," "Dixie," "Sport" (1899). and "Conasauga" (1897). Two tow boats, the "Coosada" and the "Leota" were also in use. To make the river more passable the U.S. Congress authorized several thou-sand dollars for improvements such as deepening, dredging, and building wing dams. Wing dams were designed to conserve shallow water and were built on each side of the river, but not all the way across. The first bridge over the Coosawattee at Carter's Landing was built in 1892. After the turn of the century and the advent of the railroad, the days of steamboats on the Coosawattee were over. Carters was the site of a grist and sawmill owned by the Carter family, but which was operated by others (such as C.C. Deal) at various times. A tan yard had also been successful there for a time in the 1880's. Carters was described as follows in 1937. "The town, with a population of 100. has a post office, postal telegraph and prepaid freight stations, and an attitude of 700 feet. It is a rural community, many farm products being grown on the Carter estate." (A vacant box car was the train station.) Carters was naturally the home of a school and for some years the school was actually on Carter's Quarter. Mrs. Mary Maddox was an early teacher there as was a Mrs. Cochran (188!). The school closed in 1897 but reopened soon after. Other teachers at Carters were Jennie Cantrell (1916), Lucille Langston (1928-32), Mattie Bagley (1932-33. 37-38, & 42), G.E. Luther. Edith Wells. Charles Pannell (1933-34), Maxine Harris and Mrs. Harlee Bagley (1934-35), Clyde Barks-dale and Dorothy Jackson (1935-37), Ruth Messer (1937-38), Mrs. Tom Peeples and Mrs. Myra McDonough (1942). Mary Leatherwood and Eunice Blackwefl (1944), and Cleo Bannister and Mrs. Clyde Greeson (1947). Among the trustees for the Carters School were J.A. Roe, J.B. Noland, H.W. Bagley, Allen Noland, Charlie Brown, C.C. Deal, S.M. Carter, Roy Jenkins.S.L, Coker, and John Home. The school was consolidated with Ramhurst. Since the McEntires and Carters had been slave owners it was only natural that a black community would develop near Carters after the Civil War. The first trustees for the districts's black schools were Eli Moore, Joshua Betton, and William Brooks who were all appointed in 1879. In 1890 Jordan Davis succeeded Mr. Brooks. Later trustees (1930's) were S.F. Hassler, Luke Dean, and Ben Moore. Early teachers at Carters school for blacks were A.B. Murphy (1882-84), L.F. Gay (1882), Coarsey Weams (1884). Maggie Shepherd and Eva Wilson (1891), A.J. Moore (1893), S.J. Moore (1895), R.P. Messer (1896). Nick Porch (1897). and Laura Davis (1896-99). In 1893 a second black school opened on the McEntire place. A Miss Alexander taught there that year as did Levi Bran-ham in 1895. This school closed in 1895, but the next year a session was taught on the south side of the river by Carrie Holmes. The Carters school was also called Pine Hill and was just north of the Carters store. Other teachers were Laura Betton (1916-17), Paralee Fields (1929), jU� Eula Branham (1934-35). In 1931 a new school was constructed. A long-time teacher at Carters was Nina Moore Hill who gave the following account of education for blacks at Carters; Even before the Emancipation Proclamation was signed some philanthropic slave owners were giving some type of education to slaves in their homes. As early as 1880 Ihere were schools for blacks in Murray County. The teachers had no formal education but they had good common sense, Christian ideals, and a love for children. Seemingly wherever a church existed for blacks, there was a little, poorly equipped, one room school. The one room school usually consisted of four walls, one door, two 01 three windows with wooden shutters, a pot-belly stove in the center with long tows of benches around it. Cloaks were hung on the walls and a wood pile was in one corner. A large hand-made table was used for lunch buckets which were made fiom empty sorghum syrup buckets. A small hole was punched in the top of the buckets for ventilation. The subjects taught were reading, writing, and arithmetic. Children had to walk, some as fat as five miles or more. Some further away would be brought to school by parents in wagons or on horseback. The home, church, and school all worked together. The parents cooperated with the teachers, discipline was strict, and there were not too many discipline problems with the children whose ages ranged from about five years old to about 18. Most girls stayed in school unlil marriage and some girls married very young while the boys were usually a few years older. There were no high schools for blacks in Murray. Grades 1 through 7 were taught. After finishing the seventh grade students usually went to work, but a few would attend high school elsewhere. The class rooms were overcrowded with forty or more pupils per teacher, but there were many absentees due to bad weather and long distances to walk. The school terms were about five months in the early years, but later on seven months were usual-five months winter session and two months summer session. This was known as a split session in order for the children to help with the farm work. Most children seemed to enjoy school life. They played games such as ball, hopscotch, Annie-over, marbles, jump rope, ring games, and many others. On Friday they would enjoy a spelling bee or speaking programs with long dialogues, singing, etc. Of course, a spiritual devotion with prayer was held each morning before class work began. The school day began about 8:00 and ended at 3:00 or 4:00 depending on the weather. During severe rain or snow, the day was cut short to a half-day. The teachers and children did the janitorial work. Sage brooms and brush brooms made from dogwood limbs were used to sweep the floors and yards. In the early years parents bought the school books which were handed down. Many books were old, torn, and worn out, but still appreciated. In later years the state furnished about three or four books to each child. The teacher kept a record of these books and would return them to the Superintendent. As time passed, many new and younger teachers came to work in the schools. Some would stay for only a short time in one school and often the same teachers, lor some reason, were transferred from school to school. During the early years of school, the teacher would be required to take the County School Board Examination which was given every year. First, Second, and Third grade licenses were sued to teachers according to the scores they made on the test. Later on, when the state started regulating the schools, teachers were required to go to college and Be certified by the state. Many teachers attended summer school and increased their certification level. School terms were increased from seven to nine months and then free books, and then free books, library funds, and much other aid were given to school from the Federal Government. Gradually the schools for blacks were consolidated. Students were either transported to Chatsworth or to Emery Street Schol in Dalton with the Murray County Board of Education paying the expenses of transportation. Mr. Bonds and Mr. Bowie were the bus drivers. The Carters school for blacks closed in 1947. As Mrs. Hill mentioned in her narrative, the school co-existed with a church. According to Shriner's 1911 History of Murray County Mrs. Farish Carter paid ministers like Jimmie Adams to hold religious services for the blacks at Carters. In 1870 the Walnut Grove church at Carters reported 75 members to the North Georgia Baptist Association. Evidently, a white minister, W.A. Ellis, helped get the church started and was the pastor in 1870. The next year Joahua Belt on was pastor. Other members included Eli Moore, Allen Davis. and George Betton. Whether the name of Walnut Grove church changed or was a completely different black congregation, the long-time black church at Carters was Pine Hill Baptist Church. Mrs. Nina Moore Hill compiled the following history of Pine Hill from information provided by Mrs. Serena Little, a former member of the church. Some say that Pine Hill's history dates back to slavery times and possibly began as a brush arbor. Later a church was buill of pine logs by the excellent slave craftsmen. The Carters and the related families of Homes. Mabens, Bar-netts, and Hamiltons along with other white families such as the Hemphills, Nolands. Dills, and Messers supported Pine Hill and attended services there. Services were held on the second Sunday of each month. Everyone looked forward to those days, particularly Homecoming Day in August which was followed by two or three weeks of revival and Baptising Day in September. The candidates for baptism were dressed in long white gowns or robes and formed long lines on the banks of the nearby Coosawattee River for the baptism. On these special days visitors came from all over the county, riding the "short dog" (local) train to Carters. As the years passed, the blacks decided to build a better and bigger church. During the 1920's and 30's they built a very large and beautiful frame church near the same spot as the old one. The structure had nice, well-built furniture and even electricity which was unusual for rural churches in those days. Among those who served as pastor of Pine Hill were Revs. Miller. Carter, Cambell, Holloway, Kimball, and J.S. Zuber who served for many years. He was succeeded by his son, Ervin. The last pastor was the Rev. Smith who was serving there when the church structure burned about 1945. Many hearts were saddened by the loss of this church. Services were held in the Pine Hill School which was located near (old) Highway 411. The group did not rebuild following the fire since so many people had moved away as the 1940's brought major changes to the Carters area. Cotton was no longer the principal crop and machinery had replaced much hand labor. World War II took many away to other jobs and the Carter lands were divided after the death of Mr. Sam Carter. Members of the Armstrong. Aikins, Betton, Beecham, Bowie, Carter, Davis, Dean. Griffin. Green, Jackson, Hassler, Kimball. Moore, Richardson, Taylor, Weaver, and Wheeler families were among those who attended church at Pine Hill. Many of these names were found on old tombstones in the cemetery which stood not far from the church. Covering a fairly large area the cemetery contains many unmarked graves as well and is located south of the road which now goes to the Carters Dam powerhouse on an old dirt road. Another cemetery is located on the south side of the Coosawattee. west of old Highway 411. This burial place was begun when the river was too deep to cross in times of flood. Both cemeteries are quite old. The Carters area was not the only community to boast a school and a church. The Flat Rock Church was in existence by 1889 on land lot 46 (25th and 2nd) Nothing is known about the church, but school was held there for some time Those known to have taught there are J.E. McEntire (1891), W.L. Bowers (1893) M.R. Messer (1894), J.S. Parker (1895). Miss Lizzie Keith (1896 1899) r w Messer (1897), Georgia Holland (1899, 1900). Mary Brown (1916) and Edith Brown (1917). Flat Rock was near the community which was later called Coniston. In 1937 Coniston was described as "a hamlet located In southeastern Murray County about 2 miles north of Carters on the Louisville and Nashville Railroad and U S. Highway 411. The post office address is Ramhurst. the altitude about 800 ft and it has a prepaid freight station." Coniston was an important place to railroaders since it had a very long side track where trains could pass one another between Knoxville and Atlanta. Two other communities in Carters District once had schools. In the northeast corner of the district, souteast of Ramhurst, is Fields Gap, named prokbably for the Fields family who owned a great deal of mountain land in the 1800s. The Murray County Board of Education minutes record in 1931 that "Fields Gap is to be allowed a school" and Miss Rachel Middleton taught there the next year. Other teachers at Fields Gap included Clyde Barksdale (1933-34), Mozelle Fletcher (1934-36). Ruth Stanley (1936-37), and Blanche Allen (1938-39). In the very southeast corner near Talking Rock Creek was a school by that name. Minnie Jones taught there in 1899 and 1900 while Maude Jenkins and Tennie Cantrell were teachers at Talking Rock in 1917. The most important event in the history of Carters in recent years has been the building of the dam. As previously mentioned the river has long been an important part of life in the area and the Carters Dam of today is not the firs' dam to have existed on the Coosawattee near Carters, Mr. Lewis W. Richardson, now of Gainesville but formerly of Whitfield County, has done considerable research into North Georgia's past. In the course of his studies he discovered that a dam existed at Carters before 1880 and sent the following account to the Historical Society: Notes on the First Dam at Carters We usually think of the Federal Census as only a "counting of heads," ...... The fact is, beginning in 1810, information concerning the commerce and industry of the country was also published. This secondary activity of the Bureau of the Census reached a new height with the Tenth Census, in 1880. Surveys and statistics of Agriculture. Shipbuilding, Transportation, Forest Products, etc., filled twenty-two large quarto volumes. In Volume 16, the utilization of water power was surveyed by river basins, and attempts were made to count even the smallest country grist mills in each region. In the section covering the Coosa River and its tributaries, only one site was considered worthy of identification by name and location. This was Carter's on the Coosawattee. The dam there was reported its being above Carter's Landing and built of logs. It was 400 feet long and eight feet high. Combined with the natural slope of the land, it provided a nine foot head, or fall. The power generated operated a "2 run" grist mill, sawmill, cotton gin and tannery. The report does not say how many wheels or turbines this complex required. The two runs of stones does indicate that both wheat and com were ground in the mill. It does mention that "Samuel Carter, of Dallon, Prop." owned property along two sides of the river. The Landing was on the north bank, about 200 yards upstream from the old Highway 41 bridge. When work began on the lower darn a few years ago, one of the old warehouses still stood at the Landing. The old dam was probably several hundred yards up the river near the base of the new high dam. From there, a long millrace conveyed water to the mills somewhere near the Landing, where the ground rises above the river plain. This first dam fell into disuse and flood waters damaged crops in the area for many years. In the 1920's Georgia Power Company bought the reservoir site from the Carters thinking that someday a dam might be built there. When the Coosa Valley Area Planning and Development Commission was formed later, they included a dam for Carters in their proposed network of dams on the Coosa River and its tributaries in Georgia and Alabama. On April 28, 1941 a delegation of senators, representatives, businessmen, and leaders from the two states met in Washington, D.C. to appear before a board of Army Engineers in support of the construction of a hyrdro-electric and flood-control dam at Carters. The Georgia delegates included U.S. Senator Richard Russell, Congressman Malcolm Tarver, Georgia Power Vice-President Jack McDonough, and two Murray Countians-R.N. Steed and R.E. Chambers. While the building of other dams began, the Carters project, approved in 1945, was delayed. In the late 1950's Georgia Power proposed a joint project at Carters with the Army Corps of Engineers. Under the plan, the power company would build and own a powerhouse, the corps would build and own the dam. while the land would be given to the government. The Federal Power Commission granted the company a preliminary permit to make studies in cooperation with the Corps of Engineers. Newspaper articles record that the Georgia Electric Membership Corporation challenged the granting of the permit. The reason for the challenge is clear. If Federal money built the darn, the GEMC. since it was part of the Federally operated Rural Electrification Administration, could have preference over Georgia Power in purchasing electricity produced by the dam. The Com-mission rescinded Georgia Power's permit. Carters Dam would be a project of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers-only. Georgia Power continued to cooperate in every way. however. Murray County was still a part of the Coosa Valley Area Planning and Development Commission which continued to support the project and now a local group. Chatsworth Enterprises, had been organized in support of the effort. Though two decades had passed since the first group went to Washington, two of the same men were still fighting for the funding of Carters Dam. Senator Richard Russell led the battle in Washington while Mr. R.E. Chambers drummed up support at home. The Chambers Papers, now in the Historical Society's collection, contain much correspondence between the two who became close friends. Senator Russell arranged for another delegation to visit Washington in June, 1961 to speak before the Subcommittee on Public Works of the House Committee on Appropriations. Murray County delegates included Mr. Chambers, County Commissioner Clarence Ridley. and County Attorney Sam Calhoun, Jr. Businessmen and leaders from Gordon and Floyd Counties joined the Murray Countians along with Congressmen Phil M. Landrum and John W. Davis. Among the reasons given for construction of Carters Dam included flood control, electricity production, and recreation. According to the delegation's statement the construction was economically feasible since little cultivated farm land would be inundated, losses due to flood waters would be eliminated, tourist dollars would help the area's economy, material for the earth-rock filled dam was available at the site, production of electricity would increase, and that no highways, railroads, occupied dwellings, or public utility installations would have to be moved. Their arguments convinced Congress to approve S300.000 for preconstruction planning. At last things started moving! The next years were busy ones at Carters; 1962 was spent in planning and the next year, after several delays, ground was broken. Members of the Carters Darn Steering Committee from Murray County included Commissioner Ridley, Mayor M.B. Jackson, H.B.Brooks, Tucker Brown. Jack Cole. Charles A. Pannell, Sr., Mr. Chambers, and Smythe Newsome. In 1964 a special "Carters Dam Progress Celebration" was held on November 14. Held at the Colonial Pines Restaurant on Highway 411 south of Chatsworth, the celebration was highlighted bv an address by Senator Richard Russell. Fittingly. Mr. Chambers was master of ceremonies while other program participants were Rep. Landrum Rep. Davis and Major General A.C. Welling of the Corps of Engineers. About 160 people attended the ceremony. General Welling commented on the uniqueness of Carters in terms of its construction and the presence of the re-regulation reservoir, the first of its kind in the southeast. Welling also praised the work of the Planning Commission and of the political figures involved. He said that Senator Russell had "accomplished wonders.'' The Chatsworth Times of November 19 recorded that Senator Russell himself "waxed eloquent." He envisioned "a gem of a lake, second to none in beauty in this region." He recounted the long years of waiting for funding and mentioned his promise to obtain that funding-something he had learned not to do--or so he thought. He said. "... it is dangerous to make flat ... promises concerning action any legislative body will take ... particularly . .. when it involves the appropriation of funds... I re-learned that lesson ..." After the celebration the group went to the construction site to view the progress. They saw the 2,400-feet-long diversion tunnel, dug through Bell Mountain, which re-routed the river so that work on the main dam could begin. They saw, also, two temporary coffer dams necessary since "moving the river" was the only way to divert the stream around the gap between Bell and Horn Mountains where the main dam would be. The visitors also saw the sites where excavations of an Indian village site had been conducted in 1963. For several weeks archeology students from the University of Georgia worked against time trying to complete their diggings before the site was destroyed as earth was moved for the dam. They found numerous homesites. Indian burials, skeletons, bits of pottery, and other artifacts, Indians had lived at the site as early as 700 years before. In 1965 work continued with a $6 million appropriation from Congress. Bids were accepted for construction of the main dam and property acquisition for the reservoir. For a time, mention was made of naming the lake formed by Carters Dam in honor of Senator Russell, but the name Carters Lake was chosen The plans for the complex were amended many times during the construction and the completion date moved forward several times-from 1968 to 1970 and then 1975. Construction on a low-level sluice began in 1972 and in 1974 the power plant was underway. Finally in 1975. 12 years after construction began and 30 years after Congress first authorized the building. Carters Lake opened Improvements, particularly in public use areas and the visitors' center continued into the 1980's. In 1983 groundbreaking ceremonies were held for a Carters-Blue Ridge Mountain Marina. One side of the road leading to the site is in Murray with the remaining land in Gilmer. Carters is the largest earth-filled dam east of the Mississippi and upon completion in 1977 cost approximately $107,000,000. It is 2,053 feet long and 445 feet high. Forty feet wide at the top, the dam is 1,650 feet wide at its base. The lake's surface is normally at an elevation of 1,072 feet above sea level. It collects run-off from about 375 square miles and has a shoreline of 62 miles. Located mostly in Gilmer County, Carters is Georgia's deepest lake�400 feet when full. Power is produced a few hours each weekday when the demand is greatest. The reregulation dam regulates the flow from the main lake to provide a continuous outflow from the project and storage for pump-back operations. The plant produces an average of 402,200,000 kilowatt hours of electricity each year, Designed for extensive public use, the Carters complex has seven areas with various recreation facilities such as boat ramps, camping, fishing, and swimming areas, beaches, and hiking trails. Carters is certainly the "gem" Senator Russell envisioned.
TOWNS, COMMUNITIES, AND MILITIA DISTRICTS
(1880-1980)
Doolittle District
Doolittle District (G.M.D. No. 972), formed in the 1840's, covers a large and historic area in southern Murray County. The original southern boundary began 1 at the Gilmer County line, followed Sugar Creek westward, continued overland to Rock Creek when Sugar Creek turned south, and ended at the point where Rock Creek joined Holly Creek. Holly Creek forms the entire western boundary but the northern district line exists only on maps. This imaginary line goes straight across the eastern half of the county and separates Doolittle from McDonald District, often going through rough mountain terrain. Ramhurst and earlier communities like Dennis, Ramsey, and Rock Creek have been the centers of activity in the southern part of the district while the old village of Fort Mountain was once a bustling hamlet in the northern section of Doolittle. Other names of importance to Doolittle are Mt. Zion, Ml. Pisgah, Enoch, Fort Mountain, Holly Creek, Oak Grove, Roper's Pit, Chicken Creek, Reed's Pool, Peeples' Lake. Cold Spring Mountain, Cohutta Mountain, Chestnut Knob Mountain, Mountain View, and Tyson Springs. While the history of the area is sketchy prior to the 1870s, white settlers were in the district possibly before 1800. When the Murray County School System was formed in 1877, four schools were operating in District No. 972. The teachers were E.J. Davis, M.G. Bates, Silas Harris and M.M. Leonard. In 1882 the District's teachers were S.H. Leonard. Miss M.M. Hill (later Mrs. Mash-burn Wells), and M.M. Keith. In the 1880's a school called "Short's" operated at an unknown location. Mr. Short taught there in 1880, Mrs. C. Short in 1881 and Miss Mary Maddox in 1884. In 1885 D.E. Griffith taught at a place called "Double Springs." Nineteenth century school trustees for Doolittle included Uriah Duncan (1877-80), John S. King (1877-82), E. Leonard (1877-78), A.J. Leonard (1878-81). Richard Humphries (1880-82), J.A. Servel(?) (1881), A.K. Ramsey (1882), Dyer Keith (1882), S.E. Field (1883), Blair Adams (1883), Madison Holbrook (1884), D.E. Humphrey (1890-95), Benjamin Becton (1890-92), George Wilbanks (1892), and J.D. Love (1895). Among the justices of the peace for the district were D.E. Humphreys (1880-82), Ira Griffith (1885-89), W.C.D. Gordon (1885-97), W.R. Tyson (1889-1917), O.D. Keith (1895-1905). William Peeples (1909-12), J.M. Quarles (1911), W.C.Groves (1912-28), T.J. Tyson (1919-21), Will D. Smith (1928-30), William A. Evans (1930-34). W.M. Middleton (1937-41), Hill Wilbanks, and Hazel Ramsey (1977-81). Since Carters and Doolittle Districts were combined for voting purposes elections are held at Scott's old store across from Mt. Pisgah Baptist Church on old Highway 411. The Ramhurst area was first known as Rock Creek and once encompassed a large area. As early as the 1830's Rock Creek was a postal drop-off point though it was not officially designated as a post office. Early county records reveal that in 1837 Robert Brown applied for a liquor license for his store at Rock Creek. The next year Brown & Wofford and John Edmondson with Rock Creek addresses applied for licenses. As the years went by Rock Creek's area was vaguely delimited to a community near the head of Rock Creek in a secluded region east of the present Reed's Pool/Peeples Lake area. Rock Creek Baptist Church was in existence as early as the 1860's and into the 1890's. In 1870, it reported 33 members to the North Georgia Baptist Association, but did not send any messengers to the Association's annual convention. Rev. Shugart is mentioned as being a minister there. The church appears on maps into the late I880's and Rev. Daniel Hall preached there in the early 1890's. A Methodist group met in the area before 1850, but soon moved away. Many people referred to this community as the "Hood Nailer Place" since Mr. Nailer was a well-known resident. A mill, a nursery, and a vineyard also existed at Rock Creek. Also in the vicinity for many years in the 1800's was the Hawkins and Durham store. The school in the community had an uneven history and is identified in 1880 as "the school near Hood Nailer's." The next year Lafayette Simpson taught at a school "near the head of Rock Creek." This school is mentioned only twice more-in 1895 when it closed for a time, and in 1900 when J.H. Wells taught there. To confuse matters, a school officially called Rock Creek was located on lot 1 (25th District, 2nd Section) before 1875, according to a deed from J.W. Simpson to J.G. Sproweli and others. This location would be near the Old Federal Road, northeast of Ramhurst. However, a map from the late 1880's places Rock Creek Academy below Rock Creek south of Ramhurst. Among the teachers here were M.C. Cunningham (1880), W.C. Martin (1884). James T. McEntire (1885), J.W. Wilson (1893), Miss Lizzie Keith (1894), W.D. Wilbanks (1895). M.L. Peeples (1896), and Miss Mina Tyson (1898). In later years a Rock Creek School existed in other locations, once near the Peter McGill homeplace. Teachers at later Rock Creek schools were Price Bracket! (1916), Julia Mae Quarles (1917), Lula Butler (1919), J.H. Jackson (1932-33), Howard Whitener (1933-34). S.O. Williams and Kenneth HoweD 0935-36), and Bertha Lance (1936-37). In 1922 W.H. Watkins deeded 3 acres on lot 218 (26th District, 2nd Section) for a school. The inhabitants of Rock Creek left behind a cemetery, sometimes called the Hall Cemetery since Mrs. John Hall was one of the last buried there. There are also believed to be graves on Fisher Creek near an old Thomton place and four or five burial plots near Stillhouse Branch. These places are not easily accessible today. Ashort distance downstream from the Rock Creek community arose the thriving village of Dennis, Named for Dennis Johnson, postmaster and mill operator, the town was sometimes called Dennis Mill. Mr. Johnson was appointed postmaster when the office was established January 18, 1882. Succeeding Postal officials were John A. Patterson (1891-1900), John D. Calhoun (1900-01), John B. Gregory (1901-04), Seth A. Gregory (1904-05), and Major D. Terry (1905-06). The office closed in favor of the Ramhurst office. Dennis also boasted a cotton "factory" and a store as well as its own school. The school was located on the Vess Worley place near the Stafford property. Teachers at Dennis included T.A. Keith (1891), Sallie Johnson (1893), W.L. Bowers (1894), W.W. Sampler (1895-97). and A.R. Howard (1900). Later the Dennis School was combined with Rock Creek and that school was moved nearer Dennis. The center of activity was Dennis Mill. In 1974 Donald Gregory Jeane, a doctoral student at Louisiana State University, wrote a dissertation on grist milling in northwest Georgia. One of the Murray County mill sites he studied was Dennis. His description is as follows: Dennis Mill in recent years. "In addition to the mill there was a saw mill, a blacksmith's shop, a general store and post office, and, further up the creek, an old cotton mill. There was a mill darn and pond a half-mile farther up the creek. The creek itself is broad (10-15 feet) and shallow (8-10 inches) and (lows rapidly over a rock bottom. The concrete dam. about fifteen feet high was destroyed about ten years ago along with the mill pond." (1964) Mr. Jeane also remarks that Dennis had an unusual mill race. A wooden trough carried water to the race which was "carved or blasted through solid rock. The race, following the ridge behind the mill, measured 8-10 feet wide and 6-8 feet deep at the beginning but reached a depth of more than 20 feet. Dennis Mill had two runs of stones, one fot grinding wheat and the other for corn-According to statistics included in the 1880 Census, Dennis Mill operated year around, had a 22-foot overshot wheel, and ground 4,264 bushels of wheat along with 408.000 pounds of cornmeal. Mr. Johnson built the mill around 1869 and operated it for many years. Apparently whoever ran the mill also had the store and post office in most cases because Mr, Calhoun. John Gregory, and Mr. Terry are ail known to have been millers. Mr, Gregory moved his business to Chatswroth around 1905; Major Terry moved to Ramhurst in 1906. Mr. Dick Humphries also had a mill at one time. Dennis Mill continued to grind some corn until about 1953, At one time Dennis had a small shoe factory and a tannery. Mrs. Edna Sampler Dunford, along-time area resident, remembered the Dennis Mill complex like this: "The farmers saved their best white corn to be taken to Dennis Mill for grinding into meal. Some also raised wheat and took it to the mill for flour and graham flour, which made delicious biscuits. Across the creek from the mill was a cave where copperas was mined for medicine, etc. Tanning bark was removed from the trees above the cave and was slid down the side of the mountain into the creek. The mill pond that furnished water for the mill through a wood sluice was a great place for the local young folks to go swimming. If any girls went, someone would have to yell ahead so that the buys who might be swimming in the nude would have time to put on some clothes. The pool was also a great picnic place and was at that time thought to be bottomless. The rouii that led to the pool crossed Rock Creek seven times and was a beautiful walk or ride, as the creek was lined with big beautiful rocks of different colors called calico rocks." In the 1970's Dennis Mill once again became a beehive of activity as Judy and Angle Mix sponsored an Arts and Crafts Fair. Fairs in 1976 and 1977 were successful, featuring soapmaking. sorghum syrup making, glass blowing, art, handmade items, and many other crafts. By this time the mill, part of the race, and the foundation of the general store (west of the mill) were all that remained of the thriving Dennis community. Many trails lead away from the mill site and out one of them is an old cemetery with one grave identified only as "My Baby 1792." This verifies that this is one of the oldest inhabited areas in Murray County. North of Dennis Mill was the home of Mr. Johnson who built one of the largest barns ever constructed in the county. He raised horses and even had a racetrack around a small hill south of the barn. The home and farm were later owned by the Worleys and are now owned by the Surnmeys. The former residents of the Dennis community also left behind a cemetery. Called the Parrot! Cemetery and located off an old, now-closed road north of the Summey place, this burial ground has few marked graves but many unmarked sites. Members of the Parrott. Watkins. Nix. Watts, and Morrison families are interred there. Three physicians practiced in the area�Doctors Lovingood, Bates, and Stafford. Dr. Price Bates lived south of Dennis and had one of the first telephones in the vicinity. Dr. Elisha 0. Stafford lived on the Old Federal Road leading toward Ramhurst, His home was a long-time showplace and landmark. A former Civil War soldier. Dr. Stafford was a colorful old gentleman who dabbled in politics and community affairs in addition to his medical practice. The Butler family later owned the house which burned a few years ago. At one time Stafford was a drop-off point for the mail. West of the Stafford Place was the Humphries Home, the residence of one of the oldest families in the area. Their house, built in 1848, is now owned by their Sampler descendants. A unique feature of the Humphries House was a small upstairs room called the "Preacher's Room" which was kept ready for use by any visiting ministers. The Humphries regularly traveled to services at Mt Zion in their shiny black "surrey with the fringe on top." Though the Humphries were long-time faithful members at Mt. Zion, in ]870 Mr. D.E. Humphries is listed as a trustee, along with Dr. Stafford, James Z. Hemphill, and B.C. Giddens, for another Methodist church. This short-lived church was on land owned by William M. McEntire in lot 31 (25th District, 2nd Section) located south of Ramhurst. The town of Ramhurst. at the forks of the Old Federal Road, was formerly called Ramsey in recognition of the A.K. Ramseys who were early residents of the area. In the 1830's Eli Boh'n applied for a liquor license near the place later named Ramsey. The Ramseys were long-respected citizens, frequent holders of political office, and farmers. In March. 1882, two months after the Dennis post office was established, Mr. Ramsey was appointed postmaster at Ramsey. He served in this capacity until the office was discontinued in 1904. Interestingly. The Ramsey mail was then again sent to Spring Place rather than Dennis. U.S. McNeal was a doctor at Ramsey in 1891 while John Quarles was a blacksmith in the same era. Within a year after the Ramsey post office was closed the L & N Railroad came through Ramsey. Almost overnight the sleepy little village became a busting. busy town. Before another 3 years had passed a new town had been laid out. the post office re-established, numerous businesses and a depot constructed and several new houses built. By 1908 the town had an estimated population of 400! In 1906 a new plat for the Town of Ramsey was drawn in lot 54 (8th District, 3rd Section). The name was soon changed to Ramhurst because another Ramsey post office existed elsewhere in Georgia and the mail got confused. Major Terry moved from Dennis and built a store at Ramhurst. He was appointed postmaster of the new town on October 29, 1906. Other businesses quickly arose in Ramhurst. Among them were Bates Smith's store. Lum Smith's 15-room hotel, Henry Ratcliffs blacksmith and wagon repair shop (relocated from Dennis). Charlie Mitchell's store, Mrs. Nelson's Boarding House, and Harris Middleton's store (located south of Smith's). The Terrys had a livery stable and rented rigs to travelers while Tom Ramsey owned a large warehouse south of the bridge near the railroad. Soon after this early growth T.J. Tyson sold monuments near Ramhurst. a cotton gin was established, and Amos Rogers had a store south of Middleton's across from the depot. Lee Griffith ran a store and grist mill for a time and Luke Leonard, Sr. also had a store on one occasion. The major businesses in Ramhurst were the railroad and the Ramhurst Lumber Company. Around 1904-05 the depot was constructed. The railroad also built some of the first residences including a two-story house for the section foreman and a duplex for the railroad men on the west side of the tracks. Three operators and an agent were employed at the depot which boasted 24-hour telegraph services. The railroad also built a water tank to supply steam engines and a pump house on the creek. Harris Middleton and then Will Nelson ran the pump. In 1907 Mr. Lumas and Mr. Blair of Chattanooga began the Ramhurst Lumber Company and soon employed a large number of workers. They bought land from Mrs. Ida Street, cut the timber, and then built four or five nouses on the east side for their foreman, superintendent, and other employees. Mr. Blair, Silas Chambers, and Mr. Wilkinson were among the residents. The lumber company built a store and put in a planing mill at their large lumberyard. Soon they had over a million feet of lumber stacked in the yard. Then, a side track was built for loading lumber, tanbark, and other products which were shipped all over the United States. The Chambers family was involved in the lumber business and cut many acres of timber on both sides of the railroad. The late R.E. Chambers remembered pines which were 3 or 4 feet in diameter passing through their sawmill. He also remembered when the Nelsons built the first bridge (wooden) over the railroad at Ramhurst. Until then (1907) residents had to detour south by the depot to get to the Federal Road. According to Mr. Chambers 1907-08 were the "boom-days" for Ramhurst. The town certainly had its heyday before World War 1. The lumber company closed about 1915. Ramhurst had a Masonic Lodge and an Odd-Fellows Lodge. In 1911, membership in the Odd Fellows group was 91. The Chatsworth Times of April 4, 1918 described the formation of a Red Cross unit in Ramhurst. The newspaper account follows: Murray county chapter of the American Red Cross is greatly strengthened by the organization of an auxiliary at the patriotic little city of Ramhurst. The people of Ramhursl and vicinity led the county at the beginning of the war savings stamps sales, and no doubt they will make other Red Cross organizations sit up and take notice. At the organization meeting Mr. T.P. Ramsey was chosen chairman, with Mrs. Inez Kerr as secretary. Mrs. J.W. Dooly has charge of the hospital garments and bandage making. All members who can give a little of their time to this important work, please see the directors in your district. If you have not joined the Red Cross, don't wait for someone to ask you, but send your name and membership fee to the secretary. New Members Mrs. J.W. Dooly, Mrs. W.L. Fox, J.C. Osbom, Miss Nell Phillips, Miss Amelia Phillips. Miss Jennie Phillips, Miss Julia Mac Quarles, Miss Ruth Quarks, Miss Rachel Ramsey, Miss Fannie Ramsey. J.W. Dooly. C.F. Durham. J.D. Field, Miss Julia Humphrey, W.R. Fouts, R.G. Hood, Miss Pauline Rogers. Mr. Charles Shriner, a teacher at several places in Murray County and the author of the 1911 county history, wrote this poem about Ramhurst: RAMHURST In Murray County stands a town The L&Non many a car Our Lumber Co. - Loomis& Blair Out bustling merchants. Smith and Terry The Smith Hotel is hard to beat If you should have a thirst for knowledge. Our many hustling farmers near. The only thing our people fear Area resident Edna Dunford wrote the following about Ramhurst in the early years: The railroad ... was kept in shape by the section forman, A.H. Swanson, and hands who cleaned the right-of-way of weeds and bushes. The local train, called the Short Dog," because it had only two cars, went to Atlanta in the morning and back in the afternoon. The through trains, such as the Dixie Flyer, brought the mail but did not stop. The mailman on the train would hang the mail bag on a hook at the back of the Post Office as it passed by. The bridge across the railroad at the Post Office was the meeting place for the local men to watch the mail train come in and wait for the mail to be distributed. In the meantime, they would hear the local news to take back home to their wives. There were very few telephones then. The stores sold mostly staples-dry goods, coal oil, etc., as everyone raised most everything that was needed. At hog-killing time, neighbors would help each other and would take home a mess of fresh meat for their trouble. The meat was cured at home, the sausage ground, scrapple and souse meat made; and the hams, shoulders, and side meat were salted and smoked. Sausage was packed into small homemade sacks and hung up to be cured. Hominy and lye soap were made at home. The lye for them was made from ashes. The ashes for hominy were sieved into a small sack and put in the wash pot with the com and water, the lye causing the husks to come off the com. The ashes were put into a homemade wooden hopper, water poured over them and caught, to be used with grease for making lye soap. . . Every so often a covered wagon would come over from Gilmer County making its rounds to the houses selling apples, such as old-fashioned Yates, and cabbage. There was nothing like the apples and cabbage grown in Gilmer County. The ladies of Ramhurst would pick up spreads at the spread house and finish them at home. The spreads would be stamped and the thread furnished. The ladies would tuft them by hand. You could see them tufting on almost every porch. After the close of the lumber mill and railroad business declined, Ramhurst suffered a decrease in population. By 1937 the town had "a post office, Western Union and prepaid freight stations, a population of 144 and an altitude of 800 feet." Two important events remembered by area residents are the 1926 tornado which "blew away" Ben Adams' house and a train wreck in February, 1949. Harris Middleton was the second Ramhurst postmaster, serving from June. 1914 until his retirement on January 3, 1941. Mr. Middleton also had one of the first telephones in Ramhurst. Residents often went there to call the doctor. Wayne Westmorland served briefly as postmaster in 1941. Pauline Middleton Davis was postmistress twice, first from 1941 until 1947 and again from 1956 until the office closed in 1960. In the interim Anse Middleton was postmaster. The post office was off the Old Federal Road near the bridge. J.A. Hemphill was an early rural letter carrier from Ramhurst. Marvin Middle-ton was a long-time carrier and when his sister, Nina, substituted for him in 1943. she became the first female carrier in the county. In the 1950's a Ramhurst-Carters Home Demonstration Club was formed. Mrs. A.T. Miller was president in 1953 and other members included Mrs. John Home. Jr., Mrs. G.F. Dunston. Mrs. Ed Hemphill, Mrs. John Edward Hemphill, Mrs. Luke Blackwell. Mrs. Wilma Blackwell, Mrs. Charlie Sampler, Mrs. E.P. Bates. Mrs. A.N. Middleton, and Miss Mary Hemphill. Also, in the late 1950's. a Community Club was organized at Ramhurst through the County Extension Office. Officers of this group in 1958 were President Marvin Middleton. Vice-President Mrs. Pete Ramsey. Second Vice-President Mrs. Clint Johnson. Secretary-Treasurer John Edward Hemphill, and Reporter Mrs. Doug Meyer. Ramhurst Elementary School enjoyed 60 years of operation. In 1908 T.P. Ramsey. Ida R. Street, and May R. Black deeded property "north of M.D. Terry's store" for a school. The next year a two-story frame building was constructed. Classes were held downstairs while the second floor was rented for use as a lodge hall. In 1948 the wooden building was replaced with a brick building which is still standing. The lumber from the old school was sold to Frederick Brown who used it to construct the Brown (now Peeples) Funeral Home in Chaisworth. As the other schools in this portion of the county were consolidated. Ramhurst School grew larger and in the 1950's an addition was built at the school. For many years several teachers were employed for each term. Among the early teachers at Ramhurst were Jenny Terry. Blanche Salts. Will Smith. F.R. Kendrick, Julia Humphries (1916-17), Arthur Broadrick (1916), John Fields (1917). Ora Ingram (1929-30). Beatrice Hemphill (1929-30), Mrs. R.H. Bradley (1929-30). G.E. Luther (principal. 1932-33). Mrs. Estelle Middle-ton (1932-39, 1942. 1952-53, 1965-66). Nina Middleton (1934-35). Inez Kerr (1934-36). Charlie Pannell (1933-35), Ruth Ramsey (1933-39), Frankie Groves (1934-35), J.P. Mosteller (1934-35). Rachel Middleton Westmoreland (1934-38, 1947-50. 1952-57). and Edith Middleton Bradley. Other teachers at Ramhurst and some of the years they taught were Wayne Westmoreland (1942). W.W. Sampler (194445. 1947-48), George Fuller(1944, 1947-50). Mrs. George Fuller (1947-48). Milma Earnest (1947-48. 1965-68). Helen Wilbanks (1947-48). Mrs. W.B. Adams (1949-50. 1952-53). Pauline Middleton (1949-50. 1952-53. 1956-57). Mrs. J.R. Long(1949-50). Mrs. Walter - (1949-50). Helen Alton (1952-53), Carolyn Anderson (1956-60), Uoroihv Howell (1956-57, 1967-68), Sara Bob Hix (1957-66). Douglas Meyer (1957-60. 1965-66), Jo Glenn Meyer (1957-60). Mr. & Mrs. Stanley Lewis (1959-60). and Harry Gibson, Miss Staples. Miss Wright. Miss Garnett, and Thomas Weeks all 1966-67. Supply teachers were Mrs. Marvin Middleton, Mattie Bagley, and Catherine Wilbanks, Mr. Hoke Jackson, a veteran educator, was principal at Ramhurst for several years including 1953-68. In 1969 the school was consolidated with Spring Place. Trustees for Ramhurst Elementary included J.A. Hemphill (1921). W.D. Smith (1932). J.A. Williams (1932), Ed Owens, J.R. Middleton (1932). C.C. Mosteller (1934), Lee Blassingame (1947-48), T.P- Ramsey (1947-56), Elmer Hemphill (1947-56), Boyd Witherow (1948-53). John Home (1953-54), George Reed (1953-56). Mrs. Bill Dunstan (1953-55), ___Bumette (1948-49), ____ Middleton (1948-49), R.T. Springfield (1956), and T.C. Kendrick (1955-56). In the 1950's Elmer Hemphill ran a store at the corner of old 411 and the old Federal Road. Upon his death in 1962, Ed Ramsey took over the store which became an area landmark during his and his wife Hazel's ownership. The store closed in 1977 upon Mrs. Ramsey's retirement. For some time the Sluders have operated a lumber company west of Ramhurst. A service station and store once operated by the Wilbankses is now owned by the Clay Hamiltons. The community cemetery began as the Ramsey family burial ground and still carries that name. Further west of Ramhurst two Churches of God have existed. The Ramhurst Church of God received property on lot 56 (8th District. 3rd Section) from T.A-Mosteller in 1947. M.A. Thomason and M.E. Wilson were overseers. The congregation later moved to Chatsworth. A few years earlier. R.C. Owenby deeded land in lot 24 (8th District, 3rd Section) to himself. Luther Hawkins. and _____ Wilson as trustees of a Church of God. This property adjoined the T.M-W right farm. The Lower Oak Grove School was located northwest of Ramhurst on the road to Spring Place. Given the name "Lower" to distinguish it from a school in the Tenth District called Oak Grove, this school was also known as Groves School since that family lived nearby. Classes were held at the site as early as 1880 and soon religious services were held there as well. An 1884 deed to Oak Chapel School on lot 57 (8th District. 3rd Section) from A.J. Love to Trustees Jesse M. Holbrook. Ira Griffith and Joseph T. Phipps mentions that the school was already there. (An 1890 map shows the school on lot 51.) Early teachers here were R.G. Robertson (1881)- J-D. Varnell (1884), J.R. Keith (1891). Laura Humphrey (1892), Sam Jackson (1893-94). W.L. Bowers (1895-96), M.W. Shields (1897), and Giles Dunn (1899-1900). The next existing school records call the school "Groves" and list Inez Kerr (1916), Mattie Charles (1917), Mildred Adams (1920). and Martha Holbrook (1929) as teachers. In 1931 Doss Strawn deeded 1 acre on lot 22 (8th District, 3rd Section), located north of the earlier site, "for school purposes only." The school was renamed Lower Oak Grove and the deed further identifies the property as "pan of an old Bradley place" near the intersection of the Spring Place and Love Roads. In 1935 the school burned and was rebuilt near the Adams home. Teachers included Frankie Groves (1932-33. 1936-37), Mattie Bagley (1933-34). Ainslee Vaughn (1935-36), Mrs. W.B. Adams (1937-38), .42-47), and Eloise Turner (1942). Trustees recorded for Lower Oak Grove � 1932 were D. Strawn, James Springfield, and Hill Evans, In recent years Old ashion Baptist Church has been located off the Spring Place-Ramhurst Road 'n this community. Ron Stephens is pastor. East of Ramhurst on the Old Federal Road is Mountain View Baptist Church, organized in March. 1939. The organizing presbytery included Moderator Noel Mix, Rev. F.A. Cochran. Rev. C.H. Davis. Deacon C.C. Gordon, and Deacon P.A. McGill who acted as clerk. Charter members were Elish Burger, Harley Vineyard, Fonzo Cochran. and Essie Cochran. Fred Cochran was elected moderator while Fonzo Cochran was elected clerk (an office he has held over 45 years). The first church was a box structure. 24 x 28 feet, built on land donated by Elish Burger. Additional land was given by Clinton Lunsford, Bart Beavers, and Delia Crook until the church owned approximately 5 acres. As the membership grew, a larger church was needed. In 1951 a block structure with a seating capacity of 280 was erected. Twenty-five years later with membership around 300 another sanctuary was needed. On the first Sunday in June. 1977 the congregation held their first service in a new church. The brick and block edifice cost $130.000 and will seat about 400 people. Among the pastors of Mountain View have been H.O. Hensley, Arnold Adams. Berry Waters. Colie Lyles. Howard Rice. Sam Crumbley, Thurman High-tower. Monroe Steelman, Clinton Lunsford. Edward Winkler and Emmett Burgess. Emmie Cochran was the first buried in the church cemetery in July 1940. While the main burial ground adjoins the church, an annex has been opened across the road from the church. /Information provided by Fonzo Cochran.} Further up the Old Federal Road three churches have existed. In 1939 Mrs. W.J. Ensley and J.W. Ensley deeded property for a Church of God on land lot 306 (9th District. 3rd Section). A Kingdom Hall of Jehovah's Witnesses was built on the east side of the highway in 1978. A House of Prayer was established on Jenkins Road, south of Highway 52. Two prominent families in this "East Ramhurst" area were the Wilbankses and Reeds. Their family cemetery is located on the east side of the Old Federal Road. This burial ground is the final resting place of "Granny" Becky Reed who died in 1944 at the ripe age of 97. A long-time landmark north of Ramhurst on old Highway 411 is Mt. Pisgah Baptist Church. Established in 1849, the church's first home was a log building across the road from the present structure. Among the original 17 members were three Adams brothers (two of whom were Blair and James) and their families. The Ramseys gave the land for the church and were probably members also. Other early families were the Orange Parrotts. Morelands. T.C. Harpers. Torn Peepleses, Ben Hemphills. William Spruells. Wyatt Woodses. and John Groveses. James Adams was the first pastor. The church was a member of the Middle Cherokee Association until 1861 at which time it withdrew and joined the North Georgia Baptist Association. In 1870 Mount Pisgah had 72 members including three blacks. Martin Isbell was pastor while Silas Harris and J.G. Spruell were among the leaders. Other pastors were Z.T. Manis. T.A. Higdon, N.L. Osborn. J.H. Phillips. Orange Parrott. W-A. Ellis. L.W. Osborne. E.J. Deweese. M.M. Bates. W.L. Brown. Jr.. W.R. Lackey, B.F. Foster, W.A. Woody, and W.M. Kelly. Pastors between 1944 and 1955 included W.A. Taylor. S.P. Chitwood. Ray Marler. Marvin L. Rice and J.Carlyle Pace. The North Georgia Citizen of September 27. 1888 mentions that "a new Baptist church at Mt. Pisgah near Capt. A.K. Rarnsey's" had been built. The building had burned and a new frame structure was erected north of the present church. A deed from 1897 mentions A.N. Nix and B.B. Rector as deacons. This second church and early records were destroyed by a storm in 1955. In 1958 the present brick building was completed. In 1972 Mt. Pisgah had 102 members. Three long-time members are Edna Jo Butler. Mittie Adams (who joined in 1918) and Pauline Hemphill. a member since 1915. More recent pastors have included Floyd Dugger. Douglas Meyer, B.F. Babb, Perry Broome. Alton Stephens, and Bill Barker. A short distance north of Mt. Pisgah is another old church, Mt. Zion United Methodist. This congregation had its beginning as a prayer group near the old Rock Creek community and the church minutes of February I5, 1855 record the founding as follows: "Rock Creek Society was organized in 1843 by the Rev. Daniel Crenshaw and consisted of only seven members at first. And the Lord prospered it greatly. A revival spread out in the direction of Holly Cteek. A meeting house was built on Sister Arnold's land in the year 1848 where the Rock Creek Church was moved and called Mount Zion. This was done under the ministry of William A. Simmons. We have thought proper to note these facts in this our large Church Book for the satisfaction of those that may live after we are dead, together with some statistics reaching to the date above." Rev. Crenshaw was a circuit rider from North Carolina who visited the group in the spring and fall of each year. Rev. Elisha Tremble was pastor in 1850. In 1851 John Johnson deeded property in lot 309 (9th District. 3rd Section) to Jack Humphreys. John W. Leonard, Uriah H. Duncan. Isaac T, Leonard, and Thomas T. McMullen of the Mt. Zion M.E. Church. In January of the next year an act of the Georgia Legislature created Mount Zion Academy with William Peeples, John Leonard. John Johnson, Uriah Dun-can, and Thomas J. McMullen as trustees. The act goes on to say ". . . that said Trustees, and their successors in office, constitute a body corporate and politic, capable and liable in law to sue and be sued, plead and be imp leaded, and shall make such by-laws for the government of said Academy as they may deem proper for its good management, not repugnant to the Constitution and Laws of this State or of the United States; that said Trustees have power to purchase, hold, sell and convey real estate Tor the use and benefit of said Academy, and fill all vacancies that may occur in said Board, and a majority of said Board shall be competent to transact any business connected with the management of said Academy." Thus the first school at Mt. Zion was established. Mt. Zion Academy was a successful institution for many years and became Mt. Zion School when the Murray County School System was begun. Mrs. Julia Humphreys was a teacher at Mt. Zion for some time. The North Georgia Citizen in 1881 recorded that "One of the most flourishing and successfully conducted schools in the county is taught in the 'state of Doolittle' by Mrs. Newton. Other teachers included J. Cole (1884), J.M. Christian (1891-92),___Waters, Mrs. C.C. Wright (1891, 1893), M.L. Peeples (1892), William Holland and Miss Holland (1894). Walker Adams (1895). and Samuel Jackson (1896-97). In 1897 Thomas McCune deeded 1 � acres in lots 269 and 272 (9th and 3rd) to school trustees W.H. Duncan, AJ. Leonard and John C. King. School had formerly been held at the church. Beginning in 1899, and for many years after the turn of the century. Mr. W.D. Wilbanks was the teacher. In 1917-18 Miss Agnes Kemp taught at Mt. Zion. Three years later the school was consolidated with Chatsworth. The church has continued to excell and in 1963 a new brick building was constructed across old 411 from the old wood building. Rev. J.C. Underwood was then the pastor. In recent years a pastorium was built next to the church. Adjoining the church is the historic Mt. Zion Cemetery. Several Confederate veterans, community leaders, and officials are interred there. Some burials pre-date the Civil War with the oldest marked grave, that of Drewry B.Connally who died in 1853. On the north of the road going around the cemetery are several unmarked graves, believed to be slave burials. Across from Mt. Zion Cemetery is the Cheek Family Cemetery. Mexican War veteran Thomas B. Cheek who died in 1850 is buried there. Several unmarked graves are also on this hill overlooking old Highway 411. There is said to be a Mathis Cemetery on Chicken Creek which flows east lowest below Mt. Zion, Northwest of Mt. Zion on the L&N Railroad (near the present Murray County Land Fill) is Red's Crossing, named for the Red family who lived nearby. Not ar away, on the road connecting Red's Crossing with the Old Federal Road was the community of Enoch. Founded in the late 1890's, Enoch centered around the W.R. and Tom Tyson home located near some mineral springs. Will Peeples was a sawmiller in the community and the Tom Enlseys were residents also. W.R. Tyson was postmaster at Enoch from the date of establishment on September 24, 1903 until the office was discontinued in 1909 as rural free delivery began. The major community in the upper part of Doolittle District was Fort Mountain described in 1900 as a "post-village" with a population of 77. William Carter served briefly as the first postmaster in 1876. Succeeding officials were Charles L. Hubbard (1876-1881), Mark M. Leonard (1881-1883), W.B. ____ (1883-1891). and L.D. Leonard (1891-1909). Wash Red once ran a store there, but the Doak Leonard store, site of the post office, was a long-time landmark. Henry Tankersley carried mail from Spring Place to Ellijay and dropped off the mail at Fort Mountain. Jerry Calhoun was a blacksmith in the community. TheNonh Georgia Citizen of 18S1 recorded that "S.E. King and W.D. Rogers are at work in the revived blacksmith shop at Fort Mountain." For a time, two grist mills operated at Fort Mountain-one on each side of the road. King and McHan's Mill, operating before 1880, was successful for some time. Feagan's Mill was also operating in 1880 but was later owned by Mr. Carnes. Two mill sites are now within the recent Mountain Acres development. Also in the area is a Leonard Family Cemetery, the final resting place of Mark M. Leonard who died in 1891. In the 1930's, long-time resident Claude Ballew operated a "rolling store." This store on wheels provided many goods for those who were unable to go to Chatsworth. In more recent years the community's store has been Earl Hayes' Grocery on Highway 52. Earlier operators have included the Glen Adams', Doug Griffin, Bill Hensley, James and Geraldine Roberts and Solomon Douhne. This community was long noted for its support of education. As early as the 1850's school was held at Holly Creek Church. Then, in the 1870's, the school became Fort Mountain Institute as evidenced by the following news brief from TheNonh Georgia Citizen of July 30, 1874: County records refer to Fort Mountain School in 1880 and 1881 when Rev. John P. Dickey was the teacher. Other references are to the school at "Holly Creek Church" in 1881 with C.N. King as the teacher. Holly Creek is mentioned again in 1884 and 1885 when M.B. Harris followed by E.B. Smith taught there. On March 1. 1886 Morgan Peoples deeded part of Land Lot 201 (9th District, 3rd Section) to Fort Mountain Institute. Located near the church, the school finally had a home of its own. Teachers here included Sallie Leonard (1891), Mrs. E.G. Wright (1892). D.E. Trimmier (1892-93),___Bennett (1895), C.H. Shriner (1895, 1899). A.S. Vining (1896), Will Latch and Am and a Pee pies (who became husband and wife, 1897), W.R. Smith (1898), W.H. Waiters (1899), R.S. Vining (1900). Bill Wilbanks. and A.R. Howard. Mrs. Bessie Mae Adams is known as one of the best teachers Fort Mountain School, as it was then called, ever had. During her stint at the school (1916-1918), the building was repaired, new desks and a water pump were added, and the grounds were beautified. Mrs. Adams recalled that until then water had to be carried from a spring. She also said that some adults even attended the school, makeing enrollment even larger, and soon the literacy rate in the community had increased dramatically. A ball field was between the church and the school. Soon, Fort Mountain was one of the best rural schools in the county. Among the others who taught here were F.R. Kendrick (1928-29, 32) Lizzie Swanson (1929-30, 33-34, 35-37), Ethel Heartsell (1933-34), Lucille Wilson (1934-35), Minnie Calhoun (1936-39), Milma Earnest (1838-39, 43), Stella Baxter (1942) Mrs. J. R. Middleton (1944) Jim Richardson (1945), and Estelle Search (1952) By this time the schol had moved a litte farther up the road to a new location. Morgan Peeples was an early trustee of the school. Other trustees included Frank Watts, Clarence Davis (1932) W. L. Ballew (1934), Sam Buckner (1947-52), Claude Ballew (1947-50, J. C. Elrod (1950-52) and Price Rogers (1931, 1947-51). Efforts to consolidate Fort Mountain began in the 1940's and in 1952 the pupils from the school began attending classes at Chatsworth. Another school whose location is unknown existed near Fort Mountain in the 1880's and 90's. Cohutta School was adopted in 1880. S.R. Beal was the teacher in 1881. In 1883 students from Holly Creek were sent to Cohutta. The school disappeared from records for 10 years until Mrs. E.C. Wright and D.C. Trimmier taught there in 1894, The school closed the next year. Also, a school for blacks existed across from Fort Mountain school for a short time around 1935. As the name of Fort Mountain faded more and more people began referring 'o !he area as the Holly Creek Community. The Holly Creek Baptist Church, founded in 1848, is certainly the oldest landmark in the area. The minister. Rev. James Adams, was a missionary for the Middle Cherokee Association at the time. Its first denominational membership was in the Middle Cherokee Association but before the beginning of North Georgia Baptist Association records in 1870 it had transferred membership to that association. The minutes of the organization meeting were found in the back of an old church book by Ford Cochran. These minutes read: "The following is a traval of Holly Creek Church. It was constituted July 21, 1848. The following brethren met according to request- Elder James Adams, Edward McAbee and James Strawn . After prayer by Bro. Adams, they formed themselves into a presbytery called on the petitioners to present their letters, whereupon the following brethren and sisters came forward: Males. Joseph Terry. Samuel Yates. William Jackson, Caleb Holland, and Reuben Emery; Females. Dovina Terry. Constantine Terry, Wysette Terry. Lucy Jackson, Elizabeth Holland, Sarrah Emery, Elizabeth Emery. Nancy Black. Julia Ann Terry and Lydia Yates. "They called for abstract of principles, whereupon they presented the faith of the Middle Cherokee Association and after examination, found them to be orthodox; and the presbytery pronounced them a church, singing a hymn and extending the right hand of fellowship. They proceeded to ordain a deacon, whereupon the church presented Bro. William Jackson and, finding him in the work, proceeded to ordain by prayer and laying on of the hands of the presbytery; prayer by Elder James Strawn. the charge delivered by Elder James Adams." Holly Creek is listed in the Middle Cherokee minutes of 1848 with James Strawn as pastor, address Spring Place, no baptisms, no letters. 16 members (listed above), 75 cents given on the minutes, and $I given for domestic Missions (Home Missions today). In 1849 minutes they are again listed with James Strawn pastor. 3 received by baptism. 4 received by letter. 21 members, and 75 cents given on the minutes. J.M. Wood was pastor in 1850 and Joseph Terry could have also been an early pastor. In 1870 the church had 57 members and Martin Isbell was the pastor. Messengers to the North Georgia Baptist Association that year were William Jackson, A. McHan. and G.S. Acles(?). Succeeding pastors have been Revs. J.H. Phillips (1881-82). W.H. Ellis (1882-83), W.N. Haskin (1883-84), J.P. Fore (1885-88), E.J. Deweese (1888-98). J.W. Parker (1899-1901), William McNabb (1902-04), James Austin (1905-06), David Smith (1906-07), W.A. Woody (1907-08), E.G. Davis (1908-15, 1917-18.& 1931-33). S.M. Hair (1916-17). D.G. Penland (1920-21). W.E. Self (1921-27). W.E. Chadwick (1927-28), M.O. Casey (1928-30), J.M. Owens (1930-33), H.C. Hensley (1934-36, 1938, 1948-50). W.A. Campbell (1937). Edd Payne (1939-48), Milas Winkler (1951-54), Arnold Adams (1957-58). J.D. Cox (1958-66). Raymond Ballew (1966-73). Bill Worley. Ted Mace, and Damon Smith. Holly Creek has had several houses of worship. The first structure was located some 300 yards back of the present building and was also used as a school according to the deed from Duncan Terry to the church dated December 11, 1855. No records indicate when the next meeting house was constructed of hand-dressed lumber. This second church was torn down in 1917 and a new meeting house built about 100 yards away. In 1946 the third building burned and for the next 2 years services were held under a tent near John Calhoun's residence. In 1948 the existing rock sanctuary was built on the site of the previous structure. A six-room Sunday school addition was built in 1954-55. Drinking water was carried from a nearby spring until 1958 when city water was installed. More Sunday school rooms were added in 1960-61, and again in 1969, along with a pastor's study. By 1972 the church had 645 members. In 1974 a new pastorium was dedicated and membership totaled over 700 in 1978. In December. 1983 Holly Creek members occupied their new sanctuary which has a seating capacity of 475. Members of the building committee for the $267.000 project were Mike Long, Randall Roper, Lester Ledford. Grady Burgess. James C. Ridley. and Damon Smith. Dedication services were held in April. 1984. Adjoining the church is the well-kept Holly Creek Cemetery, the final resting place of many early residents of the area. With several 19th century burials, the cemetery has expanded a great deal in recent years. Holly Creek's charter deacon, William Jackson (1798-1872), is buried on his old farm south of Highway 52 off the Jenkins Road. Other family members interred there include his wife Lucy (1800-1887), Sallie Jackson (1820-1900). Benjamin Jackson (1945-1863). Thomas A. Jackson (1836-1869) and a McCune infant who died in 1880. George C. Terry once had a store and business on the Old Federal Road north of Holly Creek/Fort Mountain. He applied for a liquor license in the late 1830's. Mountains are the predominant geographic features of Doolittle District. Fort Mountain, named for an old stone structure long believed to have been a fort, rises to a height of over 2.800 feet and is part of the Comma Range. A peak in the south part of the State Park is also named Cohutta and rises some 2,700 teet above sea level. Cohutta was sometimes called Frog Mountain, according to one source. The name Cohutta is an English translation of the Cherokee word "Ga hu ta' yi" or "Ga hun ti" which means "a shed roof supported on Poles." Apparently this refers to the mountains seemingly supporting the "roof of sky when viewed from a distance. The rocks of the mountains are chiefly resistant quartzites and schists, and '* part of an overthrust mass older than those rocks in the valley below. Cold Pring and Chestnut Knob are other peaks. Numerous streams, such as Stillhouse Branch where a "government still" was located and mineral springs, are found in the mountains. They are also rich in mineral deposits (particularly talc) and many fossils have been discovered there as well. Many acres of Murray County mountain land are within the Chattahoochee National Forest, established in 1936. Accounts of the wall on Fort Mountain's origin are varied, confusing and even contradictory in details. The wall is about 885 feet long (though some publications list it as 928 feet or even over 1,000 feet) and has a base of about 12 feet. Most sources say the wall is 2-3 feet high but believe that it was probably higher in the beginning. At fairly regular intervals in the walls are 29 pits whose purpose is not known. Bending irregularly as it stretches from one steep precipice to another, the wall once had a gateway which is now closed by fallen stones. This gate is thought to have led to a spring some yards away. The wall, bounded on both sides by sheer cliffs, has been placed on the National Register of Historic Places. For many years the most popular theory about the wall's origin was that the Spanish explorer Hernando DeSoto built the wall in 1540 as a means of protection against the Cherokees. However, upon examination of the records of DeSoto's travels, this theory has been destroyed. While he did come into Murray County at least as far as Guaxile near present-day Carters, there is no proof that he went northward to the mountain. Even if he had. he would have had no need to build a fort since the Cherokees were not hostile to the Spaniards nor would these explorers have had time to build the wall since he was only in the area for 2 days! Another theory is that later explorers (like deLuna. Juan Pardo, or Boyano) built the wall for piotection from Indians as they searched for the gold and silver mentioned in DeSoto's reports. Other traditions say that the fort is the work of British agents who were stationed at Spring Place during the Revolution Or that a long-ago band of "desperadoes" used the walled area as their headquarters. One person mentioned the possibility that the wall was not man-made at all but was "a natural wonder!'' The list goes on to include a possible French builder and a Norse origin. Another theory which received support for many years was that Welshmen under Prince Madoc who reached Mobile Bay about 1170, moved northward, and eventually built the wall. Legends both in Welsh and among the Cherokees say that Welsh explorers crossed the "Great Waters." intermarried with Indians, and began the Welsh Indians or Mandan tribe. The supporters of this theory note similarities in custom, language, physical features, and fort construction between the Welsh and the Indians. Prince Madoc has been linked to other stone markings in the southeast. Some "authorities" feel that the wall is definitely of European origin while others write that it could only have been built by Indians. In fact, many scholars say that the wall was not a fort at all and yet others laud the military characteristics of the wall. One even called it "possibly the oldest fortification of North America," The pro-fort theorists remark that the wall was well designed with bastions that protected all parts of the structure and since it was bordered by vertical cliffs near the highest point of the mountain, it was a perfect fortification. An early state geologist felt that "there were originally not less than twelve walls in this defensive stronghold." The "anti-fort" believers quickly point out that such a barrier would require a large army to defend it. that other approaches were unprotected, and the water supply was too far away. They say the pits in the wall were made in the last 100 years by treasure and relic hunters. Futhermore, no war implements were found during the brief excavations in the area and also Indians did not usually fight from fixed positions. Archeologist Warren K. Moorehead explained the absence of weaponry by saying that a large number of Indians, pressured by enemies, built the fort quickly but then were never attached. Thus the fort was not actually used. However, others wrote that it took some time to build a fort like this, incorporating several boulders too large to move and piling rocks together so firmly. Scholars like Mr, Moorehead feel that the wall is certainly of Indian origin and Cherokee legends record that a "moon-eyed" people much older than the Cherokees built the wall. So named because they could see better at night, the moon-eyed people were blue-eyed and had very light skin. They could have been the offspring of Welsh-Indian intermarriages or merely descendants of the legendary Welshmen who ran away from hostile Indians. Some consider them an albino race which were allowed to stay on the land even after other Indians came to the area. These early Indians left behind "Beehive Cliffs" and a mysterious cave on the east side of Fort Mountain. Also, numerous rock huts are scattered throughout the mountains and along Rock Creek. A more realistic explanation of the wall's construction is that these or unknown Indians built the wall about 500 A.D. for religious or ceremonial purposes. Since the wall follows a roughly east-to-west direction, this could be connected with the sun's daily journey across the sky. The religious theory also explains the absence of artifacts since Indians took all possessions or relics with them when they moved from one worship place to another. A newer theory is that the area could have been part of an Indian athletic field. An important thing to remember is that the wall on Fort Mountain is not a one-of-a-kind structure. Numerous walls of similar construction are scattered across Georgia and into other states. Other rock walls which are made and look like the "fort" exist even in Murray County. Located north of Fort Mountain off the Cool Springs Road, these walls were built by early Russell and Gregory settlers (or their slaves) as fences or property lines on several acres of land. (A cemetery is located "down the mountain" from the State Park entrance east of one of these other rock walls. Unfortunately there are no marked burials.) In addition to the many stories told about the origins of the fort, many legends concerning gold mines on the mountain exist as well. Many early residents report that the Indians mined gold (and possibly copper) in the area before the removal. Several accounts of an old Indian who came back years later searching for the lost mines have been recorded, too. In some versions the Indian never found the mines while in others he did and told the location to area residents (such as Jim Sellers and Jim Mullins) who were unable to find the spot again. Another story is told about two Civil War soldiers. Pence and Wells, who found gold east of Fort Mountain while on furlough. They agreed to return to the spot after the war and form a gold mining partnership. According to members of the Earnest family the gold was near "Mundic" Bluff Branch between Emery Branch on Lot 188 and the "Buck Hole" on Lot 226. One of the men never returned from the war while the other, though he searched diligently, was unable to relocate the spot. The "Pence Gold Mine" remains lost though some say that a "waybill" transferred the rights to the gold to a Mr. Carroll who gave it to a Mr. Rogers who then gave it to Dan Earnest. As late as the 1930's people still hunted for the mine. People searched for gold including James P. Cole who was killed when he fell off the mountain while prospecting in 1885. Within a few years of Cole's death a "legal tender" gold mine, located at the northern edge of the mountain, appears on a map. This meant that the ore could be used by the government to make coins. A mine was also located on the western side of the mountain and around the turn of the century the Cohutta Gold Mining Company was in operation. Little is known about the company except that Sam Carter had $1500 of stock in the company. Dr. Price Bates was a stockholder, but sold his shares soon after. Dr. Bates was wise to do so because by 1907 the company folded. According to Mr. R.E. Chambers enough gold had been found to warrant investments in an engine, a boiler, and a stamp mill. Three pits were dug from which the ore was hoisted using power from the engine. Many feet of pipe were purchased for the purpose. Mr. Chambers recalled seeing the idle machinery in 1909. He said that the scene looked as if the work had just stopped at the close of a day. The machinery remained at the site until it was sold for scrap iron during World War I. A shanty stood at the site for many years afterwards. One reason that the mine closed was lack of funds. Another reason was the ore was too scattered 10 mine easily and profitably. Fort Mountain State Park began in 1934 when Ivan Alien, Sr. of Atlanta donated 219 acres to the State. By the next year the road across the mountain (named the Henry Grady Highway) and the tower were completed and the State Park established. Mr. Alien, a Dalton native whose maternal ancestors had been residents of Spring Place, had long loved the mountain. In 1926 he purchased the property and planned to develop Fort Mountain into a resort area with a luxury hotel, golf course, campsites, and summer cabins. He abandoned this idea in favor of state ownership and operation. Then with the assistance of another Daltonian. Mrs. M.E, Judd. and Murray Countian V.C. Pickering. Mr. Allen led the fight to obtain additional acreage to establish the park. At the time Mrs. Judd was a member of both the State Park Authority and the State Forestry Board. Fain Wilson and Noel Steed were also involved with a "Fort Mountain Association" which raised $9.000 to buy more land. The Chatsworth Lions Club sponsored the effort. Eventually 1,897 acres became part of the park. The Civilian Conservation Corp began developing the area. The Dalton Citizen of July 14,1938 recorded a special ceremony held at Fort Mountain to commemorate the resumption of work there. Governor E.D. Rivers was the guest speaker and remarked that "the present-day tendency toward shorter working hours provided more leisure time, but that a large portion of the people could not afford [long) trips.. ."Therefore the State was expanding its recreation facilities. Twenty-four Georgia counties were represented at the celebration. Murray Countian "Colonel" C.N. King was master of ceremonies. Others on the program included Congressman Malcolm Tarver. Atlanta Mayor W.B. Hartsfield, Chatsworth Mayor R.H. Bradley, and Mr. Allen. As the years passed Fort Mountain boasted a 17-acre lake, nature frails, cabins, campsites, picnic facilities, boating, beach and swimming areas, a "radi relay tower" (1960), and in the 1960's became the home of Georgia PubU Television's station WCLP. Under the Department of Natural Resources, the park was visited by thousands of people each year. Recent park superintendents have been Tom Winkler, Tom Carter, and Wayne Escoe. In 1971 the tower burned and 10 years later the lake was drained so that improvements could be made and the dam repaired. Recently the tower was rebuilt and Fort Mountain State Park continues to bring many tourists to Murray County. East of the park is the Cohutta Lodge and Restaurant, Fort Mountain Estates subdivision, and the Fort Mountain Craft Village. This development was begun by Hugh McDaniel who purchased the property in 1972. The lodge opened in 1974 and an addition was completed in 1979. During the spring and summer but particularly during the fail color season, the lodge is frequently filled to capacity. Several families make their home in the subdivision and a special fair is held in the craft village each September. Soon after the establishment of the lodge and subdivision an attempt was made to incorporate the area as the City of Fort Mountain, However, the 1975 bill was vetoed by the governor since the proposed city did not have 200 permanent residents. In 1980 there was also a move to begin a Presbyterian church for area residents. In the middle 1970's Fort Mountain became the home of transmission facilities for WQMT. an FM radio station, Calvin Means was associated with the business for some time as manager. WQMT is Murray County's only radio station. Fort Mountain and all of Doolittle District is rich in history, beauty, nature, and people.
Of sterling worth and wide renown:
And wondrous things from year to year
Of Ramhurst, Ga. you will hear.
Brings varied riches from afar,
And scatters wide through many lands
The products of our busy hands.
Are shipping lumber everywhere,
Which brings in dollars right along
To pay for labor good and strong.
Are good and generous, wise and wary;
They almost give their goods away
And still contrive to make it pay.
For all who love good things to eat:
While other boarding houses good
Will furnish you the best of food.
We point with pride to Ramhurst College:
And if for Gospel Truth you search
We recommend Mt. Pisgah Church.
Find market for their produce here:
While all our people, day by day,
Are storing wads of wealth away.
If this goes on from year to year
We 'II be so rich some blessed minute
Old Rocky fellow won't be in it.
TOWNS, COMMUNITIES, AND MILITIA DISTRICTS
(1880-1980)
McDonald's District
Georgia Militia District No. 1013 was formed in the 1850's and today is the largest of all Murray districts, stretching two-thirds of the way across the county from the Gilmer line to Shuck Pen District on the west. The eastern part of the district is dominated by Grassy Mountain, part of the Chattahochee National Forest, on which Lake Conasauga is located. Two towns, Crandall and Eton, are modern landmarks in the western part of McDonald's, but older communities like Hassler's, Dunn, Pleasant Valley, and Cohutta Springs are important in the area's heritage. Among the families that have played important roles in the district's history are the Loughridges, Keiths, Gregorys, Isenhowers, Hasslers, Summerours, Jacksons, Earnests, Bates', Harrises, Dunns, Terrys, Staffords, Boatwrights, Morelands, Jones, and Pannells. The district is named for the McDonalds, once a very prominent, well-to-do family whose legacy is their fine brick home on the Old Federal Road south of Eton. The house, now owned by Judge and Mrs. Charles A. Pannell, was deeded to Mrs. Bryant (Sally) Russell by the McDonalds in 1889. Mrs. Russell and her children sold the house and farm to T.A. Pannell, Sr. (Judge Pannell's father) in 1910. According to Judge Pannell the house was built in the late 1830's and originally consisted of four bedrooms which now make up the front of the house. The kitchen, dining room, and servant's quarters were located northwest of these four rooms in another brick building. Judge Pannell and his wife, Ruth Ann, restored the house in the 1950's. Past justices of the peace for McDonald's District include B.F.C. Loughridge (1883-95). M.W. Cloer (1885-89), J.P. Ash (1889-93). E.A. Earnest (1893-97), E.L. Bates (1909-17, 1933-37), B.R. James (1910-14), John N. Petty (1911-12) C.A. Strawn (1912-16). R.C. Shields (1916-21), G.W. Phillips (1921-29), w.a! Campbell (1928-32), and, for many years, R.A. Pierce, who was also local registrar in the 1930's. Lon Strickland succeeded Mr. Pierce as J.P. The District's early school trustees were M.M. Bates (1877-84), Almon Quinn (1877-79), W.F. Peeples (1877-78). Daniel Isenhower (1879-82). James Smith (1879-82), Steven Gregory (1882), Benjamin Gregory (1884), O.K. Bates (1890-95), Lewis Terry (1890-92), James Gregory (1890-95), Duncan Terry (1892-95), C.C. Keith (1895), J.T. Gregory (1895-98), John Plemons (1895), and Robert Gregory (1898). The first teachers in the District under the first Murray County Board of Education in 1877 were J.F. Harris, W.D. Gregory, B.A. Gregory, and P.M. Hubbard. Four schools were also operating in 1882 with Miss L.J. Bates, M.B. Harris, C.N. King, and Miss C.N. Bates as the educators. At various times schools for blacks also operated in the District. In 1881 H.A. Hill taught near D. Dunn's home and in 1900 Berta Peters had classes at a place called "Mouse Hill."
TOWNS, COMMUNITIES, AND MILITIA DISTRICTS
(1880-1980)
Pleasant Valley and Eton
The first town in McDonald's District was Pleasant Valley, founded in 1833 as a stagecoach stop on the Spring Place to Athens, Tennessee route which had been established a few years earlier, Indians had occupied the area along Mill Creek for some time and an Indian cabin on the John Harris Place survived into the 20th century. Chief Vann of Spring Place also had a trading post on the Old Federal Road near Pleasant Valley. The Pleasant Valley post office was established July 12. 1833 with Nelson Dickinson as the postmaster. Murray historian Charles H. Shriner records that Packard and Turner opened a store near the 1911 Bryant home in 1835 and that "the widow Tally kept a tavern at the old Harris place." He adds that the Tally building was a two-room-over-two-room structure and that the post office was in a log building. Succeeding postmasters were Martin Keith (1935-38) who gave land for the Pleasant Valley Baptisl Church, John B. Robbins (1938-39). Joseph Terry (183940), Reuben Keith (1840-42), Chilion Packard (1842-49 and 1850-51), James L. Davis (1849-50), Alfred J. Davis (1851-52), John H.Johnson (1954-58), and R.R Bates (1858). The office was closed for a time from 1852 until 1854 and was discontinued for good Dec. 6. 1858. Reasons for the closings are unknown. Pleasant Valley was raided during the Civil War. In 1881 a new post office was established and named Dunn. Located at the northeast comer of present-day Eton, Dunn was a successful office for 25 years and Clinton C. Keith operated the office the entire time. The office closed in favor of Eton on April 3, 1906. Although the mailing address was Dunn. folks made a clear distinction between the post office, located "up at Keith's store," and Pleasant Valley where the school and church were. Apparently a tavern (or possibly more than one) operated at Pleasant Valley because in 1889 a bill was introduced in the Georgia Legislature to probhibit "the sale or making of intoxicating liquors within three miles of Summerours, Cumberland, and Pleasant Valley Baptist Churches." While Dunn and Pleasant Valey enjoyed a peaceful co-existence for a quarter of a century, the coming of the L&N in 1905 changed the course of history of this area. By 1906 a depot had been constructed, a new post office established, and the Eton Town Company formed! Almost overnight Pleasant Valley and Dunn were wiped away and the new town of Eton was begun. The name is generally believed to have been selected by W.R. Davis who had moved his family from Fashion to Pleasant Valley so that his children could attend the good school there. Since Eton. England, had a noted educational facility and Pleasant Valley had such a good reputation, the choice of that name seems logical. Some say that Mr. Davis had already named his post office Eton or that he had gotten the name of the school changed first, but actually the town company and the depot first bore the name "Eton." pronounced differently in Georgia than in England, however. From the sketchy records which exist, it seems that the Eton Town Company was formed primarily by residents of Pleasant Valley. Apparently these individuals put their property together, bought land from other owners, surveyed their holdings, and then "laid out" a town around the already existing streets and buildings. Approximately 350 town lots of varying sizes were surveyed by J.R.W, Thomas and put on a map by W.A. Campbell. All of the developments were not completed however and some of the lots remained vacant. Another reason for the existence of the company was to get the depot and section houses built at Eton rather than at Oran. According to the company's by-laws, the annual stockholders meeting was held in June when a president, vice-president, secretary-treasurer, and board of directors were elected. Some meetings were held at Mr. Keith's store while others were held at Dr. Brown's office. Mr. Keith was president and Dr. Brown as secretary-treasurer and manager. W.R. Davis was vice-president. Other stockholders were F.T. Hardwick. C.L. Henry. J.B. Gregory. Dr. J. F. Harris, Walter Harris, J.W. Clements, W.H. Pendley, P.M. Jones, and later Sam Carter, Steve Brown, J.D. Harris, S.P. Maddox, R.H. Tyler, and W.C. Carter. The group also helped provide land for a side track at Eton. In 1909 stockholders were paid a 20� dividend while in 1914 the dividend was 25�. In other businesses the group also attempted to bring the county seat to Eton in 1912. Since Captain Davis was appointed postmaster, the post office was first in his house located near the present Baptist Church. Later the post office was moved to its own building in the middle of town. For a time T.C. Richardson's store was home to the post office. The present building was constructed in 1966. Captain Davis served as postmaster until his death and was succeeded by his son. Homer, for a brief time. His widow. Sarah, became postmistress from 1908 until 1914 when his daughter. Etta, took over. "Miss Etta" held the position until her retirement in 1960. Mildred Taylor succeeded her and served as postmistress for the next 25 years. David Causby is the present postmaster. Charles M. Harris was the first rural carrier from Eton. At that time (around 1909) mail was brought from Dalton by horse and wagon. At other times mail came to Eton by train. A hanging rack-a steel post-was erected south of the depot and an outgoing mailsack was placed on it. Trainmen had to kick the incoming mail out of the mail coach or else aim for the hanging rack. If they missed, the sack was sucked under the train, cut to pieces, and scattered down the tracks. Gus Pierce often carried the mail from the post office to the hanging rack. City government in Eton has been fairly active since the "new" 1909 charter was approved by the legislature. The original town limit was a 14-mile circle from the old post office, but the boundaries were extended in 1916 to make the Old Federal Road and the C.C. Keith property the northern and eastern lines. Among Eton's past mayors were S.O. Williams (1932). Elswick Keith (1937), Fred Brown, Jack Games. Glen Howard (1945), Martin Dooley, Chris Shields, and J.J. Lefurgey. Charlie Pannell was mayor in 1933 at the age of 21-the youngest ever, A complete listing of councilmen is not available, but Tarve Morris. Whit Hall. F.T. Brown. E.G. Morris. G.H. Holmes. D.B. Coffey. and C.B. Pierce are known to have served on the council in the 1930's. The population of Eton in 1930 was 259. In succeeding years the counts were 239 in 1940. 297 in 1953, 275 in 1960, and approximately 286 in 1975. In recent years Eton has followed the general Murray County trend of population growth. The government was reactivated in 1967 and the mayor and councilmen serve 2-year terms. A newspaper article from this era described the town as follows: Eton has, in fact, become a kind of suburban satellite of the busy Dalton tufted textile community. New houses are going up and the town has a feed mill and is getting a new service station. The city council is active and provides the city with a regular financial statement, street repairs and garbage collection. The business part of the town has moved from Eton's main street a block away to U.S. 411. The town's pump remains on Main Street, although Eton's citizens have their own water. A consolidated school also is on Main Street, as is the town's postofflce. Emblazoned across one wall of the postoffice is Eton's ZIP code: 30724. In 1974 Mayor Dane Dunn formulated plans with Don Ritchie of the North Georgia Area Planning and Development Commission to restore the hand pump and shelter at the old well on the town square. The next year Mayor B.T. Parks, Harve J. Millsaps, P.M. Kendrick. and David C. Jenkins did the restoration work as Eton's Bicentennial Project. The well, dug before the turn of the century, once furnished water for residents, students, and cattle being shipped out of Eton by rail. Some say that Mr. C.C. Keith had the well dug. By the 1980's still under Mayor Parks' leadership. Eton had an 8-member volunteer fire department and in 1982 adopted a series of ordinances in connection with the formation of a police department. Also, a City Court was reestablished and speed limits were posted. Jerry Bostic was then mayor pro-tem.Charles Bond was employed as the first Eton city policeman. Over the years many businesses have existed in Eton, While few of the old terprises exist today, others have taken their places and several of Eton's early houses have been carefully preserved. It is virtually impossible to describe or picture all of the town's beautiful houses and successful businesses. With the help of Hill Jones. Charlie Pannell. Mamie Fierce, and the late Vesta Brown the following map pinpoints many of Eton's landmarks-past and present. (Note: Map that appeared in the book could not be reproduced here. However, the Key to the map contains important historical information and is included here.) Key to Map of Eton (1906-1931) 1. Site of Eton High School with a dormitory on the north side 2. Pond and houses occupied by Staffords and Floods 3. Mandy Breeden House (now site of Martin Dooley's) 4. Newt Holcomb Residence 5.Charlie Howell Home 6. Earlier a house, but later a service station operated by Selmer Dixon, Howell Brown, Glenn Howard, Troy Tate and lastly a restaurant 7. Eton Auto Parts (Ray Ridley) and Welding Shop in recent years 8. Bledsoe House now site of a Favorite Market 9. W.J. Campbell House site 10. John Harris House site 11. Gregory's Store now Dynasty Carpet (formerly Lana's) l2. O'Neil's Farm; Siteof O'Neil-Riorden Cemetery 13. Don Coffey Residence 14. Eton Cemetery 15. Charlie Ross House 15A. Duvall Residence 16. John Thompson Garage 17. Thompson Home 18. Once a house site but for many years home of a cotton gin, now site of First National of Chatsworth Branch Bank (1977) 19. An old house site which later became Novis Coffey, Lon Vess, and then Hubert Green's Service Station, Now location of the Eton General Store 20. Old Dunn Residence 21. Lumber Company with planing mill and cotton gin 22. Enoch Davis House 23. Stafford (latcr)-Gee House Site 24. George Holmes later Reed and Taylor Home Site (2-story) 25. Robert James later Don Coffey House U920's) 26. Jack and Cora Peeples' "nice, small hotel" built around 1900. Restored by Mr, & Mrs. J.D. Bostic in the 1960's 27. City Park-later sold to the Morris I-'amily who built a house there, now occupied by Maude Morris Autry 28. Eton Methodist Church 29. Site of old Pleasant Valley School 30. Eton Baptist Church 31. W.R. Davis Home and first Eton post office; now site of new Baptist Church sanctuary 32. Walter Harris then J.J. Lefutgey Home 33. Noel Steed House 34. D.S. Butler House later occupied by the George Jacksons, W.J. Gregorys and Earl Hogan 35. Mantooth Home 36. Waters then J.H. Belk House 37. T.C. Richardson Residence (built 1904); restored by Mr. & Mrs. B.A. Springfield in the 1960's 38. Site of the old Pleasant Valley Academy dormitories 39. Site of old tennis courts (later in City Park) 40. Eton Flour Mill-business moved from Spring Place by R.H. Tyler around 1908. Bill Reed and later Spence Davis operated the mill. 41. Site of later gymnasium 42. Railroad Section Foreman's House (2-story (occupied by Morris'for many years 43. Railroad Section Houses 44. "Callaboose" -a 1-room house with a dirt floor and bars on the windows used as a jail, destroyed when someone tied it to a train which dragged it up the tracks! 45. Built by the Treadwells, this house was the Dr. S.A. Brown residence for many years. 46. Formerly a warehouse for the Mercantile Company, which also housed the newspaper office for a time. 47. D.S. Butler Grist Mill later operated by Lee Yother and George Holmes (1930). 48. Keith Warehouse 49. Pierce Hotel now residence of "Miss Mamie" Pierce built in 1904 as a Railroad Commissary and also housed a barber shop. The Terrys also owned it for a time. Was once a 3-story building, before a 1916 remodeling. 50. Standard Oil Distribution Tank, now Prepare Gas Tank 51. Once the Ellis Grocery, the building then became the Jones Drug Store and Dr. P.M. Jones' office. Operated by Hill and Horace Jones (about 1912), the drug store also had a fountain. Later the town's first self-measuring gasoline pumps and a 60-gallon underground tank was installed in front of this building. 52. Chris Shields & John Evans Store, later George Holmes' 53. Eton "Courthouse" 54. Bank of Eton which adjoined Harris, Keith,* Son Store. 55. Harris, Keith, & Son (later Keith's) store. Building later used as a iodge halt before present lodge built. 56. Town Well (see pg. 265) 57. Old Eton Post Office 58. Holcomb's Store operated by Joe, Ella, & Newt Holcomb from about 1916 into the 1920's. 59. Lee Yother-Blacksmith (1920's) 60. T.C. Richardson Store 61. Bess Tankersley's Millinery Shop 62. Stafford's Barber Shop 63. This store building was later a barber shop and for a time Robert While's Restaurant, 64. Eton (later Pannell) Mercantile Co. 65. Fred Brown's Furniture Store and Funeral Parlor. Lodge meetings were held on the second floor. 66. Fred Brown Residence 67. Fair Grounds and Race Track 68. Present Eton Elementary School 69. Site of Cicero Lindsey's House. He was Tax Collector. 70. Will Morrison & Bill Reed ran a blacksmith shop and made coffins here. Dave Gee was a blacksmith for several years on this site where the new post office was built in 1966. 71. George and Walker Jackson Groceries Feeds, and Dry Goods (1920's) 72. Site of Dr. Brown's Office 73. Charlie Harris Gulf Service Station (1920's) 74. Keith's Warehouse for farm implements (1920's) 75. Former site of Justice of the Peace office and "courthouse," later building moved across the street 10 its present site. 76. Meedy Shields Broom factory. Mr. Shields was also a surveyor. 77. Ed Coffey Livery Stable; later became Eton Garage by Youngs, Charlie West, and Holmes. 78. Roscoe Russell then Ben Poag Livery Stable; later Lee Jarrett's Garage. 79. Site of Mountain View Hotel built by John Clements; later operated by Mrs. Pierce and then Mrs. Bates before becoming the Dr. I'.M. Jones Home. Metcalfs later owned the house before it burned in the early 1940's. 80. Originally a two-story house built by Dr. Brown in the 1880's, the Joneses then owned it for a time and then the J .D. Harrises (1920's) before becoming the Henry James home in the 1940's. 81. Spring-became a part of the water system when Chatsworth water lines came to Eton. 82. House occupied by Coffeys, Formers, Carnes',and Robert Morrises at various times. 83. J.P. Gregory later Meedy Shields Residence 84. Eddie Coffey later Lee Jarrett Home. Restored by Deborah Black in 1979. 85. Site of A.J. (Jack) Mason Home (later burned) 86. W.W. Keith's House 87. Bates House 88. David Gee House, once occupied by the Davises and the telephone office, was built around 1900. Restored by Robert Taylorin 1984. 89. Jarrett House and also once the telephone office 90. Dr. Bentley, then Henry James, and now Whit Hall Residence. 91. Alben Young-George Holmes Resilience 92. Brigham, Chris Shields, and later Vick House 93. Dart Harris Home, also owned by Vaughns and Presleys 94 Petty Home Site 95. Charlie Harris, later Ed Beaver's home which became Methodist Parsonage. 96. J.W. Carpenter's later Greenlee's House 97. John Bates House 98. Walker Jackson House (1911) restored by Charles "Judy" and Elaine Poag in the 1970s 99. Amost Keith (and possibly Jack Mason) cotton gin 100. House occupied at various times by Henry Fortner; F.C. Bcntley, RoberI White, Robert Dunn, and Carl Payne. 101. McDonald-Pannell House 102. Charlie Harris then Love House 103. Tenant House 104. Anolher house built by Dr. Brown but owned by the W.W. Keiths and Charlie Harrises for some time; was restored by Elswick Keith in the 1950's; now owned by Mrs. W.O. Bailey. 105. Old C.C. Keith Store. Dunn, Post Office, and old blacksmhh shop sites 106. C.C. Keith House, the W.W. Keith's, restored by Michael Moidaven in 1975. 107. North on the Old Federal Road were the John Keith, Mark Loughridge, John Loughridgc, and Waller Harris houses. Some of these Eton businesses and residents deserve special mention. The Eton Lumber Company, begun about 1906, brought several families to Eton. Among them were the Carpenters, Belks. and Lefurgeys. In 1911 Tom Pannell bought the planing mill. The L&N Depot was built near the site of Will Whitener's house. He was one of the black residents of the area. A telegraph office was located in the depot and Ed Beavers. Mr. Robinson, and R.A. Mantooth were among the railroad agents at Eton. A newspaper had once been published with a Dunn address and The Murray County Messenger was established by T.E. Milmore in 1914. The newspaper was begun to express the views of Eton in Murray County politics. Eton had put in a bid for the county seat but had lost it to Chatsworth. Eton, through the Messenger supported E.H. Beck, an Eton school teacher, for the legislature against Mr. H.H. Anderson who had helped move the county seat to Chatsworth. Mr. Beck defeated Mr. Anderson in the next election. Mr. Hill Jones was a later editor of the paper. According to several residents, the county seat controversy stirred emotions of Eton citizens for many years. The Murray County Fair Association was organized at Eton in 1914. Held in October, the first fair was a huge success, featuring agricultural and livestock exhibits but also including "amusements, spirited horse races, and other interesting features" according to the North Georgia Citizen. The fairgrounds, located between Glenn Street and the railroad north of the Brown houses, had a baseball diamond in the center, livestock pens on the east, an exhibition building on the north, and a race track near the present site of Browning's. An 8-feet-high fence surrounded the grounds. The fairs continued for a few years and the grounds were used for other events such as a big July 4th celebration in 1919 which featured speakers, a pageant, a ballgame. and contests. The Eton Mercantile Company was founded in 1906 with Sam Carter as the proprietor. T.A. Pannell was the owner of this successful enterprise for some time. Behind the store was a lot for displaying wagons, surreys, buggies and farm equipment. On the corner near the present site of the lodge hall was a warehouse for storing feeds, lumber, and plows. Mr. Isenhower and Mr Wil-banks later operated this store. Founded in 1910 the Bank of Eton was a thriving institution for more than 25 years. C.C. Keith was bank president with Henry James as cashier and Florida Harris as the assistant. In 1932 three men named Davenport. Harris and Marr attempted to rob the bank. They went to Mr. James' house, took him to the bank and demanded that he open the vault. However, the vault had a time lock and since Mr. James could not open it. the robbers went across the street to rob the post office! Mr. Keith died in 1935 and 3 years later the bank closed. All records and assets were transferred to the Cohutta Banking Co. in Chatsworth. Forty years later the Cohutta opened a branch at Eton on 411 shortly after First National Bank of Chatsworth had done so. A popular business for many years was the Pierce Hotel. The Pierces who had previously lived in Spring Place and at Cohutta Springs (where they had also had a hotel) opened their Eton business about 1913. Mrs. Pierce was an excellent cook and made her concern "the leading hotel in Eton." Traveling salesmen, or "drummers." made special efforts to get to the Pierce House to spend the night. The "short dog" train delivered ice, fresh oysters, and fish daily to Eton and Robert Pierce did a thriving business. The seven-room Pierce Hotel in Eton operated for about 25 years. Members of the family continue to occupy the home located on Hall Street near the railroad. South of the Pierce House is the propane gas tank today, but in earlier days the Standard Oil Distribution Tank was located in this area. Among the operators of the business were Horace Jones. Ed Beavers, Albert Young, and George Holmes. For some years gas, kerosene, and oil were delivered by wagon. Later, the distributorship got a T-Model truck but continued to send the wagon and its 600-gallon tank along with the truck on long trips in case the truck got stuck! The mules could pull the wagon out of the mire. Captain W.R. Davis and Dr. S.A. Brown had the first telephones in Eton. Mrs, Mattie E the ridge, a Mrs. Wells, and a Mrs. Davis operated the central phone office at various times. Some older residents remember that when the lines broke they were often mended temporarily with bailing wire. Some people, like the Loughridges. owned and maintained their own lines. Many Eton homes had carbine gas lights and some had Delco batteries, kerosene engines, or Almos that provided electricity for individual homes. In the 1920's Lee Jarrett bought a Delco light plant and ran lines to several surrounding homes. He charged patrons by the month and the lights were turned off each night at 10.30 after flicking them at 10:00 as a warning. His business continued until Georgia Power arrived. Other businesses in Eton over the years were Francine Chenille (1946), Morrison and Gee Tires & Repair. J.A. Coffey - Jeweler (1919). mining east of Eton on the Love Farm by Amos Keith, and the Sugartown Truck Stop operated by Otis Pharr and then the Weavers. In recent years the Eton Flower Shop, the Tater Patch Restaurant, and many carpet mills have come to Eton. North of town are D&W. Earth, Diamond. Cascade, and G&F Carpet mills, while J&H, Lakeview. and Sunrise are south of town. As more businesses made Eton then home, the population grew as well. This brought expansion, new homes. mobile units, and apartments to the town. Area residents recall several important or interesting events such as KKKactivity in the 1920's, the paving of the streets (due partially to Charles Pannell's influence and friendship with Georgia Department of Transportation director Jim Gillis), the 1935 paving of the highway to Chatsworth, and the 1978 building of the $6.5 million Browning Manufacturing - Emerson plant. Groundbreaking ceremonies for this business brought Governor George Busbee to Eton. Earlier events important to the town included the construction of the bridge over Mill Creek on the Federal Road in the early 1900's (though a foot bridge wasstill in use in the 1920's). Prior to this, travelers crossed the creek at a ford, Another event, a tragedy for the entire county, occurred in 1907 when Sheriff Ben Keith was killed in the line of duty just east of town. A humorous incident involved Dan Etheridge who decided to ride the train home� without buying a ticket. When the conductor asked for his ticket, the tipsy Etheridge replied that he did not have one. The conductor threatened to throw Etheridge off the train and he replied. "That's fine. Here's where I live!" Another incident made newspaper headlines as "Gunmen Adjourn Court." Tempers got out of hand when the justice of the peace fined some young men for contempt following an outburst after their fines were announced. Two men. a Stafford and a Quarles, owed $28 in back taxes but got upset and left. They returned with guns and exchanged fire with newly deputized constables Tom Gryder and Dave Gee. When the two were apprehended the J.P. only required that they pay their taxes! One early resident described Eton as "rough." but that Crandall "was worse." The town did boast some colorful and prominent inhabitants according to Judge Charles Pannell, Sr, Mr. C.C, Keith was an astute businessman who acquired extensive farm property, served as county commissioner, and founded the bank. Other large landowners around Eton included John O'Neil. A.J, Mason. T.A. Pannell, Dr. Jim Harris. Joe Love. Charlie Harris. A.J. Keith, and the Coffeys. Two Etonians were noted aviators-Charlie Peeples, and Leland Mantooth. Dr. Charles Harris. Jr., who was born and reared in Eton, became a noted physician in West Palm Beach, Florida. Colquitt Loughridge received "Master Farmer" recognition. Several residents including Wright Loughridge, Elswick Keith. Julian Keith, and W.W. "Billy" Keith, Jr. had successful military careers. Bob Bates was described as a lawman of the Wyatt Earp type who went West, fought duels, and became a crack shot. He was later Dalton Chief of Police. Judge Pannell himself has had a checkered career as lawyer, mayor, superior court judge, state senator. representative and house floor leader, member and chairman of the Pardons and Parole Board, and judge on the State Board of Appeals. James Loughridge was the owner of Pleasant Valley Farms, deacon in the Baptist Church, veteran, past Board of Education chariman, member of the NGEMC Board of Directors. and active in many civic organizations. Eton was fortunate to have several doctors over the years. Drs. Jirn Harris, S.A. Brown, J.C. Strawn and F.M. Jones practiced in the days of Pleasant Valley and Dunn. Dr. Jones is remembered as a "common sense" physician who often received "in kind" payments for services. He studied his cases and was a pretty good psychiatrist, too, according to his son. Hill. Dr. Jones was not above making up names of illnesses or designing his own placebos for psychosomatics. In 1916 he was president of the Murray County Medical Society which met in Eton. Dr. Jones retired in 1929 after more than 40 years of practice. He died in 1930. Other medical doctors in Eton at other times included C.C. Russell, B.L. Russell (1910). I.W. Ballard (who had an office in the Pierce Hotel in 1935), and F.C. Bentley. Dr. Bentley did not have as much formal training as some of the other physicians, but is remembered as a man who literally worked himself to death caring for his patients. S.C. Morgan was a dentist. In addition to the Medical Society, other organizations have existed in Eton. Among them are a Woodmen of the World Camp (No. 832) organized in 1916, a Junior Order of United American Mechanics, the Masonic Lodge, an Eastern Star Chapter, and a Farmer's Union, The Eton Women's Club was active for several years from the 1930's into the 1960's. Mrs. A.L. Keith, Jr. was president in 1958. Earlier, the Eton Civic League had been a very active organization. Founded in 1916, the group was led by the W.M. Jacksons and the Walter Harrises, at various times. The Chatsworth Times in January. 1920 reported the Christmas gathering of the league as follows: A very charming event of the holiday season was the semi-annual banquet given by the Eton Civic League at the home of Mr. and Mrs. W.M. Jackson. The guests were served on entering with delicious punch, from a bowl decorated with beautiful Christmas decorations. Each guest received a gift from a gaily decorated Christmas tree, in the reception hall, an interesting feature being a description of the guest for whom the gift was intended, instead of a name on each package. In the parlor an immense Christmas bell was suspended from the ceiling, and festoons of red and green and Christmas wreaths completed the decorations. In some very interesting contests, Fred T. Brown and Mrs, Chas. M. Harris. L.M. Jones and Mrs. H.R, Jarnes, and W.M. Jackson and Mrs. S.A. Young won first prizes. The decorations in the dining room were also suggestive of the holiday seasort. A small Christmas tree, with candles and tinsel ornaments, and placed on a reflector, formed the centerpiece of the table and above a chandelier of red and green was suspended. A delicious supper consisting of salads, sandwiches, celery, cranberries, waters, ambrosia and cake, coffee and chocolate, was served. The invited guests were Mr. and Mrs. L.M. Jones, Mr. and Mrs. R.N. Steed, Mr. and Mrs. JJ. Lefurgey, Mr. and Mrs. H.R. James, Mr. and Mrs. F.T. Brown. Mr. and Mrs. H.B. Jones, Mr. and Mrs. J.P. Loughridge. Mr. and Mrs- R.A. Pierce, Mr. and Mrs. W.M. Harris, Mr. and Mrs. A.J. Keith, Mr. and Mrs. C.M. Harris, Mr. and Mrs. W.W. Keith, Mr. and Mrs. E.H. Beaver, Misses Nioma Coffey, Florida Harris, Pearl Jackson. Etta Davis. Maga Lynn Keith, Mrs. Frances Gregory, Mrs. Alice Brown, Messrs-Will Jackson, Ralph Harris, Earl Ellis, Hill Jones, Elbert Kuhn, Ben Loughridge. Piano and Victrola music were enjoyed throughout the evening.
TOWNS, COMMUNITIES, AND MILITIA DISTRICTS
(1880-1980)
Schools in Eton
Schools have been important to both Pleasant Valley and Eton residents. In 1872 M.W. Harris deeded one acre of land on land lot 51 (9th and 3rd) for a school. Located north of present-day Eton, this school was most likely the first educational facility to be called Pleasant Valley. Miss Cleopatra Bates (later Mrs. F.M.Jones) taught at this school in 1881 as did Kate Langston in 1884. In the 1890's a new, larger school was built in town near the present Methodist church. This two-story building was popularly known as Pleasant Valley Academy though deeds refer to it as Mount Pleasant Academy and Mountain Valley High School. Apparently these 1897 documents reflected the addition of dormitories for non-commuting students. Trustees of the school at that time were G.B. Jackson, C.C. Langston and A.J. Mason. Another possibility is that the school had burned and was being rebuilt when these deeds were made. The dormitories, located between the present churches (near the railroad) were described as follows by former student Hill Jones: "They were one room, raw-lumbered buildings. They had no windows, only shutters, a wood heater, and a cook stove." J.T. Leamon was principal at Pleasant Valley for several years (1892-93,1896-1900) while other teachers were T.J. Harris (1891).____ Cox (1894), ____ Talley (1894). Kate Langston (1896-97), ____ Harper (1897). Jennie Gilbert (1899-1900). Professor Mizer. C.H. Shriner (1900), Lula Gladden. Charlie Rooney,M,P. Bates(1890),Sam Berry. J.C. Waters, and___..Nanny. Mr. Jones also remembers Lela Wilson as a teacher who had a special knack for controlling unruly students. She pinned their clothing to her apron so that they would be close by for her to keep an eye on at all times. Commencement was a special time for Academy students. The all-day affairs featured songs and recitations by students, dinner and supper, and addresses by important men of the county. A program from 1900 listed S,A. Brown, J.H. Loughridge. C.C. Keith, and G.A. Strawn as trustees, along with Mr. Mason and Mr. Jackson mentioned earlier. In 1909 a new facility, named Eton High School, was constructed on a big hill at the northwest corner of town. This fine, large building was in use for almost 30 years. It burned in January, 1937 and classes were held in the old Jackson store building until it burned in March. Classes were then moved to churches and the high school gymnasium which had been completed in 1932-Eton High also had a dormitory in the early days (1910). Teachers at Eton during this era included William Greenlee who was principal in 1910, Residents remember Mr. Greenlee well because of the tragedy which his wife committed suicide by pouring kerosene over her body and then setting herself on fire. The Greenlees had been missionaries before coming to Eton. Other educators at Eton High included principals E.H. Beck. Rosie White (1918-20) Fred I. Davidson. C.C. Carlmn (1927-28), T.B. Clyburn (1929-30), Earl Foster (1930-32), and Elswick Keith (1933-34). Teachers in the secondary school included Claude Brown (1932-33). J.A. Gregory (1912). Mrs. E.H. Beck (1912) SO Williams (1934), Pauline Partott. Betty Murray, Florida Harris, JW Puckeit Floy Hammontree. Lenora Strickland. Steve Rheburg (1933-34), Lee Jones. Fletcher Charles, Mrs. Mae Brown (1918-19), Ruby Henderson (1932-34). "Moon" Mullins, Parks Lawrence. Helen Mixon, and Frank Harmon (I920's). Among the other Eton teachers were Mr. & Mrs. J.R. Porter (1932), Dorothy lackson (1932-34), Thelma Henderson (1932). Jane Noland (1929-32). Marmierite Clyburn (1929-30), Elizabeth Norton Keith (1929-35), Adel Kellum /1Q29-30). Lois Trussell (1929-30, 32-33), E.J. Vann (1933-34), Elizabeth Jackson (1933-35). Reba Richardson (1933-35), Frances Phillips (1933-35). Hazel Willia�is (1934). George Ross (1934). Edward Chapman (1934). Leland Man-tooth (1934-35). Ainslee Vaughn (1934). Aileen Rogers (1936-37), George Colvard (1936-37), and Lyndell Bond (1936-37). After the High School building burned, property on Glenn, Harris, and Hall Streets was obtained from the Eton Town Company and the present Eton Elementary was built. Over the years additional land was obtained from Mrs. F.C, Bentley. W.W. Keith, Sr.. W.W. Keith. Jr., and Judson Vick. With consolidation. Eton school grew and housed grades 1-7 (later 1-8) for many years. Presently students from kindergarten through sixth grade attend Eton, Several teachers who began teaching at the older school continued their careers at the new one including Mrs. Macie Jackson, Mrs. Maude Young, Eunice Loughridge Fincher. Ronald Richardson. Also some educators from earlier years later returned to Eton at various times, particularly Earl and Lucy Foster along with Mrs. Elizabeth Keith. Mr. Foster again served as principal in 1938-39 and 1948-53. Miss Margaret Brice. a long-time educator, also served as principal in the 1940's while other leaders were William Beavers. B.V. Ozment (1955-64), Robert Morrison (1964-68). Paul Leroy. James Clegg (1970). Leonard Whaley, Howell Brown, and W.T. Green (1972 to date). Many people have taught at Eton in the last 50 years, but the school has been fortunate to have many who worked at the school for several years. In addition to those already mentioned. Maurine Keith, Nadine Wilbanks Keith, Dennie Sue James, Walter Richards, Mrs. Walter Richards. Annie Laurie Howard, Stella Baxter. Billie Morrison, Mildred Baxter Petty, Elaine Holcomb Edwards. Becky Whaley. Bernita Harris. Icy Plemons. Mrs. J.L. Long. Jerry Swilling, Mrs. Rossie Dunn and Gladys Bradley were Eton teachers for some time. Miss Will Dee Baxter is presently the senior member of the Eton faculty. In more recent years Dr. Norman Jordan, Sharon Stafford Klippert. Kathy Welch, Delores Kimsey. Charlotte Weaver, and others have taught at Eton. In the days of school trustees many residents gave Eton their support. Among them were F.T. Brown (1932). W.M. Jackson (1932), H.R. James (1930-42), R.A. Mantooth (1930-36). Paul Leverett. S.L. Cantrell (1933). W.J. Gregory, G.C. Bates, and J.C. Loughridge (all 1937-42). T.C. Richardson (1942-56). Tom Uegory (1950-54), J.P. Lougbridge (1953), C.D. Harris (1951-55). Herbert ^lliams (1953-56), Herbert Childers (1953-54), Kirby Parks (1954-56). Harve fillips (1954-56). and Mrs. Johnnie Hartley (1954-56). The Eton Parent-Teach-rs Association was organized in the 1940's. Eton also had a school for black children for some time. Teachers there included Aleen Brooker (1929), Lillie Rivers (1933-37), and Lucille Branham (1937-39). This school was located northwest of Eton near the Children's Home. Eton has one of the oldest churches in Murray County. The Baptist Church was established about 1834, but since no records from the earliest years exist, 1842 is sometimes considered the official organization date. The first church building was a log structure, but a wooden frame edifice was erected in the 1840's. A deed dated May 27, 1843 mentions "the land where the Pleasant Valley Baptist meeting house and campground (with tents) is located." Martin Keith was the owner of the property and Deacons Samuel Miller and William Dates accepted the deed. Revs. Evan Pierson and Ramshire were early pastors. James Adams was pastor in 1848-49 when the church had 81 members and contributed $2.15 to missions. Benjamin Maddox was also an early member. In 1861 the church joined the newly formed North Georgia Baptist Association just as the Civil War began. Association records of 1870 report that the church was then without a pastor and had only 43 members. The leaders of the church at that time included Jesse Thompson. M.L. Keith, and W.A. Latch. According to Mrs. Glenn Howard, former church historian. 1899 was an important year for the congregation as it marked "the greatest evangelistic meeting in the history of the church . . . even people who had laughed at religion prior to this time went up for prayer, and most of them were converted." Rev. MC-Afee Bates baptized 48 people as a result of his revival work. The turn of the century brought several changes to Pleasant Valley Church. The name became Eton and in 1906 a new sanctuary was built. The beautiful building was designed by architects Jim Redmond, tester Moody and another man who was employed by the railroad and did the scroll work Several railroad workers attended services at Eton The 1906 structure boasted hardwood floors, a new piano, new pews gas heat, and six Sunaay school rooms when it was built. Measuring 40 x 60' the church features a high domed ceiling, stained-glass windows, and fine accoustics. A second steeple was added to the building in the I960, largely due to the efforts of Mrs. Elma Childers and Mrs. Annie Laurie Howard. J.N. Barnetle was a noted leader in the early Sunday school. In 1935 Eton Produced the first Sword Drill winner for North Georgia, Neva Mae Green (Wilbanks). as well as the first North Georgia winner of the Public Speaking Contest. Ruth Shields (Oswald), The church had 86 members in 1972. but Sunday school enrollment was larger, Marvin Childers was then superintendent. Eton also contributed to various mission programs and other Baptist projects. Gary and Rodney Bailey served as church musicians for some time and Gary is presently the organist. As the church grew a new, larger sanctuary was built adjacent to the old structure on land provided by Mr. & Mrs. Jack Poag. Deacons and building committee members were Herbert Childers. Martin Dooley, Mrs. Kirby Patterson, Pastor Tom Turner, Glen Wilbanks. John Burgess, Berlie Greeson, James Loughridge, and Judson Vick. Ground was broken in June, 1977 and dedication services were held in March of the next year. The new brick sanctuary will seat around 330 people and cost $I50.000. By that time 178 people were members at Eton and ten new Sunday school rooms were part of the new building. The old building is now used for educational purposes and as a fellowship hall. Other pastors of Eton Baptist Church not previously mentioned include William Ellis. Jim Stone. McAfee Bates, Jule DuWeese, John F. Cox. N.L. Os-borne, C.P. Rooney, L.E. Hudson, Robert Taylor. W.A. Woody, T.A. Brown, J.A. Boyd, A.H. Nanney, Rev. Yearby. J.T. Ballew, T.A. Burgess. Milas Welch] J.W. Dooly. J.H. Cargall, W.F. Huffaker. Walter Harper, S.P. Chitwood, w.n! Kelly, Jeff Moore, Kirby Parks, W.E. Ward, Trumau Perkins, M.E. Simpson, Tom Phipps, B.F. Babb, Ed Campbell, Barry Massey, and Erwin Crider. The Baptist Church has seen many changes in its century and a half of existence and remains an active member of the North Georgia Baptist Association. The Eton Methodist Church was organized early in the 20th century and some say that its Sunday school is the oldest in Eton. An article from The Chatsworth Times in the early 1960's describes this congregation as follows: "Many ideas and plans originating from the Eton Church have been adopted by other churches. The congregation, although not a large one, is very dedicated. They stand always ready to help anyone or any other church." For many years the church was included in a circuit with other churches. Chatsworth and Mt. Zion shared the same pastor with Eton for a time. In 1928 A.W. Williams was pastor of the Eton charge, serving Summerhour. Hassler's, McCamy's, Eton, and Center Valley Methodist Churches. Later the number of churches on this circuit was reduced to three and then to two-Eton and Center Valley. Eton is now on the charge with Casey Springs. Deeds to the church in 1911 and 1913 list W.M. Harris. W.C. Lindsey, D.S. Butler, and B.R. James as trustees of the Eton Methodist Church. Mrs. Johnnie Hartley, and several members of the Hall, Harris, and Loughridge families have been active in the church for many years. Several improvements in the church building were made in the 1960's and early 1970's. In more recent years an Eton Chapel Church of God was begun. Their church, located east of Eton, was dedicated December 2, 1979. Solomon Douhne was pastor. Many residents of Dunn, Pleasant Valley and Eton are buried in the Eton Cemetery, west of town just off Highway 411. Containing many 19th century interments, the oldest marked grave is that of Hugh Clement who died in 1853 in his 78th year. The O'Neill Family Cemetery is located a short distance northwest of the Eton Cemetery. Three other pioneer families have their own burial grounds north of Eton. Near the edge of town on the Old Federal Road is the Loughridge Family Cemetery. Among the interments are the clan's patriarch. Colonel Benjamin Loughridge who died in 1877, and several members of related families such as the Gudgers. Keiths, and Gregorys, Many burials date back to the 1800's. Further north on the east side of the Old Federal Road is the John Bates family plot. General John Bates (1779-1854) and his wife. Barbary (1779-1848), were two of the very first residents of Pleasant Valley. Located on what was more recently the Rector Harris property, this cemetery also contains the remains of "Bone" Bates. John S. (Sly) Bates, and infant twins of Mr. & Mrs. Ross Bates. John Bates's brother, Julius (1780-1864) and his wife Temperance (1784-1868) are buried on their farm which was between Eton and Crandall, west of highway 411 near J.L. Patterson's. The Maynard Harris (1813-1881) family cemetery is just east of 411 above Eton near Diamond Carpets. Some 16 members of the family are buried there. The Union Cumberland Presbyterian Church was located on the Loughridge farm near the "Hassler's to Crandall" Road. Founded in 1889, the church was organized by Rev. S.H. Henry, probably for the convenience of area Cumberland Presbyterians who were not able to get to Sumach each Sunday. Elders John Gregory, Joel N. Lagan, and Eli S. Stanford purchased a small corner lot from S.T. Fincher for $200 on which to build their church. Active for only a decade. Union Church was dissolved in 1899. Six years later Elders Gregory. Stanford, Ross Bates, O.K. Bates, and S.A. Brown authorized School Commissioner W.D. Gregory to sell the property, on lot 19 (9th District, 3rd Section), and give the proceeds to the Sumach congregation. The reason for this arrangement was that the Union Church was also a school site, even after the church dissolved. Teachers at the Union school were Miss Laura Humphreys (1891), M.D. Terry (1893-95). Lola Gregory (1896). Agnes Terry, Miss Georgia Gregory (1897), and Ben Bates (1899-1900). The church stood several years thereafter. West of the Union Church site on a hill north of the Loughridge Road is an old family cemetery. While there are at least four unmarked graves, the only marked burials are those of Martha Adair (1789-1857) and Edward Adair (1789-1864). According to tradition a Mr. Johnson was murdered near this area right after the Civil War when raiders called him out to his front gate one night and shot him. Deep in the mountains of McDonald's District near the Gilmer County line was the Boatwright settlement. Here, on the upper reaches of Holly Creek was the Boatwright mill as well as another mill. In addition to mineral springs the Pruden and Bryant Tanyard was also located near this community according to an 1890's map. Also. Murray County School records reveal that John C. Ballew taught at a school on Holly Creek "in the mountains" in 1881. This fits the Boatwright settlement. Other early mountain families were the Tibbs and Gamblings. Another and older mill community was Hassler's, located east of present-day Eton. According to long-time area resident Ruth Terry Bates waters from Beaver, Crooked Pine, and Gambling Mountains formed Beaver, Emory, and Russell Creeks along with Pear Branch. These tributaries fed Hassler's Creek, named for William Hassler who started a mill on the creek even before the Indians were removed. Hassler was of German ancestory and came to Murray from North Carolina. Hassler's first mill was a pounding mill that operated less than a year before it was washed away in a flood. While this mill ran, Mr. Hassler had been building a large three- and one-half-story frame building which had a 22-foot overshot wheel. Since Hassler's Mill also ground wheat and not just corn. Hassler's enjoyed a booming business, particularly following the Cherokee removal in the 1830's. Tradition has it that an Indian village was located east of Hassler's Creek and that Mr. Hassler often traded salt to the natives in exchange for the gold they dug in the mountains. The story goes on that the tried to find the mines, even sending one of his slaves to follow Indians to the site, but was unsuccessful in this effort. In 1854 the Hassler s Mills post office was established with Mr Hassler as post master. A general store, a cotton gin, a sawmill, and a blacksmith shop were added to the complex. Since the mill in the name was plural, many believe that Mr. Hassler built another and possibly two other mills in the area. Later Dan Isenhower and the Rogers family operated mills in the community as did the Windlers for a time. Marvin Rogers reports that competition between the mills was keen and based on the quality of the grind. However things changed at Hassler's. The post office closed in 1866 and Mr Hassler died in 1871. He was buried in the Hassler Cemetery where many of his relatives have since been laid to rest. The Terrys and the Gregorys were also early settlers in the area and the Jathan Gregorys established a family burial ground east of Hasslers on the north side of the road atop a steep hill Another Terry-Gregory Cemetery, containing several unmarked graves, is said to be off the Cool Springs Road west of the Winkler home. At Hassler's Mill. Aaron Nix, Jack Nix. Jerry Calhoun, Tint Calhaun, Tom Terry, and John Henson succeeded Mr. Hassler as mill operators. Mr. Dan Isenhower also left the area and moved to Oklahoma where he ran a mill for the Indians. Mr. Lewis Terry was the last owner of Hassler's Mill and also bought the old Earnest store. Marion Cloer was the last miller but he also had a blacksmith shop and doubled as the community's "dentist" since he pulled teeth for area residents. The mill was torn down about 1927 or 1928, The Hassler's Mills post office was re-established in 1879 with William J. Peeples as postmaster. Succeeding postal officials were Thomas J. Painter (1882-85). Adolphus Logan (1885-89), James C. Barksdale (1889-91). and Emory A. Earnest (1891-1909). Mr. Logan and Mr. Earnest had stores. Other businesses were Chambers' Store, another blacksmith shop, and the M.E, Rogers Saw & Planing Mill, Tom Terry had a store near the mill at the turn of the century, but moved away after a flood in 1905 or 1906 during which Mr. Terry had to carry his wife out of the combination home and business on his back and then return to get their babies, Ruth and August. In 1900 Hassler's Mill had a population of 55. Dave Winkler was also a grist miller in the area. The Earnests were about the first in the area to have electric lights since they had their own "dynamo." Power lines did not reach the area until around 1947. Ben Rogers had one of the first cars in 1916 while the first telephones were installed in 1914. The Hasslers also gave their name to a Methodist church which existed in the community for almost a century. In 1855 William Hassler deeded one acre of land near the present Hassler Cemetery to Charles Adair, Robert McCamy, Franklin Summerhour, Daniel H. Burgin. and Robert Logan for a church and school. A school operated at Hassler's Chapel at this location (Lot 266, 26th District, 2nd Section) off and on until the 1880's at least. In 1895 the church moved south to a site near the Hassler's Mill where the Robert Tankersley's now live. Leaders at this time were S.A. Gregory, D. Isen-hower. and W.J. Peeples according to the deed from A.T. Logan. (This property was on lot 264.) In 1928, Hassler's was on the Eton Charge and A.W. Williams was the pastor. In 1935 Hassler's had 35 members and L.R. Huckabee was the pastor. Services continued into the 1940's and in 1943 a Vacation Bible School was held there. By 1950 the church had disbanded and in 1951 the old Hassler's church was moved to Mount Zion. Several years later Mrs. Marvin Dunn wrote an article for The Chatsworth Times in 1973 entitled "Reminiscing about Hassler's Chapel." Mrs. Dunn said: At that time, Hassler's Chapel . . . was larger so the young people and children especially enjoyed the Christmas Tree there every Christmas. They always had a large spruce pine tree reaching to the ceiling. It was lighted with small candles fastened on the tree limbs, other decorations were popcorn strung on sewing thread, and the gifts were all hung on the tree, some of them wrapped in shiny paper. A prettier Christmas tree has never been trimmed. The programs for this occasion were always under the direction of Miss Jinnie Terry, and this was a time when every child in the neighborhood had an opportunity to have a part on the program . . . Another annual event at Hasslers was the Childrens Day. It took place in summer. We always spent the day, and dinner was spread on lire ground at noon. And, of course, the children were the entertainers, with Miss Jinnie directing. She taught us our songs and speeches, helping us until we knew every word. No song books or papers were on the stage while we were performing . . . Members of Hasslers Chapel started moving away. Some died and only a few were left here, so they moved the church, and the remaining members joined nearby churches. Some belong to The First United Methodist Church in Chatsworth. Others joined the Mt. Zion United Methodist Church. Hassler's had also been a school at this location. Bessie Mae Adams was the leacher there from 1908 until 1910. Jennie Terry also taught there. According to long-time residents E.A. and C.T. Earnest (better known as "Red" and "Sparky"), another church had existed in the area before Hassler's moved to its last location. A cemetery, probably connected with this "Little Bethel Church." is atop a high hill east of Cool Springs Road across from the Rogers home. The long-abandoned graveyard has several unmarked burials in addition to the graves of James Lee Hembree, Susan R. Latch (1840-1864), and Jesse Ben Burgin (1845-1867). South of the old Hassler's community is the Cool Springs Baptist Church, founded in 1876. Charter members were J.B. Rogers, Mary Rogers. J.R. Terry. W.T. Swanson. Ellen Swanson, Louisa Spears, Elizabeth Beavers and Martha Harkins. The first church, a log building, was located across the road from the present church site on land obtained from C.S. and J.D. Pangle. The deed refers to it as the "Old" Cool Springs Church Property which indicates that a religious group had met at the spot earlier. Some people feel that this had been a "Union Church" and that the deed was made when the group became a Baptist congregation and a school was established at the site. On November 7. 1911 J.W. Brown deeded property to church trustees William Wilson, Anderson Beavers, Samuel Hickey, Dave Winkler, and J.C. Sluder. The next year a timber structure was erected near the site of the present building which was completed in 1951. B.F, Rogers furnished the seats for the second church. In 1972 Cool Springs had over 300 members. Several ministers have been ordained by the church, including J.R. Terry (1882), R.C. Beavers (1893). A.A. Green (1922), A.T. Russell (1940), and M.W. Winkler (1951). Three gentlemen have served Cool Springs as deacons for over 50 years. They are Miles P. Bramblett, Wylie Davis. and the late Bill Hickey. One of the early pastors was E.J. DeWeese who lived near Pleasant Hill in Gilmer County and walked 15 miles to preach at Cool Springs. Pastors since 1903 include William McNabb, J.P. Fore. M.H. Welch, J.A. Maples, S.W. Bennett, W.A.Campbell, W.A. Woody, John Vineyard, Robert Eliott, MR. Hogan, W.E. Se.f, A.A. Green, Mark Baxter, Ed Payne, H.C. Hensley, J.M. Owens, A.T. Russel, Fl,oyed Childers, Carl Gladdis, Milas Winkler, Frank Harper, T.D. Hooker, Fred Winkler, Thurman Hightower, Clinton Lunsford, Raymond Beavers, Arthur Corbin, and Harvey Silvers. A cemetery adjoins the church. The Cool Springs School operated for many years and B.A. Gregory (1881), E.A. Earnest (1884. 1893), Will Lowery (1891), Miss Georgia Gregory (1894-96). John Gregory (1897). M.D. Terry (1899), and Jennie Terry (1900) were among the early teachers there. Evidently the community's school moved back to Hassler's for a short time right after the turn of the century, but reopened at Cool Springs in the teens. Jennie Terry again taught at Cool Springs during this era. Other teachers included Hattie Charles (1916). August Terry (1928-29, 1932). Marie Winkler (1928-29, 1932), Neptha Rogers (1932), George Ross (1933-34). Milma Earnest (1934-36), Walter Richards (1936-37), Hoke Jackson (1937-39), Virginia Tatum (1942-43), Gladys Winkler. Jack Poag. Mrs. Mary Long, and Ruth Blackwell all in 1944-45, Mrs. J.L. Long (1947-48). and Mrs. ClintWalker(1949). Cool Springs School burned twice, once in 1931 and again in 1937. Each time trustees constructed a new building. Mr. Early Moore was a long-time trustee. Others included D.E. Winkler (1930), C.L. Patterson (1932), J.L. Winkler (1943-49). M.P. Bramblett (1944-47). Charlie West (1947-49). and J.L. McDeras (1947-49). The school consolidated with Eton in 1949. In the 1930's a church and school were briefly re-established near the old Hassler site. Ben Rogers deeded part of lot 266 (26th District. 2nd Section) "Starting at a tile near Hassler's Cemetery including the building located thereon, known as the Rogers School Building" for a small Baptist Church which might have also been called Fort Mountain. Rev. Lyle was the minister. However the church was short lived and in 1937 the property was returned to Mr. Rogers. West of Hassler's was the Lewis Terry home, built in 1888. Owned by C.W. Bradley since 1949, the house was occupied by three generations of Terrys. Mr. Bradley, retired educator and active member of numerous civic organizations, outlined the story of the house as follows: "I live in the old Terry house on Holly Creek Farm. William "Bill" Terry moved here from Tennessee in 1856. He deeded the farm to his three sons in 1882, Lewis Terry got this portion and raised a large family here. Grover and Cyrus, two of his boys, got the home place and lived here with their family. 1 bought the farm from Grover .... Lewis Terry was Georgia Department of Transportation Director Tom Moreland's great-grandfather on his mother's side of the house." The Hassler community was located between two beautiful mountains. Fort and Grassy. An article in a 1920's Geological Survey of Georgia by Marius R. Campbell describes Grassy as follows. "One of the most pronounced summits, at least it so appears from the railroad is Grassy Mountain, lying east of Crandall . .. This mountain has an elevation of 3,682 feet above sea level . . . The slopes ... are ... steep . , . Views are numerous from the natural open spaces which are usually grassy or covered with low bushes . . Such names as Grassy Mountain and Big Bald Mountain are given on account of this feature . . ." Today the mountain is generally simply called "Grassy." There's no need to add the "mountain" to it. It is part of the Chattahoochee National Forest established in 1936. Lake Conasauga covers 25 acres and is the highest body of water in Georgia. Conasauga comes from the Cherokee "Kahnasagah" which means "grass." in 1975 a portion of the National Forest was further designated as the Cohutta Wilderness Area. A "wilderness" is an area where the earth and its community of life are not dominated by man, where man himself is a visitor who does not remain. Cohutta was selected as a wilderness area due to "its natural beauty, the ecological uniqueness of its plant communities, its relatively unmolested condition, the large percentage of federal ownership (98%), and two quality native trout streams contained in its boundaries "according to U.S. Forest Service publications. The Area, part of the Cohutta Wildlife Management Area, boasts numerous rare or uncommon species of plants, many hiking trails, excellent fishing, controlled hunting, and backpacking and camping opportunities. "The designation of this area as a National Forest Wilderness allows the Forest Service to protect its intrinsic values in an unmolested state." Murray Countians have long been aware of the beauty of Grassy and the other mountains in McDonald's District. Even in the 1890's several cabins dotted the top of Grassy. Among the owners were Sam Trimmier, the Bartleys, Mr. Tibbs, and the Gudgers (near Richland Springs). A survey station was located on lot 252 (27th District. 2nd Section). North of Grassy near Hickory Ridge is an old resort area known as Cohutta Springs. Known throughout the state for their medicinal powers, these springs brought many people to Murray including Alexander Stephens, Vice-President of the Confederacy and long-time Georgia statesman. In his Historical Collections of Georgia, published in 1855. George White commented about the many fine springs scattered over Murray County. Singled out for special mention were the "Cohutta Springs, ten miles from Spring Place on Sumac Creek." which had "medicinal properties" and were "beginning to attract public attention" less than 20 years after Murray was settled. White also said: "Arrangements are being made to accommodate visitors. "W.P. Swanson was a minister in the area by 1850. Fifty years later another Georgia historian described Cohutta Springs as a "postvillage" with a population of 66. Actually the first post office in the area was Fancy Hill. This community was south of present-day Fairy Valley at the point where McDonald's adjoins Cisco District. Postmasters at Fancy Hill were Michael E. Murphy (1850-1854), John R. Cain (1854-1858), James F. Haley (1858-1860). and Franklin Summerhour (1860-1866). Resort areas like Cohutta Springs suffered after the Civil War as southerners tned to rebuild their fortunes. However, by the I880's things had improved and a new post office named Loughridge was established. The reason the post office was not named Cohutta Springs was that another Murray County community, located in the Tenth District (near Colvard's) had used the name since the 830s. William D. Gregory was the first Loughridge postal official. He was succeeded by Mrs. Sarah Douglass (1891-92), Charles T. Owens (1892-95), and Mat tie S. Gregory. In 1901, since the other Cohutta Springs office had closed, Loughridge was renamed Cohutta Springs. Mattie Gregory continued to serve as Postmistress until 1905. Her successors were Jathan R. Gregory (1905-07) 30(1 John A. Owens who was postmaster when the office closed in 1910. By this time Cohutta Springs was a bustling community. Three mills operated in the area, one on the north prong of Sumach Creek of which no signs remain, and two on the south prong of the creek. One of these was owned by Smith Treadwell. The Owens store was on the north side of the Cohutta Springs Road at 411, Across 411 was the Cohutta Springs School and a lodge hall. The Woodmen of the World had a lodge there in 1911 and the Odd Fellows had 72 members that year. Mrs. Mattie Gregory was a teacher at the school in 1899. Three physicians had Loughridge or Cohutta Springs addresses at various times-M.P. Bates (1894). John H. Randle (1901), and P.M. Jones (1887). Dr. Jones was a colorful man who practiced medicine in Murray County for many years. He later moved to Eton. Another well-known area resident was Sam Trimmier. His farm is now owned by Colquitt Holcomb. and the grave of D.M. Keith, marked with a hand-carved stone, is located there. Another prominent family near Cohutta Springs was the Summerour clan. The Summerours were early settlers in Murray and their home was located south of the Cohutta Springs Road on 411. Built possibly as early as the 1830's, the house was a landmark for almost 150 years. During the Civil War. "Yankees" rode horses through the long, wide central hall of the house. A 1932 Chattanooga Times reporter described the home as follows: . . . From the "floor" the wainscoting extends upward for more than three feet in panels and this shows less ravages of time than any other par! of the house. It is of hardwood and has been worn to a satiny finish. . , . The main hall is ceiled with wood and there are high mantels and wide brick fireplaces in all of the downstairs rooms, which are large, with high ceilings and many windows. There are two large rooms on either side of the great hall and several rooms on the second story. In one corner of the former yard is a small family cemetery. Rachel Summerour and her 5-rnonth-old son. Sanford Guy, both of whom died in 18S3 are buried there along with Mary Emery, wife of D.N. Hayes, who died in 1894. The Chip Owens family later owned and occupied the house. Used as rental property for many years, the once fine, colonial house was torn down in 1980. In early days a lanyard had operated at Summerour's. The resort area at North Cohutta and Hampton Springs also enjoyed a rebirth in the I880's. The North Georgia Citizen of August 2, 1883 quoted The Spring Place Times as saying: "Cohutta Springs are overcrowded with visitors and accomodations have run out." Later that year the Citizen reported the following: "It is said that some Atlanta gentlemen will erect a commodius hotel at Cohutta Springs and otherwise improve the place." The Pierce family operated the Cohutta Springs Hotel for a time and Miss Mamie Pierce, now of Eton, recalls a time in 1907 when Dalton poet Robert Loveman and friends visited the Pierces. Mr, Pierce had worked in the old Loveman store in Dalton. According to "Miss Mamie," a storm drove Loveman, "Shep" Hall, Theron Shope, and Dennis Barrett from the outside to the upstairs front porch. They began a card game that lasted from after lunch until supper time. When Mr. Pierce went to call the gentlemen to supper, he found Mr. Loveman standing on a table, writing this verse on the ceiling: "We played the game, we played it well, and the rain came down, and it rained like . ,. well!" These men were just some of the many Daltonians who came to Cohutta Springs for picnics and parties. In 1915 a new Cohutta Springs resort was planned for a location south of the older site. The leader of this ambitious undertaking was Jim Speer who, along with surveyor E.A. Hamilton of Dalton designed an elaborate plan. A plat on record at the courthouse reveals a resort with numerous cabin lots, camping Places, a club house, a Sunset Park (with Lover's Leap overlooking Sumach j-reek). Lake Clamera (on the east) formed by a couple of springs, a playground, bath houses, and streets named Prado Drive. Lake Drive. Cherokee Drive. Donaldson Road. Spring Street. Speer Street. Woodrow Street, North Cohutta, and Murray Avenue. While all of Mr. Speer's dreams did not come true for Cohutta Springs (Lot 320, 27th District, 2nd Section) many of the ideas did become realities. Several springs were brought together and joined Cohutta Creek on the south side of the complex while Sumach Creek was on the north. A hotel with about 10 rooms was built over Cohutta Creek and opened in 1916. A reservoir was built on the side of the mountain to provide water for the various cabins. There was a lake with a swimming area and fishing spots. A mill was constructed on the north side and while some corn was ground there, the building's other use was as a dance hall {located on the second floor). The mill was powered by water though a turbine was installed later. It is still standing though it's in poor condition. Several families from Dalton along with a few from Murray County and other places had cottages near the hotel. Mr. E.G. Coffey purchased the hotel in the 1930's and successfully operated it for several years. The Coffeys served Sunday dinner to many visitors to the Springs. Mr, Coffey's daughter, Leah Halm, remembers that Tom Lambert. Frank Percy, Pleas Smith. Joe McCamy, John Hill, Grace McCamy, George Horan.the Woods, Rose and Kate Freeman, Wright Mitchell. Mr. Speers, Fred Brown, the Farrars, and Mrs. Wilson Calhoun were among those who owned cabins. She also reports that square dances were held on Saturday nights with the Coffey brothers furnishing the music. Dot Seaton described Cohutta Springs as follows in her Dalton newspaper column. "The natural beauty of the section combined with the attractive hotel make it an ideal place to stay or camp. In the surrounding hills are echoes of the days when hillbilly bands played their Saturday night tunes for square dancing. There is a lake and a stream and a mountain and some wonderfully cool night to attract people to Cohutta Springs." The old hotel was torn down after the Coffeys moved "down the road" to a two-story house formerly owned by the Ramseys, Following World War II Cohutta Springs had fewer visitors. As the years passed some owners sold cabins while other collages were dismantled. The Kemp sisters and then the Springfield girls later owned cabins there. A few are still is use. Many thought that Cohutta Springs was a thing of the past, but in 1977 the Georgia-Cumberland Conference of Seventh-Day Adventists purchased the original North Cohutta Springs property from owner Albert Ledford, Two years later ground-breaking ceremonies were held for a S5 million lake, recreational, and convention center project. The first phase of the new Cohutta Springs project was completed by 1983 and features a 50-acre lake for water skiing, boating, and fishing. There is horseback riding as well as a gymnasium for basketball and badminton. Hiking trails, cabins, a motel, and a cafeteria and an auditorium complete the center. As the brochure for the new Cohutta Springs says "The legacy of beautiful Cohutta Springs traces its beginning to the resort and health facilities . . . whose pride was the famous mineral springs. A new chapter in the Cohutta Springs story began with the development of the current complex." South of Cohutta Springs, east of 411. was the Methodist church which bore the Summerour name. Stella Baxter and Emily Cogbum have compiled the allowing information about this "Methodist Episcopal Church, South." Prior to the establishment of the Methodist Episcopal Church South, there was a Mill Creek S.S.W.S. in this vicinity. Out of this, we believe, grew the church. We suppose, and have reports to the effect, that the Mill Creek Sunday School was first established years earlier near Mill Creek about one mile east of Crandall at the place known today as Beardtown. The Sunday school was later moved to the site of the first Summerrour meeting house, still carrying the Mill Creek Sunday School title which was later dropped. This first Mill Creek Sunday School would date back to the early 1800's. Land was granted to the Summerour Methodist Episcopal Church South by Franklin Summerour on March 10.1869. Trustees were Robert McCamy, Charles Adair. James McCamy, R.R. Bates, and Mr. Summerour. This was on the easl side of the old turnpike road which went by the already existing church. The railroad was later built on the west side of this building and cemetery. There was a second deed granted to the Summerour Methodist Episcopal Church South in 1895. for land on which the present church building now stands. The deed in 1895 was granted by C.T. and Cohutta L. Owens and S.L. Trimmier, trustees of the church and heirs of Franklin Summerour. The address of the church in 1895 was Loughridge. Ga. All of the above mentioned transactions are for Land Lot 268 which is north of the road that the church is on. The land for the cemetery across from the church was never deeded to the church but members and their families have always been allowed to bury there. The cemetery is in Land Lot 273. The present church building was started in August 1893 and completed in November 1895. The building committee consisted of J.A. Gregory. C.T. Owens, W.D. Gregory and S.L. Trimmier. The working committee for the building consisted of Thomas Stafford. Joe Stanfield. Jesse Westmoreland, Harry Westmore-land. J.M. Plemons. N.W. Harris. J.M. Harris. Henry Whittle. John Whittle, and William Mackey. Public school and church services were continued in the old building until the new or present building was completed. Public or day school was held but for a very short time at the present church site. In the early 1920's the membership and interest waned in Summerour Church and the doors were closed. In 1935, with Mrs. Morris (Frances) Phillips spearheading the effort, the church was reactivated. For a time Sunday school was held on Sunday afternoons with guest teachers such as Dorothy Jackson Barksdale and Margaret Milam. The church was admitted to the Dalton District of Methodist Churches and Rev. J.B. Godfrey was the first pastor assigned after the church was reopened. Mrs. Charlie (Mattie) Howell and Mrs. Harrison (Etta) Phillips made the rounds of houses in a buggy soliciting donations for the purchase of the organ for the church. Mr. Ed Coffey donated the proceeds from a Saturday night dance at Cohutta Springs to buy the piano. This organ and piano are still in the church and in use today. On November 18, 1957 a storm struck the Crandall area and the church was moved off its foundation. The building originally faced south but when it was repaired after the storm it was turned to face the west. Where it originally had two front doors (one larger than the other in order to accomodate the width of caskets) it had one double door after the repairs. Interesting information found in gathering the church history: A letter written by General August (Gus) McDonald to his wife during the Civil War requesting five dozen pair of woolen socks knitted for his troops and ready for the army dispatch carrier on his next trip to pick up supplies. He reported his men had not been hungry but had suffered from frost-bitten feet. A letter written by Miss McCarny to the Adair girls from the Fayetteville Girls Academy where she was attending school during the 1860's. She reported that her studies were hard and that she would be very happy to be home for the summer parties. Found in the debris of the storm-damaged building in 1957 by D.O. Baxter was a wooden corner plaque 12" square. On careful examination it was revealed to be a corner plaque placed in the church tower. It contained the names of each of the members of the building committee and was signed in lead pencil in their own handwriting. (These names have been mentioned earlier in this history.) It also contained this name and inscription: "Frank Gregory, the little boy who carried water." Frank Gregory was 7 years old at the beginning of the building program in 1893 and 9 years old at the date of completion of the church building. He died in 1910 at the age of 24. Outstanding Members of the Church Robert McCamy a district trustee of the Methodist Church and a leading promoter of churches and education throughout the North Georgia area and a one-time clerk of county court. General Gus McDonald, a Civil War General. C.D. Adair. tax commissioner. W.D. Gregory, Murray County School Commissioner and tax collector in the early 1800's. D.C. Trimmier, recorded in History of Murray County by Charles Shriner as one of the outstanding teachers in the early public school system. C.T. Owens, state senator. R.E. Wilson, state senator. J.A. McCamy, state senator. From the Gregory and Summerhour descendants are a number of doctors and teachers. In the McCamy and McDonald descendants there are also a number of teachers and lawyers. Mr. J.P. Tarpley was a long-time officer in the church. The Summerour Methodist Church disbanded in the 1970's and today the Amazing Grace Baptist Church meets in the old Summerour building. The Summerour name survives only in identification of the various cemeteries connected with the church. Across the railroad near the original church site is the oldest cemetery plot which contains many old graves, some dating to the 1860's. Also buried here is Mary Dennis McCamish who was born in 1776 and lived to be 101. South of the last church is the largest section of the Summerour cemetery and in recent years another addition was begun east of the church on the north side of the road. As mentioned earlier, school was held in the old Surnmerour church for some time. The schol was then moved to a house on the Summerour farm near what was later the site of the D.C. Harris home and Payne's Store. The Summerour School was operating in 1880 and the next year found Mrs. Adelia Dickey employed as teacher. In 1884 Nannie Dunlap taught at Plemmons, east of Summerour. and in 1890 Summerour students were sent to Hall's Chapel. The next year W.D. Gregory had 18 students enrolled at Summerour's. Other teachers recorded for the school were Jennie Gilbert (1892-93). W.L. Henry (1893), John Gregory (1894). Houston Terry. Jennie Terry, and J.F. Cox. all in 1895-96, and J.M. Gregory (1900). Later, the school was discontinued and part of Summerour's pupils enrolled at Hall's Chapel School while others went to Dewberry or Crandall School. Dewberry Baptist Church, founded in 1890, was the first Baptist church in the area. Located east of 411, the first building, though damaged by storms, stood until 1953 when plans were made for a new building. This buiiding was completed in 1956. Rev. McAfee Bates was the first pastor and some of the names found in early minutes include James Moreland. D.R. Dunn, N.F. Wilson, Mariam Jones, J.P. Ash, C.C. Howell. and J. Speers. Pastors of the church have been N.S. Osbom, Oscar Davis, T.M. Davis, S.L. Gann, John Vineyard, R.L. Ellioti, J.N. Holcomb, W.E. Self. Mark Baxter, S.A. Crumbley, Milas Winkler, Ed Payne, Johnny Payne, Fred Winkler, and Raymond Beavers. In 1973 attendance at Dewberry was about 120. Officers at that time were Sunday school superintendent Arnold Manis, music director Jack Weaver, pianist Jackie Weaver, clerk Denton Keener, and treasurer Linda Payne. The Dewberry Cemetery is located on 411. Nearby is the former Otis Hudson, now Greg Beavers store, across the road from the new Jackie Gallman Store. The short-lived school at Dewberry had a Frisbee as teacher in 1896 and Miss Georgia Holland in 1897. East of Crandall was a place called Beardtown where logs were floated down the creek to be picked up by trains. The town of Crandall was founded after the L&N Railroad was constructed. Built in 1904, the Crandall Depot was sold to Jim Beavers in the 1940's. Lumber from the building was used to build two houses. Some of the telegraph operators at the Crandall station were O.M. Rice, W.A. West, Elmer Chambers, Paul Leverette, and Mr. Sullivan. The old water tank was sold to Morris Phillips who used the timbers to build a bam. The railroad was an important part of life in Crandall for many years and residents remember at least two wrecks which occurred there. One train accident was in 1911 while another took place in August. 1920. James A. Howard (1874-1973) was a long-time section foreman for L&N in Murray County and left 'behind this account of the 1920 wreck: "One train had taken the siding to let another train pass, but pulled out from the siding directly in front of [the passing train's] second section. The engineer, fireman, and brakeman on one train were killed. Engineer Gulley jumped off the train, but his fireman and brakeman were killed. Engineer Gulley went crazy one night and died soon after from shock of the wreck." Crandall post office was established in 1904 with William Burton Foote as postmaster. After a brief existence the office was discontinued until 1908. Four members of the Phillips family then held the postal position--Charles S. Phillips (1908-14), Nellie Phillips Warmack (1914-24). Amelia E. Phillips (1924-56) and Mrs- Frances Phillips (1956-58). Julia Willene Bowers has been postmistress since then. Jeff Wood was probably the first rural carrier for Crandall and many residents remember the 27 years that Nelson Harris was their mailman (1946-73). Benny Hawkins and Dale Sluder have succeeded Mr. Harris whose wife. Oma Lee, also worked at the post office. The post office itself has been at several locations in the last 80 years. In 1908 the G.W. Phillips store (commissary) was the mail center and next the post office moved about 200 yards north to a house now owned by Julia Bowers. The old L&N Depot was the next home for the post office and then the office moved across the railroad to a spot across the street from Dunn's Store. A new building adjacent to Dunn's Store next became the post office before it moved to its present location, east of the railroad. The Crandall city charter was approved August 22. 1907 but was repealed in July, 1914. At that time J.H. Plernons was mayor while C.S. Phillips. D.B-McCollum. N.B, Bates, and M.C. Cloer were councilmen. Sometime in the 1920s or 30's the charter was reactivated but city government again lagged after 1936 when the last elections were held. According to old-timer Charlie Howell. the mayor and councilmen either "moved out or died off" and left him with the town's problems. So Charlie, the city clerk, declared the town's books closed, did away with city taxes, and went out of office. In 1971 there was talk of reactivating the charter or repealing it and obtaining a new one so that Crandall would be eligible for state and federal grants. However the government remains inactive. N.H. Henry was Crandall's justice of the peace in 1928. Fulton Loughridge was the city's tax collector in 1919. According to census records Crandall's population has been around 200 since 1940. Some organizations and churches have called Crandall their home. A Woodmen of the World Lodge (No. 1431) existed briefly in 1936. W.P. Hayes deeded property in lot 272 (10th District. 3rd Section) to a Church of God near town. S.L. Cantrell and J.S. Arthur were the trustees. This church met in the 1920's and 30's near where Richard Patterson now lives. Recently a Methodist church has been organized in Crandall. Of course in any railroad town several businesses have existed. An important firm in early Crandall was the Crandall Lumber Company. Though it surrendered its charter in 3929. the company was operating in 1937. George H. Gearheart and W.B. Townsend of Cleveland were associated with the business. Tom Whitson had a sawmill on the Crandall-Ellijay Road in 1909 and several members of the Hickey family worked at this mill, one of many located in the area over the years. Medical services were rendered by Dentist Isaac R. Stone (1912). along with Doctors R.C. Kemp (1913). Furr and F.C. Bentley. Other Crandall businesses included a Western Union station. J.C. Plemons Garage and Blacksmith Shop, grist mills, and barber shops. McCollums had a store at one time, as did "Pole" Bates (on the west side of the railroad near C.S. Phillips' house). A store on the west side was operated by Felton Loughridge. Max Greeson. Jeff Wilson, Buford Wilson. Noble Dunn, Theron Quarles, Gene Mullinax and last by Chris Wilbanks. Mrs. A.C. Wilson's Store, east of the railroad, was previously owned by George Gregory, Ed Payne, Dave Vaughn. and A.C, Wilson. Tom Ledford ran a barber shop. D.R. Dunn gave land for a school in 1913. The building was constructed in 1914 on the east side of the railroad near Charlie Howell's. Until 1929 two teachers taught grades 1-7 at Crandall, After that only grades 1-3 went to Crandall which had only one teacher. Early teachers were Jim Steed, Harris Richards. Marie Kelly, Mattie Lou Walls (1916). Jessie M. Fain, Beatrice Hemphill, Agnes Kemp. Remma Belle Anderson, Price Bracket! and J.H. Wood (1917), Marie Stephens (1918), Minnie Foster (1919), Julia Groves, Inez Redmond, Macie Jackson, Ella C. Baxter, Estelle Gregory, Alfred Puckett, Thelma Wilson, H.W. Cordle, Elva Hicks, George Colvard, Lois Trussell (1931), Minnie Dunn, William Colvard, Rossie O'Neal, and Walter Richards were Crandall teachers in the 1930's. Other teachers were Frances Phillips. Will Dee Baxter. Stella Baxter, and Lyndall Bonds. Crandall School was consolidated with Eton in 1951-52. The only trustees recorded for the school were C.S. Phillips, Paul Leverette. and M.P. Bates, all in the 1930's. From Pleasant Valley to Boatwrights. from Hassler's Mill to Cohutta Springs, and from Eton to Crandall, McDonald's District has a long and fascinating heritage.
TOWNS, COMMUNITIES, AND MILITIA DISTRICTS
(1880-1980)
Cisco-Alaculsey District
The present Cisco Militia District (No. 10ll)is the result of combining several once very distinct communities into one. Located in the northeast corner of Murray County. Cisco District is now noted for its prompt reporting of election returns. However, communication has not always been easy in this rugged, mountainous area which has one of the most fascinating histories of any Georgia District. Stories of churches, schools, mountain adventures, lost mines, counterfeiters, Union raids, and rugged living abound in Cisco history. Geographically. Cisco District has several important features. In the extreme northeast portion of the district is the Alaculsey Valley. Spellings for Alaculsey vary and if someone simply writes or speaks of just "The Valley,'' everyone knows exactly the area to which he is referring. Of course mountains must exist for valleys to do so. and Cisco District has several: Bald (so named because of the sparse vegetation on its peak), Beaver. Rocky Face. Cowpen. Doogan, and Iron Mountains. Several waterways dominate the Cisco District's geography, also. Rough Creek (because it arises in the eastern part of the county and runs through "rough territory"), Sumach Creek (named by the Indians for the sumac plant), Tearbritches Creek (arises on the north side of Bald Mountain), and Sheets Creek all empty into the principal waterway of the area, the Conasauga River. This river arises in western Fannin County, flows north through Alaculsey into Tennessee, meanders in and out of Georgia, and finally turns south to become the boundary line between Murray and Whitfield Counties. Most believe that Conasauga comes from the Cherokee "Kahnasagah" which means "grass." Another important tributary is Jack's River. Legends say that an Indian named Jack lived in the Valley and carried people across the river on his back, thus explaining the origin of the name. Before the Civil War, many families settled in the Valley and on the surrounding hills. Many came from Tennessee, but others came from Germany. France, Holland, or Ireland. Some came by boat and others in wagons, on horseback, or on foot. Family histories say that the Valley was a peaceful, prosperous community where people worked hard and helped one another to build homes and care for families. Names are often confusing when discussing the Cisco District because for several years three post offices operated in the area. One was called Alaculsey, described by a Georgia historian as "a post hamlet in extreme northeast Murray County." Postmasters for Alaculsey were William C. Kirby (1878-81), Thomas N. Taylor (1881). W.J. Linder (1881). John W. Linder (1881-84). Nasa M. payne (1884-87). Loranzo Poteet (1887-88). John Martin (1888-1903). A.S. Campbell (1903-04), William C. Chable (1904-12), and Jarnes C. Chable who served from 1912 until the post office was combined with Doogan in 1914. According to long-time resident Rev. Mark Baxter. Alaculsey was an Indian name given to the area by one of the community's founders. Alphonso A. Chable. Chable was a Frenchman who had come to America and settled at Sylco just inside the Tennessee line. (Sylco was also called Vineland or The Old Dutch Settlement.) During the Civil War, Chable. whose father had fought under Napoleon, joined the Confederate Army and rose to the rank of Captain. Following the war he settled in the Valley and along with his son, Andrew (1866-1946), accumulated land, operated a mill, and became a prominent resident. The Chables called their home "Cloega Village" after a Cherokee Indian and built the first bridge over Jack's River. The present bridge, moved from somewhere above Conasauga. Tennessee, by the CCC, replaced that earlier bridge. Today, little remains of the once prosperous area of Cloega and Alaculsey except the Chable Bridge, the dam to the Chable Mill complex, the Chable Family Cemetery, and the Baxter Family Cemetery. At Alaculsey. Baxter & Buchanan started an iron works by 1860. This venture was still in operation in 1869. but to what extent is not known. Also in the vicinity was a grist mill owned prior to 1886 by J.W. & J.H, Linder and after 1886 by Oliver Huckabee. Joe Horton had a grist mill on Jigger Creek for a time and A.L, Campbell also operated a store in the Valley. As previously mentioned the Chables also had a fine, well-built mill. Another early settler was Solomon Fouls (formerly Feutz) of German descent. He. like the Chables, became quite an entrepreneur in the Valley, acquiring considerable land and large orchards, operating three mills (one on Jack's River and two on the Conasauga), and running a woodworking shop where he specialized in furniture. His lathes, saws, presses, etc. were run by water power. Mr. Fouts also owned slaves. The post office and village of Doogan arose near the southern end of the Valley. Sometimes the place was referred to as Rice's since that family operated the post office for a time. The first official postmaster for Doogan was David White, appointed in 1S8S. For a brief time in 1887-88 the mail service stopped at Cisco until the Doogan office was re-established and Mr. White re-appointed. Succeeding postmasters at Doogan included W.P. Poteet (1904). Francis White (1904-08), Abner H. Green (1908-14). James Rice (1914-34), James J. Arthur (1934-36). and Luther Smith (1936-42). The Doogan office was again discontinued in 1942. Mail carriers at various times were Joe Horton. Bill Milsap and Mark Baxter. Jim Arthur and Luther Smith operated stores at Doogan, while Jim O'Neal ran a store near Cowpen Road for a while. Other early settlers (before 1900) in the Valley were John & Jacob Pellom. Bub Carter. Lorenzo Douthitt (who along with W.P. Poteet was appointed road commissioner for the district in 1893), W.A. Collins, Ash Langford, Marion West. Levi Long, the Baxters. Isaac Greer, Thomas Phillips, Will Keener. John Thompson, Pete Arthur, Daily White, Garrison Poteet, Jim Poteet, the Kin-dricks, Sam Higdon, Harvey Silvers, and the Shields family. The Jack Cloer family and others settled near Pleasant Gap and Cloer Mountain, now reached by West Cowpen Road. The Valley prospered for many years with only occasional interruptions. An important event took place in 1854 when a Dalton hunter, Dick Clark, froze to death in the mountains. He had walked ahead of the rest of his coon-hunting party which consisted of Oscar Long. Hix McClurd, Jud Dover, and Robert McClurd. (The last three were from Gilmer County.) Although warned about rugged terrain, worsening weather, and unfamiliar paths, Clark left anyway. The December days were short and the weather became unbearable. When Clark failed to arrive at the destination, the others began a search. Forced to give up for the night, the men renewed their efforts the following day and found Clark's frozen body on Rocky Face Mountain. He had lost his way on the unfamiliar mountain. During the Civil War. Union troops converged on the Valley-perhaps aiming for the iron works and the mills. As the soldiers pillaged and plundered, they arrived at the Fouts homestead. During their 4-day stay the soldiers killed cattle and hogs, made the women cook round the clock, took the beds, crowded the fire, burned furniture, abused the children, and hanged Solomon Fouts from a tree in the yard. The soldiers then got into an argument (possibly because one soldier tried to end the mistreatment) and one man was killed. The men discovered that Mr. Fouts was not dead and cut the rope so he could bury the dead Yankee. Mr. Fouts did so and today the grave can still be seen on the north side of the Fouts Family Cemetery. When the soldiers departed the Fouts family was left with only a calf and a pig. Another Civil War story is about Mr. Bearden who saw Union troops coming up the Mountain Road as he traveled down the East Cowpen Road. He turned back, but a soldier saw him and shot him. Mr. Bearden was buried in a lonely spot on the mountainside. Several stories have been told about the lost silver mines in the Valley. According to members of the Langford and Head families, "Granny Becky" Good-win had found some silver mines of excellent quality. She wore out many aprons carrying ore out of the mountains. Shortly before her death "Granny" either told someone where the mine was located or someone found it. At any rate counterfeit silver dollars soon began circulating. However, the coins were of higher quality than regular U.S. coinage so the counterfeiters were never punished, although their identities were known. Over the years the secret of the mines' exact location was lost, but it was on the Head property near Land Lot 275. Some say that the area contained talc also. Many have searched for the silver but never found it. A new challenge faced the inhabitants of Alaculsey at the turn of the century� the building of the Dalton and Alaculsey Railroad. The plans were for the tracks to begin near the Valley's southern end. curve south by Spring Place, and turn west toward Dalton where it would join the W&A line. This would have made it much easier to ship lumber and minerals from the Valley, but unfortunately the company folded in 1902 before any tracks were laid. As if iron and silver were not enough, the discovery of manganese in the Valley brought new hopes in the first third of the century. Mark Baxter said some mining took place at "Gizzard" to the west of the Valley. Ore was hauled by mule and wagon to Conasauga, Tennessee, where it was shipped to Alabama. The Valley was not without officials and a courtground (and a mill) were located near Mt. Sumach church. Jim Arthur and John Langford were justices of the peace at one time. Others were: Sam Higdon (1893-190!), L.M. Douthit (1893-97). Ben Fouts (1898-1904). A.H. Green (1909-1929). and E.C. Arthur (1930-34). Any medical services needed were provided by Doctors Parks and Gilbert from Tennessee and Dr. Kemp. Schools and churches in the Valley were often in the same buildings. Until 1895 schools for Alaculsey and Cisco were grouped in the same school district. That year a separate school district (Alaculsey No. 1506) was formed. Trustees for the first 2 years were Mr. Wetsell, Andrew Poteet. Leonard Poteet, David White, and Loranzo Poteet. Unfortunately, school records are not complete and the locations of schools were not always given in the records which do exist. The Pleasant Gap School and "a meeting house" were given a deed from A J. Cloer in 1881. Sometimes called the Cloer School, the school was on lot 227 (27th Dist.. 3rd Section). W.M. Langford. S.B. Cochran, and G.W. Cloer were the first trustees. Later trustees included John Keener (192944). Lee Long, and George B. Cloer. Among the teachers at Pleasant Gap were Ellen Douthitt (1899). Ina Henry (1900). Miss Delia Keener, Leila Cloer, Alice Higdon. Dee Baxter. James Arthur (1916-17). Lola and Nellie Gordon (1917-18). Opal Jenkins (1928-30), Ethel Douthit (1934-35), Robbie Huffstetler (1936-37). Edith Allen (1938-39) and U.S. Woodey (194243). Pleasant Gap school was consolidated with Cisco and today only a cemetery remains of the Pleasant Gap school and meeting house. Another school, sometimes called "The Valley School." was located at Alaculsey by 1880. Teachers here included W.A. Collins (1881). Miss Mary Smith (1884), John Seymore(1891).J.B. Smith (1894). W.A. Campbell (1895). Mome-ville Douthitt (1896). Maud Williams (1899). Georgia Chable. Ginda Chable, H.L Smith (1916-17). J.T. Arthur (1917-18). Ella Chastain (1917-18), Mrs. S.W. Higdon (1929-30). When the Hopewell Church was located near the Conasauga River, school was held in that building. At times this school was moved and called Doogan. Numerous people taught at this school which operated for at least 50 years-A new school was built in 1932. Among the teachers at the various Doogan schools were M.D. Douthitt (1897). Luther Smith. Myrtle Johnson. Johnnie Pierce Hartley. Leila Arthur. Mary Edwards. Jessie Henry, Lucas Watson, Andy Campbell, Adel Chable Tripplett, Viola Baggett. Mary Long, Flossie Brewer Stafford. Ralph Richards. Grace Wilkey. EstherWilkey. Jennings Whitener, Opal Jenkins Shields. Richard Kendrick (1919). Lizzie Fetzer (1918). Nannie Lou Brewer (1928-30). Lou Arthur Hopkins (192943). Icy Plemons (1932-33), Winfrey Leonard (1935-36). and Addle Mae Fuller (1943). Trustees of the Doogan School at various times were Mark Baxter, Ernes! Arthur. George Stafford. J.T. Arthur. Frank Pickle, and Luther Smith. Other schools were taught in the Valley area also. In 1900 classes were held at "Central House" by S.T. Harris. A school was open at Windy Gap in 1899 while in 1884 W.A. Collins had taught a session at "Lone Hill." The locations of these schools are uncertain, however. The church at Hopewell is the only one still existing in the Valley. Many of the pioneer families are buried in its cemetery. Among the pastors of Hopewell have been Jim Dunn. Jim Richie. Wallace Millsap. Mark Baxter. John T. Vineyard (1919). Staten Crisp. James Crawford, Tom Payne, Bo Davis, Monroe Steelman. and Hershal Watson. Also, near Hopewell across from the old store, there had been a Methodist Episcopal church which received a deed from Thomas Douthitt in October, 1894. The trustees were Javan Campbell. David B. White, and John White. Located on Land Lot 95 (27th District, 2nd Section) these trustees then deeded the property to the Pleasant Valley M.E. Church in December, 1894. Evidently the church had been in existence for some time without having a deed or it did not last long. (Pleasant Valley was the former name of Eton so the members of the church in the Valley might have united with that group.) The Blue Ridge Primitive Baptist Church was constituted in 1885-86 and joined the Blue Ridge Association of Primitive Baptists in 1887. The first two homes of this church were at Sylco, a community near Alaculsey. but in Tennessee. The Sylco cemetery is on the west side of the road, a short distance from the Chable Bridge, In 1897 when the church was to host its first Association meeting, the members hastily erected a log building, built benches, and left their first home-a private building with a dirt floor. A.H. Green played a major role in the construction of the church. The congregation moved from Sylco to the Alaculsey Valley about 1928 and remained there until 1948 when the group moved to Chatswurth. Members of the church were the Greens, Smiths, Curbows. Chables, Pickles. Becklers, O'Neals, and others. Ministers attending the church included Elders J.M. Davis. Jim Parker. Johnny Parker, J.H. Weaver. J.M. Moon-ey, and H.L. Smith who served as pastor over 50 years. The Alaculsey home of the church was located about 'A mile from the present Hopewell Church. (Information provided by Icy Plemons and J.D. Smith.) Two other deeds to churches in the Valley are recorded in the Murray County Courthouse. On March 29. 1877 Isaac N. Greer deeded property to the trustees of the Mt. Zion M.E. Church who were W.C. Cole. James B. Taylor, and B.F. Smith. This property was located on Land Lot 128 (27th District. 2nd Section). In February 1881 Minerva Fouts deeded land to the trustees of a Methodist church located on the east side of the Conasauga River in Land Lot 161 (27th District, 2nd Section). This lot adjoins the one on which Mt. Zion was located. Trustees on the tatter deed are W.C. Kirby, William Richardson, and M.E. Es-linger. The Valley schools were possibly held at these places. Though several denominations established churches in the Valley from time to time. Rev. Mark Baxter said that everyone went to all the churches in the district since none of the congregations was full-time. He said on one occasion that "sometimes it was hard to tel! a Baptist from a Methodist." After the L&N Railroad was built in 1905. people gradually began leaving the Valley. Activity came to center around Cisco and Fairy where many of the Valley families re-settled. As the people left the mountains, schools closed and consolidated with Cisco, while churches moved or disbanded. Today a great deal of the Alaculsey Valley is included in the Chattahoochee National Forest.
TOWNS, COMMUNITIES, AND MILITIA DISTRICTS
(1880-1980)
Fairy, Hall's Chapel, and Fancy Hill
In the southwestern corner of Cisco District, near the line with McDonald's District, three communities have existed. The oldest seems to have been Hall's Chapel, located on the old George Hall farm near Fairy Valley Baptist Church. Founded in the 1840's. Hall's Chapel was noted for its school and its "Union Church." As early as 1846 or 1847 Rev. Hiram Douglass. a Cumberland Presbyterian minister, began preaching to a group of settlers at Hall's Chapel School-house. From then until 1853 this loosely organized body called themselves the Mount Cumberland Church. According to a deed from the Hall family. Hall's Chapel was to be used for educational purposes during the week and religious gatherings on weekends, but no single church or denomination was to have sole control of the services. Rev. S.H, Henry was a teacher and preacher here in the early 1850's. However, when members of the group sought to formally organize a Cumberland Presbyterian church, the Hall's Chapel group divided. Those who wanted to form the church formed the Sumach Cumberland Presbyterian congregation and in 1853 moved to the present site of that church. Others remained at Hall's Chapel as the Mount Cumberland Church until about 1861, possibly ceasing worship due to the War Between the States and its hardships. Following the war, the school reopened and occasionally services were held at Hall's. The school enjoyed many years of success with the following among the teachers. W.L. Henry (1881). A.J. Mann (1884). M.P. Bates (1891), J.B. Smith (1892), W.M. Lowery (1894-97), and Lula Gladden (1899-1900). The school was operating in 1880, but the teacher's name is not known, as was true in 1890 when Summerhour's pupils were sent there. In 1891, 29 pupils were enrolled at Hall's Chapel and after the turn of the century Harris Richards was a teacher. About 1913 the old Hall's Chapel school closed and a new school at Fairy opened. In the early 1920's this new school burned and by the late 1920's another building had been constructed across the road from the old Hall's school. This Hall's Chapel school operated until 1954 when several schools were consolidated with Eton. Teachers during this era of Hall's Chapel's long history included Rossie McNeely, Mattie Harris, Bertie Parks, Ethel Douthitt, Ella O'Neal (1928-29), Etta Hampton (1928-29), George Ross (1930-33), Mrs. A.L. Rymer (1933-34), Icy O'Neal Plemons (1933-37), Mildred Baxter Petty (1938-39). Grapell Bracket! (194244). and Marie Apgar (1948-52). Dave Baxter, John Green, Albert Rymer, Bert Green, and George Hall were some of the people who served as trustees of the Hall's Chapel School. Today, the only reminder of the Hall's Chapel community is the name of the road connecting Highways 411 and 225 which passes the sites of the former schools. Another old community near Hall's Chapel was Fancy Hill, located near Sumach Creek on what is now Highway 411. A post office was established there in 1850 with Michael E. Murphy as postmaster. Succeeding postmasters were John Cain (1854-58), James F. Haley (1858-60) and Franklin Summerhour (1860-66). The post office closed in 1866 as did several stations following the Civil War. A post office named Petty existed in the area from 1900-06 with Elijah Petty and James Looney as postmasters. As post offices opened and closed frequently in those days it was common for the same people, living in the same house, to have a variety of addresses over the years as evidenced by these envelopes from the Hall family: After the building of the L&N Railroad, some of the attention usually given to Hall's Chapel and Fancy Hill focused instead on a new community named Fairy. At Fairy, the "short dog" train stopped and Rufus Harris built a store. The post office had already been established in 1897 with W.D. Petty the first postmaster. John Petty (1905-07). George Howell (1907-17), and Susie Cookerly (1917-18) were successive postmasters. The Fairy office combined with Crandall in 1918. The railroad was vitally important to Fairy, particularly for local shipping and transportation. Several serious train wrecks occurred in this area. When the old Hall's Chapel School closed around 1913 or 1914, Fairy school was established on land provided by H.A. McCamy (Land Lot 201,10th District. 3rd Section) just north of Hall's Chapel Road. Among the teachers at Fairy were Frankie Anderson, Walter Harper, Minnie Rickett. Nellie Rickett (1916-17), H.L. Smith and Ed Slaughter in 1917-18, and J.H. Woods (1918-19). Unfortunately. the Fairy school burned and the educational facility for this ward was moved back to Hall's Chapel. The Fairy name lives on in the Fairy Valley Baptist Church which was founded in 193S- The congregation first assembled, appropriately enough, in the Hall's Chapel School. Mr. W.B. Rucker gave the land for the church and the first pastor was S.A. Crumley. Charter members included Rev. & Mrs. Crumley, Mr, & Mrs. W.B. Rucker, Ben Rucker, Cage Plemons, Edward Dunn, Joe Gladden, Mr. & Mrs. N.K. Hooker. Beulah Hooker, Samuel Hooker, Homer Elrod, Mrs. W.P. Rymer. Mrs. Houston Childers. Mrs. CM. Arrowood, Raymond Arrowood, Kendall Arrowood, Eula Patterson Pritchett. Arlie Patterson Mantooth, W.P. Rymer. Arvil Pritchett, Paul Elrod, and Ruth Dunn Dalton. Trustees on a 1940 deed include C.M. Arrowood, Charles Raicliff. and Oscar Hooker. By 1972 Fairy Valley had 208 members. Pastors since the founding have been Ed Payne, Kirby Park. Arnold Adams, J.C. Hotlifield. Dalton Hughes. John Vineyard. Milas Winkler, J.D. Cox. Ed Morgan. Edward Ballew, Dallas Johnson, J.A. Burger, Winfrey Crider, Reggie Mantooth, Fletcher Goswick, and Fred Coker. (Information from the History of the North Georgia Baptist Association.) The Fairy Valley Cemetery is one of the prettiest in the county and includes what was once a cemetery for the Hall and McCamy families. Thomas Hall (1795-1865), the patriarch of the Hall clan, is buried there and. according to family members, some slaves were buried there in unmarked graves. In 1934 District No, 1506's name was changed from Doogan to Alaculsey and District No, 1011 became Cisco rather than Alaculsey. In 1959 the two were combined to form present-day Cisco District. The justices of the peace for the area have included Houston O'Neal (1885-89). C.C. Howell (1886-98) Sam Hie-don (1900-05 & 1907-40). J.B. Higdon (1920-21), T.E. Turvey (1924-28) and Floyd Crumley. Elections are held in the old Cisco School.
TOWNS, COMMUNITIES, AND MILITIA DISTRICTS
(1880-1980)
Tennga District #1713
One of the smallest Murray County militia districts in land area, Tennga, is located at the northern edge of the county. The town of Tennga is on U.S. 411 and the Louisville and Nashville Railroad at the Tennessee-Georgia line. A settled community has existed in the area since Cherokee times and the Indians called the place "Whip" for the whip-poor-will. Upon the building of the railroad, officials coined "Tennga" from the abbreviations of the two state names. Some people pronounce the name "Tenngee," a pronounciation passed down from the Indians though the name is of twentieth-century origin. According to the Georgia Code, Tennga was chartered August 14, 1909. but the charter was repealed in July, 1924. In 1937 Tennga had a population of 175. Among the early settlers of Whip was W.P. Gordon who operated a small grocery store and served as postmaster (appointed in 1902). The name was changed to Tennga in 1906 and Newt Gordon succeeded his brother as postmaster after that time. On February 20,1920 Charles L. Wilson, also a merchant, was appointed postmaster. Mr. WiJson retired in 1964 and was succeeded by his son, Harold, who retired in 1985. Early residents, James A. Forsythe (1903-04) and Giles Dunn, were mail carriers in the Tennga District near the turn of the century. Others who lived in the area before 1900 included the Shields. Cole, Hartley, Tucker. White, Ross, Ledford, Wiggins, Graves, and Peden families. Mr. D.M. Peden was a photographer. Another pioneer family, the T.W. Eppersons, owned a large farm which included much of present-day Tennga. The late Henry Epperson remembered the extremely cold winter of 1894-95 when the temperature dropped to 12 degrees below zero with a foot of snow and a frozen Conasauga River. Mr. Epperson's father, Thomas, opened a small hotel at Tennga when the railroad was completed. This family was also among the first to have elctric lights, to own a radio, and to buy a new Model-T. In the early 1900's John Epperson, son of T.W. Epperson. built a jail in the southern part of modern Tennga near the west side of the railroad. John Ledford and John B. Hawkins were deputies. The railroad depot was built on the Tennessee side of the stale line and operated as a freight office until the early 1960's. Among the early businesses in Tennga were barber shops operated by Charles Ledford and Ralph Craves, Sallie Graves' Hotel, Jasper Hayes' Livery Stable. C.L, Cox's Garage, restaurants owned by Ernest Ratcliff and Mrs. Cecil Cox. the Wjggins grist mill, John Led-ford's store, Fate Felker's blacksmith shop. Jimmy Wiggins' store, and Tom Keith's store (still in operation in 1985). Mr. Hayes also sold caskets made by the Hughes Manufacturing Co., located just inside Tennessee. A sketch of old Tennga would look something like this: (Note: The drawing from the book does not appear here.) Other businesses have operated in Tennga over the years including a telegraph office, the Ross Rug Company (which suffered a major fire in the early 1970's), the Tennga Laundry & Dye Company (in the 1950's), and the Rosstex Airport. Floyd Morris and Frank McCardy also had a textile business for a time. In more recent years the Gordon Wilson greenhouse has been a successful operation in Tennga. Elections were formerly held in Buck Keith's filling station, but they are now held in the Wiggins Garage build ing. Tennga also had a lodge. A very active group in the Tennga District is the Tennga Home Demonstration Club, organized in 1951. Home demonstration agent Coleen Poole helped organize the club which began with six members: Edna File (the first president), Mildred McCamy, Ethel Almond, Agnes Philips, Mary Mayfield, and Kathryn King. As the years passed, the club held regular meetings even when the county had no home economist. The Tennga group has been very active in community affairs, planting trees at some of the churches, furnishing eggs at Easter and fruit at Christmas for orphan homes, distributing baskets of food at Christmas to shut-ins and resthome patients, collecting clothes for a children's home, and making pajamas for hospital patients. Club members have participated in both Murray and Whit field County fairs, winning several first-place ribbons. In addition to their home demonstrations the members have traveled to state and national meetings in Atlanta and Washington, D.C., as well as to a Chattanooga television station where members were interviewed. In 1980 the club had 18 active members: Mildred Petty, Barbara Davis. Joyce Reed, Wave Hill, Mildred McCamy, Dorothy Davis, Dorothy Sampson, Juanita Stafford, Maudie Petty, Edith Dunn, Mary Plemons, Betty Smitherman, Susan Smitherman. Gladys Foster. Victoria Kibler, Sharon Klippert, Beverly Petty, and Ann Smitherman. (Information submitted by Wave Hill, 1980). Tennga's schools and churches played an important part in the community. Though for a time there were no schools close by and inhabitants sometimes attended classes at Cisco or Conasauga (in Tennessee), by the 1890's the Coffey School was a thriving institution. The first building was located on a hill back of the Shields home. The second building which housed the Coffey School is still standing though classes were last held there probably in the 1920's or 30's when the first schools were consolidated. Located on the road connecting Highways 411 and 225, the timber building has never been painted or underpinned. The structure was later used as a residence. While the records are sketchy, the Coffey School apparently closed during the Great Depression but was restored by the County Board of Education in 1937 when classes were held in the old Mt. Pleasant Church building. When there was no school in the Coffey ward, students attended Colvards or Tennga. Evidently the school closed again and was reopened in the 1940's but closed for good about 1950 as another consolidation movement spread over the county. Among those who taught at Coffey's during its uneven history were Leach Henry, Giles Dunn, Ella Headrick Johnson, Valley Randolph, Mattie Harris, Nora Woods, Rossie O'Neil Dunn, Irene Greeson. Miss Gregory, Maude Morris 1928-29, Ollie Higdon 1930, William Colvard 1933-34. Virginia Colvard 1937, Mildred Baxter 1942, Grace Caylor 1944. Trustees for the Coffey School District included: Edgar Shields 1929, Luther Dunn 1930-32, J.W. Shields 1930-33, William Hagler 1931-34, Felix Bingham 1930-32, Tinker Headrick 1932-34 and 1947, Clyde Barksdale 1932-33, Isaac Walker 1947-50, Fate Dunn 1947, Henry Caylor 1947, J.L. Langford 1947. Evidently the first school in Tennga was just for the residents of the town, but in 1917 the Tennga school ward was enlarged to include most of the Tennga District. The first school might have been in a church since the minutes of the county board of education state that in April 1919 "a new school was allowed for Tennga near the burnt church." In 1931 the Board asked Tennessee for compensation for their students who attended the school at Tennga and in September 1932 local patrons asked the Board to build an annex at the school. The Board, fighting the Depression, promised $150 "when available." On February 5, 1935 C.L. Cox, T.L. Keith, and C.L. Wilson appeared before the county board to request a new school for Tennga. Residents approved a bond issue to construct the building at a cost of $ 15,000 with work done by WPA labor (one of the New Deal programs). A brick structure with four classrooms and an auditorium was erected on the same site as an earlier school. Trustees of the school at the time were Chairman Frank Talley, Secretary-Treasurer Will Ross. G.R. Keith, G.B. Hawkins, and J.T. Elrod. When the 1950's school consolidation program began the county board wanted to combine Tennga with Cisco as early as 1952. Finally both of these schools were combined with Eton in 1956. The brick building still standing was sold in 1958 and is now owned by the Ross family. Trustees for the Tennga school also included Jonas Dunn 1919, J.T. Hawkins 1919, F.C. Willis 1919. Henry Epperson 1920, Charlie Headrick 1920, Charlie Graves 1920, Taylor Bush, C.L. Wilson, Walter Hargis, James Wjggins 1930, T.H. Keith 1930, James Pritchett 1932, Eddie Epperson, C.L. Milliard 1948-51, Howard Ross 1951, Harold Wilson 1952. Many people taught at the Tennga school in its years of operation. The educators there included: Maggie Woods and Nora McCamy 1917-18, G.C. Richards and Mary Brown 1916-17. Lula Gordon 1919, Beatrice Hernphill 1920, Mattie Lou Groves and Mrs. Ruby Hall 1928-29. Maude Morris and Omagene Leonard 1929-30, H.E. Luther and Mamie Lou Hannah 1930. George Colvard 1932-34, Willie Frances Robinson 1932-33, Frankin Groves 1933-34, Winfrey Leonard and Heartsill Bond 1935-36, Dorothy Jackson 1935-38, Neptha Rogers 1935-39, Lucy Cox 1936-37, Opal Jenkins 1938-39, Rossie O'Neil and Kathrine Earnest 1942, Walter Richards and Stella Baxter 1944, Mildred McCamy 1949-52. B.W. File 1949-50, Edna Earl File 1951-56, James McKowen 1955-56, Annie Laurie Howard. Grover Luther, Agnes Shields, Bertie Parks, Margaret Brice, and Sue Tanksley. Several churches have been located within the Tennga District. One old church has been known as Friendship. Coffey'sChapel, and Mt. Pleasant. Though founded in the 1850's, a deed from Elisha Coffey to Giles Dunn, Elisha Coffey, James Poteet, E.F. Coffey, and H.H. Hill, Elders of Friendship Baptist Church, was recorded December 1. 1860. Apparently it was generally called Coffey's, but in 1870 Mt. Pleasant Baptist Church reported 32 members to the North Georgia Baptist Convention and Giles Dunn was pastor. A later deed (1921) lists James Shields and George M. Cloer as officers of Mt. Pleasant. A note in Rev. i.C. Williamson's History of the North Georgia Baptist Association says that Coffey's Chapel was over 100 years old in 1956. Coffey's Chapel is now called Mt, Pleasant and is on the opposite side, north of the original church on the road between Tennga and Gregory's Mill. A Coffey family cemetery is north of the old school and church property. Tennga has two other churches, Liberty Baptist, one of the oldest churches in Munay County with one of the oldest cemeteries, and Tennga Baptist. Liberty is located about 100 yards south of the Georgia-Tennessee line. The first church, a log structure, was built on approximately five acres of land donated by William Wjggins. The generally accepted date for the organization of this church is 1832 though some say it could have been four years earlier. Another structure was built in 1915 but burned in 1948. The present edifice was constructed then. Records of the church before 1904 have been lost. Pastors since then have included S.L. Gann. T.M. Davis, Samuel Melton, J,D. Chastain, R.A. Thomas, Walter Harper, Bert Kincaid, Solomon Williams, (firby Parks, Sam Kendrick, Ralph Romanger, Howard Ross, Clifford Chastain. J.T. Moore, Reggie Mantooth, Hoyt Day, Junior Johns, Randall Headrick, Arnold Manis, and Lee Ingram. In 1978 the deacon board consisted of J.B. Hawkins, Marvin Led-ford, James Sherill, Emmitt Phillips, Russell Flatters, Roger Silvers, and Nobel Mantooth, while Hawkins, Flatters, Sherill and C.C. Young were trustees. Carry Headrick was church clerk. (Information provided by Marvin Ledford,Will Ross, and Billy Wiggins.) The minutes of the Tennga Baptist Church record the church's founding as follows: Ministers and deacons met at Tennga School, June 15, 1947 for the purpose of organizing a Missionary Baptist Church, Preachers; Murray F. Jackson, M.W. Little, Leonard A. Ogle, B.P. Kincaid, T.A, Wallace and J.C. Holli-field, Deacons: Roy G. Jones, Raymond Gordon, Ben Hysinger, C.H. Almond, George Snyder, Will Ross, James A. Moore, Victor Hollifield, J.B. Long, and A.F, Curbow. A Presbytery was organized from the above group with J.C. Hollifield, Moderator, and A.F. Curbow, Cierk. Charter membership was extended for 60 days and the following were received as charter members: Edna Earl Fite, Mary Frances Mayfield, Katherine King, Nellie Wilson, Minnie McCamy. Jimmie Longley, Ethel Almond, Sammy Fite, Earl King. Claude Mayfield, J.W. Ledford. J.T. Headrick, Charlie Wilson, C.H. Almond, and L.C. Longley. The latter two were deacons. Following acceptance of the Rules of Decorum of the Baptist Church and the Church Covenant, members of the Presbytery extended the right hand of fellowship to the members. Rev. T.A. Wallace delivered the sermon. Tennga has sent out one minister, Earl King. The following have served as pastors of the church: J.C. Hollifield 1947, Edgar Hawkins 1948-49, J.D. Abies 1950-51, M.D. Berry 1952, Carl Gaddis 1953, J.C. Williarnson 1954, M.L. Rice 1955, Floyd Wood 1956, Walter Billingsby 1958. ___ Welch 1960, M.R. Mantooth 1961-62, Amos Young 1964 and 1974-75, Clifford Chastain 1966-68, Chester Ross 1969, Waymond Cooper 1969-71. Dudley Nichols 1972-73, Tommy Caylor 1978-79, Doyle Wilson 1980-82, and Jackie Epperson 1983-84. Tennga Baptist Church also has a cemetery.
TOWNS, COMMUNITIES, AND MILITIA DISTRICTS
(1880-1980)
Tenth District
One of Murray County's oldest militia districts is the Tenth (No. 874), so named because all of its land lies in the 10th District, 3rd Section of the original 1832 land surveys of old Cherokee County. Located in the northwestern corner of Murray, the Tenth District was much larger in early days when it included parts of present-day Tennga, Shuck Pen. Cisco, and McDonald's Districts. Today, these four districts share a common border with the Tenth on its eastern and southern sides while the Tennessee line is the district's northern limit. Sugar Creek and the Conasauga River divide the Tenth from Whitfield County on the west. Due to its fine farm land and numerous waterways, the Tenth was rapidly settled when Murray was opened for white occupation in the 1830's. Many of the area's pioneers came from nearby Tennessee and even today residents have many ties with northern neighbors. Among the old families in the Tenth are the Hill. Ridley, Henry. Wheat. Bryant, Coffee. Brakebill. Carson, McCamy, Holcomb, Bookout, Adair, Whittle, Caylor, Stroud, Isenhower. Haggard, Waterhouse, Petty. Dunn. Gregory, McCroskey, Leach, and Colvard clans. Today Colvard's and Little Murray are major place names while Temple Grove, Union Springs, and Gregory-important in the District's past-are also still around. Early school trustees for District No. 874 included John Bryant (1877-92), B.F. Smith (1877-79). William Dunn (1877-79). John Quinn (1879), Samuel Grigsby (1879), Steven Gregory (1881), J.L. Waterhouse (1883-84), Sam Haggard (1884), Dick Hill (1885). Joseph Lacewell (1890-92). N.H. Henry (1890-95), William Shields (1892-95). John Bookout (1892-95), James Gregory (1895-96), James Leamon (1895), W.L. Henry (1895). and James Dunn (1896). John Howard Parker is said to have been one of the area's first teachers while in 1877 Hirarn C. Smith and M.C. Smith were the teacher's at the district's two schools. Five years later the Tenth had three schools and the teachers were J.C. Haggard, Miss S.E. Isbel. and E.A. Earnest. In 1891 C.L. Henry taught at a school called "Hope" which is believed to have been in this district. The following are listed as justices of the peace for the Tenth District: W.B. Shields (1887-95), T.J. Bryant (1885-93), J.W. Leamon (1893-97), L.N. Waters (1895-98), Daniel C. Dunn (1901-09), N.H. Henry (1905-1936), LA. Heartly (1909-13). T.J. Ovbey (1913-25), and John W. Thompson (1924-40). The voting place for the district has long been at what is now Colvard's. At earlier times separate "courthouses" existed, but all voting is now done at Colvard's Store�a landmark for many years. This spot where several roads meet (now on Georgia Highway 225) was originally named Cohutta Springs. Cohutta Springs Post Office was established Nov. 28, 1836 with James Ed-mondson as postmaster. Succeeding postal officials were William Whitten (1845-50), Euclid Waterhouse (1850-52), Alvin Logan (1852-55), James S. May (1855-56), Samuel M. Walls (1856). and William T. Amos (1856-66). The office was discontinued until 1873 or 1874 when it was reinstated with Euclid Waterhouse as postmaster. Euclid Waterhouse, Jr, succeeded his father for a brief time in 1880-81. Several residents held the position during the next two decades including John T. Henry (1881-82), John F. Lacewell (1882-83). William L, Williams (1883-86), Miss Fannie Hammond (1886-87), James A. Bryant (1887). William L. Waterhouse (1887-89). Henry Ridley, Sr. (1889-91), and John H. Kerr (1891-92). Thomas Ridley was appointed postmaster on March 14, 1892 and served until Cohutta Springs post office was closed in favor of Temple Grove in 1900. At this time the name Cohutta Springs was then given to the old Lough-ridge post office near present-day Crandall. Cohutta Springs was the home of the Euclid Waterhouse family for many years. A native Tennesseean, Mr. Waterhouse was an extremely wealthy man who had been involved in the early mining at Copper Hill and had also been a banker in Cleveland. He accumulated some 3,000 acres of land in Murray County and built a large house called Oakwood just south of the Tennessee line. Mrs. Ocoa Moore, a Waterhouse descendant, described the house as follows: "It stood on a hill. The house was some distance from the road, possibly 400 feel. At the foot of an incline, was the original springhouse, where the milk and butter were kept. It was of stone and there was quite a volume of water flowing through it. There was a fenced-in yard around the house -a white picket fence-so grandma could have flowers. The front door opened into a wide hall with a rear door and stairs to the second floor. The rooms were large with high ceilings. To the right was the parlor and on the left, a room grandpa used for his office. "There were one-story L's extending from each side of the house in the rear forming a court where grandma grew flowers. There was a covered porch around three sides. The front hall opened oul into this porch. The rooms in the right L were bedrooms for the boys. The rooms in the left L were used for a dining room and eventually a kitchen which followed the custom of the day when there were plenty of servants to do the work. A little distance back of the house were log cabins . . . where the servants lived. There was also a stone or brick icehouse. As soon as the ice became firm on the river grandpa had the men cut enough to fill this house and it was packed with sawdust. There was generally enough ice to last through the summer." As the Civil War approached, Mr. Waterhouse was selected as one of Murray County's delegates to the Georgia secession convention. Voting against secession, he returned home to become the victim of mistreatment by his neighbors. Mr. Waterhouse had already freed his slaves and did not believe in war. His home was raided and his family threatened to the point that he had to prepare a special, secret room in the attic as a hiding place during emergencies. Finally, around 1864 the family left Georgia for the North and lived in New York until 1871 when they returned to Oakwood. He died in Chattanooga in 1885. The family members eventually moved away and Oakwood was sold to Major M.D.L, McCroskey, a Civil War veteran, farmer, and retired merchant. His daughter. Julia, married Dr. T.W. Colvard and members of this family still occupy the house, located just off 225. east of the store. Dr. Colvard, a one-time superintendent of schools, practiced medicine in die area for over 50 years before his death in 1945. As a doctor, he was the first in the community to have a telephone. The Waterhouses. McCroskeys, and the Colvards were very supportive of schools and churches in their community. C.F. Waterhouse deeded property for the Edmondson Camp Ground and Burial Ground to John Bryant, Trustee in the 1880's. A non-denominational facility, the campground featured a shed and summer camp meetings for many years. Then in 1901 Mrs. L.M. McCroskey and Mrs. Julia Colvard deeded one acre "on which the church has been built lying near the cemetery between the Cleveland Road (225) and the mill road" to a "Union Tabernacle." Trustees mentioned were James H. Hayes and Daniel W. Petty of the Baptist Church. Joseph B. Cox and B.A. Gregory of the Presbyterian Church, and Georgia W. Swinney and James W. Lehman of the Methodist Church. The Baptist group mentioned was the new Calvary Baptist Church, begun about 1895 as an outgrowth of the Temple Grove Baptist Church. The inter-denominational work continued for a time drawing great crowds to summer revivals. In 1915 the tabernacle property was deeded to the Calvary group. Calvary had been given land east of the tabernacle site by Mrs. Lizzie McCroskey in 1895. Trustees at the time were Pastor W.C. Haddock, David W. Pritchett, D.W. Petty. T.W. Colvard. J.D. Whittle. J.H. Hayes. and John Caylor. Other early families were the Tom Holloways, W.T. Clint. Orville, and Mart Caylors, T.J. Burns', J.C. Mathis'. John Officers. T.J. Ovbeys and F.C. Wells'. The church joined the North Georgia Baptist Association in 1907. T.J. Burns was Sunday school superintendent in 1916 and W.P. Rymer held the office in 1921 when 109 were enrolled with an average attendance of 58. Charlie Plemons was superintendent and Roy Thomas was pastor in 1930 when Sunday school rooms were added to the sanctuary. This building burned one fall Sunday morning during the time Walter Harper was pastor. Following the fire a new church was erected. The church training union was organized in 1951 and Mrs. Olen Dycus was the first director. Four years later Mrs. Kenneth Moore was elected as the first president of the Women's Missionary Society. Also in the 1950's the church was remodeled and modernized. Pastors of the church not previously mentioned included A.P. Stokes. T.M. Davjs. A. Bishop, E.G. Davis, W.H. Rymer. W.J. Darnell. Sam Melton, Frank Harper, Charlie Plemons, J.W. Boatner. W.C. Crider (twice), Kirby Park, and Charlie Plemons again from 1956 until 1967 when Leon Ensley became pastor. In 1968 Calvary withdrew from the North Georgia Association and united with the newly formed Murray County Baptist Association. In 1972 the church had just under 400 members. The Calvary Cemetery, located west of the church and north of the former tabernacle site, is much older than the church. It predates even the Edmondson Camp Ground as several members of the Bryant family were interred there in the 1840's. Other burials date before 1870. Apparently the cemetery began as a community burial ground. Another old cemetery, north of Calvary off 225 on the R.F. Hill farm is the final resting place of William Dunn, a veteran of the War of 1812, who died in 1855. Four Union soldiers are also buried there. Many graves are unmarked and the last interments were made in the 1880's. East of this Hill Cemetery in what was once part of the Tenth District (now in Tennga) is the Coffee Family Cemetery. Located off the Tennga-Gregory Road, the cemetery contains the remains of Mary Coffee who died in 1861, Elisha Coffey who died in 1897, and others in both marked and unmarked graves. Also in this vicinity was the Coffee-Mt. Pleasant School which received property from William Shields in 1889 though the school had begun in 1880. In 1881 Corene Bates taught at Mt. Pleasant while Mrs. Plemmons was the teacher in 1884. Trustees on the 1889 deed were S,E. Gregory, William Caylor, W.B. Shields, M.A. Shields, and J.P. Lace we 11. Teachers after this time were J.W. Wooten (1891), G.H. Arrowood (1894). J.A. McLain (1895). Giles Dunn (1896-97). J.M. Gregory (1899) and W.J. Gregory (1900). Coffee's had 52 pupils in 1891. After the days of the Coffee-Mt. Pleasant facility, a new school was begun at Colvard's. On July 20, 1909 Mr.& Mrs. Colvard gave five acres of land on land lot 97 (10th & 3rd) for a school named for the donors. Located west of the present-day Colvard's Store, Colvard High School opened in 1910 and was perhaps the best built school in the county. W.M. Rogers was the first principal and Lucy Waters was the assistant. Winfrey Colvard and Paul Sarvis are said to have been the first graduates of Colvard High. Miss Lula Gladden was a noted principal at Colvard's for a time. Others who taught there include Minnie Pritchett (1916), Will Wheat (1916). M.T. Taylor (1917), Minnie Dunn (1917. 1935-36). Waymon Wilson (1917), Susie Cookerly 0918-19), B.D. Flowers (1918-19),Mossie Bryant (1918-19). W.J. Moore (1928-29). Hoke Jackson (1932-33). Principal W.H. Cordle (1932-36). Verna Gregory (1932-35. 1936-38). and Elva Hicks (1933-34). The county high school opened in 1934 so Colvard's became an elementary school. In 1940 the school burned and the next year a small, two-room wooden building was constructed. In 1948 a new brick school was begun and classes were first held there in January 1949. Two long-time teachers at Colvard's were Mattie Harris and Rossie McNeely. Both taught at all three buildings and their careers spanned five decades. Other teachers included. Ollie Higdon (1934-35). Everett Weeks (1934-37), Maude Autry (1935-36), Sara Mayo. Sidney Bowers (1936-37), Principal George Cofvard (1937-39), Agnes Hawkins (1937-38). Rossie O'Neal, Dee Baxter, and Walter Richards (1942-43). Louise Plemons and Arlene Phillips (1944^5). Mrs. Mitchell Crider (1945-46), Minnie Crider (1948). Mrs. George Colvard (1949-50). Mrs. Wright Loughridge (1952-53), Ruby Burnette (1954-56). Principal George Ross 0951-56). and Mildred McCarny (1953-56). In 1956 Colvard. Franklin, and Sumach Schools were combined at Northwest Elementary. Mr. Ross and his four teachers Mrs. McCamy, Mrs. Burnette, Miss Harris and Miss McNeely moved to the new school. Naturally. Dr. Colvard was a school trustee for many years. Others were -���Arrowood. O.P. Caylor (1930). C.W. Headrick (1929), J.W. Curd (1921) W.H. Crider (1942), E.D. Dalton (1942), A.C. Harris (1942). W.C. Colvard (1942), Olen Dycus (1947-50). William Crider. G.C. Arthur (1940). T. Headrick, Mrs. Etsel Bandy. Also at Colvard's was the Arrowood Blacksmith Shop and a store, north on the Cleveland Road. Singing schools and Sunday schools were held at the Col-vard School also. A short distance north and west of Cohutta Springs-Colvard's, was Gregory's Mill, a thriving community for over a century. Located on the Conasauga River's east side, Gregory's was a large mill building which was dismantled in 1937. During the long period of operation the Gregory Mill complex grew to include a sawmill, a cotton gin. a blacksmith shop, and a store. From October 17, 1902 until June 15. 1909 B.A. (Ad) Gregory was postmaster at the Gregory post office. J.C. Wheat operated a store. According to residents, the river often shifted in the vicinity of Gregory's Mill so mill operators frequently had to make repairs. Census records of 1880 reveal that the Gregory Mill operated year around and ground wheat as well as corn. It produced some 270.000 pounds of meal and 66.000 pounds of feed during 1879. At the peak of success Gregory's even had overnight accommodations for those who did not get all their business completed in one day. Portions of some of the Gregory buildings survive and most of the property is owned by the Petty family. A well known part of the Tenth District is Little Murray, so named because of its size and location between the Conasauga River and Sugar Creek. It is a V-shaped section of land containing about 4000 acres of property. In the beginning the area was somewhat cut off from the rest of the county until three fords were established. The fords, all on the Conasauga, were named for pioneer families-Hills, Campbells. and Wheats, Later a wooden bridge was constructed across the river at Gregory's, This bridge was replaced by a still-used concrete span in 1912. John Hill was one of the first white men to settle in north Murray County. He came from McMinn County. Tennessee, before the Cherokees were removed. Since he had acquired land on the Conasauga, south of the Tennessee line, from a Cherokee chief, the State of Georgia did not recognize this transaction. Mr, Hill had to re-purchase the property after the Land Lottery. The farm was passed on to Hill's son, Thomas, and was later sold to Andy Randolph. During and following the Lottery, many Little Murray acres were bought for speculation purposes. One story is that Euclid Waterhouse bought his land for one cent per acre and increased his fortune by selling it at a higher price. Much of the farm land in Little Murray, still under cultivation, was probably cleared by slave labor. While most residents were engaged in subsistence-type farming, a few, like Mr. Waterhouse, produced large quantities of grain. After harvest and during the winter rains, the com was loaded on barges and floated down the Conasauga to other streams until it reached the market in Rome. Other early families in the area were the Cooper, Wilson, Smith. Looney, Pullum. Eslinger. Bandy. Cochran, Barnes. Waters. Douthitt, and Thompson clans. Ransey Douthitt was a justice of the peace while the Campbells were long-time mill operators, Cal Campbell was the last miller, but in 1880 G. Campbell had been C.F. Waterhouse"s partner in the operation, probably begun by older Waterhouses. The mill had operated all 12 months of 1879 and had ground 135,000 pounds of meal along with 33.000 pounds of feed. According to one source, Euclid Waterhouse II built the first cotton gin in the area A J (Jack) Martm owned land on the river in the southeast part of Little Murray A Mr McKissick and. later, Wilburn Cline owned the property. Sam Grigsby owned a tract of land in northwest Little Murray as early as the 1830's. The C.W. Criders owned this tract in more recent times. According to one map, Abe Looney lived near an "old salt well" on Sugar Creek�across from another mill in Whitfield County In early days Doctors W.M. Wilson (1889) W.R. Cochran (1890), O. H. Hughes (1899) and R.P. Cochran (1903) served the area. Doctors William M. Painter . Kemp. Gilbert, and Colvard practiced in Little Murray as well. Criders had a store in their home and Hoyle Weber had one on his farm. In the northwest part of Little Murray. R.F. (Bob) and Mattie Cochran ran a store, later operated by Tom and Martha Orr. John Plemmons was a blacksmith on the Cochran farm. Elbert Bandy ran the store at Campbell's mill. About 1 � miles south of the Tennessee line was another store which housed the Hughes post office. William W. Wilson was the first postmaster (1881-93). John Evans succeeded him and served until 1898. Well-known members of the Keith family were the next three postal officials-James W. (1898-1904). Thomas H. (1904-08). and Robert H. (1906-08). A.L. Bandy served less than a year when the post office was discontinued and the area placed on a rural route from Cisco. Crandall's rural carrier now serves Little Murray. A.L. and Richard Bandy continued to operate the store at Hughes which had a population of 47 in 1900 for some time. Charlie Plemons had a blacksmith shop there in 1921. Across the road from the store was the Oak Grove Methodist Church which also served as a school. The church was discontinued in 1955 but the building survives on the Calvin Stinson property. A school began operating at Oak Grove Church in 1880. Teachers there were Elizabeth Isbel (1881), J.D. Barnes (1884), Luther Grigsby (1892), C.W. Richards (1899), J.B. Hughes (1894-97. 1900), John Bandy (1916), J. Davis (1917). Lela Henry, Mattie Hannah. Lena Cochran, Blanche Salts, Emma Weaver and Ella Mae Weaver. A school called "Waterhouse" is mentioned twice in county records. In 1884 Samuel Grigsby was the teacher while in 1891 Mrs. Fannie Grigsby taught there. This was near Oak Grove. In 1929 a new school for Oak Grove students was constructed south of the old site on Deverell farm. Destroyed by a tornado in 1932, the school was rebuilt and used until Oak Grove was consolidated with Colvard's. Teachers here included: T.P. & Beulah Thomton (1932), Jessie Dunnagan (1932-33), Maude Morris Autry (1933-35), Mrs. Chester Hannah and Harriett Smith (1935-36), Ralph Richards and Edgar Hawkins (1937-38), Jessie Brown (1942), Mrs. Leonard Deverell (1945), George. Lucille and Virginia Colvard. Ruth Caylor. Luke Jarrett. Mildred B. Petty, Mary Jo Autry, Etta Hampton, Florence Bartenfield, Elizabeth Petty, and Blanche Allen. Trustees for the school included W.E. Bandy (1930-34). J.F. Singleton, R.E. Weber, C.W. Crider (1947-50). B.W. Ratcliff (1932). D.V. Mathis (1933). Kenneth Headrick (1947-50), and Bill Deverell (1947-50). The other church in Little Murray is the Conasauga Baptist congregation. School was also held here with Lena Cochran the teacher in 1918-19 and Lucy Haggard in 1898-1900. Winfrey Crider also taught there. This church was destroyed in the 1932 tornado but it was rebuilt. A small cemetery, the only one in Little Murray, adjoins the church. Two long-time ministers who lived in Little Murray were C.W. Crider and Charlie Plemons. The 1932 tornado was a great tragedy for Little Murray residents. In addition to destroying the church and school, the March 21 twister left seven people dead including George, Willard and Marie Autry, Mr. & Mrs. Lynch Lauderdale, Maggie. Sampson and Mrs. J.B. Hawkins, according to the North Georgia Citizen. Another source lists five members of the Raymond Parks family and a Green infant as victims also. Numerous other homes were damaged or destroyed and others injured. The Red Cross and local residents gave the survivors a great amount of assistance as they recovered from the tragedy. Another important event was the Brownlee Lumber Company fire. The Company had bought large tracts of pine forests, cut the timber, and stacked the lumber for air-drying. Somehow the stacks caught fire and were completely destroyed as were several acres of woodland. Mrs. Wave Hill, a nearby resident, closed a story of Little Murray like this: Little Murray is principally an agricultural community . . . from the beginning to the present day. Beautiful modem homes have been built and the people take great pride in the land. They received electricity, telephone service and paved roads in the early forties. Industry has not touched the area, but some of its residents commute to nearby towns to work. Little Murray has never had a railroad, highway, nor can they claim any of the Cohutta Mountain range, although from two vantage points there are picturesque views of the mountains. On a clear day, with the sun reflecting against the mountains, it looks as if the mountains are only a short distance away. West of Colvard's on Highway 2 was the well-known Union Springs School. Though possibly begun as early as Civil War days, Union Springs is not mentioned in deeds until 1885 when John Bryant gave one acre of land for the school. Though long abandoned, the building is still standing and is a reminder of past days when many Murray Countians began their education at Union Springs. Church services were also held there at times. During its many years of existence. Union Springs had many fine teachers. Among them were: Nick Lackey (1884), W.L. Henry (1891), Thomas Haggard (1892-94). Mollie Hughes (1895). Lucy Haggard (1897. 1900), Freeling B. Richards (1899), Harris Richards (1916), Nellie Pritchett and Maggie Woods (1917), Nellie Gordon (1918-19). Neptha Rogers (1928-29). Troy Richards (1930), Walter Richards (1932-34). Nora Anderson Bond (1902). Lena Anderson, Joe Anderson, George Rogers, Bess Hemphill, Mandy Jones, Minnie Dunn, Zona Ensley, Brasky Hampton, Jennie Hurst, Bill Rogers, and A. Vaughn. W.C. Holland, J.A. Beavers, and W.B. Richards were trustees in the 1930's. In the 1920's. Union Springs School boasted one of the finest basketball teams ever formed in Murray County. For 5 consecutive years the team was undefeated. Among those who played on these famed teams were Tom Holland, Frank James. Milburn Wheat, W.T. Richards, Homer Carson. R.G. Richards, Sam Wheat. Walter Richards, Glint Bryant. Charlie Wheat, and Sell Johnson. Most of these men lived to enjoy 50-year reunions in the 1970's. The Wheats and Bryants were among the earliest settlers of the Tenth District and owned much land in the area. On the old Wheat farm is an old cemetery containing several unmarked graves, some of them probably slave burials. L.T. Brotherton (1800-1861). Mary C. Wheat (1933-1903). and Samuel Wheat (1833-1915) are interred there. The Bryants now own this land. Debbie Bryant Wilson captured the lifestyles of Tenth District residents in an account of her ancestors, George and Onie Bryant: George and Onie were staunch church-goers. On Sunday mornings they would load their wagon up with children and head for Oak Grove Church across the river in Little Murray. On Sunday evenings, they attended the Colvard Sunday School, where George served as superintendent and Onie as organist. Many services were conducted with Onie's organ accompaniment to her daughters' duet singing. Onie, or Grandma, as she was fondly called, could recount many fascinating memories for her children and grandchildren. Among these was "Court Day,"when she would accompany her husband George to Spring Place, then the county seat, and stay at the Spring Place hotel overnight. Then, on a more serious note, she recalled a story her mother had told her of how she had hid her dead baby's clothing down a well in the wake of an approaching Yankee army. Later, while soldiers roamed the yard, she nonchalantly scrubbed clothes in a large wash pot, silently vowing to "push them in" if they looked into the well. Doctors M.W. Harris. A.E. Main, Joseph A. Price and John T. Henry practiced in the area, but the most famous physician was Thomas Leach (1816-1905). In practice until shortly before his death. Dr. Leach left his house to Leach Henry. It is now known as the Grover C. Arthur home. Another old family is the Hill clan. Several generations of this family have called the Tenth District their home. Mr. George Hill, like his ancestors and his descendants, was a prominent farmer. The death of his daughter, Lucy, was a great tragedy and is described with 19th-century flavor in the October 10, 1895 Cleveland, Tennessee, newspaper as follows: THE CLEVELAND HERALD: MISS LUCY HILL Hurled Into Eternity by a Vicious Horse An Accomplished Young Lady Cut Off At Nineteen Years One of the most horrible accidents that ever happened in this territory occurred in North Georgia last Thursday afternoon, by which a beautiful young lady, well known and deservedly popular in Cleveland and elsewhere was hurled into eternity is a most shocking manner. We refer to Miss Lucille Hill. Her father. Mr. Geo. Hill, lives just 20 miles from this city, near Beaverdale, Ga. Miss Hill was out riding on horse back, (and by the way she was acknowledged to be the best lady rider in North Georgia.) the horse came tunning home, very much frightened, the young ladies brother mounted the animal and started to find his sister. Three quarters of a mile from home, he ran upon her lying in the road, her skull crushed, her neck dislocated, her nose and left arm broken-dead. It was evident that the horse was running away, fell down und Miss Hill was thrown over the animal's head and then crushed under his hoofs. The remains were tenderly removed to the home, where a loving father and devoted mother wore wild with grief. Miss Hill would have been nineteen years of age in one month. She was well known in Cleveland, having attended Centenary College two terms, and every one who knew her loved her. She was a cousin of E. F. Campbell and Mrs. Winston McNabb, of this city, being a niece of Mrs. Alex Campbell of Chatata Valley. The remains were interred Saturday afternoon within a few yards of her present home, in the presence of an immense throng of friends and relatives. She was an accomplished young lady in the fullest sense of the term and her tragic death has caused a gloom over this whole section where she was known and loved. Her parents and brother have the heart felt sympathy of this entire community. In later years Mr. Hilt (1837-1902) and his wife, Mary (1844-1914), were also buried in the family cemetery near Miss Lucy. Before his death Mr. Hill had donated what was then a large sum of money to the county Board of Education. They built Lucy Hill Institute at Spring Place in her memory. Two churches existed in this vicinity also. In 1845 Isaac Laymance deeded land in lot ISO (10th & 3rd) for a "Baptist Church at Sugar Creek." No other information on this church is available and only slightly more is known about the Brakebill Methodist Episcopal Church which was located east of the Conasauga River in the southeast corner of lot 173 (10th & 3rd). William McCamy granted one acre to trustees John Bryant. Peter Brakebill, James C. Wilson, Humphrey Hembree, and John H. Julian on March 8. 1853. The Brakebill Chapel existed into the 1870's and was near what later became the "Huse" Henry house, now owned by Clarence Cross. Peter Brakebiil was a large landowner who had come to Murray County from Pennsylvania by way of Tennessee in the I840's. This portion of Murray County was once served by post offices named Upper King's Bridge (I860) and Beaverdale (1890's), both located in Whitfield County. Postal service now comes by way of Route 1. Crandall. In the 1920's the community reported local news events to The Chatsworrh Times under the name "River Bend." Many still-remembered residents are mentioned in this account from January 1928: RIVER BEND -Jan. 1928 Agnes and Clotine Beavers were shopping at Selma Johnson's last Saturday afternoon. Mrs. A.J. Slaughter is spending this week visiting in Chattanooga. J.R. McEntire and wife spent last Sunday night with Mr. Dan Greene,of Dalton. Arthur James and Sam Wheat made a business trip to Chattanooga last Thursday night. It's reported that W.B. Richards bought a mule too big for his collar, too large for his fodder, and is talking of building a lot large enough for the poor thing to wallow. Tom Holland is still in charge of Union Springs school. Miss Rogers is reported better, but not able to take charge of the school yet. Howard Fisher is on the sick list this week. Nick James takes his 22 target with him rabbit hunting, but was seen taking one out of Nick Henry's guns last Monday. Mrs. Aub Holconib has been right sick, but is better at this time. It's reported that G.W. Hampton rides at break-neck speed since swapping with J.A. Beavers, and got Lightning. George ain't to blame. Jim trained him to that. T.K.R South of Colvard's east of Georgia Highway 225 is the area known as Temple Grove. Apparently the name originated with a school established in the community around 1890. Board of Education records reveal that in 1891, Temple Grove was "doing well" and had 20 pupils enrolled. Teachers recorded for this school are Claudia Haggard (1894), G.H. Arrowood (1895), J.M. Gregory (1896-97), and Nora Anderson (1899-1900). On September 30. 1898 the Board of Education granted permission to the Baptist church to use the school building for services "until spring." This church became Calvary Baptist Church. Dr. J.F. Gilbert had a Temple Grove address in 1902. just 2 years after the post office was established with Thomas Ridley as the postmaster. Succeeding postal officials at Temple Grove were Thomas Bums (Jan.-March, 1904 and 1905-07), Adia Ridley (1904-05), and Timothy J. Ovbey from 1907 until the office was discontinued in 1909. The Ridley family once operated a store at Temple Grove while in the 1980's the Corbin family has had the Temple Grove General Store-at a newer location south of the old community center. Near the original Temple Grove site is an old cemetery containing the graves of several members of the Henry Ridley family. The oldest burial is that of little George Ridley who died in 1858 at the age of 2. Near the eastern end of the road from Temple Grove to U.S. 411 was an old church which left behind a small cemetery containing several unmarked graves, some of them said to be blacks. One grave has a headstone�Ben Trimmier (1826-75). An old map shows Rattlesnake Springs and an old iron mine (near the Haggard place) west of 225 and south of Temple Grove. Nearby was the McCamy Chapel Methodist Episcopal Church. South. Named for one of Murray County's first families, this church was located near the Hawkins' Garage on Highway 225, William (Bill) McCamy is said to have given the land and the building was erected by volunteers from the community. A deed dated March 21, 18741ists S.B. McCamy, R.J. McCamy, R.E. Harris, and F.W. McCamy as trustees. Mrs-Julia Colvard taught Sunday school at McCamy's for a time and in 1919 a Sunday school convention was held there. Services were held regularly once a month through the 1920's. A.W. Williams was pastor in 1928. Near the Tenth-Shuckpen district line was the Adair community. The post office was established June 19, 1899 with John H. Kerr as postmaster. Others who held the position were John I. Adair (1900-02), Thomas S. McLain (1902), Calvin E. McLain (1902-05), David S. McLain (1905-06), Horace E. Haggard (1906-07), and Daniel R. Dunn (1907-09). A W.P.A. writer named Pearson gave this description of Adair in 1937. Adair, a hamlet located in [he northwestern part of Murray County, is accessible by a county road leading west from Fairy, Georgia. The nearest railroad facilities are available at Eton, Georgia. The post office address is Cisco; the population 14; and the altitude 900 ft. The town was named for a descendant of James Adair, Indian trader and historian. It also had a blacksmith shop in the 1880's. Not far from what later became Adair was the site of one of the first schools in Murray County-Sandy Springs Academy. Approved and incorporated by the Georgia legislature in December, 1840, the school was built on land obtained from Jesse Wimpey and Abel Edwards in January. The deed specified that the grounds were to be used for school and preaching and that a spring was included. The act creating Sandy Springs reads. AN ACT to incorporate the Sandy Spring Academy, in Murray county, on Lot Number two hundred and five, in the tenth District, third Section, and to appoint Trustees for the same. SECTION 1. Be it enacKd by the Senate and House of Representatives of the Stale of Georgia, in General Assembly met, and it is hereby unacted by the authority of the same. That Robert McCarna, Robert Reid, Abraham B. Ware, William McDonald, Esquire, and James Juten, shall be, and they are hereby declared to be a body politic and corporate, by the name and style of the Trustees of the Sandy Spring Academy, in Murray county; and that the Trustees aforesaid, and their successors in office, shall be invested with full power and authority to hold all manner of property, both real and personal, which they may hereafter acquire, or which they may not possess, by gift, grant or otherwise, and with all privileges and immunities whatever, which may belong to said Trustees of said Academy, of which hereafter may belong to said Trustees of said Academy, or hereafter may be made, granted or transferred to them, to have and to hold the same, for the proper use, benefit and behoof of said Academy; and the said Trustees and their successors in office, in the name and style aforesaid, shall be, and they are hereby declared to be capable of suing and being sued, and of using all necessary and legal steps of recovering and defending any property whatever, which said Trustees may hold or claim. SEC. 2. And be it further enacted by the authority aforesaid, That the said Trustees, or a majority of them, shall have full power and authority to make all laws and ordinances necessary for the government of the temporal affairs of said Academy, not repugnant to the laws and Constitution of this State; and also to appoint such subordinate officers as they may deem necessary for the conducting of the business of said corporation. SEC. 3. And be it further enacted by the authority aforesaid, That the said Trustees, or a majority of them, shall have full power and authority to fill all vacancies which may occur in said Board by death, resignation or otherwise, in such manner as they may ordain and establish in and by the by-laws of said corporation. Little else is known about this academy, but one can guess that it closed as another school across the creek at Sumach arose.
TOWNS, COMMUNITIES, AND MILITIA DISTRICTS
(1880-1980)
Shuckpen District
Shuckpen District (Georgia Militia District No. 1039) is among Murray's most historic. Formed from Spring Place and Tenth Districts around 1848 or 49, Shuckpen was sometimes called Vining's district in its early years. The Vining clan was a pioneer family in the area, as was the Bond family. Paul Bond, a longtime Murray County tax receiver, passed down this story of how the area obtained the name Shuckpen: "Before the little courthouse was built at Fashion, people met and voted under a large oak tree on election day. One election day it was raining and there was no place to hold the election. A man who lived nearby told the election officials that he had a pen (shed) he kept his shucks in and if they wanted to use it, the shucks could be moved out. So, that they did ... the district . . . was given the name 'Shuckpen.' " (Recorded by Charlie Ruth Bond Ross.) In addition to the Vinings and Bonds, other pioneer families in the vicinity were the Berrys. Harrises, Heartsells, Frakers, Ingles. Ellises. Thompsons. Mc-Carnys, Smiths, Ayers', Vaughns, and Masons. These people called Sumach, Woodlawn. Fashion, Center Valley, Fullers, Franklin, and "Shakerag" home. Among Shuckpen's justices of the peace were James M. Poag (1885-89), E.W. Bond (1885-93), L.P. Gudger (1889-97), D.W. Bond (1893-1912), R.N. McCamy (1905-21), G.W. Centers (1912-17), P.H. Bond (1916-21), A.F. Smith (1920-29), John White Harris (1923-27), H. Caldwell (1928-36), Gordon L. Hammontree (193640). Harrison Ingle. Joe Dill, Mr. Lindsey. Fred Fraker, Jarroyd Smith, and Ralph Fraker. Early school trustees were Berry Vining (1877), J.H. Miller (1877-79), P.H. Teasley (1877), S.L. Brewer (1879-82). William G. Harris (1880-86), John Mc-Neil (1881), Nathaniel McGhee (1882), John E. McEntire (1884), AJ. Mason (1890), J.W. McKay (1890-95), A. Miller (1890-95), D.W. Bond (1895). and J.M. Poag (J895). During the first year of the public school system (1877), N.A. Kuhn, Ona McGhee. S.D. Pailon, and S.E. Berry were Shuckpen's leachers. In 1882 three schools operated in the district with Miss Ora McGhee, D.C. Vining, and W.E. Burch in charge. No school had more than 60 students in 1882. An active group in the Shuckpen area for many years has been the United Friendship Homemakers Club. The United Friendship Homemakers Club was organized in 1951. Mr. W.A. Gaines was county agent at the time. Coleen Poole came to the county as home demonstration agent and organized the club at Chatsworth. The United Friendship Club covered an area of two or three communities namely from Fashion to just above Sumach Creek. Mrs. Poole worked to build the club into a large membership. Some of the charter members were Mrs. Nora Bond, Mrs. Laura McEntire, Mrs. Evelyn Chapman, Mrs. Minnie Dunn, Mrs. Marcel Gladden, all of whom are deceased. The other charter members are Mrs. Mary Keener, Mrs. Flora Swilling, Mrs. Rossie Dunn. Mrs. Earlie Shelton, Mrs. Ruth Springfield. Mrs. Louise Tatum, Mrs, Addie Treadwell. and Mrs. Ruth Bates. The club has been very active over the years although we have not had an active county home economist to come to the homes for the meetings. The members have given the programs on cooking, sewing, dressmaking, quilting, needlepoint, macrame, ceramics, and other crafts. We have planted shrubbery at churches, made cancer pads for the hospital, placed magazines in the hospital, and made contributions to charity organizations. Club members participated in both the Whitfield and Murray County Fairs and won numerous ribbons. They also participated in the Flower Show sponsored by the County Council and made and sold two cook books. The members have attended district and state meetings in Augusta. Macon. Jekyll Island, and Atlanta. One of the members was elected woman of the year in 1963-Mrs. Mary Keener, who attended the national meetings. Other members have included Mrs. Cecil McCamy, Elaine Welch, Flossie McCamy, Lois Moore, Frances Kirby, Juanita Brown, Judy Owen, Joyce Reed, Yvonne Owen. Frances White, and Oveda Jones. (Submitted by Mrs, Louise Tatum. 1980.) For many years the Sumach community was a center of activity in the Shuckpen District. Drawing clientele from the entire county, but particularly from the neighboring districts of McDonald's and the Tenth, Sumach boasted a post office, a store, a blacksmith shop, the well-known Sumach Seminary, and the equally famous Sumach Cumberland Presbyterian Church. Named for the creek which forms the boundary between Shuckpen and the Tenth, this community is one of Murray's oldest. The Sumach post office was established May 27, 1878 with George W. Warmack as postmaster. After a brief tenure. Mr. Warmack was succeeded by Ethelred I.F. Cheyne on Nov. 29. Mr. Cheyne was the first principal of Sumach Seminary. The next three postmasters were John G. Spruill (1880-1882), John H. Phillips (1882-83), and John D. Townsend (1883-84). The location of the office probably changed several times and during Nasa Payne's tenure (1884-88) the office was possibly moved from Sumach hill to across the road from Frances Thompson's house. John Martin, who also ran a store, enjoyed more years as Sumach postmaster than any other, serving from January 28, 1888 until October 31, 1898. Benjamin A. Gregory succeeded Mr. Martin, but he held the position for just over a month when Nannie Harris became postmistress on December 20. 1898. She moved her office into her father-in-law's house. The Sam Harris home, located just south of the present Masonic lodge, stood for many years before it was dismantled a short time ago. Four doctors had Sumach addresses-J.C. Henry. W.F. Holland (1880's), O.G, Hughes (1902), and J.M. Gregory (1904). The Sumach Masonic Lodge No. 55, organized in 1882, now has members from across the county. In 1911 an Odd Fellows lodge at Sumach had 53 members. In 1937 the community had a population of 78 and was served by an Eton rural route. In more recent years Route 1, Chatsworth carriers Carl Tanksley and Jim Howard have delivered mail to the Sumach area. John Green had a grist mill on Sumach Creek east of the main community. A relatively small mill built of logs, this mill had an unusually long mill race before it collapsed about 1972. Many years earlier, probably in the 1860's, James L. McEntire deeded property in land lot 265 (10th & 3rd) to Silvamous Dedmon for a vineyard. The Sumach church is the oldest Cumberland Presbyterian church in Georgia and is the subject of Sumach on the Hill, a 1977 history of the congregation by Conway Gregory, Jr. The book is a comprehensive study of the entire Sumach community. Sumach Cumberland Presbyterian Church was 133 years old on October 18, 1984. The first organizational meeting was held by the Rev. S.H. Henry under a huge chestnut tree at the home of George Hall in Murray County. Georgia. The home was located where the Fairy Valley Baptist Church now stands. The Rev. Henry, a charter member of the Ocoee. Tennessee. Cumberland Presbyterian Church, was licensed to preach in 1848. In 1849 or 1850 he was ordained and was sent to Georgia as a missionary to establish a permanent Cumberland Presbyterian Church. He settled on the Old Federal Road near Fairy. On July 4. 1850. he and Miss Rossie Ann Harris were married. Later he built a home near Sumach. The home presently belongs to Clarence Cross. The Rev. Henry lived at this location until his death in 1905. The congregation met from 1851 to 1853 in the Hall's Chapel School. In 1853. 614 acres of land was donated by John Isenhower and James McEntire for a church building. That same year the first building, a shed with a campground, was completed. The congregation called it Mount Cumberland and the Cumberland Shed. It is believed the shed had kitchen facilities and a storage room to be used by those who camped on the grounds during revival meetings. Recent research revealed that this shed was used for services until August 16, 1876 at which time the first church building was dedicated. The name was changed to Sumach Cumberland Presbyterian Church. This building was destroyed by fire in 1895. The shed had continued to be used, but was torn down at this time. The second building was built and dedicated the same year. Two annexes were added. The first annex was completed in 1923 and the second in 1954. A second shed was built in 1913 by W.D. Petty. It was torn down to make room for the first annex. This second church building was destroyed by fire on May 22, 1966. The present building was built and was dedicated on November 22. 1966. In 1910 Sam Harris donated an acre of land across the road east of the church to build a manse. A two-story rnanse was built that year and used until the early 1940's when the building was sold to Mrs. Joe McEntire and moved to her farm. The property now belongs to the Masonic Lodge. A second manse was built in 1973 on the church property to the north of the building. It was destroyed by fire in 1982. A third manse was built after this. In 1884 the Ladies Aid Society was organized. The name was later changed to the Ladies Missionary Auxiliary and is now Cumberland Presbyterian Women. After a period of inactivity, the group was reorganized by Mrs. Swartz in 1922 and has remained active since that time. During the church's 135 years of existence, 35 ministers have served here. The Revs. Henry and Hayes served a total of 81 of these years. The Rev. Henry was the first minister who served from 1851 until his retirement in 1895. The Rev. Hayes served 7 years, at intervals, from 1912-1940. He returned in 1942 to begin 30 years of uninterrupted leadership which ended with his death on August 19. 1972. His influence is still felt in the thoughts and actions of many of Sumach's members today. Another minister who provided great leadership at Sumach was the Rev. Walter Swartz. He came to Sumach in 1919 and served until 1922. He resigned his position at Sumach to become the first Cumberland Presbyterian missionary to South America, After he and Mrs. Swartz completed their studies, the Rev. Swartz sailed for Colombia in 1925 and Mrs. Swartz followed in 1926. After returning to the United States in 1930. the Rev. Swartz again served at Sumach in 1931-32. The Rev. Don Carter came in 1973 at a very difficult time in the life of the congregation following the death of Rev. Hayes. He provided the strong leadership needed at that time. The congregation went through a period of change and emerged with growth in all areas of church and community life. During this time on May 25. 1975, the C.W. Hayes Memorial Library was opened. On April 1, 1977 a church history. Sumach on [he Hill, was completed by Conway Gregory, Jr. The Rev. Carter resigned in early 1977 to accept a call to the Lebanon Cumberland Presbyterian Church in Lebanon. Tennessee. The Rev. James Kelso came to Sumach on April 1, 1977. With his capable leadership the congregation is moving forward with much enthusiasm in many areas, including Bible study, children's ministry, and church growth. The fourth Sundays in May and August have been days of celebration at Sumach since the congregation was organized. They began as days to celebrate the Holy Communion and later became homecoming and reunion days. God is continuing to bless the Sumach Cumberland Presbyterian Church. Through the grace of God may we pass on the rich spiritual and historical heritage that was passed down to use. (Conway Gregory. Jr. & Mildred McCamy, 1984.) The beautiful, well-kept Sumach Cemetery is the final resting place of many Shuckpen residents. Among the oldest graves is that of Florence Edna Broyles who died in 1857. Several individuals have interesting markers including J, Frank Hall (died 1948) whose marble slab contains an excerpt from his will mentioning a trust fund to maintain the cemetery. Many people have read the inscription on Nehemiah Stanford's stone which says "Here lies Nehemiah Stanford, grandson of 2 noblemen who fought in the Revolutionary War and was always true to their country. He was a strict adherent to their faith and always voted the democratic ticket." In recent years the cemetery has been the setting for a live nativity each Christmas. West of Sumach on the Frank Ross property is the T.A. Berry (1828-1890) Family Cemetery. Mr. Berry, his two wives, and four children are buried there. Some members of the Berry clan were connected with the Sumach Seminary. Rev. S.H. Henry, founder of the church, was Murray County's first school commissioner, elected in 1870. A year earlier he had established the Cumberland Shed School which united with another school nearby to become Sumach Seminary in 1876. The shed and. later, the church building were used for classes until the fall of 1881 when a large two-story building was completed south of the church and the cemetery. Three dormitories were also constructed to accommodate the students who could not commute. Soon Sumach was known far and wide for its fine educational institution. For many years the Seminary provided instruction at the primary, secondary, and junior college levels. Students from as many as 15 states attended school there. Many prominent Murray Countians received their educations "on the Hill." Miss Lula Gladden, a well-known Murray educator, was Sumach's first female graduate on May 26, 1897. A board of trustees oversaw the general operation of the school, particularly m money matters. The County Board had to approve all decisions of the trustees who included John Bryant. B.F. Smith, William Dunford, Samuel Grigsby Stephen Gregory. James Gregory. S.E. Gregory, Sam Haggard. J.T. Waterhouse, and Benjamin A. Gregory at various times. Much of the success of the Seminary was due to a fine group of "professors" who headed the school. The first was a Tennessean. E.I.F. Cheyne who served trom about 1876 until 1885. His first assistant was Sam E. Berry (until 1878) who later worked at Eton but is recognized for many accomplishments in whittield County. Sumach also became a "college" for "graduate study" as many teacher-training sessions were held there in the summer. Other principals included Charles H. Humphreys (1885-90. and 1892-94), Rev. A.J. Mann (1890-^J Rev. E.B. Shope (1894-95). J.H. Anderson (1895), and J.B. Andersen, leacners at the Seminary included W.E. Burch (1881). T.F. Shackleford (1891), Miss Ome Henry (1891-97), W.L. Henry (1884. 1892, 1894 & 1900), W.M. Lowery (1899-1900), and Hattie Poag (1899). Around 1909 the Murray County Board of Education assumed control of Sumach Seminary though the trustees continued to serve in an advisory capacity. With the county's establishment of Colvard High School for this northwestern part of the county, Sumach became an elementary school for students in grades 1-7. Classes were held in the old Seminary building until the structure burned in 1921. A new building was erected on the same site, but it also burned in 1926. Following this fire, the County Board asked the local trustees to find a new location for the school. In August elections, district residents voted 63-60 to accept Luke Baxter's donation of a 4-acre tract south of Sumach (near today's Northwest Elementary School). As Sumach Elementary continued, it still enjoyed successes�academically and extra-curricularly in baseball, basketball, and 4-H. Trustees for the Sumach Elementary School included John Isenhower (1921), John Stroud(1921),Joe McEntire(1921),L.C. Baxter (1929), P.H. Bond (1931). Abe Tatum (1930), A.B. Thompson (1933), J.W. Hawkins (1932), J.C. Smith (1934, 1947-53), Elmer Rogers (1947-53), F.W. Shelton (1947-53), D.M. Keener (1947-51). Fate Freeland (1947-51). O.L. Keener (1951-53). and C.L. Freeland (1951-53). Other teachers at Sumach Seminary and/or Elementary were Lucy Harris Humphreys, J.C. Haggard, Mrs. S.E. Isbel, E.A. Earnest, Rev. Samuel Bennett, Ina Henry Gregory, Fannie Varnell, Rosie Freeman, Fred Lowe, Charles Shriner, Lilly Hansird, Mrs. Sara Leonard Kemp, Rev. Lyle (1916), J.H. Wood (1916), Oscar Holcomb (1917), Mae Johnson (1916-17), Price Bracket! (1918-19), Lois David (1918-19), E.N. Tarpley (1919), Nora Bond (1919), Estelle Wil-banks (1928-29), Eualee Brown and Jim Ross (1928-29), Principal Etta Hampton and Gretel Tucker (1929-30), Harold Ellis (1932-34), Edward Chapman (1933-34), George Colvard (1934-36), Wilma Cobb (1935-36), Harriett Evelyn Smith (1934-35), Heartsell Bond (1935-38), George Ross (1938-39), and Joe Holcornb (194445). Two long-time teachers (and the last two educators at Sumach) were Mrs. Minnie Dunn (1929-55) and Mrs. Mary Dill (1948-55). In 1956 Sumach, Colvard. and Franklin Schools were consolidated into the Northwest Elementary School which was constructed across the road from the last Sumach school site. Trustees at the new school were Winfrey Crider, Homei Carson, Elmer Rogers, and Luther Smith (all 1955-56), Carl Smith (1955), and Carlton Petty (1956). George Ross was the first principal at Northwest. His successors have been Jirnmy Witherow, Doug Meyer, William D. Whitener, and Larry Loughridge. Among those who have taught there for several years are Mildred McCamy, Mary Dill, Richard Raber, George Baxter, Rossie Dunn, Stella Baxter, Ruby Bumett, Rossie McNeely, Mattie Harris, James Turner. Carolyn Zelinsky Luffman, Ruby Sanders, Barbara Beaty. Shirley Kimsey, Hazel Smith, Beverly Petty, and Hayes Ramsey. Brenda Ross had been school secretary for several years and Lucy Beavers is known across the county as a fine lunchroom manager. Not far from Northwest is Zion Hill Church, the oldest Baptist congregation in Shuckpen District. On record as early as 1847, Zion Hill was originally situated about 2 miles southwest of the present site on Highway 225. The first church was destroyed in a storm and church records prior to 1888 are lost. Originally a member of the Middle Cherokee Association, the congregation joined the new North Georgia Baptist Association in 1861. Records of this latter group reveal that Zion Hill had 54 members in 1870 and that Giles Dunn was the pastor. Other names mentioned in connection with the church during this era were J.T. Baber(?), W.R. Lackey, and J.L, Brotherton. Early, if not charter, members included John B. Robins, John Brooks, Rebecca and Fannie Brooks. Sarah Ann Keith, William Bates, Rosey C. Bates, and Deacon N.A. Me Ghee. The second church structure, built in the 1880's, was a small frame building located within a few feet of the existing edifice. Bob Fraker is reported to have given the land for the new building. In 1913 a larger building was erected and in 1927 the greatest revival on record was held. Rev. W.F. Huffaker was the pastor, Rev. Samuel Melton was the evangelist, and 22 were baptized. Silas R. Jones was one-time church clerk. Asbestos siding and new benches were added in 1942 while in 1954 five classrooms and gas heat were added. The present sanctuary was erected in 1968 adjoining those Sunday school rooms. The following have been pastors: B.F. Foster. M.M. Bates, W.H. Boyd. J.M. Slone, C.E. Summey, Rev. Terry, Eldridge Sharp, H. Fore. R.W. Stokes, A.P. Stokes, E.P. Stokes, W.E. Dawn. H.R. North, James Dunn. Oscar Davis, A.H. Nanney, A.M. Latimer. J.W. Watkins, G.Walter Bennett, T.A. Brown, Samuel Melton. M.H. Welch, W.F. Huffaker, Walter Harper, F.A. Webb, Frank Harper. John Vineyard. Rembert Moore, G.D. Legg, J.C. Plemons. Ernest Young, Frank Harper, J.D. Johnson. Fletcher Goswick, John E. Bledsoe, Fioyd Dugger. Itsel Headrick, J.D. Cox. Grover Broom, Johnny Payne, and James Smith. In 1859 John Harris donated land on lots 317 (I0th & 3rd) and 8 (9th & 3rd) for the old Zion Hill Church and its cemetery. While the last burial, a Spruill, was well into the 1900's. the old cemetery is abandoned and most grave signs are gone though there were several interments in this cemetery. In 1969 a new Zion Hill burial ground opened just north of the church with the interment of Mrs. Julia Rogers. Two other cemeteries are also located in Shuckpen. An Indian burial ground was on a hill across from the Russell Presley homeplace. The B.J. Thompson family cemetery is on the David Causby farm off highway 225. Mr. Thompson, his wife, and three daughters were buried there between 1857 and 1861. West of Zion Hill is the old "Rich" McCamy house. Though now abandoned, the structure was once a beautiful home overlooking the surrounding farmlands. Built around 1850 from locally made bricks the house has two main floors (each with two fireplaces) and a large basement. Water for the house was furnished by a nearby spring. Now owned by Troy McCamy. it is one of the county's oldest homes. Near the center of Shuckpen District is its oldest community-Fashion. Formerly called Woodlawn, the area was important even in Indian times when a trading post was located there. Among the earliest residents of the Woodlawn community were the Becks and Gaithers who provided the first three Woodlawn postmasters-John W. Beck {1848-52 and 1854-57). Wiley S. Gaither who served just over a year from January 20, 1852 before his death in the early summer of 1853 at the age of 29, and William A. Beck (1853-54). The Beck-Gaither Family Cemetery is located on the Claude Clark farm northeast of Fashion. Though in poor condition, the burial ground contains several interments of a long-ago prominent Murray County family from the 1850's, 60's. and 70's. Following John Beck's second tenure as Woodlawn postmaster. Ancellum S. Vining (1857-58), William H. Moore (1958-59), and Daniel Johnson (1859-67) filled the position before the office was discontinued Mar. 4, 1967. The office was re-established June 11, 1875 with James R. DeJournette serving briefly as postmaster until John D. Harris was appointed to the position in December. Captain William R. Davis became postmaster June 15, 1886 and during his years of service the name was changed to Fashion in 1894. Sibyl G. Davis succeeded Captain Davis in 1906 and worked a year before the office closed for good, Mar. 15, 1907. Residents then had to gef their mail at Spring Place before Rural Free Delivery from Eton began. (The area is now served by routes from Chatsworth.) Mr. Gudger operated a store a Fashion in the 1800's and long-time area resident Blaine Fraker Tillman gave additional information about businesses in the community: One of the oldest General Stores on record was owned by Mr. William Roscoe Davis [who] was postmaster. Sometime later Mr. Spruill built a store near the site of the Davis store. He also owned a home next door . . . Less than 2 miles south of Fashion was the Hammontree General Store, owned by Mr. Bill Hammontree and his friendly and always cheerful wife. "Miss Lizzie. Their home was across the road and one could be sure of getting what he needed at any hour-day or night. Marvin Adams opened a store at Fashion in 1935. Later Thomas King operated a store on the same spot from 1963 until 1981. Neal Hatton operated "the store on the corner" after that. Three of the largest landowners in the area in times past were "Red" John Harris, Elisha Wright Bond, and L.P. Presley whose son Spurgeon is still farming several acres. John "White" Harris owned one of the first cars in Fashion and also owned the first cotton gin. The Hammontrees and Mrs. E.D. "Miss Lou" Bond were probably the earliest residents to have telephones. In 1900 Fashion had a population of 66, while in 1937, 81 people lived in the community. Education was important to early residents. In September. 1873 Daniel Johnson deeded 3 acres on lot 299 (10th & 3rd) to the trustees of Woodlawn Academy. The trustees included James L. McEntire. L.B. Vining, John L. Baber. William G. Harris, and William McCamy and the school was located east of Zion Hill Church. Teachers here were Bill Cleveland, Bascomb Gates and J.J. Bates. The Woodlawn School was destroyed by a tornado in 1880. The next year N.A. McGheeand A.S. Vining gave land on top of a hill approximately 1A mile west of the Fashion crossroads for a new school. Trustees E.W. Bond, L.B. Vining, William Loughridge, Harrison W. Osbom. and John C. Harris built a large one-room structure which served as the community's school for the next four decades. Early teachers here were E.A. Earnest (1884). W.W. Davis (1884), Whiley Glass (who had 52 pupils in a "well organized" school in 1891), Mrs. N.E. Osborn (1893-94), and N.M. Bain (1895). The name of Woodlawn School then changed to Fashion. J.W. Harris (1897). W.A. Gladden( 1899-1900), Annie Woods (1917), Mary Fetzer (1918-19), and A.R. Howard (1921) were among later teachers. One area resident recorded the end of the Fashion school as follows: "During the school term 1924-25 the roof caught fire; slowly but surely the beloved old building burned to the ground . . . there was no water available except by a bucket brought from the well at the foot of the hill. The school children were able to save all the benches, the windows, and the blackboard. One of the spectators who came to watch the fire, Erskine Ellis . . . noticed the little young teacher in tears and in his usual affable manner came quickly to her side, cheerfully saying, "Now don't cry! Come on, let's have a ballgame!" . . . Within a few days the trustees had located an old building nearby on the properly of Mrs. Sadie Davis and school was held there until the new consolidated school was built." Blaine Fraker taught there. A long-time landmark west of Fashion was the Lower King's (or Boyles) Bridge across the Conasauga River. Replaced by a new span in 1983, the old 1890's metal and plank bridge was preserved for pedestrian traffic. For many years Fashion also had a black community which centered around the Shiloh Baptist Church located west of Fashion crossroads. Shiloh was originally known as Shady Grove Church and was organized in the middle 1800's near the Goswick community. In 1884 the group moved to the Jack Keith farm and in 1888 found a more permanent home at Fashion. T.B. Vining deeded property to Richard Wofford, Henry Holmes, and Henry Reynolds, deacons of Shiloh Church. The building was also used for school purposes. Richard Morris. Joseph Gilbert, and George Bonds were Shuckpen's first trustees for black schools. They were appointed in 1879 and in 1880 Levi (Boisey) Branham was the teacher at Shady Grove. Four years later the school was first called Shiloh when Alfred Morris taught there, though in 1888 it was once again referred to as Shady Grove with Mr. Branham teaching once more. In 1891 Mr. Branham had 18 pupils enrolled at Shiloh and the school was "doing tolerably well." A Miss Riverson was the teacher in 1895 but Mr. Bran-ham returned the next year. In 1898 the school was moved to near the old Daniel Dunn home for a time and 2 years later Tennessee Greene was the teacher at Shiloh. Two other early teachers were S.H. Carter (1877) and Miss Georgia L. Brooks(1882). In the 20th century Shiloh became one of four black schools in Murray County. Trustees included Jim Ramsey (1929). Will Bonds, and Sol Mann. Teachers were Jessie Beck (1917). Fannie Wofford (1918). Sol Mann (1920), Bertha Peters, Bertha Washington, Alice Wilson (1922, 1928-30). and Aileen Booker (1934-35 and 1937-38). Following World War II the black student population declined and transportation improved. Therefore, the County Board of Education consolidated schools both black and white�until only Chatsworth and Carters colored schools remained. The Shiloh Church, however, continued to call Fashion home for several more years. The old church burned in 1922 and for a time the community was left without a church or school. During Rev. Tom Ray's pastorship the church was rebuilt in 1924. In the late 1950's plumbing, kitchen facilities, and a choir stand were added to the building. In 1972 Shiloh church moved to Whitfield County where most of its members now lived and a new structure was erected on land purchased from Mr. & Mrs, C.T. Gay. At its new location Shiloh has grown and progressed rapidly. Many of the present leaders and members are descendants of the old Murray County families. Among Shiloh's pastors during the Murray years were Frank Jackson (1914-15), Rev. Dillard (1928-30), J.C. Murray (1930-33), J.A. Ester (1933-39). Frank Williams (1939-40). Rev. White (194044). Rev. Flemister (1944-50), J.H. Sparks (1950-52). Rev, Gibbs (1952-56). D.L. Bussie (1956-67). and Solomon Whitfield (1967-75). Other ministers who served Shiloh included Revs. Kilgore. Beck. Lawson Halloway. J.B. Davis, Will Black. Sullivan. Phillips. Lee Mack, and Luther Williams. The church is active in the North Georgia General Missionary Baptist Association. Deacons and other leaders of Shiloh-past and present-include Alfred Beck. Isaac Bonds. John H. Betton, Blant Rivers, Moses Wofford. Will Bonds. Charlie Rivers, Joshua Betton, Robert Wofford, Jim Ramsey. Charlie Rivers. James Wofford. Sr.. Darce O'Neal. Curtis Rivers, Sr.. Henry McDade. Sr.. J.P. Bonds. Fannie Wofford, Adrain O'Neal. Ralph Whitener, Herl Bonds. Eugene Wofford. Alma O'Neal. Mary McDade, Ralph Wofford. and Jim Weaver. (Information provided by Nina Hill & Deacon Johnny McDade.) After the Shiloh congregation left the building at Fashion it was vacant for a time. During the late 1970's a new group began a church called Holy Bible Gospel Way in the former Shiloh building. Harold England was pastor. The structure burned in the early 1980's. Mt. Moriah Baptist Church was founded east of Fashion off the Fashion Road in the late 1970's. Many, many years earlier the Boiling Springs Baptist Church had been that denomination's representative in the Woodlawn-Fashion community. Located on lot 46 (9th & 3rd) south of Fashion, Boiling Springs was obviously named for some bubbling streams in the vicinity which were still known in the 1890's and early 1900's. The church, however, did not fare as well. According to the 1846 deed James Morris gave the land "for a new meeting house" to be used "only for church or school," Calvin Rollins and Ralph Jackson were deacons of the church which was to be located on "public road south along road east." The oldest church in the area is the Center Valley Methodist Church. While its origins are not certain, the church is considered by many to be ISO years old. No deeds are recorded for Center Valley until 1868 when Dawson A. Walker and Elisha Wright Bond deeded one acre of lot 46 "on which the M.E. Church now stands" to the church trustees. According to tradition the church was so named because the first log building was constructed near the center of a beautiful valley about the time Shuckpen became a district. Since this was also about the same time Boiling Springs got a new building, and since the property mentioned in the deeds to the two churches is in such close proximity, one possibility is that the two congregations co-existed, maybe even using the same building until the Baptist group disbanded and only Center Valley remained. It is known that early services at Center Valley consisted only of "class meetings" with occasional sermons by "circuit riding" ministers. Since the Baptists probably had the same situation, it is likely the two worked together as they did in other communities. One of the known circuit riders was Bishop Scott. During this early period E.R. Young was postmaster of a short-lived Center Valley mail stop from May 9. 1860 until January 5,1867. Also, school was held in the old log Center Valley church building until it was destroyed in an 1880 tornado. The group's second home was a one-room frame structure located across the drive (south) of today's church which was completed in 1952. More than 60 men have served Center Valley as pastor. N.A. Parsons, Harvey A. King, A.W. Williams and W. Floyd Walden were outstanding ministers during the 1920's and early 1930's. Others who pastored at the "church in the beautiful valley" were W.R. Harrison, W.H. Heath. J.F. Tyson, H.H. Porter. John Oaks, J.T. Richardson, J.J. Harris, Tom Edwards. Rev. Hughes, Rev. Embrey, Rufus Hickey, Will Hambey, E.M. Stanton, Fletcher Walton. H.W. Morris, Rev. Ward, H.T. Smith. W.B. Austin, Lewis Lynn, J.N. Myers. J.K. Speck, M.M. Walraven, F.L. Church. W.T. Hambey, W.M. Arnold, B.B. Watkms, G.P. Gary, J.V.M. Morris. G.M. Eakes, R.A. Cliett, J.E. Russell, W.R. Kennedy, M.L. Harris, J.H. Bailey, J.F. Balis, J.H. Hardy. G.B. Barton. Rev. Alday, H.O. Green, J.W. Rawls, N.A. Parsons, L.M. Davidson, Rev. Spear, Harvey A. King, A.W. Williams, W. Floyd Walden, L.F. Huckaby. W.P. King, J.B. Godfrey, J.V. Jones, O.G. Burts, H.B. Free, E.W. McDougal, E.W. Dunnegan, Earl C. Black, Leroy Smith, S. Paul Stone. Ralph Broom, Charles R. Driggers. Wallace Bracket!. Asst. Ronnie Stocks, Harold Busey, W. Avery Dodd. Wm. C. Flurry, Floyd Wells. Ministers who have come out of Center Valley include J.F. Tyson, Forrest Tyson. George C. Rankin. A.S. Vining, S.W. Bennett, Luke Whitfield, and George Bond Ross. Some family names of members since 1890, selected at random, are as follows: Adair, Adams, Anderson. Arthur. Ayers, Bailey, Beckler. Bennett, Bond, Brewer, Caldwell, Carter, Cline. Coffey, Cobb, Compton. Copeland, Cox, Davis, Davenport, Dunn, Eakes. Ellis, Foster. Fraker, Franklin, Goodwin, Gravley, Gregory, Gudger, Hammontree, Harris. Heartsill, Herndon, Hicks, Hilley, Holcomb, Ingle, Johnson, Jones, Keith. Keys, King. Langston, Leonard, Lents. Lindsey, Lough-ridge. Lotspiech. McCamy, McGhee, McEntire, Mitchell. Moreland, Morris, Nelson, Ogles, O'Neel, Osborn, Parsons, Payne. Petty, Presley. Rayder, Randolph. Rawls, Rogers. Ross, Sampler, Smith, Swinney, Swilling, Steele. Trainer, Underwood, Vaughn, Vining, Walker, Weaver, Whittle. West, Wright, Young. Some special members of this old congregation include Mrs. E.D. (Miss Lou) Bond who served for many years as Sunday school superintendent, organist, "card class" teacher, Steward, and first president of the Woman's Missionary Society; Mrs. P.H. "Miss Nora" Bond who was a long-time teacher; Mrs. George (Charlie Ruth Bond) Ross who was honored on "Charlie Ruth Day - March 20, 1977" for 50 years of service as a church musician; Joe Adams, a song leader; Mrs.Webby Coffey, Sr.. the flower lady; and Mr. & Mrs. Sam Swilling. Other leaders of more recent years are: George Ross, Marvin Langston, Luther Smith, P.H. Bond, Lonnie and Jessie Keys, Spurgeon and Lucille Presley, Fletcher and Sybil Bond, Fred and Nell Fraker, Aaron and Lecil Leonard, Harlan and Ruth Ellis. Heartsill Bond. Mrs. Hugh McCamy, Odell Ingle, Mrs. Wilma Caldwell, Mildred and Edith Presley, Glenda Weeks. Paul Ross, Kenneth and Jo Ann Fraker, Sherman and Peggy Leonard, Doug and Shirley Fraker. Earl and Ellen West, Jerry and Judy Leonard. Randall & Linda Ingle, Webby and Marlene Coffey, Elaine Bridges, Ralph and Bama Fraker, Frank and Wanda Bailey, Blaine Tillman. Alton Bridges, Pat Presley. Marvin Adams, Joe Holcomb, Doug and Shirley Fraker, and Diana Davenport. The Center Valley Cemetery has marked burials back to the 1850's. Among the oldest interments are Major Mony (1825-55), Eleanor Crumley (1809-60), Revolutionary War veteran John Rawlings. several Coffey family members, and Elmira McLain who died in 1858. Elisha Wright Bond made two grants of land to the trustees of the Center Valley Cemetery who were R.T. Bond, R.O. Os-borne. and John W. Fraker. While the first deed is from 1873, the second land transaction, in 1895, includes a provision that "the colored people have the right to bury in the said burying ground." Blacks were already using the cemetery as Margaret Seay was laid to rest there in 1882. Also buried in the black section is "Levi Branham, Historian, 1852-1944." Additional property has been purchased from surrounding landowners and a perpetual care fund has been established. Mr. Bob Osborn is one who has worked for many years to beautify this historic burial ground. Also at Fashion is the Harris Family Cemetery. Several members of the Mainyard (1809-1890), John White, and John D. (1849-60) Harris clan along with the related Vining family are buried there. Southwest of Fashion on the road which bears its name is the Fullers Chapel Methodist Church, founded in 1884. Services were first held in a small school-house near the county line before S.L. Brewer donated land in lot 66 (9th & 3rd) to Methodist trustees W.M. Morgan. R.F. Morris, J.L.(?) Couch, A.T. Weaver. A.L. Clary, S.L. Brewer, and R.F. Smith. According to tradition Lee Brewer gave the church its name when he arose from his seat to testify and became so filled with the spirit that he commented "I became fuller and fuller... we should name the church Fullers." Originally Fullers was on the Ellijay circuit and Rev. W.A. Stiles was the pastor. Charter members were Mr. & Mrs. S.L. Brewer, Lee Brewer. Fannie Hammontree, John Brewer, Stella Brewer. Tom & Nancy Ingle, Clifford Brewer, Mont & Georgia Ingle, T.E. & Mollie Lotspeich, Melvin & Mary Sane, George & Lillie Smith. David & Ella White. Sam & Ludie Smith, William & Josephine Sane. Bill & Nancy Smith, Robert & Addie Palmer, Jim &. Lavada Smith. Cicero & Barbara Compton, Mr. & Mrs. John McCamy, and Lizzie Morris. The community-built 1885 building was enlarged in 1915 and in 1961 Sunday school rooms, a kitchen, restrooms. and a fellowship hall were added as the Chapel was remodeled. In the late 1970's Harvest Festivals were begun and in 1979 groundbreaking ceremonies for a new sanctuary were held. Those participating in the groundbreaking were Mrs. Harold Swinney. Mrs. Henry Goodwin, Rev. Durwood Harris. Watson Bryant Jr., and Fred Smith. Soon, a new $40,000 steel-masonry structure replaced the almost century-old wooden building. Other members and leaders of recent years include Sybil Osborn. Nellie Sane, the Springfields, Willie Smith, Nadine Bryant, the Cavenders, Betty Duke, and Melinda Swinney. Among those who pastored Fullers were J.W. Dunn (1885). J.H. Hurley (1886), D.W. Cook (1887). W.R. Parsons (1889), F.L. Cochran (1890, 1906), H.M. Boyd (1891). J.W. Hurley (1892), W.A. Syles (1894). J.F. Turner (1897), W.A. Parsons (1899). B.F. Allen (1901), J.J. Vellenouth (1903), J.A. Chastine (1904), E.D. Ridley (1915). W.L. Hampton (1942). W.J. Atha (1943), J.W. Bradley (1946), Coy Burnett (1961), Horace Webb (1962). Harold Busey (1973), Durwood Harris (1979). Cecil Dudley (1982). and David Bilhimer (1984). (In-formation from Melinda Swinney, Ruth Cox. and The Chatsworth Times.) The Fullers community also had an Odd Fellow's Lodge for a time. There were 39 members in 191 i. The school for the area adopted the Fullers name also and apparently classes were held in the church for several years�possibly until 1909 when J.A. and Rebecca Penland deeded 'A acre to the "Center Valley" school. The name probably refers to the district since the property described in the deed is adjoining Fullers. Teachers for Fullers on record are Lea Brewer (1891. 1894). A.R. Howard (1893), Lula Gladden (1895-97). E.G. Anderson (1899), ___Rollins (1900), Lena Cochran (]916. 1918). J. Davis and Troy Cox (1917), Lola Cochran and J.T. Charles (1918). and T.P. Thomton and Ora Scott (1919). In 1927 Fullers and Fashion schools were consolidated into Franklin School. Also in the Fullers community is the Welcome Valley Baptist Church. Organized in 1948, charter member Dellis Ellis donated the land for the church. Other charter members were Pearl Ellis. Leonard Ellis and Barbara Lou Bartley. In 1962 a block building was constructed south of the original wooden sanctuary for a second church. A picnic shed and tables were added in 1978. Pastors have been: George Hooker, C.D. Cantrell. Astor Crumbley, Riley Bartley. Ellis Chas-tain. Fletcher Goswick, D.V. Mathis. Roy Cantrell, Bobby Souther, Houston Allen . Kenneth Hooker, and Bobby Green. (Information provided by WilburG. Souther. Church Clerk, 1982.) Also near Fullers is another well-known Murray County landmark-the Goswick Store, described by Mrs. Blaine Tillman as follows: "Another old general store still in operation today . . . This store has the reputation of having everything! If one cannot see what he needs, he has only to ask ... It can almost surely be found under the counters or one of the many shelves and tables. This store should be labeled the 'You Name It, We Have It' store." Mr. C.D. Goswick is the owner. For approximately 30 years the consolidated school for the Shuckpen District was Franklin, located on the southeast comer of the intersection of Georgia Highways 225 and 286, The brick structure with an ample playground made Franklin one of the best educational facilities in the county at the time of its construction in 1927. The school was named for the J.E. Franklin family who gave the land. The deed mentioned 3 acres on land lot 81 (9th & 3rd) for the Fullers Consolidated School, but with the new location, officials felt that a new name was more appropriate. Mrs. Daisy Ellis was co-donor with Mr. Franklin. The first teachers at Franklin were Mr. Will Sampler and Misses Ainslee Vauglm. Maurine Keith, and Blaine Fraker. All three ladies taught several years, particularly Miss Vaughn. Other Franklin teachers included: Miss Ethel Ingle (1932-36). Miss Frances Coffey (1932-42). Edward Chapman (1934), Macie Jackson (1934-36), Maga Lynn Goswick (1942-46), Mrs. Annie Welch (1942), Mrs. McDonough (1942), Mrs. W.D. Freeland (1943-46, 1948-51). Mildred Baxter (1943-46), Icy Plemons (1948-49. 1953-56). Mrs. Walter Richards (1948-54), Myra Jo Smith (1950-51), Sara Bob Hix(1952-56).Mrs. E.C.Keith(1952-53), Stella Baxter (1953-56), Mrs. T.L. Harris (1953-54). and Mrs. Dick Raber (1955-56). Among the school's principals were Arvil Vaughn (1932), S.O. Williams (1930), Herbert Rogers (1932-34). George Ross (1935-37. 1942-48), A.J. Arthur (1938-39), Hoke Jackson (1948-51). and Harris Middleton (1953-55). Trustees of the Franklin school included J.E. Franklin (1929). J.E. Vaughn (1931). C.H. Hammontree (1932-34), Huse Gregory (1933-34), J.C. Smith (1934-36), J.H. Adams (1934-36), Fred Fraker (1947-53). Tom Goswick (1947-50), Lester Gallman (1951-53), W.T. McCamy, Carlton Petty, and Milton Bartley (all 1951-53). In 1956 Franklin school closed as the schools in Shuckpen were consolidated with those in the Tenth District. Northwest Elementary opened at that time. Franklin, had a 4-H Club and in the 1950's the Franklin Community Improvement Club was active. Among its officers and leaders were: president, Roy Dunn; 1st vice president. Harold Springfield; 2nd vice president. Chester Hammontree; secretary, Mrs. Fred Fraker; treasurer, Ruth Springfield; reporter. Anna Jo Dunn; Mr. & Mrs. George Vaughn, and Clark Dunn. Also in the Franklin community is the Vining Family Cemetery. Located just east of the modem Hampton's Comer Drive-In, this burial plot contains the lone marked grave of Albert Vining (1841-43). West of Franklin off Highway 286 behind the Noel McCamy home is the family burying ground of the W.C. Ayers (1825-1902) family which contains several burials from the 1880's and 90's. A deed to this 1/8-acre plot on lot 80 is recorded at the Murray County Courthouse. A long-time landmark in the southern part of Shuckpen District is Mt. Carmel Baptist Church. The church was organized in 1909. but for the previous 30 years Sunday school had been held in the Mt. Carmel School. In December, 1879 Pleasant McGhee and S.G. Treadwell deeded property to the Mount Carmel School. Mr. Treadwell reserved the right to build "a storehouse and a shop and any other improvements thereon." The trustees of the school at the time were Pleasant McGhee, John M. Neal. and A.J. Mason. Apparently the school was called Chestnut Grove for several years and began operation in 1880. B.A. Kuhn and Thomas Bridgeman taught there in 1881 and 1884. Around 1890 the Chestnut Grove name moved to a school near present-day Chatsworth. The school at Mt. Carmel then adopted the name Masons. Teachers included Free McGhee (1891), Bertie Leonard (1893), Miss Mary Holland (1894), R.J. Dunn (1895), Eving Gilbert (1896) and Hattie Poag(1897). After the church was officially organized, the school, too, went by that name. Teachers there were Maggie Woods (1916), Jessie Copeland (1917-19), Francis Cox, and Magdalene Keith. Mr. A.J. Mason deeded the land on lot 99 to the church. Mt. Carmel acquired the nickname of "Shakerag" because of the number of times the congregation got the banner at Associational meetings. Those who assisted in the organization of the church were: Rev. E.O. Davis, Rev. T.M. Davis, Rev. J.L. Davis. J.A. Edwards. B.J. Jones, L. Long. A. Higdon. M.H. Welch, A.H. Youngblood, and W.H. Roberts. The first pastor was J.L. Davis. T.P. Thomton was first church clerk. Deacons were: J.B. Scott, D.B. Southers, George W. Morris. The following were pastors: J.F. Davis, M.H. Welch, T.A. Brown, T.W. Morris, N.R. Hogan, E.O. Davis, W.E. Self. J.M. Owens, H.C. Hensley, S.A. Crumbley, Alonzo Gibson, Arnold Adams, James Bowen. and Jack Moore. The southern boundary of the district is Mill Creek. Several mills have been located along the creek including one owned by Gideon Jackson called "Mill Creek Mills." In later years Chastain's Mill operated east of Highway 225. This mill ground some 144,000 pounds of meal and 18.000 pounds of feed in 1880. Near the site of the Jackson mill property was also the site of an early "County Poor Farm" on lot 137 (9th & 3rd). From Sumach to Shakerag, from Fashion to Fullers and Franklin, Shuckpen District has a rich, varied history.
TOWNS, COMMUNITIES, AND MILITIA DISTRICTS
(1880-1980)
Town District - The Founding of Chatsworth
When the Louisville & Nashville Railroad was constructed in 1905 it passed through several towns in Murray County but by-passed the county seat of Spring Place. However, between Oran and Ramhurst the tracks ran through fields and forests owned by Jim Springfield and Jasper Moreland. Since the Georgia Talc Company was located nearby, a depot was constructed near the railroad, about 3 miles east of Spring Place. Some thought that the station would serve the county seat, but a group of businessmen had other ideas. On June 2, 1905 the Chatsworth Land Company was formed and before the year was out William Pendley had built the Chatsworth Brick Plant south of the depot in anticipation of the birth of a new town. Members of the Land Company included President C.N. King, Sr., Henry Farrar, Perry Hilliard, J.M. Sanders, W.C. Martin, and a Mr. Strickland. They bought the Springfield and Moreland properties and had the land surveyed into streets which ran east to west (often named for trees), numbered avenues running north and south, and an abundance of building lots. Throughout 1906 the group planned for a big land sale, but a few cabins and houses appeared before the sale was held on December 11 & 12. The sale was held in a big tent on the northwest corner of Third Avenue and Fort Street (where the city parking lot is now located). Mr. & Mrs. T.M. Wright purchased the first lots across Fort Street from the tent (where the Golden Gallon in now). The Wrights later sold the lots to Dr. J.B. Hughes, who was also secretary-treasurer of the brick plant. The town was officially incorporated August 18, 1906 and named Chats-worth. Robert Herron, a former Daltonian and historian, wrote the following about "The Name of Chatsworth" for the Whitfield-Murray Historical Society Quarterly in April. 1982; Chatsworth, county seat of Murray County, Ga., was founded in 1906, as a railway station for Spring Place, then the county seat. There has been a mystery as to what person or place Chatsworth was named for. A history of the Louisville and Nashville Railway included a "legend" that Chatsworth was given the name found on a sign by a railway worker. In a book on geographic names in Georgia, it is claimed that Chatsworth was named for a railroad official. A careful search for the evidence of the existence of the railroad official has been unsuccessful. In fact, search among genealogical indexes, census records, city directories and telephone directories indicates that few, if any, Americans ever bore the name Chatsworth. Search among encyclopedias and biographical dictionaries reveals no prominent person named Chatsworth. Gazeteers list towns named Chatsworth in New Jersey, Iowa, Illinois, Canada, South Africa, California, and England. In 18S7, Chatsworth, 111., received notoriety from a nearby train wreck in which 84 persons were killed. The Chatsworth Wreck, commemorating the event, was one of the most popular American railroad ballads. Chatsworth, 111., was reportedly named for "the country home of the Duke of Devonshire, England." A 1976 dictionary of American place names stated that Chatsworth, Ga., was named for "Chatsworth Castle, in northern England. The name was suggested by Indian fortifications on Fort Mountain two miles east." Comparison of the mysterious piled rock barriers on Fort Mountain with the stately Chatsworth mansion or its gardens requires soaring imagination. Nevertheless, Chatsworth, Ga., is apparently named for "Chatsworth," the ancestral domicile of the Dukes of Devonshire on the Dervent River in Derbyshire in northern England. The first documentary evidence of the Chatsworth estate is in the Domesday Book, a tax register, which King William I, the Norman conqueror of England, had compiled in the year 1086. Chatsworth was named for a Saxon landlord named Chat (or Ceatta), once the owner of the \vurde or wurth (homestead or enclosed place). The first owner of Chatsworth may have been named for Saint Chad (Chat), patron saint of 40 churches, who died in the year 672. In the 1530s, Sir William Cavendish bought the Chatsworth estate and began construction of an immense mansion which was completed by his widow, Bess of Hard-wick, who later married George Talbot, Earl of Shrewsbury. This Earl of Shrewsbury was the chief jailer of Mary Stuart, Queen of Scots, during the years 1567-1587, when she was imprisoned by Queen Elizabeth 1 of England. During (he years 1567 to 1581, the hapless Mary, who had been Queen of France for about 18 months and had reigned as Queen of Scotland for six years, was imprisoned mainly in Chatsworth House. When young Charles Stuart visited his imprisoned cousin (and sister-in-law) Mary at Chatsworth, the ambitious Bess (wife of the Earl of Shrewsbury) contrived to marry off one of her numerous daughters to Charles. Queen Elizabeth I was so angry that she had Bess imprisoned in the Tower of London for a few months. The Tudor era Chatsworth House was damaged so badly during the English Civil War of 1640-1649 that it was demolished in 1686. From 1687 to 1707, the fourth Earl (and the first Duke) of Devonshire built the major portion of the present Chats-worth House in a French style. Additions were made by later Dukes of Devonshire, especially between 1810 and 1839. Between 1836 and 1841, the sixth Duke of Devonshire had a huge conservatory built of glass at Chatsworth. In 1843, Queen Victoria visited the conservatory, which contained the largest private collection of tropical plants, fish, and birds in England. Later royal visitors to Chatsworth were King Edward VII and King George V. At the present time, tourists may visit Chatsworth during most of the year to see magnificent fountains and the largest private collection of art in England. American tourists are also interested in visiting the graves at Chatswroth of the son of the 10th Duke of Devonshire, who was killed in World War II, and his wife Kathleen, sister of the late President John F. Kennedy. Among the earliest settlers of Chatsworth were the William S. Cox, Sr., Edward Johnson, John Gregory, Cleve Gregory, Seth Gregory. Hull Kerr, J.J.D. Smith, Dr. J.B. Hughes. George Kelly. Sam Kelly. Alvin Jones. Mason Hester, Edward Bishop. Lewis Thompson, George Collum. Ben Phillips. William More-land. William Pendley, Major Terry. Hardy Rhyne. S.M. Harriett, Davis Glenn, Horace Clark. Tay Camey. W.L. Lents. Perry Hilliard. Mrs. Major Wilson. Martha Holbrook. Erwin Baggett. Robert Gudger, W.M. Lowery, William Bradley, John Parker, and J.T. Dillard families. After 1907 people moved to Chatsworth in ever increasing numbers. On December 16, 1908 a Woodmen of the World Lodge (No. 356) was organized. (Chartered on September 16, 1909 the Lodge moved to Calhoun in 1983.) By 1910 other names like Tatum, Ratcliff, Keith, Heart-sell. Fincher, Parsons. Stewart. Gladden. Dickie, Brooks. Henley, Hart. Mann, Starr. Harris. Cantrel], Goswick. Cochran, and Quarles were added to the list of Chatsworth's "first families." Early in that year the population reached 314 and about this time kerosene street lights were installed. By 1911 Chatsworth had a population of 550 and boasted a bank, two hotels, ten stores, a lumber plant, a guano factory, a brick plant, two talc mills, a grist mill, a repair shop, a Union warehouse, a gin. two churches, and a school. In 1913 the Land Company was reorganized with L.W, Thompson, C.T. (Chip) Owens. M.H. Williams. J.L. Robinson, and J.N. Moreland as leaders. Almost three decades after these events occurred. Alvin Jones wrote this slightly different account of the "Pioneering of Chatsworth": In the year of 1905 about the last of July C.N. King and L.W. Thompson optioned the then John Willbanks lot of some 45 acres, now in the center of the town. Amass meeting of Spring Place citizens appointed a committee to locate a depot. After meeting with the locating engineer, he told the committee to drive a stake where we wanted the depot. The committee chose the site, then we found that King and Thompson owned the land and they were part of the committee. Then we bought of them an interest in the lot. It was divided into five shares, King, Thompson, Williams, Owens, and Jones. Each sharer was assessed $50 to start work cutting underbrush. Jones took over the work for a short time at one dollar per day and gave hands 75 cents pet day. Jones hired Hill Anderson first. The two started across the country three miles from Spring Place, ax on shoulder, lunch in hand, out a little country road to start a town. Anderson was anxious to know about the job at 75 cents. Jones said, "We will find the job-it is on ahead of us." At last we came to the comer, a small maple about six or eight inches in diameter, first to be cut. Anderson was ordered by Jones to stand until he (Jones) made a speech. He told Anderson of a nice little town in the future, and Jones and Anderson could have a fine hotel and a barber shop (that was Anderson's profession at the time). Two weeks was payday and twelve hands were paid off, the money being carried in a half-gallon bucket. Abou! this time the J.N. Moreland lands were bought. A little later the Jack Keith lands were bought. Jones sold his stock to Lee Cox, and went into business in a stall in the Willbanks' barn. James Bagley hauled his goods out with four mules. Jones sold to J.N. Moreland on his first sale five cents worth of candy which gave him a start in finances. By this time the land company was chartered and the Desoto Hotel was named. Squire Hamilton surveyed and plotted off the town, Capt. Freeson became the promoter and lot salesman. George Kelley built a box storehouse on First Avenue, and Jones built one north of Kelley. The railroad came along with a ten or twelve foot board which read "Chatsworth." "Where did the name originate'!" is often asked. We have omitted that until now we are asking the railroad to give us this history. The talc mill, managed by Marion Williams, was one of the first industries, and The Pendley Brick Company about the second, and Ryan Brothers Lumber Company next. Sam Barnett was the first depot agent and hotel manager. Erwin Baggett built one of the first homes. Jones asked for a post office named Chatsworth. He stamped four cents worth of stamps the first day after he was commissioned. The postmaster got sixty per cent of all cencellation and the post office department forty per cent. This gave the post' master another financial lift. Ezekiel Dunn took charge of brush cutting and opening up streets. Lot sales came on, maps were made, a big rally day was staged on November 21 and 22, in 1905, 1323 lots being placed on sale. The land company realized a good sum and went forth to build a good town. Dunn Brothers started a livery stable. J.B. Gregory Co. built a store on First avenue, later built upon the corner of Third avenue and Market street, the first brick house in town (Continued on page 372) (Note: A map of early Chatsworth appears in the book, but could not be reproduced here. The notes to the map, containing much information, follow) KEY TO MAP First Avenue 1. Chatsworth Depot - 1905 Second Avenue 21. Ed Bishop's Residence Third Avenue 54. Mason Hester's House Fourth Avenue 79. Deahart's House Fifth Avenue 99. School (after moved from brick plant) Sixth Avenue 102. George Collum House Mr. Jones continued his account: S.M, Bamett and Bradley Brothers started a store at comer of Fort and Third avenue. Thompson and Hills built on the comer of Fort and Second avenue. T.M. Wright built the hotel on the comer of Second avenue and Market. A well was drilled in the middle of Second avenue and Market street by Charlie Gray. The town's location with its environment was a drawing card as it is at the foot of Fort Mountain, the historic mountain of North Georgia. Cox ran our first hardware and furniture store. Keith and Jones had the first warehouse. The Chatsworth Bank with Mack Sanders as president and Blackburn cashier, was one of the early businesses. The Cohutta Talc Mill and the Georgia Talc Mill are among the industries at the beginning of the town. Richoreek and King opened a small restaurant, and were the first to serve meals here; they were located on First avenue. The town demanded sidewalks and a water system. The Nix Spring was the object for water. J.N. Moreland was the land owner and the oldest citizen. He and his son, Thomas, were the first citizens of what is now a town of about one thousand population. Thrift and industry has worked the town to where it is today. No wealth was poured into the lap of Chatsworth; her people have worked it out.
2. Rhyne Lumber Company - 1907
3. Nix Grist Mill
4. William Cox House -1907 (1st two-story dwelling)
5. Ben Keith home
6.
7.
8. Railroad Section Houses
9. Store -HullKerr's
10. Flanagan's Store (general merchandise)
11. Cox's Store (later Baker's Furniture)
12. Post Office and Confectionary
13. DeSotoPark
14. l-'armer's Union Warehouse - 1907
15. Lowery Cotton Gin - 1909
15a. Chatsworth Guano Co. - closed about 1918. Manufactured "Fort Mountain" Brand. J.L. Cole, C.N. King, A. Strick-land, J.W. Knight, and T.M. Hemphill were involved in this business. C.W. Brown was factory superintendent.
16. George Kelly's Store (later John Parker)
17. Meat Market
18. W.S. Lents Jewelry Store
19. Lewis Thompson's Store -1907
20. lay Camey's Store - 1907
22. Mrs. Major Wilson's House
22a. first telephone service)
23. Wright Hotel - 1908, later known as Chatsworth Hotel.
24. Sam KeUey's Store
25. White's Restaurant
26. Fain Heartsells Blacksmith Shop (later Newton Gordon)
27. Cochran & Taturn's Store, built a large brick store in 1928. In 1946 Mr. & Mrs. W.A. Tatum sold the business to Drew & Jim Springfield who operated the business as Springfield Brothers until 1951.
28. Site of big tent where auction was held to sell the land for Chatsworth. Sold by Chatsworth Land Co.
29. Co Hum's Residence
30. Perry Hilliard's Home
31. Ben Philip's home (first black family in Chatsworth)
32. Chatsworth LumberCo. (later) 1910-owners Frank Blair and Shelion Lumas
33. Chatsworth Pressed Brick Company, owned by William Pendley. Later leased by i .A. Moore and R.P. Hufstetler. Purchased by A.J..C.G., andG.C. 0" of Washington, Ga., in 1920. Closed about 1929 as Chatsworth Clay Manufacturing Company, T.W, Brooks and R.E. Chambers owners.
34.-44. Homes for workers at brick plant
45-46, School and Commissary
47. William Pendley Home
48. John Fincher Home
49. T.A. Wright House
50. Aunt Hannah's House
51.-53. Houses owned by Ben Paisons.He lived in one and rented the other two.
55. Davis Glenn Home
56. Seth Gregory's Residence - 1907
57. Wright Home-1908 S7a. Henley Home
58. Horace Clark's Residence - 1907
59. Cleve Gregory Place
60. Baggett Residence - 1907
61. Isaac Stewart House (later Lula Gladden Home)
62. First Baptist Church - 1909
63. DeSoto Hotel-1907
64. Hampton Shoe Shop
64a. Second Location of Ford Place
65. Ford Company - Ragan Bamett - first location
65a. Bank of Chatsworth -1907, operated for about 25 years until closed in the Great Depression. Was burglarized in October, 1921 when $1,200 was Stolen.
65b. John Gregory Store - 1906 (also had a grist mill)
66. Sigrnan Residence - Railroad Agent built in 1908
67. J.J.D. Smith Livery Stable
68. Major Terry Livery Stable
69. Garage
70. Bamett & Bradley's Store - new brick building built in 1927. Later site of Fred Brown & Sons Furniture and Hardware.
71. Dr. J.B. Hughes Home -First lots sold at Land Sale.
72. Ratciiff Home
73. Holbrook Home - before 1906
74. Dr. E.H. Dickie Home
75. Patterson House
76. T.W. Brooks House -1907
77. Thompson House
77a. S.A. Barnett House
77b. Dwelling, occupants unknown
77c. F'orney Bradley House
78. Willard Pendley (later Gudger Home) -1907
80.. 81., 82, J.J.D. Smith Houses -He lived in one and rented two,
83,, 84, Mason Hesler Houses -rented
85. John Gregory House
86 Bill Moreland Place - rented
87 Cox Place
88 Cleve Gregory Home
89. Sol Mann's House
90. Sol Mann's Barber Shop - first in Chatsworth
91. Sam Kelley's Home - 1909
92. George Kelly's Residence - 1907
93. Donald Starr Residence
94.Dr.E.H. Dickie's House
95. John Parker Home
96-98. Houses owned by J.J.D.Smith-to rent
100. Hardy Rhyne Residence
101. "JimTown" -had about 15 houses for low-income people owned by Jim Cantrell
103.Goswick Residence
104. Bill Moreland Home
TOWNS, COMMUNITIES, AND MILITIA DISTRICTS
(1880-1980)
Schools in Chatsworth
Chatsworth Elementary School can trace its origins back eight decades and is actually older than the town. The first businesses in what became Chatsworth were the Brick Plant and the Georgia Talc Company. They brought a number of workers to the area and during the 1905-06 school year Martha Holbrook opened the door to the children of these workers. The log building was near the brick plant at the south end of First Avenue. On December 22, 1906 the Chatsworth Land Company deeded property to school trustees E.W. Markin, W.H. Pendley, J.N. Stanford, B.C. Keith, and S.M. Bamett. The two-room wooden school, located on Fifth Avenue andPeachtree Street, opened in 1907. Miss Lula Gladden was the first principal. Mathis Hoi-brook had done the actual construction of the building which was soon enlarged to four classrooms. Teachers were John Carney, Mae Camey, and Josie Waters. Other instructors during these early years included H.H. Anderson, Jessie Wells (1919-20), Jennie Cantrell, S.L. Jackson (principal 1916-18), Martha Holbrook (1916-18), Esther Crowe (1916-17), and Nettie Gladden (1917-18). Talk of a new school began in 1920 and a new facility became a necessity in 1921 when the old building was destroyed by fire. A bond issue passed and financing for the new school was secured. Elementary students attended classes in the Chatsworth churches while high school students went to Spring Place. In 1922 an 18-acre tract of land was purchased from T.H. Moreland for $1,700 and additional property was obtained from Mrs. W.W. Mullinax in 1924 the same year that Mt. Zion school was consolidated with Chatsworth. The new three-story brick structure featured an auditorium on the third floor and opened in 1923. It also housed the new Chatsworth High School as well as the Grammar School. The school was accredited in 1925.
TOWNS, COMMUNITIES, AND MILITIA DISTRICTS
(1880-1980)
Chatsworth High School, 1922-1934
Teachers at Chatsworth during this era included W.H. Padgett (superintendent in the 1920's). Bernard Neal, Ernest Neal (who was later poet laureate of Georgia), L.N. Foster (1923-25) and 1929-33, principal, Earl Foster (1923-27), Mary Timmons and Lola Emberson (1927), J.W. Cole (principal 1928), Mattie Musselwhite, Doris Steed, John Emberson, and Tommie McCollum (all 1928-29), S.C. Hobbs (1929-31), Louise Loughridge, Evelyn Swan McGinty (1928-29, 1932-35), Raney Goswick (1928-30, 1932-35), lone Hemphill (1925-30), Mildred Merrell, Kate Smithwick, Evelyn Langston, Gwendolyn Brooks, and Jen-evelyn West (all 1929-30), Margaret Partee, Will Dee Shope, Hazel McArthur, and Emily Swan (all 1930-31), Julian Keith (1932-33), Inez Kerr (1932-35), Martha Holbrook (1932-33). Wilmon West (1932-33), and Lucille Langston (Pack) (1932-35). In July, 1934 tragedy once again touched Chatsworth when lightning struck the building, destroying the fine facility. The Chatsworth Times gave the following account of the disaster: All Chatsworth turned out, and people came from neighboring towns as news of the fire spread. Fire hose was stretched and buckets brought out, but they were empty and useless. The city water supply had failed and there was no water to be had. A hurried call was made to Dalton to borrow their chemical fire righting equipment, but this request was refused. Another call Inter on was more successful, but the equipment arrived too late to be of any use. The lightning had hit the school building on one comer near the roof and had run through to the opposite side of the building, knocking a hole In the brick wall. The lire had started between the third floor ceiling and the roof. The fire came as Chatsworth High School consolidated with Lucy Hill and Eton to form Murray High. In 1934 a new Chatsworth Elementary facility was erected on the old site. This building now comprises part of the south wing of the school. While the building was under construction, classes were once again held in the churches. Chatsworth High had been noted for its basketball teams. In the 1923-24 era Florence Barksdale. Mamie Lee Ovby, Connie Stanford, Mary Kelly, Jenevelyn West, and Evelyn Swan comprised the girls' team while Jack Greeson Lawrence Swanson, Clyde Barksdale, Walter Swanson, Roy Gordon, Starling Heart sell, Malcomb Barksdale. Roy McGinty, Max Greeson, and Willie Harris were the boys' team. L.N. Foster was coach. In the late 1920's The Chatsworth Times had a regular column called "C.H.S. Dots" which featured school news. A January, 1928 article told of a "hard-fought" win for the Chatsworth girls over Reinhardt College's team. The score was 4-2! Chambers. Kelly, White, Baggett, Tucker, and Jones comprised the Chatsworth squad. At the other end of the double-header, the Chatsworth boys-Terry. Bradley, P. Rogers, Jenkins. Greeson. and H. Rogers�won 42-24. That same season the Chats-worth "Indians" won the Seventh District Championship. They defeated Fair-mount 25-19. Rome 22-14, and Marietta 33-15 in the tournament. The Times said that the Rome game "opened with much self-confidence on the part of the Rome players, for they thought they could easily defeat the 'Mountain team.1 But their ease soon turned into difficulty when the Chatsworth team began 'hitting on five.' " Also in March 1928 the Chatsworth girls defeated their county rivals from Lucy Hill (Ross, Kemp, Evett, Smith, Colvard, and Vaughn) 16-4! Several artifacts from the Class of 1927 have survived including a graduation program and invitation as well as the class song. Class member Gwendolyn Brooks could have authored the songs since they are preserved on T.W. Brooks Agency stationery. Chorus: Beneafh the shadow ofCohutta We have found much Jun and pleasure When the high schools consolidated Mr. L.N. Foster carried the Indians nickname with him to Murray High where he continued his career as principal and coach. Since 1934 Chatsworth Elementary has grown tremendously. For some time it was the largest school in the county and is now second only to Spring Place in elementary school enrollment. Several additions have been made to the original building and other structures erected. During the past 50 years many educators have worked at Chatsworth. Some, like Easter Anderson Elrod who grew up in Chatsworth and attended the early schools, returned to their alma mater to teach-for 47 years in Mrs. Elrod's case! Among those who have taught at Chatsworth for a number of years are; Gretel Cochran. Raney Goswick, Edna Waldrop (who even served as principal at times), Lucy Cox McWhorter, lone Hemphill. Zona Ensley, Pauline Davis, Sue Tanksley, Marie Kelly, Aileen Clayton, Minnie Calhoun, Mrs. J.R. Middleton, Irene Greeson, Zona Cochran, Milma Earnest, Frances Townsend, Carolyn Anderson, Hoke Jackson, Lucille Langston Pack, and Ruby Goodman. In more recent years Ruby Sanders, Elaine Edwards, Fayna Nunley, Virginia Long, Richard Raber, Linda Loyd, Bobby June Thomason, Velrece Lifsey, Jo Glenn Meyer, Gayle Callahan Bean. Barbara Grider, Vivian Brannock, Bob Porch, Maxine Porch, and Peggy Green have taught at Chatsworth for some time. Principals of the school have included Seward Hix (1934-35), Archer Morgan (1935-38), Ronald Richardson (1942-43). Edna Waldrop (194448), W.A. Johnson (1949-50), L.N. Foster (1952-53), Harris Middleton, B.V. Ozment, Donald Porch, and Doug Meyer. In times past each school district had its on trustees and in Chatsworth's case the board of trustees were sometimes considered to be a board of education. J. Roy McGinty (secretary-treasurer 1921-27), R.M. Gudger (1921), T.N. Gordon (1929), W.A. West (chairman 1927-32), R.H. Bradley (1930), Joe Barks-dale (1931). T.P. Anderson (1932), Dr. E.H. Dickie (1933), V.C. Pickering and G.W. Swanson (1934). Wally Meier (1944), Oscar Jenkins (1944-52), Olen Butler John Hemphill, W.C. Bradley (all 1947-52), Jim Springfield (1947-50, Jack Greeson (1951-53, Arnold HuffsteUer, Floyd Wilbanks, Wayne Westmorland, Harve Long, and M.D. Terry (all 1954-56), and Harold Springfield and Bill Fincher (both 1956-57). The P.T.A. has provided support for over half a century. Past-president Melvin Welch compiled this history of the group: On Nov. 7,1930, parents and friends of Chatsworth Elementary School met at the school to organize a Parent-Teacher Association. After a short program was presented by the high school (elem. and high school were in the same building) the groups selected Miss Lula Gladden as chairman to preside over the meeting. Officers elected were: president. Mrs. George T. McDonald; vice-president, Lucille Pack; treasurer, lone Hemphill; secretary. Mrs. Jesse M. Sellers. No dues were paid the first year. Charter members included Mesdames AJ. Whitener, Carl Groves, A.L. Greenwood, ____ Kendrick, A.M. Gudger, R.P. Campbell, R.H. Bradley, G.T. McDonald, T,W. Brooks. H.P. Kitchens, V.C. Pickering, E.G. Sullivan, J.H. Richards, Kirkman Willis. J.H. Barksdale, Jack Waters, T.L. Gregory, L.N. Foster. Alvin Jones, J.T. Charles, Lon Ogletree, J.T. Tucker, J.M. Sellers. J.H, Hemphill; and Misses Ruth Redmond, Mary Heartsell, and Nettie Gladden. The PTA regularly sent representatives to area, district, state and national PTA meetings and worked closely with the stale and national level. Early dues, started in Jan. 1932, were 15? per member per year. Early projects were shrubs for the school grounds, school supplies, things for needy children, playground equipment, free health clinics, furnishings for the auditorium. Music and refreshments were given on "Daddy's Night," February 26, 1932 with a large crowd attending. Expenses were $2.96. Plays were major fund raisers. "Here Comes Arabella" raised $66.25 while "A Womanless Wedding" was also successful. Some of the PTA presidents over the years have been Ione Hemphill (1932-34). Ruth Redmond (1934). Mrs. A.J. Waters (1935), Mrs. L.P. Huff (1935-36), Mrs. L.N. Foster. Marie Kelly (who helped organize the school's lunchroom), Kate Vining, Mrs. Carl Jackson, Ronald Atkinson, Sam Burchfield, Winston Massengale. and Melvin Welch (1977-81). Recent projects of the Chatsworth PTA have been air conditioning of the old buildings in the school complex, playground fencing, steel covered walkways, new gym, time clock for gym, and new playground equipment. From 1973-1981 Chatsworth Elementary School and PTA raised and Spent $90.000 on school improvements, building and campus. For some 30 years a school for blacks existed in Chatsworth. The school was established in 1934-35. Nina Moore (Hill) was one of the first teachers. In 1947 Carters School was consolidated with Chatsworth and in 1953 a new school facility was constructed on Chestnut Street in Chatsworth. The Chats-worth school served elementary students primarily. High School students were bused to Emery Street School in Dalton. However enrollment declined as Murray's black population shrank. In 1961-62 eight pupils were enrolled. Teachers at the school included Aileen Brooker {1934-37. 194243, 1949-50). Eula Bran-ham (1934-35. 1952-57), Essie Mae Branham (1942-45). Lillie Rivers (1946-47). Aileen Bonds (1944-45. 194748. 1950-51. 1953-54). Mary E. Johnson (1958), Rosetta Upton Wilkerson (1958-62), and Betty Jo Aiken (1962-65). In 1966 all Murray schools were integrated. The former school for blacks soon became the central office for the county schools.
Where the mountain breezes blow
We, (he class of twenty-seven
Have labored long you know
Ties of friendship we have woven
That never can be broken
So here's to Chatsworth high school
We will ere to her be true.
Here at dear old C.H.S.
More than anyone can measure
We love this dear old class.
Like our flower, the white carnation
May our lives be always pure.
And our Motto ere remember
"Labor conquers everything."
TOWNS, COMMUNITIES, AND MILITIA DISTRICTS
(1880-1980)
Chatsworth High School, 1922-1934
Teachers at Chatsworth during this era included W.H. Padgett (superintendent in the 1920's). Bernard Neal, Ernest Neal (who was later poet laureate of Georgia), L.N. Foster (1923-25) and 1929-33, principal, Earl Foster (1923-27), Mary Timmons and Lola Emberson (1927), J.W. Cole (principal 1928), Mattie Musselwhite, Doris Steed, John Emberson, and Tommie McCollum (all 1928-29), S.C. Hobbs (1929-31), Louise Loughridge, Evelyn Swan McGinty (1928-29, 1932-35), Raney Goswick (1928-30, 1932-35), lone Hemphill (1925-30), Mildred Merrell, Kate Smithwick, Evelyn Langston, Gwendolyn Brooks, and Jen-evelyn West (all 1929-30), Margaret Partee, Will Dee Shope, Hazel McArthur, and Emily Swan (all 1930-31), Julian Keith (1932-33), Inez Kerr (1932-35), Martha Holbrook (1932-33). Wilmon West (1932-33), and Lucille Langston (Pack) (1932-35). In July, 1934 tragedy once again touched Chatsworth when lightning struck the building, destroying the fine facility. The Chatsworth Times gave the following account of the disaster: All Chatsworth turned out, and people came from neighboring towns as news of the fire spread. Fire hose was stretched and buckets brought out, but they were empty and useless. The city water supply had failed and there was no water to be had. A hurried call was made to Dalton to borrow their chemical fire righting equipment, but this request was refused. Another call Inter on was more successful, but the equipment arrived too late to be of any use. The lightning had hit the school building on one comer near the roof and had run through to the opposite side of the building, knocking a hole In the brick wall. The lire had started between the third floor ceiling and the roof. The fire came as Chatsworth High School consolidated with Lucy Hill and Eton to form Murray High. In 1934 a new Chatsworth Elementary facility was erected on the old site. This building now comprises part of the south wing of the school. While the building was under construction, classes were once again held in the churches. Chatsworth High had been noted for its basketball teams. In the 1923-24 era Florence Barksdale. Mamie Lee Ovby, Connie Stanford, Mary Kelly, Jenevelyn West, and Evelyn Swan comprised the girls' team while Jack Greeson Lawrence Swanson, Clyde Barksdale, Walter Swanson, Roy Gordon, Starling Heart sell, Malcomb Barksdale. Roy McGinty, Max Greeson, and Willie Harris were the boys' team. L.N. Foster was coach. In the late 1920's The Chatsworth Times had a regular column called "C.H.S. Dots" which featured school news. A January, 1928 article told of a "hard-fought" win for the Chatsworth girls over Reinhardt College's team. The score was 4-2! Chambers. Kelly, White, Baggett, Tucker, and Jones comprised the Chatsworth squad. At the other end of the double-header, the Chatsworth boys-Terry. Bradley, P. Rogers, Jenkins. Greeson. and H. Rogers�won 42-24. That same season the Chats-worth "Indians" won the Seventh District Championship. They defeated Fair-mount 25-19. Rome 22-14, and Marietta 33-15 in the tournament. The Times said that the Rome game "opened with much self-confidence on the part of the Rome players, for they thought they could easily defeat the 'Mountain team.1 But their ease soon turned into difficulty when the Chatsworth team began 'hitting on five.' " Also in March 1928 the Chatsworth girls defeated their county rivals from Lucy Hill (Ross, Kemp, Evett, Smith, Colvard, and Vaughn) 16-4! Several artifacts from the Class of 1927 have survived including a graduation program and invitation as well as the class song. Class member Gwendolyn Brooks could have authored the songs since they are preserved on T.W. Brooks Agency stationery. Chorus: Beneafh the shadow ofCohutta We have found much Jun and pleasure When the high schools consolidated Mr. L.N. Foster carried the Indians nickname with him to Murray High where he continued his career as principal and coach. Since 1934 Chatsworth Elementary has grown tremendously. For some time it was the largest school in the county and is now second only to Spring Place in elementary school enrollment. Several additions have been made to the original building and other structures erected. During the past 50 years many educators have worked at Chatsworth. Some, like Easter Anderson Elrod who grew up in Chatsworth and attended the early schools, returned to their alma mater to teach-for 47 years in Mrs. Elrod's case! Among those who have taught at Chatsworth for a number of years are; Gretel Cochran. Raney Goswick, Edna Waldrop (who even served as principal at times), Lucy Cox McWhorter, lone Hemphill. Zona Ensley, Pauline Davis, Sue Tanksley, Marie Kelly, Aileen Clayton, Minnie Calhoun, Mrs. J.R. Middleton, Irene Greeson, Zona Cochran, Milma Earnest, Frances Townsend, Carolyn Anderson, Hoke Jackson, Lucille Langston Pack, and Ruby Goodman. In more recent years Ruby Sanders, Elaine Edwards, Fayna Nunley, Virginia Long, Richard Raber, Linda Loyd, Bobby June Thomason, Velrece Lifsey, Jo Glenn Meyer, Gayle Callahan Bean. Barbara Grider, Vivian Brannock, Bob Porch, Maxine Porch, and Peggy Green have taught at Chatsworth for some time. Principals of the school have included Seward Hix (1934-35), Archer Morgan (1935-38), Ronald Richardson (1942-43). Edna Waldrop (194448), W.A. Johnson (1949-50), L.N. Foster (1952-53), Harris Middleton, B.V. Ozment, Donald Porch, and Doug Meyer. In times past each school district had its on trustees and in Chatsworth's case the board of trustees were sometimes considered to be a board of education. J. Roy McGinty (secretary-treasurer 1921-27), R.M. Gudger (1921), T.N. Gordon (1929), W.A. West (chairman 1927-32), R.H. Bradley (1930), Joe Barks-dale (1931). T.P. Anderson (1932), Dr. E.H. Dickie (1933), V.C. Pickering and G.W. Swanson (1934). Wally Meier (1944), Oscar Jenkins (1944-52), Olen Butler John Hemphill, W.C. Bradley (all 1947-52), Jim Springfield (1947-50, Jack Greeson (1951-53, Arnold HuffsteUer, Floyd Wilbanks, Wayne Westmorland, Harve Long, and M.D. Terry (all 1954-56), and Harold Springfield and Bill Fincher (both 1956-57). The P.T.A. has provided support for over half a century. Past-president Melvin Welch compiled this history of the group: On Nov. 7,1930, parents and friends of Chatsworth Elementary School met at the school to organize a Parent-Teacher Association. After a short program was presented by the high school (elem. and high school were in the same building) the groups selected Miss Lula Gladden as chairman to preside over the meeting. Officers elected were: president. Mrs. George T. McDonald; vice-president, Lucille Pack; treasurer, lone Hemphill; secretary. Mrs. Jesse M. Sellers. No dues were paid the first year. Charter members included Mesdames AJ. Whitener, Carl Groves, A.L. Greenwood, ____ Kendrick, A.M. Gudger, R.P. Campbell, R.H. Bradley, G.T. McDonald, T,W. Brooks. H.P. Kitchens, V.C. Pickering, E.G. Sullivan, J.H. Richards, Kirkman Willis. J.H. Barksdale, Jack Waters, T.L. Gregory, L.N. Foster. Alvin Jones, J.T. Charles, Lon Ogletree, J.T. Tucker, J.M. Sellers. J.H, Hemphill; and Misses Ruth Redmond, Mary Heartsell, and Nettie Gladden. The PTA regularly sent representatives to area, district, state and national PTA meetings and worked closely with the stale and national level. Early dues, started in Jan. 1932, were 15? per member per year. Early projects were shrubs for the school grounds, school supplies, things for needy children, playground equipment, free health clinics, furnishings for the auditorium. Music and refreshments were given on "Daddy's Night," February 26, 1932 with a large crowd attending. Expenses were $2.96. Plays were major fund raisers. "Here Comes Arabella" raised $66.25 while "A Womanless Wedding" was also successful. Some of the PTA presidents over the years have been Ione Hemphill (1932-34). Ruth Redmond (1934). Mrs. A.J. Waters (1935), Mrs. L.P. Huff (1935-36), Mrs. L.N. Foster. Marie Kelly (who helped organize the school's lunchroom), Kate Vining, Mrs. Carl Jackson, Ronald Atkinson, Sam Burchfield, Winston Massengale. and Melvin Welch (1977-81). Recent projects of the Chatsworth PTA have been air conditioning of the old buildings in the school complex, playground fencing, steel covered walkways, new gym, time clock for gym, and new playground equipment. From 1973-1981 Chatsworth Elementary School and PTA raised and Spent $90.000 on school improvements, building and campus. For some 30 years a school for blacks existed in Chatsworth. The school was established in 1934-35. Nina Moore (Hill) was one of the first teachers. In 1947 Carters School was consolidated with Chatsworth and in 1953 a new school facility was constructed on Chestnut Street in Chatsworth. The Chats-worth school served elementary students primarily. High School students were bused to Emery Street School in Dalton. However enrollment declined as Murray's black population shrank. In 1961-62 eight pupils were enrolled. Teachers at the school included Aileen Brooker {1934-37. 194243, 1949-50). Eula Bran-ham (1934-35. 1952-57), Essie Mae Branham (1942-45). Lillie Rivers (1946-47). Aileen Bonds (1944-45. 194748. 1950-51. 1953-54). Mary E. Johnson (1958), Rosetta Upton Wilkerson (1958-62), and Betty Jo Aiken (1962-65). In 1966 all Murray schools were integrated. The former school for blacks soon became the central office for the county schools.
Where the mountain breezes blow
We, (he class of twenty-seven
Have labored long you know
Ties of friendship we have woven
That never can be broken
So here's to Chatsworth high school
We will ere to her be true.
Here at dear old C.H.S.
More than anyone can measure
We love this dear old class.
Like our flower, the white carnation
May our lives be always pure.
And our Motto ere remember
"Labor conquers everything."
TOWNS, COMMUNITIES, AND MILITIA DISTRICTS
(1880-1980)
Businesses in Chatsworth
A complete list of businesses which have existed in Chatsworth is impossible to compile and would fill an entire volume. Countless enterprises have come and gone during the eight decades since the town was born. Many ventures failed after only a brief existence while in other cases names, owners, or locations changed. Chatsworth, of course, had a large sampling of stores along with a surprising number of specialized businesses-from a brick plant and lumber mills to a guano (fertilizer) company and a chicken hatchery. For many years the businesses were located mainly on First, Second, and Third Avenues but in recent years have scattered throughout the town and on the outskirts. Highway 411 between Chatsworth and Ramhurst is dotted with various enterprises as are Highways 52 and 76 west of the city limits. After Chatsworth became the county seat the town grew even more rapidly. The following summaries of various businesses, obtained from deeds, business documents, county records, and newspapers, show how greatly the town has changed.
TOWNS, COMMUNITIES, AND MILITIA DISTRICTS
(1880-1980)
General Merchandise, Food, and Grocery Stores
J. B. Gregory's Market Street M.D. Jefferson's burned 1927, but rebuilt the next year on same site, across from the courthouse on Third Ave. Quarles & Westfield opened near the northeast corner of Second Avenue and Fort Street in the fall of 1920. Grew from a general merchandise to include two department stores, a grocery, a furniture store, and a tufted bedspread operation (during the 1930's and 1940's). J. M. Quarles was the first owner, assisted by his daughter, Julia Mae. When F.T. Westfield married Miss Quarles, the store's name was changed. Mr. Quarles died in 1950 but the Westfields continued for two more decades when illness forced them to retire. Their daughter, Frances Townsend, operated the stores until they were sold in 1970. Shelton's Store -1928. O.L. Leonard's 1920's& 30's. Clarence Greeson went into business with his uncle in the 1930's and in 1939 bought the business located on Market Street. The business was moved to Second Avenue later and was sold to J.P. Cowart in 1966. The Home Store - Third Avenue near the old Jefferson Store. Earl Lively was owner. Later operated with Arnold Pittman. Campbells Grocery -1940. J&C Grocery-1949. J.V. Greeson's -north Fourth Avenue. Chatsworth Cash Produce by H.H. Leonard succeeded by Moore's Grocery. Red's Grocery - Second Avenue, operated by Red Baggett. S.J. Rogers Store - Second Avenue - building later sold to Westfield's. J.L. Parker's Store. Hufstetler's - north 411 later first home of Piggly Wiggly (1970's), adjoining Sallie's Gift and Variety Store, operated by Sallie Wilbanks. 411 Grocery and Service Station, south of town. Shop Rite Foot Store (1962), once located in Murray Plaza, now on North Third Ave. Dry Goods/Department Stores The Bargain Store - Third Avenue. Lays' 5 & 10 also Third Avenue. Baxter & Ruth Lay Department Store - Third Avenue. Oscher's "Ready-to-Wear" opened 1939. Cox's - Second Avenue The Fashion Shop operated by Myrtle Heartsell. Jerri-Lynn Shop, Fashion Vine, Jo and Jen's Tots and Teens -1954 Miss Bill Anderson and Mis. W.A. West Dress Shop - 1929 Bates-Pendley Department Store sold to the Terrys in 1922 where Kenner and Raushenberg opened a store in 1932, Dixie Dime - once in Murray Plaza, now near Shop Rite. Bill's. Goody's, and Dollar General Stores. Butler's Men's Store Carol's Fashions Ledford's Men's Shop Hardware/Furniture F'red Brown and Son - began in Eton but moved to Third Avenue in 1945. Three generations of the family have operated the store-Fred, Frederick, and Greg. Ball Furniture - 1939 Wilbur Jackson Radio (1939), Furniture 1940. Floyd Wilbanks and C.B. Honey - a longtime Chatsworth business. Chatsworth Cabinet & Supply - 1946 - once owned by Odell Ingle, now B&S. Peden Supply in Murray Plaza Bradley Builders - Second Avenue Neil Ingle Hardware - 1978, Murray Plaza The Furniture Place - norlh Third Avenue Otaseo - once on Third Avenue downtown, now near Shop Rite. Paul and Mildred Hunt were long-time operators. A&C Hardware - operated by Ralph Ausrnus on north Third Avenue. Western Auto in Murray Plaza Transportation/Communication Luke Cox and T.L. Gregory owned the Ford Dealership and operated Chatsworth Garage for many years. Located on Third Avenue, the same building was used by the Mullinaxes, Wyatt and Jeff, in the Ford business until a few years ago. Chatsworth Auto & Machinery Co. - Dodges - 1919 Smith Treadwel! Garage - 1919-22. Ed Warmack Garage - West Fort Street, a long-time repair shop and a favorite place for children to get bicycles repaired. Cox and Waters Garage - 1930 Moreland Chevrolet - 1936 Holmes Chevrolet-1935 Bradley-Charles Motors - 1933, latei just Bradley's Cofi'ey Brothers Garage - 1946 Davjs Brothers Garage - 1948 Pinson Motors - J948, now Pinson Tire, Second Avenue Mosteller-Cox Chevrolet - 1962, later just Mosteller's and then Pye's, followed by Ken Headrick - on north Third Avenue. Gus Thomas Garage Chatsworth Auto Parts operated by Buddy Wilbanks on south Third Avenue Harts Automotive once on Third Avenue, now on Cherokce Street. Otis Johnson and Billy Ledford have been long-time employees. B&B Body Shop on south Third Avenue, owned by Bill & Barney Elrod F'ort Mountain Tire, north Third Avenue Babb's Body Shop, south Second Avenue Choate's (later Stewart's) Truck Shop -north 411 Chatsworth-Dalton Bus Line begun by Luke Cox after 1917. Henry "Jitney" Bramblett drove the route for many years. In the 1930's through the 1970's major bus lines stopped in Chatsworth with the office located on the southwest comer of Third and Cherokee for some years. Campbell's Garage - west of town on Highway 52. Among the various taxi services which have operated in Chatsworth have been Terminal Taxi (1945). Cohutta Cabs (1946), W.W. Hix Taxicabs (1953), H&H Cabs (1953), City Cab Co. (1955). and Heansell Bagwell's. The Chatsworth Telephone Company was chartered in 1922 although it had been organized some time before. Jessie Wilson and Myrtle Fincher were early operators in the office located next door to the Wilson House on Second Avenue. Officers in 1929 were president, R.H. Bradley; vice-president, V.C. Pickering. and secretary-treasurer, T.W, Brooks. The next year the company was sold to the Dalton business but the Chatsworth office is slill on the same site. The dial telephone system came in the 1940's and in the early 70's direct long-distance service began. Radio and television came to Chatsworth in the 1970's. WQMT, 99.3 FM, began broadcasting from Fort Mountain in 1976. Calvin Means was manager. The next year Carmen Trevitt received the Cablevision franchise. Cable service extends outside Chatsworth to county residents. Hotels/Motels Chatsworth's first hotel was the DeSoto. named for the Spanish explorer whose soldiers were the first white people to see Murray County. Located on Third Avenue near Fort Street, the DeSoto was built by the Chatsworth Land Company. The first managers were Mr. & Mrs. Ed Johnson. Mr. & Mrs. Alvin Jones then purchased the hotel from the company and operated the business until 1945 except for a brief period when a Mrs. Hyatt from Ellijay ran it. In 1945 Mr. & Mrs. Jones sold the property to Kenemer Brothers who then sold it to First Baptist Church. The church used the hotel as an education building until 1955. The present sanctuary was built on the former hotel site. Another landmark was the Wright Hotel on the northeast corner of Market Street and Second Avenue. This hotel was built in 1908-09 by Thomas and Laura Holbrooks Wright. with assistance from Mr. Wright's cousin, Thomas Banks, a builder-architect from Cleveland, Tennessee. "The Wright Hotel was built in a thriving rural community as a spa for Northerners and Southerners coming in the summer to drink the mineral waters, enjoy the cool mountain breezes, and indulge in home-cooking," according to one writer. In preparation for the actual construction of the building. Mr. Wright rented the Brick Plant from Mr. Pendley for one year to make the unique soft rose-colored bricks. He then cut heart pine from the trees on his Holly Creek farm and let it cure a year before sawing the lumber for the three-story, 17-room hotel with a 10-foot foundation. Servants' quarters and a pump house were northeast of the hotel which covers about 'A acre of ground. The floors are tongue-and-groove and the walls are wooden lath with plaster. The Wrights operated the business for many years except in 1915 when Mr. & Mrs. W.A. Spencer leased the hotel while Mrs. Wright was ill. Many famous Georgians visited the hotel including politicians Hoke Smith and Gordon Lee. Local residents crowded the dining room during court week while industrialists and businessmen visited frequently. Mr. Wrighl died in 1925. He had been baptized in a 6-foot bathtub in the hotel a short time before. Following Mrs. Wright's death in 1948 the hotel was leased to Lester Quarles and then to the Keeters until the mid-1960's. During this era the business was re-named Chatsworth Hotel. In 1969 Mr.& Mrs. Wright's daughter, Kate Raine, returned to the old home. After restoring the house, "Miss Kate" restored it with original pieces and many examples of Indian crafts accumulated during her years as a health nurse in the Southwest. Although the hotel became her home and a showplace of antiques, Mrs. Raine continued to rent rooms. The hotel was the site for the Whit field-Murray Historical Society's Christmas Holiday House in 1979 and in 1982 the Wright Hotel was placed on the National Register of Historic Places. Special ceremonies and an open house were held in August to commemorate the event. During the Florida land boom of the 1920's plans were made for a grand resort hotel east of Chatsworth, south of Highway 52, On April 8, 1926 The Chatsworth Times gave this account of the event: On Monday of this week ground was broken at Mount Vista for the "Mount Vista Lodge Hotel," which, when completed, will be the only hotel of its kind, constructed entirely of solid logs, in this section of the United States. This new summer resort hotel will be a commodious and convenient hostelry, with every appointment for the comfort and convenience of the guests. The building will be 120 feet long by 60 feet wide, and two stories high. On the first floor will be located four parlor rooms, two on each side of the ball room, with lounging rooms for both men and women. The lobby, running across one end of this floor, will be 25 by 40 feet, and the dining room, at the other end, of the same dimensions. The ball room, 25 by 75 feet, will have at each end a large fire place, 5 by 4 feet, 36 inches deep. The second floor will contain fourteen small and four large guest rooms, with glass window's in an unbroken line entirely around the building. A 10-foot promenading veranda will completely encircle the hotel. The building will be constructed of solid logs on a rock foundation and will be covered with wood shingles. The kitchen will be located in the basement. The hotel will be equipped with electric lights, running water, toilets and baths. The construction work is under the supervision of Mr. H.L. Hutchison, mariage: of Mount Vista. Mr. C.C. Reetz, owner and developer of the property, slated this week to a representative of The Times that the hotel would be ready for guests in June. A week later The Times reported that "Quite a number of young people went to Mount Vista Sunday and had the privilege of being the first to eat at the new hotel being erected." The Mount Vista project was not completed, but other motels came to Chatsworth. The J.Fletcher Charles Tourist Camp was located north of town in the 1930's and in the 1950's Fort View, Chief Vann, and Adco Motels were established. Today, the oldest inn is the Colonial Pines, located south of town. Longtime owners Mr. & Mrs. Jack Cole give this story of this motel: In 1945 The Pines Motel and Restaurant was purchased from Tom Moreland who owned the property, but who had it leased to Willard Adcock. Since the Coles had a business elsewhere. The Pines was operated by others until 1947 when Mrs. Cole came to Chatsworth, built a new dining room, and replaced the crude furnishings in the rooms. The Coles saw great potential for the town and asked the townspeople to organize a Chamber of Commerce. Tourism seemed to pick up; more motels built and additional improvements were made at the new Colonial Pines. In 1970 the restaurant burned and a nearby service station was converted into a restaurant now called Edna's. Financial Institutions The Bank of Chatsworth and a Georgia State Bank were the oldest financial institutions in the town. Both were taken over by Cohutta Banking Company, which is now Murray County's oldest business. The following history of the Cohutta was compiled during the grand opening of its fourth facility in 1973: The Cohutta Banking Company began business in Spring Place, then the county seat of Murray County, in 1905. The Bank was organized by M.C. Horton, G.W. Arrowood and M.W. Shields. The original charter specified a capital of $25,000 with $15,000 paid in at the start. The first Board of Directors was composed of M.C. Horton. chairman, W.C. Martin, C.C. Keith. S.M. Carter. O.E. Horton, J.L. Rouse, and E.N. Whitmire. Officers were M.C. Horton, president; C.N. King, vice-president, and E.N. Whitmire. cashier. $200.000 capital stock to $323.000 and increasing outstanding shares from 2.000 to 32,500. Par value of stock was reduced from $100 to $10. The most significant change in capital structure was in April. 1972. when, the par value was reduced from $l0 to $5. The number of outstanding shares was increased to 138,500. thus creating for its first time a capitai structure of over $1.000.000. A stock dividend in February. 1973, created an additional 20,707 shares of stock and brought the capital structure tothe present total of $796.035.00. Continuous growth and service to this area can be greatly contributed to the stockholders, who now number in excess of 200 compared to 10 in June 1962. The Bank now has 38 officers and employees while the Market and Third Avenue facility opened in June, 1962 with a total of 9. Long-time employees R.E. Chambers and Frances Heartsell were honored by the bank in the naming of a committee room (later, a suite of offices) and a community room for them. In 1980 Mr. Chambers became chairman-emeritus and Tom Greeson. his grandson, succeeded him as board chairman. Robert Anderson later succeeded Greeson as president. The growth of the Cohutta, and the beginning of two branch offices, along with the establishment of other financial institutions reflects the rapid growth of Murray County in recent years. Chatsworth Savings Center, a branch of Dalton Federal, is located on west Fort Street and is now Decatur Federal. Jack Cole has headed this operation for some time. In 1975 the First National Bank of Chatsworth opened on North Third Avenue. Directors of this successful venture are James R. Gregory (chairman). Paul Ross (president), J. Roland Harbin, James H. Phillips, Odell Ingle, Wyatt A. Mullinax, Carlton A. Petty, and J. Hoyle Lents. Original employees were Mr. Ross, Andrew B. Becton (vice-president), Ted Welch, Ann Childers, Wanda Bailey, Kay Plemons, Lennie Babb, Barbara McMillan, Nancy Faw, and Sue Wilson. Charles Etheridge, Dan Townsend, and others have joined the staff of this "home owned" financial institution." Service Stations M.L. Gregory's. S.D. Rogers Gulf, Lewis's Texaco, Spivey's, Arnold's, Wilbank's Sinclair (1936), Tom's (1950). Vick's (1954), Glenn Howard's, Buell's Pure Oil (1963). Danny Fowler's Phillips 66. Barber Shops R.A. Graves, John Springfield, Jess Ledford, J.P. Tarpley (19*5-85 on Market Street), and Gene McEntire's in Murray Plaza. Lawyers R.N. Steed, H.H. Anderson, C.N. King, Jesse M. Sellers, Sam "Pete" Calhoun, J. Paxon Amis, Charles A. Pannell, Sr., J.W. Yarbrough, Bill Keith, Dean Donehoo, Mike Moldaveri, Jerry Lifsey, and Nancy Calhoun. The Medical Profession Medical Doctors - E.H. Dickie (1913): R.H. Bradley (1914); Thomas E. Green (1909); Charlie Russell; Ira Willis Ballard (1935); James N. Mullins (1948); D.D. Rea (1938); Robert I-;. Burton (1913); E..M. Townsend (1916);Willard P. Carson (1950);W.G. Petty (1957): Dr. Carey (1960's); Otis Walker (1963); Harry Johnstun; F.Q. Ramos; Edwin Hugh Braswell (1975); Elmo Tamayo (1976); Romulo Morales (1976); Wilma S- Tamayo (1979; O'Neal Sutler. Dentists - R.R. Hightower (1915); J.C. Yancey (1916); B.B. Vandergriff (1918); Stanton Jones (1927); Theodore Bayless (1929); E.R. Munfotd (1922); J.A. Moore; J.H. Feagan; S,C. Morgan (1925); Frcd Q. Holweger; Charles Clark. Optometry - W.S. Lents (1917); Oscar Crow. Chiropractic - Donald Jane way (1955);John M. Smith (1978). Druggists - H.P. Kitchens (1921). Market Street & Third Avenue, Fincher Drug, across from the courthouse; Chatsworth Drug, Johnny Cochran & Tom Graves on Third Avenue; Corner Drug, Roland Harbin, a successor to H.P. Kitchens; M.L. Carpenter who began what is now Carlton Peoples' Pharmacy in Murray Plaza (this drug store had the last soda fountain in Chatsworth which closed in 1983 after 20 years of operation). Early Textile Businesses Chatsworth Spreads. 1938. Crown Craft Inc. (1941-85). Began in a tin building south of the post office on Fourth Avenue. Sidney Quitman of Philadelphia was owner. The company then moved to the Rogers Building on Second Avenue and then across the street where the Frank McCartys had begun another chenille business in 1942. In the 1950's Crown expanded until it covered most of the block between Market and Fort east of Second Avenue- Southern, Osher and Powell Matress Factories all operated in the 1940's. Chatsworth Manufacturing, 1944. Cook and Francine Chenille, 1946 Mountain View Clienille, 1946 Boyles Rug Co., 1951 Grace Rug Co., 1952 Other Businesses Georgia, Southern, and Fort Mountain (1912) Talc Companies Chatsworth Milling Co.- AT. Cochran -1919 Empire Talc &. Lumber Co, (1916) owned by Farrars and then J.T. Dillard (1928). Later became the Moraine Box Company (out of Dayton, Ohio) Cohutta Lumber Co. asked for a charter in 1921. It was composed of W.B. Townsend and Hugh Burke of Knoxville, J.W. Self and R. Noel Steed of Murray County. Fort Mountain Lumber Co. (1934) replacing the BoxCompany's work at Empire. George Miers was manager and R.L. Killin was superintendent. Chatsworth Lumber Co. (1936) Chatsworth Manufacturing (1938) - a machine shop noted for production of air craft parts during World War II. Chatsworth Broilers & Feed (1951) Chatsworth "Co-Op" now Farm Supply Brown Coal Co. once on Market Street, now on Fourth Avenue Robert Dickie Coal Co. Keith Feed and Poultry (1953) Murray County Frozen Food Locker Plant (1946) Cohutta Amusements (1948) Chatsworth Jewelers owned and operated by the Satterfield family in Murray Plaza. Jim Arrowood Blacksmith Shop on Second Avenue in 1927. Hampton Shoe Shop, Chatsworth Bootery, and Ledford's Shoes. W.S. Lents-Jeweler Insurance Agencies - T.W. Brooks (1910), Gerald & Jerry Leonard, John Kenemer State Farm, Billy Townsend and others Georgia Farm Bureau, and Del Richards. Dry Cleaners - Ben Leonard's, Fort View Cleaners on Fourth Avenue operated by James and Dixie Jones, Chatsworth Cleaners (1939), M&M Cleaners (1949) and Cherokee Cleaners on Second Avenue operated by the Rosses. Bookkeepers and Accountants - Cathryn Wilbanks, Luther Carter, and Benny Huggins. Others Parks Adams, the ice-man, was a well-known Chatsworth figure. Owens Heating, Chatsworth Plumbing & Electric (1945), Chatsworth Appliance (194S), Grant Plumbing and Electric, Kilgore Radio & Television (in Southgate), Larry's Entertainment (in Southgage), Sound Around Tape Center (at Fort and Fourth operated by Danny and Janice Leonard). Southgate Sporting Goods. Chatsworth Sporting Goods (Market Street) Food Center, Revco Drugs, and Family Dollar Store in Southgate Ingle's Food Store and Revco west of town on Highway 76. Fun City on South Third Avenue and Roller-Go Skating Rink on Highway 76. Fort Theater on Third Avenue was a long-time landmark before it closed about 1970. Parker & Bray Studio over Leonard's Store (1930, A&A Photographic Service, 1953 Ben's "Tuffs and Fluffs" - 1946; Playland - 1941 Elite Printing once on Second Avenue and now on Third in the former Mullinax Ford Building. Real Estate Agents - Logan Brothers (1919), Chatsworth Real Estate (1954), and in more recent years, Dangler, Tartan, and Century 21. Ten-tex Machine Shop - Second Avenue and Chetokee Street. Charles A, Riedell and a Mr. Dunn had a "Peddler's License" in 1910. Florists - Rogers' Flower Shop was on west Fort Street, Paula's is on Third Avenue, and Gary Green's City Florist on South Third Avenue is famous for its collection of Madame Alexander dolls (Madame Alexander visited Chatsworth in 1984), Pin Cushion Cloth Store Fort Mountain Office Supply and Chatsworth Office Supply Funeral Directors - Luke Kenemer operated a Chatsworth branch of Kenemer Brothers Funeral Home around 1927. Dick Kenemer later began another Kenemer funeral business in the former McGinty residence on Fort Street. Following Mr. Kenemer's death Hershel Penland operated Kenemer Memorial Funeral Home for a few years before changing the name to Penland. In 1976 he sold the business to Jesse Jones, a former Kenemer employee, who runs the business with his son, Tony. Fred Brown of Eton became a licensed funeral director in 1925 and in 1941 moved the business to Chatsworth where his son Frederick operated the business with the family's assistance for some years. In 1965 the Brown's sold the business to the Peeples brothers. Since then Johnny and Frances Peeples have expanded the former Brown building. Recreation Frontier lands opened on Fort Mountain, north of Highway 52 in 1973. Governor Lester Maddox attended the opening ceremonies for the short-lived amusement park. Restaurants Among the early food service establishments in Chatsworth were J.M. Bagley (1924), R.H. Shelton's, Mix's Chatsworth Cafe (across from the courthouse, 1948), Blue Goose Cafe (1929), Stewart's, LAM, Bus Terminal Cafe (1937), and 411 Cafe (1948). Torn-Ann's, operated by Mrs. Miriam Maddox, was a popular eating place for several years. Kin's was begun by "Kin" Keeter in 1954 near the southern edge of town. The name has remained the same through several ownerships, including that of Barney and Maurine Elrod. Marvin and Edna Blackwell operated Edna's Cafeteria on Second Avenue for many years. They retired but later opened another Edna's on Highway 411 South. It is one of the area's most famous restaurants. Fort View and the Village Cafeteria have been stand-bys for many years while The Creme Hut and The Press Box are popular also. Barney's and the Big-V (owned by Billy and Betty Vick) were popular drive-ins. The Chicken Hut, Pizza Hut and The Biscuit Box are well known for their specialties. Tastee-Freeze was the first of the fast-food chains to come to Chatsworth. James and Clara Thomason were the first operators. McDonald's opened in 1983, shortly after Hardees. Both are on Highway 411 North.
TOWNS, COMMUNITIES, AND MILITIA DISTRICTS
(1880-1980)
A Chatsworth Chronology
A variety of facts and interesting bits of Chatsworth history are included in this chronology- Between First Avenue and the railroad was once the beautiful DeSoto Park, complete with a barbeque pit, gazebo, and bandstand. Building encroached upon the park until by 1960 it had disappeared. 1913 _ J.F. Harris elected mayor. Councilmen - S.C. Gregory, H.S. Willingham, R.M. Gudger, and Ed Bishop.. Election contested! 1914-1916 A circus comes to town and one of the elephants kills Alfred Phillips as he takes to the town well {at Market and Second) for water. May, 1916 - A terrible fire destroys four houses on Fourth Avenue. Fall 1916 - Eight trains stop at Chatsworth daily! November 1916 - Chatsworth Masonic Lodge No. 664 is chartered. Officers are W.H. Ratcliff worshipful master S.H. Kelly, senior warden; L.P. Hufstetler , junior warden, and George Kelly, secretary. 1918 - Bonds for Chatsworth Water Works system are approved. 1919 - Civil League beautifies town. January 1919 - H. H. (Henry Leonard is Mayor; Councilmen are W. H. Ratcliff, J.T. Dillard (Mayor Pro-tem), E.J. Lunsford, and S. H. Kelly. J.R. Webb is marshall and T.W. Brooks, clerk and treasurer. July 1919 - Radcliffe Chautaugua System came to town with the "best entertainment." This is the second of at least three annual visits for this lecture and culture program. 1919 - A U.S. Highway from Knoxville to Atlanta is proposed. Each merchant, garage, and drug store in Chatsworth must close on Sunday. A city "Club Fair" planned. April1 192 1 - A farm loan association is organized. January 1922 - M D Jefferson re-elected mayor without opposition. Councumen are Ben F. Bates, T. H. Moreland, J Roy McGinty (Mayor Pro-Tern), and V.C. Peering. Some 15 or 20 women voted! January 5, 1922 - Town may soon have an electric light plant. br> Jan 11 1923 Town is out of debt for first time in its history! Talk of a new charter. January 1924 - Mayor: J.F. Harris, Councilmen W.S. Bradley, E.H. Dickie, T.N.Gordon, and T.L.Gregory. October 1924 - Alvin Jones sends first letter by air. January 1925 - T.L. Gregory is Mayor Pro-Tem, Mack Trammell & Associates are to put in electric lights, power line from Dalton to Chatsworth. A Chatsworth Merchants and a Cotton Growers Association are in existence. R.M. Gudger is town justice of the peace. January, 1926 - R.E. Chambers, Mayor; Councilmen remain the same. W.A. West replaces T.W. Brooks as clerk and treasurer. Jesse Sellers is city attorney. Ordinance passes: "Any lewd woman of bad character found upon the streets . . . after 9 p.m. will be arrested . . . confined to jail to be punished in the mayor's court." Speed limit: 15 m.p.h. (10 at intersections). Building permits cost 25�. Bicycles are not allowed on sidewalks. Horses could not be hitched to trees. Unlawful to allow any horse, mule, cow, hog or goat to run at large on the streets. Dogs must be "substantially muzzled." June 1926 - Franchise for light and power line is given . . . will have 24- hour electric current within four months. January 1928 - Work on Knoxville-Atlanta Highway begun. R.P. Campbell is town justice of the peace. 1928-29 - Mayor J.R. McGinty; Councilmen: R.H. Bradley, R.M. Gudger, R.P. Hufstetler, and Walker Moreland. A.S. Cooley re-elected marshall, H.H. Anderson is city attorney, and R.E. Chambers is clerk. 1929 - Georgia Power service is connected with Chatsworth. Jan. 1930 - A "big" snow -6 inches. Chatsworth's population is 607. Mayor: R.M. Gudger, Councilmen are Bradley, Cochran, Dillard and Hix. 1932 - Anderson and Gordon replace Cochran and Bradley on city council. Richard Ken-drick begins 12 years of work as city clerk. S.H. Kelly begins an 8-year stint as justice of the peace. June, 1932 - Chatsworth Lion's Club is organized; begins projects to boost school attendance. 1934 - City, in cooperation with the FERA, extends city water mains northward and buys three additional springs. Wi!l Butler supervised this project which cost $10,000 and employed a "large crew of local men." 1934-35 - Mayor M.D. Jefferson; Councilmen are J.F. Harris, AJ. Waters, G.W. Swanson, Dr. R.H. Bradley; Policemen: RJ.Parrott and G.W. Duncan. 1935 - Plans made for a "Community Chest" drive. Mad rush for housing in Chatsworth as population reaches 900. August, 1935 - "Mayor and Council ... let the contract for the engineering plans and supervision for the local WPA city sewage system project composing of 21,000 feet of sewers and a plant that will take care of the city's sanitary needs for the next twenty-five years. Mr. Thomas, consulting engineer of Atlanta, has had over thirty years of experience in doing this type of work for cities throughout the state. He has done several hundreds of dollars worth of this type of work for the cities of Marietta, Fort Valley, Cartersville, and Monticello. Mr. Thomas will have personnel on the job this week to start the running of lines in the city and mapping out of the plans and cost estimates for the projects. This project in which the town and WPA are working together will be done with labor furnished by the local relief office headed by Miss Mary Heartsell while the engineer will furnish the services of a full time instrument man for the day to day work of laying the lines and pipes. This project received final o-k by the government Monday, August llth, together with 600 others throughout the state. The federal government allotted $10,440 and the city voted $12,000 in bonds. 1937 _ M.D. Jefferson retires; Dr. C.C. Russell defeats Dr. R.H. Bradley in the Mayor's race. R.E. Chambers and Lee Harrison join George Swanson and Jack Waters on the council. A WPA writer describes Chatworth as follows: "At an altitude of 800 feet Chatsworth lies near the foot of the Cohutta Mountains, which are rich in minerals. It is a rich agricultural region and is a shipping point. It has a post office, bank, postal telegraph. Railway Express and Western Union stations, and a population of 1,001. Chatsworth was named in honor of an official of the LAN Railway at the rime the city was established. Civic Clubs are active: September 1937-"Civic Clubs Get Old Jail Cell - The civic clubs of Chatsworth believe in preserving the old relics of the county. This was exemplified Friday when an old cage, said to have been constructed about the year 1878 by Col. C.N. King and Captain J.W. Patrick for the purpose of a county jail, was sold by the city of Chatsworth for scrap iron. As the old relic was about to be loaded into the truck for transportation to the scrap iron yards, representatives from the Woman's Club, the U.D.C. chapter and the Lions Club took the matter into their hands and by their protest were able to halt the removal of the cage, Committees from the clubs appeared before the city council Monday night and asked that the cage be donated to them to be reconstructed and preserved. The request was granted and the clubs are making plans to raise funds to reconstruct the cage which was divided into four parts in order to load it on the truck. Members of the clubs state that the old relic will be preserved and kept up by the clubs." Ruth Sellers, Willillen Brooks, Raney Goswick, Annie Ruth Wilbanks, Maga Lynn Goswick, Jeannette Tucker, Miriam Maddox, Kate Jefferson, and Lucy Cox are in the Junior Woman's Club. 1938 - Dr. R.H. Bradley becomes mayor. Sewer syslem completed. 1939 - City plans a disposal plant. February 22. 1940 - "Winds of gale force lash the city for 12 hours." 1941 - Dr. E.H. Dickie succeeds Dr. Bradley as mayor. April 24, 1911 - Voters approve water filtering bond issue. 1942 - M.D. Jefferson is once more elected mayor. March 2, 1942 - 3Vi inches of snow in town. 1943 - R.E. Chambers is mayor; C.H. Greeson, John Hemphill and M.C. Queen are on the Council. 1944 - City streets to be paved. First Home Economist Club is organized by W.A. Gaines, county agent, and Collene Poole, Home Economist. Members are Mrs. W.A. Gaines, Cleo West, Mrs. Leach Richards, Lou DeBoard, Ruth Bates, Mattie Bagley, Mrs. Gus Terry, Mrs. Hoy Miller, Mrs. Richard Kendrick, and Miriam Maddox. 1945 -S.H. Kelly is mayor. 1946 -- Bill Groves is mayor. 1947 - S.H, Kelly returns as mayor. Ball park is constructed at school. First fair held. Jack Cole brought the mid-way act from McMinnville, Tennessee. January 24, 1948 - 5" snow falls on Chatsworth. November 28, 1948 - parts of city flooded. 1948-49 - J.S. Jones elected mayor. W.A. West, as mayor pro-tem, fills out term. City Charter is amended; Waterworks Commission is created by state legislature. 1950 - Population reaches 1,214, In the previous 30 years the city's growth rate had exceeded that of the county and increased the city's portion of Murray's total population. W.A. Meier, chairman of the Water Commission, announces that a water main for Fourth Avenue is to be laid. W.H. Long requested water service for "the new Long and Parrott subdivision to be developed just outside the north city limits." City attorney is Charles A. Pannell, Sr. T.H. Underwood and C.B. Honey are on Council; S.H. Kelly once again serves as mayor. 1952-53 - Mayor M.B, Jackson; Council is made up of Seward Mix (Pro-Tern), W.H. Bramblett, W.A, West (re-elected), and Mr. Gordon; City Clerk: Bonnie Gudger; Tax assessors S.H. Maynard, J.E. Swanson and S.H. Kelly; Board of Health: Dr. Harold Carson, Dr. R.H. Bradley and Ray Bagley; Police Chief: M.C. Queen; Marshalls: Roy Parrott and Henry Leonard; Volunteer Firemen: Chief R.L. Vining, Herbert Parrott,Clyde Greeson, J.V, Greeson, Harold Swanson, Barren Brooks, Arnold Wilbanks, Emmett Cochran, Barney Elrod, Frederick Brown, and Willie Ponders, City is rein corpora ted. April 12. 1953 - City attorney: J. Paxson Amis. Water Works and Sewer Works combined. $80,000 in bonds authorized for construction of 300,000-gallon steel tank a short distance up Fort Mountain to increase city's water pressure and supplement the Storage capacity of the 45,000-gallon tank then in use. W.A. Meier, John Hemphill, and Dr. Bradley comprise water commission. 1954 - S.H. Kelly is re-elected mayor. 1955 - Chatsworth Lodge Hall on Second Avenue burns. Rebuilt on Third Avenue in 1958. 1956 - City limits are extended; Chatsworth wins second place in Georgia Power's "Belief Town" contest. 1957 - Mayor Pro-Tern Seward Hix fills in until Mr, Kelly completes term. 1958 - Woodmen of the World Lodges No. 1706 and 1722 begin brief existences. 1958-59 - Marviri B. Jackson is re-elected mayor. September 6, 1959 - Sam H, Kelly, the last surviving founder of Chatsworth, dies following a lengthy illness at age 78. 1960 - Citylimits are changed; T.H. Underwood is elected mayor. Population is 1,184. 1962 - Mr. Jackson is re-elected Mayor; City limits are extended this year and again in 1965, 1967 and 1971. 1967 - A spring at Eton is added to water system in anticipation of future expansion. 1968-69 - Tom Greeson is mayor; Barney Elrod and Donald Bradley on council. Sewage treatment facility completed. 1970 - New city charter; Barney Elrod is elected mayor; population is 2,706. 1972 - Council members are Billy Vick, Greg Springfield, Robert Little, Jr. and Horace Cantrell. 1973 - Luke Butler, a 12-year veteran of the city police department, is named chief (serves until 1978). 1974, April - Tornadoes rip through Chatsworth and Murray County. 1975 - A $2 million water-sewerage improvement project, financed by a Farmers Home Administration Loan, is completed. Judson Vick is Water Commissioner. Work included water reservoirs at Eton and Spring Place, three sewage package treatment pumping stations, and made sewage service available to all city residences and businesses. Water service extended to areas around Eton, Spring Place, and southward on Ga. 225 to include Springdale subdivision. 1976 - Tom Ramsey chairs a "Frontier Days" celebration held on the courthouse lawn (for the second year) in commemoration of the nation's Bicentennial. Robbie Co wart co-ordinates local Bicentennial activities, 1977 - Roland Harbin succeeds Mayor Elrod. Council members are Margaret Adams, France Adams. Jere Weyman, and Ken Wilbum. Members of the Water Commission include R.L. Vining, Jim McCraney, and Calvin Townsend. Throughout the 1970's and into the 1980's the Council makes major improvements or expansions in the water and sewage system, flre service, police department, sidewalk construction, recreation facilities, and sanitation. Faye Harrison is city clerk. Horace Cantrell succeeds E.D. Bridges as justice of the peace. The former Home Demonstration club reorganizes as Chatsworth Home-makers Club with Mrs. Pearl West as president. 1978 - J.L. "Zeke" Hufstetler becomes mayor. The Pilot Club, Chamber of Commerce, and city council unite to beautify city and bill it as the "City of Crepe Myrtle." 1979 � Charles Whitener begins rennovation of downtown buildings-a William sburg theme. Public housing units off Old Ellijay Road near the high school are planned. Sam "Pete" Calhoun continues his lengthy service as city attorney. 1980 - The Fort Mountain Home and Garden Club is organized as part of the Governor's Project Community Competition program. The new Chatsworth Merchant's Association joins the Murray County Saddle Club in sponsoring the annual Christmas parade. 1981 - Chatsworth-Murray County Chamber of Commerce initiates an annual Red and Gold Leaf Festival. 1984 - Dan McEntire succeeds Mayor Hufstetler. Margaret Adams continues to serve as mayor pro-tem. 1985 - Former mayor Zeke Hufstetler narrowly defeats veteran councilman Jere Weymun in an election which drew 66% of the city's 1.150 registered voters.
April 6, 1922 -Chatsworth Radio Club is to install receiving set.
TOWNS, COMMUNITIES, AND MILITIA DISTRICTS
(1880-1980)
The Chatsworth Post Office
For many years the Chatsworth Post Office was the only government office in the town. The first post office was located back of a "confectionary" on the northwest corner of Market and First-near the railroad. Alvin Jones was appointed the first postmaster on March 26. 1906. He was succeeded by Willis H. Pendley on July 22. 1909. The post office then moved to a Second Avenue location (on the present site of Village Cafeteria). Robert M. Gudger was appointed postmaster on Feb. 5, 1910 and was succeeded by Sam M. Barnett on November 16. 1914. On September 30. 1929. J.F. "Fletcher" Charles became postmaster. In 1931 post office box rent was 35^ for 3 months. Two years later the post office moved to another rented building on Third Avenue, east of the courthouse. Mr. Charles resigned on January 9. 1934; Miss Ruth Redmond succeeded him. As the number of county post offices declined, rural free delivery grew. Since Chatsworth was the county seat, its post office expanded and grew in importance. In 1934 J.H. Wood was the Route 1 carrier while L.H. Richards and J.T. Tucker worked on Routes 2 and 3 respectively. Mr. Robert L. Vining, who had been assistant for several years, was appointed Chatsworth postmaster March 3, 1944. The next year Mr. Vining's wife, the former Kate Jefferson, took his place for a few months until lie returned to begin more than a quarter of a century as postmaster. Mrs. Vining remained his assistant until their retirement in 1973. Carl Tanksley who had been the Route 1 carrier for 21 years, became the next postmaster. When Mr. Tanksley retired in 1977, Melvin Welch received the appointment. Two other long-time employees were Dot Mantooth and Mack Jackson. Jim Howard, who took Mr. Tanksley's place on Route 1, is senior rural letter carrier. In 1962 various Chatsworth residents began contacting congressmen and postal officials in hopes of obtaining a new post office. R.E. Chambers, president of the Cohutta Bank and the Chatsworth Enterprises, led the efforts. The work was fruitless until 1964 when money for a new office and a federal building was appropriated. No longer would federal agencies be forced to rent office space. The present post office, on the corner of Fort and Fourth is now the base for seven rural routes and three city routes.
TOWNS, COMMUNITIES, AND MILITIA DISTRICTS
(1880-1980)
Other Communities in Chatsworth District
Within what is now Chatsworth was once the village of Oran. This rather widespread community "moved" twice within a decade. The first Oran was located "on the old Johnson Place near Duvall Road and Industrial Boulevard." Here W.R. Black had a store and was postmaster from 1892 until 1898. Mary E. Black succeeded him as postmaster. By this time the central point in the community had become the Davis Store on Old Ellijay Road near the present Murray County Recreation Center. The Davises were large landowners in the area and their land extended northward to near the Black store site. The Isaac Davis Family Cemetery is on Industrial Boulevard, the only remnant of the Oran community. In addition to the Davises. John L, Woods and D.F. McMahan owned a great deal of land in the area. Woods. McMahan, and Thomas B. Davis provided land for the Chestnut Grove School in 1891. Located near what is now Green Road, the school generally went by the name of Oran. Teachers here included Thad Moreland (1896). A.R. Howard (1896-97), C.H. Shriner (1897). R.S. Vining (1899), Dee Parsons (1900). Gid Jackson, Vie Jackson Osborn. Mollie Glass Brown. Joe Anderson. Owen Terry. John Camey and ____ Freeman. In even earlier days a school had been located east of the Oran (near the intersection of Green and Charles Roads) called "Pull Tight" School. At a later time Bates Smith taught school in a log house on the Davis Place. The Davis Estate became part of the Murray County High School and Farm while part of the Woods property is now Woods Estate subdivision. In 1902 Robert C. Logan, Jr. became Oran's postmaster and moved the office to his store east of present-day Highway 411 (across from Hardees near Chats-worth Ready Mix). About that same time the proposed railroad to Dalton from Murray County was to pass through Oran as it curved southwestward from Pleasant Valley (Eton) on its way to Spring Place. This railroad failed, but in 1905 the LAN was built and went through Oran. Thus there was still hope that Oran would become an important town, bul it lost the depot to Eton and then Chatsworth was founded which was the beginning of the end for Oran. By 1911 the post office was closed. Oran at its height consisted of Lydia Jackson's house. Balis Hunsucker's house and blacksmith shop, and carpenter Spencer Davis's residence east of the Old Federal Road while the Guy Adams house, the Wright store and home, the Logan store, the Johnson (later Logan) gin. and the Gid Jackson house were between the Old Federal Road and the L&N tracks. The Wrights were sawmillers and related to the Logaris whose house was just west of the railroad. Most of the buildings in Oran were along the Old Ellijay Road. In earlier times a school called Logansville had existed, possibly near this community. Miss Lucinda Bates and Miss N.B. Welborn (1884) taught there. Just north of Oran near the Jackson Lake area was Murray Campground, a Methodist facility equipped with tents and cabins for use during summer religious services. George A. Edmondson deeded land on lot 130 (9th District, 3rd Section) to "Methodist Episcopal Church South" trustees John Gates, Jathan Gregory. Samuel B. McCamy. W.W. Staples, and William Steed in July, 1872. The North Georgia Citizen, printed in Dalton, said that in July, 1874 "the camp meeting of M.E. Church South begins at the campgrounds four miles east of Spring Place on 20th of August next. Rev. A. Odom now on Spring Place Circuit . . . will remain in charge of his churches until October." The Wesleyan Christian Advocate of September 29, 1886 said that Murray Campground "has well nigh rotted down. Only six tents were occupied. Something must be done or the place must be given up." Apparently something was done because use continued into the 1890's. During that same decade a Murray Campground School reported to the County Board of Education. Teachers known are Rev. H. Morris and John Anderson (1891), Samuel Jackson (1892), R.E. Logan (1893), and Mrs. Mattie Bradford (1894), when Campground was "not received as a public school" according to county records. Today Lakeview Baptist Church exists between the former sites of Murray Campground and Oran. The name of Oran was preserved in recent years in the name of a carpet mill. Lakeview Baptist Church was organized on June 16. 1951. The concrete-block building was erected on land obtained from C.N. King and I.M. Peeples. Before the construction work was completed services were held under a brush arbor on the same site. In the 1970's an addition was built and the original building remodeled. In 1978 Lakeview had 176 members. Pastors of the church have been Clinton Lunsford. Thurman Hightower, Riley Bartley. Fletcher Gos-wick, Charlie Pritchett, Houston Allen , David Watson. Hoyt Rogers, Monroe Steelrnan, D.V. Mathis, Bobby Souther, and James Whitmore. Carl Flood, Ed Dotson, Farris Turner, D.A. Young, Elmer Cline, Willie Morrison, R.L. Williams, Cullie Huffines, and Donald Elrod have served as deacons at Lakeview.
GROWTH AND DEVELOPMENT
The L&N Railroad
Perhaps no event affected the course of history in Murray County more than the building of the Louisville and Nashville Railroad. The changes and growth brought about by this project have been alluded to several times but the following letter written by former Confederate soldier and county tax collector M.M. Welch in 1907 captures the feeling of that era. Writing to his brother-in-law, Richard Bramblett, in Oklahoma, the 70-year-old Welch said: "... I will drop you a line to let you know that 1 am still on the land among the living, though tar advanced in the evening of life . . . This country has changed since you left here-considerably. There is a railroad running from Cartersville to ... Tennessee. It comes through Carters Quarter right up the Federal Road and through Pleasant Valley and . . . Alaculsay . . . Several towns started up along the line to wit Ramherst at the Hawkins old stand, Chatsworth at the old ... Pack? Place. Eaton at Clint Keith's in Pleasant Valley, Crandall at the Rob Bates Place, Cisco at the old Cogburn Place in Alaculsa, and Tanga on the Tennessee Line . . . Wages is high here and labor scarce. The L&N had tried to obtain a railroad from Cincinnati to Atlanta without leasing or paying other companies for use of their tracks. After reaching Knoxville and then Etowah by 1904, plans were soon underway to connect Etowah, Cartersville, and Marietta with Atlanta. Naturally the most direct route was through Murray County and construction began in 1905. The work was completed on April 1, 1906 with depots built at Tennga, Cisco, Crandall, Eton, Chatsworth, and Ramhurst. Many Murray Countians had hoped for a railroad for many years. Several had even invested in two earlier attempts to get tracks laid from the mountains in eastern Murray to Dalton at least. Lewis Richardson wrote in a 1979 letter to the Historical Society's Conway Gregory, Jr. that "the money ran out" and that the Dalton and Alaculsey road "collapsed when it became evident that the large and powerful L&N" would be completed. "There was no need for an east-west road. While there is no doubt that some people took a loss when the road folded, the principal backers were the owners of large timber tracts in the mountains. The building of the L&N very possibly allowed these gentlemen to recoup their losses." For many years the L&N stations in Murray County were beehives of activity. Other stops such as Carters. Coniston, and Fairy were added, and many Murray men such as conductor Ed Kelly, section foreman James A. Howard, and Miles Bramblett found employment on the L&N. The "short dog" train which made daily runs from Etowah to Cartersville also stopped at the other stations. Many residents took advantage of this local service due to the existence of several "flag-stops" where a lantern was put out to alert the engineer that a passenger wanted to board. President Franklin Roosevelt once spent the night in his private car, stopped at the Chatsworth depot on his way to or from Warm Springs. During the 1960's many changes occurred in America's railroad system and Murray County felt the changes. By this time all of Murray's stations except Chatsworth had closed and now passenger service was discontinued. More automobiles and better highways took the place of the trains. A 1975 article by local writer Olivene Godfrey reported that Chatsworth was "the only Louisville and Nashville Railway intermediate station still operating in Georgia." At that time 18 or 20 freight trains passed through Chatsworth each day. Freight agents Miles Anderson, John Reeves, Alan McCroskey, and Edward Lea continued to "dispatch orders by hanging them out on a stick for the engineer to catch" as the train passed the depot. The station was also the base for a Signal Maintenance man and a 10-person track repair crew. Eighty years after its construction, the Chatsworth depot is still in use despite persistent rumors that the station is about to close. Several groups and individuals have expressed their concern about the future of the last Murray County depot to the Railroad Company.
GROWTH AND DEVELOPMENT
Moving The County Seat
Chatsworth, Murray's seat of government, was founded in 1906. A group of Murray County businessmen had formed the Chatsworth Land Company to start a new town on the newly completed railroad. Many of the city fathers came from Spring Place, the county seat since 1833, three miles west of the new town. Perhaps there were two major reasons for the interest in the new enterprise: Chatsworth's railroad location made it easier to transport goods and Spring Place was declining�the buildings were old and the city had already begun to be plagued by fires. The Chatsworth Land Company even saw that a brick plant and three lumber companies were established to furnish materials for the building of the new town. Soon stores, hotels, livery stables, the post office, a school, two churches, a blacksmith shop, a shoe shop, a cotton gin, a grist mill, a barber shop, and numerous houses lined the streets of the well-planned town-plans that, when viewed with hindsight, must have included making Chatsworth the county seat of Murray County. If one examines the original map of the Land Company, he can easily see that an entire block between Fort and Market Streets on Third Avenue is clearly labeled "Reserved for Courthouse Square." However, little was said about this until 1912 when a group of Chatsworth businessmen went to Atlanta to find out just what it took to move the seat of a county's government. When these well-meaning individuals returned, they began circulating petitions hoping to secure enough signatures to force an election on "the county seat question"-a question they had created. Thus began a period of Murray County history some have likened to earlier divisive eras such as the Trail of Tears or the War Between the States. By August 19, enough names had been collected and the petitions were presented to Ordinary J.M. Campbell. Campbell, thinking all was well, set September 30 as Election Day. Voters would decide if they wanted the county seat moved to Chatsworth. However, by September 5 the first complication had arisen. Unable to buy advertising space in the pro-Chatsworth Murray News, Eton residents went to The North Georgia Citizen which ran the headline "Eton Starts Great Fight" on the front page. The Eton folk even paid for copies of The Citizen to be distributed in Murray. The account went on to say: 'The election ... is one in which Murray county people are most vitally interested. Practically every voter in the county has wanned up to the approaching election, and never before in the county's history has there been so much genuine interest in anything as in the present campaign. Eton has offered a free site for the court house and county jail, and also $10,000 in cash to go to the fund for the new buildings. Tuesday afternoon, Mr. Walter Harris, who is one of the leaders in the Eton camp, was in the city and stated to The Citizen that the certified check for $10,000 would be deposited with the ordinary this week. He also stated that in the advertising matter for Eton next week would appear a cut of the certified check, which would be the means of effectually wiping out the sneers of "Eton bluff." A certified check is as good as money, for the signer of the check cannot stop payment on it. Hence, by depositing it with the ordinary, the Eton people put up $10,000 in cold cash . . . This hustling little city is showing an energy that would do credit to a city many times its size, such energetic public spirit is bound to result in a big vote for Eton in the approaching election- Emotions remained high and rumors abounded in the weeks preceding the history-altering election. The Citizen reported the following on October 3: CHATSWORTH LED FIELD Murray County Seal Election Passed Off Quietly on Last Monday Spring Place Will Remain County Seat Chatsworth's Big Vote and Two-Thirds Majority Was Barely Missed Eton Ran Second and Spring Place Third The election held in Murray county Monday on the county seat removal question passed off quietly, Chatsworth easily leading the field, but failing to receive the necessary two-thirds majority. The vote was: Chatsworth. 933; Eton 440; Spring Place, 150. Chatsworth missed landing the county's public buildings by less than 100 votes. As there were 1.523 votes polled, a two-thirds vote was 1,016, Chatsworth missing this by only 83 votes. The surprising strength shown by Chatsworth was the feature of the election. Both Chatsworth and Eton were claiming enough votes to win; but looking on the matter from a disinterested standpoint, after considering the claims of both, it appeared that the vote was about evenly divided between Chatsworth and Eton, outside of those who wanted the court house and jail to remain at Spring Place. Eton carried the northern part of the county, while Chatsworth came back strong in the central and southern parts. The game fight put up by Eton proved unavailing, for, whUe the inducements offered by this hustling town were unusually attractive-much more so than the proposition of Chatsworth, the voters apparently wanted Chatsworth as the county seat, this fact being evidenced unmistakably by the large vote secured. The election, despite the intense feelings aroused, passed off quietly in all precincts, the voters going to the various polling places and voting without confusion. However, the newspaper also reported that Chatsworth had not "given up." "The Eton vote will be contested�not because of any off-color work, but because Eton entered the fight after the call had been made for the election. They claim that as the petition was signed by the voters and expressly stated that the question was for removal to Chatsworth, Eton had no legal right to enter the fight. The question will likely be fought but in the courts." The same day the above story was released in Dalton, an official notice of contest was filed with Secretary of State Phillip Cook by W.E. Mann and W.C. Martin, attorneys for contestants S.M. Barnett, G.A. Kelly, Alvin Jones, S.H. Kelly, Hull Kerr, J.F. Harris, T.M. Wright, W.S. Bradley, J.B. Gregory, S.C. Gregory, and W.D. Wilbanks. In this document they cite results as 862 votes for Chatswoith, 427 votes for Eton, and 155 votes against removal. They contended that the votes for Eton were illegal and should not have been counted in making up the total number of votes cast. Thus Chatsworth would have had far more than the needed 2/3's majority. On October 7, 1912 Spring Place residents M.W. Shields, W.H. Steed, W.M, Lowery, G.W. Cox. J.L. Cole, J.L. Rouse, D.D. Kemp.M.L. Roberts, J.S. Keister, J.W. Robinson, F.E. Vonberg, and C.W. Brown denied the Chatsworth protest. Their attorney, W.W. Sampler, said that the call for the election did not restrict people to just voting for Chatsworth or against removal. Therefore, they said, the Eton votes were legal and should be counted. Thus Chatsworth did not have the required majority and Spring Place would remain the county seat. The counter-contestants also added that the original petitions were not legal either. Georgia law said that a petition must have signatures of two-fifths of the registered voters. Ordinary Campbell could only verify that two-fifths of those who had "paid the poll tax" and voted in the 1912 Primary had signed the petitions. Here ended Round One! Round Two began a few days later when members of both parties testified before Justice of the Peace W.A. Childers regarding the petition and the conduct of the election. First,both sides agreed that 1,444 votes were cast in the election, but then things got serious. The registration list included some 2,203 names, but SJrf. Barnett and the other contestants said that this number was inflated. Following the Spring Place challenge that the petitions were illegal, the contestants had found that several men were registered more than once, some were no longer Murray residents, and still others had been dead "two or three years." In his testimony Barnett stated that, even using the inflated figure of 2,203, the petitions had more than the required number of signatures. On the second day of testimony W.M. Lowery testified that he had examined both the petition and the voters' list. He found "347 names on the petition not on the registration list." Attorney Mann challenged this and Lowery said that sometimes he could not "state that the names on petition are not registered in some other form as to nicknames or other initials." At any rate, when this number was deducted, the petitions did not contain enough signatures to even call the election. Attorney Sampler objected to any questions which would alter the voting list since the list had been used in State Elections and was the only legal evidence. He was overruled since he had not objected to Barnett's earlier comments. The question of whether the signatures on the petitions were legal or not was then addressed. When the contestees noted that several signatures seemed to be in the same handwriting, Ordinary Campbell reminded the group that there were many names on both the petition and the registration list of people who could not write, but who often had others sign for them. (One widely circulated rumor at the time was that Cleve Gregory and Bill Wilbanks took names from tombstones at Ball Ground Cemetery for the petition, using the adage "Silence gives consent" to account for affirmative votes-according to the late R.E. Chambers.) The Chatsworth contestants then said that another reason for throwing out the Eton votes was that Eton had "bribed voters" by offering to furnish funds for the construction of county buildings. Sampler, also clerk of the Board of Roads and Revenues who had held Eton's "deposit," had to give evidence in this matter. G.W. Cox testified that "Eton lost as many votes by reason of their proposition ... as they gained." He had "heard it said that Murray County was no pauper." D.D, Kemp and T.J. Ramsey backed up Mr. Cox's statement saying that they, too, had heard similar comments. After 2 days in the Justice of the Peace court, the matter was still far from settled. The evidence was forwarded to the Secretary of State's office, but rumors still abounded in Murray County. One story is that someone in Chats-worth cut the telephone lines between Eton and Spring Place on Election Day. Then a messenger was sent to Spring Place to say that many votes were going to Eton. Many Spring Place supporters, feeling that they had lost anyway, then voted for Eton�possibly as "the lesser of two evils." Meanwhile, attorneys Mann and Martin prepared an extensive argument in favor of Chatsworth. The legal brief, which cited many earlier county seat precedents (including Fannin County), was also sent to Secretary Cook. Apparently, Eton, caught in the middle, paid no lawyers to prepare a case for that town and Spring Place "didn't go all out like Chatsworth," according to one resident, but remained confident. In November, 1912 A.W. Fite, Superior Court Judgement this note to Cook: Dear Phil, I send you herewith some petitions for your considerat ion -1 have no personal interest in the matter and have taken no ... part in it, but in as much as the election has been held and the majority is so large for Chatsworth, which added to these petitions makes more than two-thirds for Chatsworth. I hope that you ... if you are doubtful as to the law, . . , give the benefit of the doubt to Chatsworth. I am sure this would meet the approval of more than two-thirds of the people . . . and be to the best interest ... of the county . . . Yours truly, A.W. Fite Cook finally announced his decision in early January. He threw out the votes for Eton and ruled in favor of Chatsworth. This left the matter up to the State Legislature. Round three was over, but still another remained. At this time Murray County's representative in the General Assembly was "Colonel" Herbert H. Anderson, then a resident of Spring Place, but later a Chatsworth citizen. His granddaughter Joann Warmack provided these excerpts from his letters home during the hot months while the legislators examined the situation in Murray: July 8, 1913 - "We have been rather hard at work this week ... The Committee would not postpone the hearing of the Courthouse question, and it will be heard Friday." July 14 - "We had another hearing on the Courthouse question this evening, and I am sure we have won out for Chatsworth, but the report will not be made until Wednesday, July 23 - "The Courthouse will come up for passage this morning." July 24 - "The question of moving the Courthouse was settled today, by the bill for removal going through with only 9 votes against it. The Spring Place crowd consisting of Frank Vonberg and Bill Brown have been here since Sunday and have made themselves very conspicuous by their remarks about me, but you can see from the number of votes they received what effect it has had." August 7 - "The Governor signed the Courthouse bill this morning, which finally closes up the matter and puts it at Chatsworth." The act authorizing the move to Chatsworth included an account of the controversy but ignored the votes for Eton. A partial district breakdown of the vote follows (53 votes are missing): District Chatsworth Eton Against Town (No. 824) 226 17 87 McDonald's (No. 1013) 63 116 0 Eighth (No. 984) 113 2 12 Alaculsey (No. 1506) 18 18 0 Ball Ground (No. 825) 118 6 4 DooLittle (No. 972) 133 2 6 Cisco (No. 1011) 39 37 3 Bull Pen (Nol 1291) 17 1 10 Shuckpen (No. 1039) 23 149 8 Tenth (No. 874) 59 79 25 Note: Town then included Spring Place and most of Chatsworth. Yes, the matter of locating the courthouse was finally settled, but "hard feelings" existed for many years and, according to one former resident, the loss of the courthouse "killed Spring Place." However, the people of the old county seat were not completely silenced. Following are excerpts of an "underground" newspaper expressing Spring Place's views in the aftermath of the controversy and the beginning of a new one: THE SPRING PLACE SNAG A FORE-RUNNER ISSUED SEMI-OCCASIONALLY BY THE TAN YARD BRANCH POWER PRESS IF YOU DON'T LIKE IT, GROW ONE TO SUIT YOU ALWAYS REMEMBERED BY WHAT YOU HAVE DONE. A few months ago there was published at Spring Place an inoffensive, newsy, fair-dealing paper known as the Murray County News, Citizens took the paper, read it and welcomed its dealings, and gave both sides of all local questions and people read it and formed their own conclusions. But some taxpayers used its columns to express their disapproval of any attempt to levy a tax to build a court house and jail at Chatsworth; because Murray County already had a good courthouse and a good jail at Spring Place. They even put the people on notice that they would never pay the tax except at the end of the law. This seems to have been a crime, the last straw to break the camel's back, and the owners of the paper proceeded to squelch the thing, strangle it, put it out of business, pulverize It and annihilate the innocent thing-the only paper in the county through which the people could be heard. "Whom the Gods would destroy, they first make mad." "Truth crushed to earth will rise again. The eternal years of God are hers." But the people of Murray County believe in freedom of speech guaranteed to them under the constitution and they are going to see this thing through. The owners of the paper had a right-to sell it; it was their property; but the people resent the spirit of tyranny displayed in muzzling the press and leaving them to the one-sided mercy of the Chatsworth Reminder. We live and learn; but this is the first time we ever knew that the freedom of speech and freedom of the press was equivalent to shaking a red flag in the face of a mad bull. Hence the SNAG. TAX PAYER LEST WE FORGET, LEST WE FORGET. Somewhere at some time a judge without intending any harm or strife, innocently suggested that it is very inconvenient to have a court house away from the railroad. He innocently hinted as much to a grand jury in one of his excellent charges. No fault to find with (he judge. And forthwith a petition supposed to be signed by two-fifths of the taxpayers was presented to the Ordinary . . . But the Ordinary did his duty and no one blames him for ordering the election for removal of the County Site from Spring Place to Chatsworth. And here is where some of the trouble starts. Eton, after having consulted the Ordinary, the law, and reputable lawyers was advised that she could enter the race and her vole would be counted. So Eton entered the race. The idea that Eton, "the little upstart," should get into the race was too much. The Chatsworth leaders, who were not startled, or paralyzed got very busy and flew around so fast that it was difficult at times to keep the lower part of their skirts concealed just because Eton bound herself to build the court house and the jail without expense to the county. On election day there were rumors and counter rumors, phones and counter phones, fake messages, delayed messages, and the grounding of wires. But the fur flew and Eton got licked-skinned a whole block and alley. When the election was over the people found out they had been voting in a contest between Chatsworth and Eton and not for removal or against removal of the County Site from Spring Place. Many good men, believing that the County Site would move, cast their votes either for Chatsworth or Eton when they favored its remaining at Spring Place. Now they regret they were deceived-misled-be fuddled into voting against their convictions and the interest of the county. This is how the court house question got into such a "mell of a hess." But Chatsworth did not get the necessary two-third vote to win the County Site and she proceeded to raise a regular La-la-pa-loo-loo and her antics reminds one of how a little boy looks with his pants on hind part before-you just can't tell all the time whether he is going towards the court house or away from it. So she contested the election. And in that contest it developed, when the list was purged, two-fifths of the taxpayers had never signed the petition calling for the election. The names were there all right, but how did they get there? Echo answers how? A name occurred twice here; there the name of a man who had been dead for years and so on, many of them written in the same hand. A part of the list appeared to be copied from an old tax digest by one who had not kept posted on the funerals, runaways, removals, and marriages of Murray County, especially where one had married a widow, and the husband appears to have taken the wife's name, and his step-children her name and her step-children his name. Then the base was changed and a claim put in that the amended law required a petition of two-fifths of the qualified voters of the county. The list was checked again and the list still was short of the necessary two-fifths to call an election. It was then discovered that some of the signers had not lived in the county for several years; they had at one time lived in the county bul had moved away and were scattered from Dan to Bersheba, and from Cape Cod to the Panama Canal. No one seems to know how those lists were obtained, but of course, they were secured honorably, for all interested are honorable men. It seemed for a time that the court house would remain at Spring Place; that the courts would put the everlasting kiboosh on Chats-worth's claim for the County Site. And it did seem under the law and the facts in the case that Secretary of Stale Phil Cook would fasten the roller skates to Chatsworth's claim and let her hit the ceiling with head and heels hanging down like a watch charm. It is a mystery how Mr. Cook reached any other conclusion than that the petition calling the election was illegal, the election illegal and void. But he put the roller skates on the other fellow, while admitting that Chatsworth did not get the two-thirds of the votes cast yet he counts Eton's vote illegal and then decides in favor of Chatsworth as against Spring Place. Then it goes up to the Legislature for settlement. That erudite body regarding the matter as a local affair in accordance to the wish of Murray's representative sustained Mr. Cook. Looking at the matter now after all the excitement is passed, it is impossible to determine where the Secretary of State, the Legislature, and the Governor found any law to sustain their decision. While they may not have intended to do so, yet their decision virtually robs Spring Place of the safeguards of the law, it ignores Eton, injures the whole county, and practically disfranchises more than 500 tax payers who voted for Eton and Spring Place. There is another ugly feature in the case. Those who voted for Eton and Spring Place pay three fifths of the taxes of the county. You can disfranchise them but they never intend to pay any tax to build a court house and jail at Chatsworth except at the end of the law. TAX PAYER WE NEED THE RECALL. Why don't the County Commissioners assess the tax to build a court house and a jail. Are they afraid of it? They need not assess it; we are not going to pay it. They tried bonds once and called it off. They order another election for bonds and called off again. Who are the commissioners anyway? The men we elected, or the three great lights of Chatsworth who seem to pull off all the stunts without a hitch? How does this look in print: Summonses sent out for court at Spring Place, court ordered to be held at Chatsworth; furnilure ordered not be removed from Spring Place; records ordered to be moved to Chatsworth next Monday; if you county officers do not move your offices to Chatsworth we will certify you to the Governor for not performing your official duty and have your commissions taken from you. What everybody would like to know is this: Who furnished the backbone, the plans and chloroform for the county commissioners? When they straddle the fence who unstraddles them? 1 have heard of a commissioner who straddled the fence so much that the button on his pantaloons is now two inches below his chin and his neighbor has to go at night and get him on one side of the fence. Time for the recall. TAX PAYER NOTES. Had there been no town site company to enrich there could have never been an election to change the county site. What has Chatsworth ever done for Murray County that she now wishes to tax the county to build her up into a city. Build your own town. You live there, you own it. You have never built-even a road, a church, nor a school house, nor a bridge, nor anything else and donated it to the county, and some of the commissioners are bent on taxing the people of the county to build up your town. Whenever two-thirds of the people vote you the court house then we will be willing to submit to the tax. The 500 disfranchised voters will bet a $75 donation to the slush, against a $lOO retainer fee that you will never collect Courtesy of Annie Laurie Howard, Eton, GA
GROWTH AND DEVELOPMENT
Building The Courthouse
A week after Governor Slaton signed the bill making Chatsworth the county seat, the regular August term of the Superior Court convened-in the second floor meeting room of Louis Thompson's store building on Fort Street. The North Georgia Citizen of August 14, 1913, tells the story like this: A secret order hall in Chatsworth was prepared as a temporary courthouse; but when officers went to Spring Place for the benches of the courthouse there, they were forced to return empty-handed to Chatsworth, for they were not permitted to remove the benches- Then the benches were removed from the churches at Chatsworth, and the secret order hall was fitted out for the term of court . . . court spread out all over town . . . The main courtroom is in the secret order hall, and when a jury goes out for deliberation, a bailiff accompanies the jury to a church about three hundreds yards distant, where the members, if they desire, can pray to reach a correct verdict under the advantage of excellent surroundings. The grand jury is housed in a room in the Chatsworth Bank. The Citizen of October 9, 1913 stated that there was to be a $60,000 bond referendum for the erecting of a courthouse. Almost a year later, in September, 1914 the County Commissioners levied a special tax of six mills to finance the construction of a new jail. (Levying a tax for a specific number of years avoids paying interest on bonds.) The Citizen recorded the event as follows: ". . . this action will bring the county seat matter to a definite showdown . . . jail cost . . . approximately $12,000 . . . rumored that those opposed to removal . , .will file an injunction to restrain the commissioners from collecting the special tax ... if no injunction is filed, the tax will be collected, and the jail built, causing the final settlement of the whole matter. That Murray county people as a whole will welcome the final settlement is certain, for the question has kept the people aroused since the election for removal was held. With things settled either way, the people will dismiss the matter and take up other affairs, working together for the upbuild of the good county . . . By 1915 construction on the jail was well underway, but "the matter" was not settled. Another battle had been fought over the courthouse. On September 15. Judge A.W. Fite ordered Commissioners D.R. Dunn, J.A. McGhee. and Tom Hemphill arrested and held in the recently completed jail for contempt of court. Their attorney. J.M. Sellers, joined them. At the time, the length of their stay was unknown, but they were made comfortable, and "maintained their spirits" and "affirmed that they were right." Chairman Dunn gave the following account of the proceedings after stating that the point under dispute was just how the building would face: "We went to the expense of having plans drawn, and later let the contract for the courthouse. Then came the injunction to restrain us from building as planned. This injunction was argued in Supreme Court in July, but no opinion has been handed down. At a recent meeting, we levied a tax for the erection of the courthouse, and we were held in contempt of court because the other question had not been settled by the Supreme Court." The "Citizen" September 16, 1915 When notice of this tax was published. Judge Fite granted an injunction restraining the board from levying the tax and when the commissioners went to Atlanta to obtain legal advice, Fite ordered them arrested for contempt. During their stay in jail, the men seemed confident of their eventual release and justification. Mrs. Grace Brown, of Spring Place, a granddaughter of Commissioner McGhee, said that Sheriff Wilbanks treated his prisoners well. They had good food, plenty of visitors, and were often even permitted to go home at night to return to jail the next morning. Attorney Sellers placed his business sign over a jail window. The men stated that they were in jail because they "failed to cater to Judge File's wishes in location of the courthouse." According to the Citizen of September 23, "the people of Murray County are divided over the matter." By this time, the Atlanta Constitution had picked up the story of the Chatsworth Courthouse and carried a story saying that Judge Fite might be impeached, or at least they had heard rumors to that effect. Before such proceedings could begin, the Slate Supreme Court reversed Fite's decision, and as the Citizen reported, "the commissioners scored a decided victory." In the opinion of the higher court, judges should not interfere with a county's affairs unless the commissioners were abusing the rather broad discretion vested in them by law. However, this ruling settled only the question over the plans for the courthouse. The men would remain in jail until the higher court heard the appeal of the contempt case. On October 11, Judge Fite was reversed again and the commissioners were freed. In the October 14 issue of the Citizen, Fite at last issued a statement: "Of course, I am somewhat surprised at the decision . . . but it is not the first time 1 have been reversed when I was right. However, I presume the Supreme Court did the best they could with the facts before them . . . The decision may or may not end the case ... if there are additional facts which can and should come before the court, the defendants should be discharged conditionally," That is exactly what he did, immediately granting a conditional release. In December, 1915, Judge Fite was again reversed in Murray matters. The Supreme Court said that Fite had erred in granting an injunction restraining the commissioners from collecting the courthouse tax. So, at last work could begin on the building, located in what was the Woods family's cotton field and more recently a pasture! In late 1916 The Chatsworth Times reported: "New Courthouse Nearing Completion" The keys to the new courthouse will be turned over by H.J. Carr & Co. to Murray County authorities in the next few days. Murray will have the best one to its size and the amount paid for it in North Georgia-if not in the state. Messers Carr and Co. with their superintendent Mr. Jim Brazell are to be congratulated as well as Mr. Blair the architect. Murray should be and is proud of her new home for their is none better." Jack Kelly, teenage son of one of Chatsworth's founding fathers, was nicknamed "Water Jack" by the construction workers since he obtained the job of carrying water to them. Finally, after many battles, the beautiful building was completed and the first court session was held in it in February 1917. The cornerstone reads: MURRAY COUNTY COURTHOUSE Erected 1916 Commission for Roads and Revenues D.R. Dunn Chairman T.M. Hemphill J.A. McGhee Jesse M. Sellers, Attorney W.B. Robinson Clerk of Court J.M. Campbell, Ordinary T.P. Ramsey, Tax Collector W.J. Holcomb, Tax Receiver B.H. (Mike) Wilbanks, Sheriff R.N. Steed, County School Commissioner Alexander Blair, Architect H. J. Carr & Co., Builders Judge File, by holding the commissioners in jail probably forced them to alter a few of their plans for the courthouse. Original drawings called for a clock tower rather than the low, flat dome to be place on the edifice. (Murray has one of only three domed courthouses in Georgia.) The commissioners' plans had also provided for some office space in the basement and for the judge's bench to face west (so the judge would sit in the sun according to one story). However there were never any basement offices and the judge's bench faces east-toward the mountain and the rising sun. The courthouse became the home for all the various county officials for many years. In the recent past, additional office and storage space was needed, so an annex was purchased on Fourth Avenue, some duties combined into one office, and other facilities built. Two original occupants�the Clerk of Court and the Probate Judge (formerly Ordinary) still maintain offices in the building along with a few others. Improvements and renovations have been made. The handsome, often-photographed Doric-styled Murray County Courthouse standing majestically in the center of town was accepted on the National Register of Historic Places in 1981. This is the highest honor our country gives to places of historical significance. County Commissioner Kirby Patterson, the North Georgia Area Planning and Development Commission, and the Whitfield-Murray Historical Society count this selection as a great accomplishment. The building truly deserves this recognition since it occupies such a prominent spot in Chatsworth and Murray County-physically and historically. HIGHLIGHTS OF MURRAY COUNTY GOVERNMENT 1873-Board of Commissioners of Revenue, Roads, Bridges, and Paupers established. 1875 - Tax Receiver and Tax Collector duties assumed by Sheriff and a Deputy (temporarily). 1892 - A 'Third Party" (possibly the Populists) nominated C.C. Howell for the State Senate and M.M. Bates for the House. 1907 - No. 1506, District, G.M. - Taxable Property Returned, $2.00. Office of Tax Collector, Murray County, Georgia. Received of Robert 0"Neal, Two Dollars, and no Cents, State, County and Poll Tax, including Wild Lands, for the Year 1907. $2,00. Signed - John P. Gregory, Tax Collector. 1915 -Office of County Treasurer abolished. 1916 - From the North Georgia Citizen: Murray Commissioners and Fite Mix Again. Books Have Not been Secured by Sheriff Who Was Ordered to Seize Them. Judge A.W. Fite and the board of commissioners of Murray county are on outs again. This time the question of the commissioners' books has brought the clash. In the recent primary, the Murray people voted on the matter of abolishing the board of commissioners, and changing the method of handling the county's affairs, and the matter carried by a big majority. So Judge Fite ordered the commissioners to turn over the books to the ordinary, but, instead of doing so, the board held the regular meeting in October. Then Judge Fite ordered the sheriff to seize the books; but when Sheriff Willbanks took possession of their office Wednesday morning, he searched but failed to find the books. Just what will be the outcome of the matter is not known, for both the chairman of the board, Mr. D.R. Dunn, and the clerk, Col. J.M. Sellers, could not be reached by The Citizen, as they were away from home on important business. 1917 - A four-man Board of Supervisors of Roads, Bridges, and Road Funds to serve 2-year terms is begun. 1919 - From the North Georgia Citizen: Murray County Votes Bonds for Good Roads. Murray County continues on the progressive counties of Georgia last Thursday when it voted overwhelmingly in favor of bonds for good roads. The call was for the issuance of $100,000 in bonds for road building, and the antis polled only 8 votes in the entire county. It was a magnificent victory for the good roads advocates and will mean much for the county, for with the funds, the roads will be improved to a wonderful extent. Murray has been backward in the building of roads, and the patriotic citizens, seeing the pressing need for better highways, got busy with the result as announced above. It's Whitfieid's time next. 1919 - Judge Fite died on Christmas Day. 1920 - Murray County elected its only Republican State Representative. R. Porter Hufstetler defeated J.J, Bates. 1921 - July 25, "Women of Murray County are urged to register and vote" according to The Chatsworth Times. September 30 -County Treasury amounted to $91.45. 1922 -January 31, Treasury boasted $10,489.26. 1924 � "Secret Ballot law makes big changes in election methods." 1929 - A one-man county commission was created. When new board called for an audit of the county's books the books were stolen from Noel Steed's office. Mr. Steed was to be the new county clerk. Sheriff J.B. Butler found the books under the courthouse! Nov. 1930 - Sheriff Butler was wounded when a would-be prisoner shoots him. 1931 � Sixteen candidates entered the race to fill the unexpired term of Tax Collector W.W. Keith who died in office. R.H. Shelton won. 1933 - Murray County as a whole voted 3 to 1 against the repeal of prohibition. Only Ball Ground, Cisco, and Alaculsey precincts voted for it! 1933 � People voted to end the one-man-commissioner government and establish a three-member Board of Roads and Revenues. The officials were to receive $3 per meeting not to exceed $90 during a year. They were authorized to hire a clerk (at $20 per month), an attorney (at $150 annually), and could appoint a road supervisor. Also the offices of Tax Collector and Tax Receiver were combined into that of Tax Commissioner effective in 1936. 1935 - Murray's J.Roy McGinty age 26 was the state legislature's "Baby Senator." 1936 - R.H. Shelton defeated P.H .Bond in the race for the new office of Tax Commissioner, Value of taxable property in county is $1,569,676. 1939-41 - A return to a sole commissioner form of government "is favored." 1940's - World War II Ration Board consisted of Bob Gudger, Parker Anderson, and Fred Long. Hill Jones was Chief Clerk and Sam Maynard was assistant clerk while Ruth Springfield, (Catherine West Reed, Mrs. Roy McGinty, and Mrs. Sam Plott were secretaries. 1957 - Present sole commissioner government created and direct election of Board of Education members established. 1963 - Murray County elected Republican R.S. Thomas of Whitfield County State Senator from the 54th District to fill the unexpired term of C.A. Pannell who was appointed to the State Court of Appeals. The next year Thomas was soundly defeated by W.W. Fincher. Jr. 1966 - A new state law forbid the County Ordinary from serving as County Clerk as well. D. Ralph Mantooth succeeds Ordinary W.W. "Billy" Keith in the Clerk's position. 1978 - The Courthouse Annex on Fourth Avenue was purchased from builder Terry Edwards for $123,600. 1982 - In March a majority of the voters approved a 1% local option sales tax (1060 to 603). In the fall a display highlighting Murray's past opened in the courthouse to celebrate the county's 150th birthday. 1984 - Justices of the Peace abolished in favor of a Magistrate system which provided a Chief Magistrate and two assistants all elected countywide. Judge Charles A. Pannell, Jr. urged the Grand Jury to examine the needs of a new jail and also for county-wide zoning. 1985 - Murray's first female lawyer, Nancy Calhoun, is swrn in by the county's first major female official-Clerk of Court Loreine Matthews.
GROWTH AND DEVELOPMENT
Murray County Agriculture And Mining
Fine Farming Section This section is comparatively new, not having had the advantage of a railroad until recently, and there has been little or no effort made to Interest new settlers; and fanning has been carried on in a very crude fashion. There a� some excellent farms here, though they could be very much improved; by modern methods; still they yield good crops, as the soil is very productive in most sections. A small acreage here can be made to give handsome returns with less work than required in most sections. The soil is yellow, gray or red clay with a clay subsoil mixed with a rich top soil of decayed vegetation; there still stand large tracts of virgin forests, that have shed their foliage for centuries enriching the ground. These lands can still be bought for a small sum and the timber sold off will about pay the cost of the land. Some good tracts at $1.25 an acre and up, while improved farms are offered at $15.00 up to $50.00 an acre. Dalton Citizen, June 21, 1934 Farming has been an important part of life in Murray County and virtually all natives of the county have agricultural roots. For over a century cotton was the principal commercial crop although most farmers engaged in subsistence agriculture to feed their families. Newspapers frequently carried announcements like the one above and those below: 1881 - "Banner Cotton Crop" 1927 - "4,976 Bales Ginned in Murray" 1928-"4,806 Bales Ginned" In the 1930's, Murray still had many small farmers and a handful of large ones. The Great Depression hit the county's agriculturists as hard as any in the nation. Therefore, Murray farmers welcomed President Roosevent's AAA (Agricultural Adjustment Act) in 1933. This act created the first of several agencies designed to help get agriculture back on its feet. The present agency, called the Agricultural Stabilization and Conservation Service ,and directed for several years now by Jerry Kinser, continues to help Murray farmers. Prior to the AAA, Murray had had a county agent provided by the State. A.E. Irving (1917), R.L. Vansant (1918), and H.N. Kemp (1919) were among the earliest agents. R.F. Whelchel, Whitfietd County Agent, organized the first "Boy's Agriculture Clubs" (4-H) around 1929. Murray then got another full-time agent in Mr. J.H. Henderson of Gordon County who served until 1940. Henderson was succeeded by J.C. Sheppard. In 1951 H,0. Cole, Sr. was named county agent and served until his sudden death in 1979. Cole was noted for his work with 4-H youth as well as his civic work in the Kiwanis Club, church. Community Action Agency, North Georgia Area Planning and Development Commission, Cattleman's Association, and the Fair Association. In a show of respect, Murray County schools were dismissed early the day of Mr. Cole's funeral. Home economist Iris McGill worked closely with Cole as well as with his successors Louie Canova and Louis Dykes. Another agricultural group, the Limestone Valley Soil Conservation District, was active for many years. Founded in 1939, Mr. R.H. "Huse" Gregory, served as the chairman of this advisory board for 30 years. The District consisted of Whitfield, Gilmer, Pickens. and Cherokee Counties along with Murray whose other representatives through the years included J.C. and James Loughridge. In discussing the formation of the district the late Mr. Gregory once said: "We had just cottoned ourselves to death and we were going busted. The top soil was being washed away. Then the soil conservation people assisted us in the best use and treatment of land for long-time protection and improvement." The members of the District Board served voluntarily and with the help of the state Soil Conservation Service improved acres in Murray. In 1947 Mr. Gregory was president of the Georgia Association of Soil and Water Conservation Districts. That year Murray had 1,034 farms consisting of 128,741 acres. Four hundred fifty-six of the farms had received assistance with conservation planning. Also in 1947 the group hosted a large "Soil Conservation Rally" at the Carter Estate. U.S. Senator Richard Russell was the guest speaker. Murray agriculture was alive and well, but by the early 1960's, however, the situation was changing drastically. During the 1950's the number of acres devoted to farming declined as did the number of farms. Commercial farms decreased from 539 in 1954 to 335 in 1959 although the gross sales increased from $2.374,362 to $3,901,023 during the same era. In 1940 agricultural jobs constituted over 52.5% of Murray's employment but by 1960 agriculture accounted for only 13.8%. During that 20-year period, 1,250 agricultural jobs were lost, partly due to improved technology and partly due to changes in society, the labor force, and the arrival of other job opportunities. In the last 25 years the number of farms has continued to decline, but the average size has increased. The Pettys, Hills, Loughridges, Gregorys, C.W. Bradleys, Carters, and Homes are still noted names in Murray agriculture. Hay, cattle, com, soybeans, poultry, and pork are now the major agricultural products. However, many Murray Countians are still engaged in agriculture as is attested by the continued successful operation of the Murray County Cannery and the construction of a new Farmers Market in 1979. Financed through donations and a state grant, the Market is located at the corner of Green and Old Ellijay Roads on property donated by the Board of Education. The Farmers Market Advisory Committee in 1979 consisted of Torn Black, H.O. Cole, Willie Kemp, W.H. "Bill" Moreland, Lee Ridley, George Ross, and Tom Winkler. Georgia Commissioner of Agriculture Tommy Irvin was the speaker at the dedication ceremony at which Bill Moreland was recognized for his "leadership, talents, and personal attention to planning and building this facility." Forest and lumbering activities have remained popular since the days of the small, mobile family sawmills. Nearly 73% of Murray County's area is covered with forests with oak and pine the predominant species except in the Chattahoochee National Forest. Bowaters Southern Paper Company has been a principal pulpwood business since the 1950's.
GROWTH AND DEVELOPMENT
Mineral Resources
Several mining activities have come and gone in Murray County and today only talc is mined. Barytes have been mined near Eton, gold was once mined in the mountains, and iron ore deposits have been mined in several locations, but, like the gold, commercial quantities have not been found. Limestone deposits within the county are extensive, but there is no record of commercial mining and scattered deposits of manganese are also found. Road building materials like chert, sandstones, and shales are also present. In the past, the Chatsworth Brick Plant mined shales, while tripoli was once mined near Spring Place. Murray County is Georgia's sole producer of talc and the talc mills are the county's oldest manufacturing firms. Talc, which is known to science as magnesium silicate, but which the Indians and old-time whites called soap-stone, is necessary to countless modem manufacturing processes. It has a part in agriculture, chemistry, metalworking, textiles, plastics, cosmetics, rubber, foundrying. steel, insecticides, art, leather, electrical equipment, linoleum, paint and lacquer, ceramics, paper, roofing, ink, medicine, dentistry, porcelain, ship building, welding, steel fabrication and construction. Of these major talc-consuming industries, talc from Murray County is suitable for the paint, rubber, roofing and insecticides trade. In paint, talc serves as an extender and in some types of paints may be the principal pigment. The rubber industry utilizes talc as pillow because of the softness and insulating properties. Also, talc is used to coat rubber mote to prevent sticking. In the roofing industry coarsely ground talc mixed with petroleum by-products is used in the manufacture of asphalt roofing. It is also used for dusting the finished product to prevent the layers from sticking when rolled for shipment. The first talc miners in Murray County were Indians who dug talc and carved big bowls in which to grind corn. They also used talc to make plates, beads, pipes, and tombstones. Early white settlers would sometimes use heated chunks of talc to warm beds. Talc was also good to stop the screeching of wooden wagon wheels on axles. Even though it is the softest of stones and can be scratched with a finger, talc is not affected by acid and was once widely used for laboratory tabletops. The Geological Survey of Georgia Bulletin (No. 29) contained this 1914 account of the county's first commercial talc mining: "The discovery and early history of the talc industry in Murray County are closely linked with the name of the late W.C. Tilton, who was interested in many things, including prospecting. About 1872, on one of his trips to Fort and Cohutta mountains, he discovered the presence of talc on lot 271, the lot now owned by the Georgia Talc Company. Failing in his efforts to buy the lot, although he is said to have offered $12,000 for it, he began mining talc on that lot in 1872 at the royalty of fifty cents per ton. Later, when the royalty was increased to $I.00 per ton, Captain Tilton began prospecting elsewhere and discovered talc on the Fort Mountain lot, Number 297, which he bought and began developing. Later, he discovered talc on other lots; these he acquired until he owned at his death nine lots containing the bulk of the talc deposits of the district as far as their extent is known today." Although Captain Tilton's business was headquartered at Hopedale, the family home west of Spring Place, the talc mined between 1872 and 1891 was hauled to Dalton (16 miles from the mountain mines) and "shipped in the crude state to Cincinnati, Chicago, Hamilton, Ontario, and elsewhere. The mining in those early days was what might be called 'ground hogging,' or 'gophering'; it consisted in digging small pits and taking out whatever material could be reached without going far underground. The result was that only the surface material, stained yellow by weathering processes, was extracted. The yellow talc was used in those days for foundry facings, as it is today. The price of $1.00 per ton was paid for mining the talc and from $3.20 to $3.50 per ton was paid for hauling it to Dalton, the nearest railroad point at that time." Other people also got involved in the talc business. A Dalton newspaper noted in August, 1881 that "S.E. Field and Judge Morris are delving for talc and will shortly market a quantity of this valuable ore." During these early years the D.M. Steward Manufacturing Company in Cincinnati was the only place where talc could be cut into crayons. Soon this company moved to Chattanooga to be nearer their southern suppliers. However, since they were more interested in sales than in production, the Steward Company persuaded the Tiltons into building a "sawing plant" or "mill." Erected in 1891, the mill was probably located across the highway from the Vann House although one source said that it was near Hopedale. In operation until 1897, the year of Mr. Tilton's death, the mill was a great boost to the Murray County talc industry. A record book in the possession of the WhitfieId-Murray Historical Society lists some of the earliest talc industry employees. After Mr. Tilton's death his widow became the owner of the mill. Her nephew, Marion H. Williams, became the manager until Mrs. Tilton's death. In 1903 Mr. Williams purchased all talc interests from other Tilton heirs and established the Cohutta Talc Company. He served as president while C.B. Willingham was vice-president and J.M. Sanders was secretary-treasurer (in 1904). By 1907 the Cohutta Talc Company was located in Chatsworth on the new Louisville and Nashville Railroad. It was eventually acquired by the owners of Dalton's Farrar Lumber Company. Longtime talc mill secretary Juanita Elrod Swanson compiled this history of the Chatsworth talc industry in 1977: As early as 1905, samples of talc were taken to Asheville, North Carolina, and brought to the attention of a talc producer of North Carolina, the late Judge J. Frazier Glenn. Judge Glenn knew that a great business could develop, and he erected a small sawing plant just south of Chatsworth at Red's Crossing. In 1907 Judge Glenn erected a grinding plant just south of Cohutta Talc Co. on the L&N Railroad and named this company Georgia Talc Company. Judge Glenn's uncle, Mr. E.R. (Renfoe) Glenn was the first general manager of Georgia Talc Company and the first mayor of Chatsworth, (Judge and E.R. Glenn were also passengers on the first train from Etowah, Tennessee, to Cartersville, Georgia.) In 1935, the late Wm. B. Hartsfield. Mayor of Atlanta, persuaded Mr. Conroy Pickering, a prominent bridge builder, and Mr. Lewis Huff into forming a new talc company. The name of this talc company is Southern Talc Company. While this company is the youngest of the talc companies, it is now the largest. When Mr. Hartsfield was elected mayor of Atlanta, he no longer had time to put in the talc business, and the Southern Talc Company was bought by M. Woodard Glenn Sr., son of Judge J. Frazier Glenn, in 1941. At this time, both sons of Judge Glenn are in the talc business in Murray County; M. Woodard Glenn Sr. in Cohutta Talc Company and Southern Talc Company; and Francis T. Glenn in Georgia Talc Company. Members of many well known Murray County families have been connected with the three talc companies�some for four generations. Some of them are lawyers C.N. King and W.B. Robinson, bankers Will Latch and Robert E. Chambers, and T.W. Brooks. Other families are Springfield, Davis, Ensley, Defore, Swanson, Hufstetler, Hawkins, Long, and Bagley, Floyd Farrar (president), Trammell Starr, Jr. and Porter Hufstetler were involved with the Cohutta Talc Company while Carl Tanksley (personnel manager), Richard Hawkins (manager), Garvin Swanson. Thurman Davis. and Fred Long (plant superintendent), worked for the others. Mining - Only two of the mines have tunnels. The Georgia Talc Shop Tunnel Mine is on a 30� grade and one must ride mine cars down about 1500 feet to mine the ore. Inside is not just one big space but many tunnels. The Judge Hole Mine is another mine that has a steep slope requiring mine cars down to work. Both of these mines are closed at present (1977), but water is being pumped continuously and mining can be resumed at any time. One of our mines, the Earnest Mine, is operated at present. Trucks and loaders are driven back into the mountain about 2200 feet. Another mine being operated at present is the Rock Cliff Mine. Other mines in the past were: Latch Mine, Big Lindsey, Old Cohutta Mine, Old Fort Mine. Bramblett Mine, Barnett Mine, Spring Pit, Glenn Slope. Upper and Lower Hollow Pit, Grey Pit, Upper and Lower Gordon Pit, Southern Mine and Slate Quarry, New Georgia, Hard-rock, Shop Hole, Piedmont Mine, Pickering, Rock Creek, Chicken Creek, Fields, Russell Prospect, and Mill Creek. In 1947 geologists from Atlanta spent more than a year in Murray County, and wrote the book Talc Deposits of Murray County, Ga. The geologists figured 300.000 tons had been mined beginning with 689 tons mined in 1898. In the past 30 years, (1945-1975) approximately 3 million tons were mined. Only a small percentage has been for sawing purposes for talc crayons. Some would be hard rock and the balance ground. The production of talc crayons was all important and most essential in every war effort in our country. Talc is the only material with which you can mark steel, and the mark will not burn off. The Navy ship builders were the biggest users of talc crayons in major war times. Milling � The ore is brought to the mill from the mines by trucks, and then is fed by hand into crushers. After being crushed the ore is elevated to storage bins. The crushed ore then feeds by gravity from the storage bins to air separators, where the talc and air are separated, with the air returned through the mill and the talc dust going to storage bins for bagging. Once, the talc was shipped in wooden boxes made at the Chatsworth "Box Factory." Now the bagged material is placed in railroad cars for shipment all over the U.S.A. The mills are equipped to produce both fine dust and roofing granules at the same time. The ground material is used in rubber, foundries, textile Fillers, talcum powder for cosmetics, and insecticides. The roofing granules are shipped to all the major roofing companies�G.A.F., Celotex, Johns Manville, CertainTeed, etc. One of the roofing grades is used as chinchilla bath. The animals need this type dust to counteract the oil in their fur. The good green talc ore is soft and easy to carve. Many American sculptors now use talc. The three talc companies have a total of five huge grinding mills (1977). Whereas in 1945 a mill cost $25.000, they now cost well over $150,000. The talc companies had approximately 80 employees with an annual payroll of over $600,000 in 1977. They have several types of dust control, having spent more than $100,000 during the 1970's in an attempt to catch every dust particle possible. - End of Article Two other facts regarding the talc industry are interesting. In 1929 Wade Moss, Jr. of Moss Chemical Company was a runner-up for the Nobel Prize for Chemistry. He developed a process for purifying and whitening low-grade talc. Also from about 1959 until 1962 Murray County hosted a "Talc Bowl" on Thanksgiving Day involving youth football teams. In early 1986 Woodey Glenn. Sr. announced the sale of Southern Talc, the only remaining company, to United Catalyst of Louisville, Kentucky. Don Kennedy became Chatsworth manager.
GROWTH AND DEVELOPMENT
Murray County Newspapers - by J. Roy McGinty, Jr.
There were few newspapers in North Georgia when the present county boundaries were established. Legal and business advertisements were printed in Dalton newspapers like The North Georgia Citizen, The Cherokee Georgian, and The Dalton Argus during the 1850's. 60's, and 70's. It is impossible to compile a complete and accurate history of Murray County's newspapers. The volume numbers on the few extant copies of each publication tell us the approximate date of the first issue. But Spring Place citizens of the early newspaper era have passed along the story that some of the papers were not printed every week. A quote: "The paper was printed the weeks the printer was sober enough to put the type together." This may account fo the inconsistencies in the numbering of the issues. Court records of legal advertising in certain named papers tell us the paper was being published at that time, but too often the order says "county paper" and does not give the name. We can pick up the names of some of the editors and publishers, but there is no certainty we have them all. We proceed to put together what we have, knowing that old papers and records may be found in the future that may add to what we now know and may even make some changes in the record. H.C. Holcomb, publisher of the Methodist Advocate (Northern), Atlanta, had a son, Asa Holcomb, who wanted his own weekly newspaper. The senior Holcomb gave the son a printing outfit consisting of type and a 12x18 platen press and sent him to Spring Place where on Wednesday, October 11,1878, the first edition of the Murray County Gazette, Murray County's first newspaper, was published. After about 6 months, Asa decided he didn't like the newspaper business and returned to Atlanta. The senior Holcomb then persuaded a printer, M.F. Boisclair, to come to Spring Place and take over the paper. H.C. Holcomb held the title of publisher of the Gazette which was "published every Wednesday at Spring Place." Boisclair told of the experience 56 years later in a letter to the editor of the Dalton Citizen: "His father (H.C. Holcomb) then offered me the job as editor, printer, devil and everything else that goes with a paper in a town of less than 300 people. I stuck to the job for nearly a year, but I got too hungry to stay any longer. All the money 1 ever got was for legal advertising, and there was not much of that." A year's subscription cost 50�! So, after about a year and a half the Murray County Gazette suspended publication. Its successor was the Spring Place Times also known as the North Georgia Times. The volume number on an existing copy of the Times indicates that it was first published on Thursday, February 3, 1881 although another source said that the paper began publication in 1880. An item in Dalton's North Georgia Citizen of 1882 said that "Colonel T. Starr of the Spring Place Times constantly talked about how beautiful and good Murray County was ..." A year later (August 2) the Citizen included an announcement that "George R. Street, a recent graduate of the University of Athens, has purchased a half interest in the Spring Place Times. New life will be infused into its columns as George is a graceful and versatile writer." This paper was first mentioned in court records in March, 1885. One source says that Times or News stopped printing in 1887. Possibly, at that time, the paper became the North Georgia Times with C.N. King and S.B. Carter as publishers. The last mention of the Times was in 1891 when the February Grand Jury recommended that its presentments be published in it. On November 30, 1891, Superior Court Judge Thomas W. Milner signed an order directing that service be perfected upon a defendant by publication in the Spring Place Jimplecute. An extant copy of this paper lists S.B, Carter and J.C. Heartsill as publishers and the volume number indicates it was first published in 1881. This starting date was the same as that for the North Georgia Times. These facts indicate that sometime between February and November, 1891, S.B. Carter terminated his connection with C.N. King, took J.C. Heartsill for a partner, suspended publication of the North Georgia Times, and started the Spring Place Jimplecute. By 1898 Carter had left the paper, J.C. Heartsill was listed as managing editor and C.L. Henry as business manager. In 1900 the paper listed only C.L. Henry as editor and publisher. Longtime Dalton newspaper columnist Walter S. Bogle wrote the following about the famed Jimplecute: "Clarence Heartsill was editor of the 'Jimplecute' for some time. At that time Spring Place was the county seat of Murray County and the 'Jimplecute' was often quoted by some of the city newspapers on account of the spicy, original writing of the editor. "The name of the paper is said to have been coined from the initial letters of two phrases: 'Join Industry, Manufacturing, Planting, Labor, Energy, Capital in Unity,' 'Together Everlastingly.' " The origin of the name "Jimplecute" has long been the subject of conjecture. Mr. Heartsil's daughter, Edith Bullard of Dunwoody, said that the name meant ' clean and neat." However, Mr. Heartsell may have taken the name from the Jefferson (Texas) Jimplecute which was founded in 1848. Mrs. Bullard knew that her father visited Texas near the time he operated his Spring Place paper. Explanations for the origin of the Texas Jimplecute range from the acrostic for the motto mentioned above, to a random coinage to a Scottish dialect word and even to the name of a mythical creature! The Spring Place Jimplecute last appeared in court records in August. 1903 (while the Jefferson counterpart is still published). The Jimplecute had two competitors. Murray News was first published August 21. 1896. but only lasted into 1897 and appears to have been taken over by the Jimplecuie. The Spring Place Journal listed C.H, Shriner as editor and publisher and was first published December 20. 1901. It seems to have been published for about a year. When the Jimplecute suspended publication about 1903, it was succeeded by The Murray News. This differs from the previous Murray News in that the word "The" has been added to the title and the volume number indicates the paper started in 1878. this being the starting date of Murray County's first newspaper. It would seem the editors of The News were making claim to being the successors to all the papers published in the county. The News was sold to and consolidated with The Chatsworth Times on October 30. 1913. The editors of The News changed often and a complete record is not available. It is known that Hull Kerr resigned as editor January 7, 1910. and was succeeded by E.E. Edmondson. I.E. Millmore resigned July 10, 1913, and was succeeded by P.A. Gates. Some of these papers were printed in the Spring Place courthouse. The August, 1902. grand jury recommended the printing plant be moved out of the courthouse, but this seemed to have little effect because The Murray News in January, 1910, said the printing plant was still in the courthouse and that the county commissioners had voted to allow it to continue there. On Saturday, January 5. 1907. the citizens of the town of Chatsworth elected its first full-term mayor (Gordon B. Gann later of Marietta) and council. On the same day the first edition of the Chatsworth Progress was printed. Thirty years later Jennie Lee Cooley, correspondent for another Chatsworth paper, interviewed George E. Sherman the founding editor of the Progress. Her account follows: Mr. and Mrs. George L. Sherman, of Chicago, 111., two of Chatsworth's most illustrious citizens, have returned again to our "gate city of the mountains," and to their old residence al the DeSoto Hotel. Thirty years ago Mr. Sherman came here, "on the back-end of a freight rain, from Cartersville," when Chatsworth was a robust infant, not long christened. The L. &. N. railway ran several freights daily, but made no passenger car stops here, so the ' caboose ride" was a necessity rather than a novelty. Eight years later Mr. Sherman brought Mrs. Sherman from Chicago on her first visit to Chatsworth, on their honeymoon. . . . Mr. Sherman was born in New York City, but was reared in Yipsilanti, Michigan. Shortly after he came to Chatsworth he started the "Chatsworth Progress," a weekly pioneer ancestor of "The Chatsworth Times." This was the first newspaper published here. It was printed in Atlanta and contained a few local news stories, some editorials, personal items, and a generous portion of news "filler." The busy editorial office was located at the DeSoto Hotel . . . Besides his editorial duties Mr. Sherman was a director in the Bank of Chatsworth, manager of the Chatsworth Land Company, and secretary-treasurer of the Chatsworth Press Brick Company. But he still found time to write a forceful editorial which resulted in "taking a T out of Chattsworth," as it was originally spelled. Mr. Sherman sold the newspaper to Will S. Cox about 1909. He then became a car dealer in Chicago, but visited Chatsworth on several occasions. Lewis and R. Porter Hufstetler, doing business as Hufstetler Brothers, bought a printing plant from a defunct Calhoun, Ga., newspaper, moved the plant to Chatsworth, and on June 5,1913, published the first edition of The Chatswurth Times. When T.E. Millmore left the Murray News in July of that year he became one of the editors of the Times, but only stayed until November 27. On October 30 of that year, the Hufstetlers bought The Murray News and consolidated it with The Times. The Hufstetlers sold The Times to S.C. Edmondson on May 1,1915. and Ed Johnson became the manager. The Chatsworth business people were not pleased with this sale as the Edmondsons had sided with Spring Place in the county seat contest, so, acting through their newly formed chamber of commerce, they leased the paper for one year. The business people made an agreement with J. Roy McGinty, a newspaper man with 17 years experience in organizing and operating small newspapers, to operate The Times. McGinty came to Chatsworth in November, 19I5, and after the death of S.C. Edmondson, bought The Times from the Edmondson estate February 1, 1917. In March, 1929, McGinty bought the Calhoun (Ga.) newspaper and his son, J. Roy McGinty, Jr., became editor and publisher of The Chatsworth Times, and later became the owner. In 1943 The Times received state-wide recognition when it was awarded the Georgia Press Association's Bankston trophy for the best local news coverage by any weekly newspaper in the state. (The elder McGinty later owned The Calhoun Times and continued to write for that paper until shortly before his death in 1979 at the age of 92.) McGinty, Jr. sold The Times to Smythe Newsome. of Washington, Ga., March 1, 1957. Newsome sold the paper to John T. Luffman on August 2, 1965. Luffman sold to John Fleetwood, who also owned the Cartersville, Ga., newspaper, in August, 1970. Fleetwood sold both The Times and his Cartersville paper to Walls Newspapers, Inc., operators of a newspaper chain, in 1972. Walls Newspapers named Albert Edwards as editor and publisher of The Times in 1977, succeeding Danny Harbin. Blanche Robinson served as society editor from 1960 until her retirement in 1976. Paulette Harbin then filled in until Ruth Cox eventually became the permanent society writer. Lyman Hall, of Calhoun. came to Chatsworth and started The Murray Herald on June 12. 1935. After a few years he left and V.C. Pickering. who was financing the paper, had to take over. Pickering named T.W. Brooks as manager for a short time while he was looking for a buyer. P.A. Gates (1940), who had been with The Murray News in its last days, bought the Herald and operated it until August, 1943 when it went out of busienss. The Herald's motto was "Covers Murray County Like a Blanket of Sunshine." Willellen Brooks was society editor for the Herald, It's first home was on E. Market St. off Third Avenue. Later (about 1938) the office was moved to the Gudger Building on Second Avenue. Eton's first publication was a magazine type semi-monthly, The North Georgia Agriculturalist and Fireside Magazine, started in July, 1911. MacCowan Greenlee was the editor. We can be certain of only three issues being printed, but there may have been more. T.E. Millmore, who had been with the papers at Spring Place and Chatsworth, went to Eton and started The Murray County Messenger on July 2, 1914. It is not known how long this paper operated, but there is evidence of 8 issues.
GROWTH AND DEVELOPMENT
WPA And CCC
During the 1930's both the Works Progress Administration and the Civilian Conservation Corp were very active in Murray County. Several Murray families made it through the Great Depression due to these New Deal programs. The work done by those employed by the WPA and CCC in Murray County is still greatly visible. WPA Labor built the rock building at Murray High which brought about consolidation of several smaller high schools in 1934. The county home on highway 52 east of Chatsworth was also the result of the WPA which "approved $1,116 for the native stone veneer" in 1935. In 1940 the WPA approved "a disposal plant at Chatsworth." Civilian Conservation Corp Camp No. 447 was established in 1938. According to Thurman Underwood, a member of the camp, the group originated in Tennessee where they built Picketts State Park near Jamestown. When the camp moved 'o Chatsworth. the former brick plant property at the south end of First and Second Avenues became its headquarters. The Chatsworth Camp came to include men from Tennessee, Georgia, and the Carolinas. The major task facing this camp was the development of Fort Mountain State Park. Roads, trails, a tower, facilities, and a lake were constructed. Among the commanders of this camp were Captain Wimberly, Lieutenant (later Colonel) Fries and, briefly. Captain Padgett. Mr. Underwood, who served as an orderly under Commander Fries, stressed the value of the CCC in preparing men-physically and mentally-for later service in World War II. The CCC had medical, dental, food, and recreational programs as well as economic and environmental functions. The men were paid approximately $30 per month and were required to send part of their salaries "home." Murray County's longest lived CCC group was the "Holly Creek Camp," officially designated as Carnp Crawford W. Long, Company No. 483. Directed by the U.S. Forestry Service, this camp was located on Holly Creek, east of Eton, following the arrival of 150 enrollees from Fort McClellan, Alabama, on June 25, 1933. The Official Annual of the Civilian Conservation Corps, 1937, records the story as follows: The Camp was built by enrollees and local carpenters, many of whom were later enrolled in the Camp and formed the nucleus of the Company . . . The first year of the Camp's existence was uneventful. Main objectives were completion of permanent Camp and organization. Little time was available for promotion of educational program, discipline and morale, although "favorable local contact," always a policy of this Company, was given birth by friendly relations with town officials and citizens. As time passed improvements were made even though nature did not favor this location. Additional buildings were erected, old buildings repaired and more time spent promoting educational, social and recreational program. This Company has always ranked high in education and recreation, turning out several local championship basketball and baseball teams. Under Captain Tindal the Camp reached a "high" from which a decline was noted until the summer of 1936. In the spring of 1936, heavy rains almost washed the Camp away. Side of the recreation hall was crushed by a dirt slide from mountain above Camp; water ran through barracks leaving mud and sediment; deep gullies were washed in company Streets and camp grounds which were almost denuded. At this time the morale and general appearance of the Company reached its lowest ebb. During this period Lieutenant Calleteau was assigned to the Company as Camp Commander. His was a difficult task; rebuilding the camp, establishing discipline and morale. Lieutenant Calleteau faced the situation squarely and with the cooperation of the enrollees began reconstruction work. A seawall was built along the creek extending the entire length of the Camp to prevent a recurrence of such a disastrous flood; rock terraces were built over Camp; the drainage system enlarged and rearranged to provide adequate drainage; the recreation hall remodeled and general renovation of the Camp undertaken. Captain Brown succeeded Lieutenant Cailleteau and with the continuation of Lieutenant Cailleteau's policies made Company 483 one of the best in this Sub-District. The main projects completed by the Using Service include: Road building, cultural work, reforestation, and building or a dam for recreational purposes. Over fifty miles of graveled road has been carved out of mountain sides, many of which afford beautiful scenery. The dam being constructed is to be a recreational project open to the public. Cabins are to be built and the lake, which will cover approximately twenty-five acres, to be stocked with fish. Two fire towers have been built and are maintained by enrollees. Capt. A.B. Culbertson, present Company Commander, is continuing the improvement program and is beautifying the Camp by planting flowers and shrubs, but he is concentrating mainly on improving the sanitary level of the Camp and enrollees and educating enrollees in personal hygiene. Company 483 is located on the east bank of Holly Creek, a beautiful mountain stream, seven miles east of Eton, Ga. A graveled road leads to Camp which nestles among towering trees overlooking restful Holly Creek. The rugged beauty of the surrounding mountains is inspirational and the scenery comparable with any in the state. For some time the Crawford W. Long Camp had a featured column in The Chatsworth Times entitled "Holly Creek Ripples." Present-day U.S. Forestry Service employee Mrs. Harriett DiGioia researched the old newspapers and found several interesting items: May 17,1934: We can see at this time of the year a mighty good reason for preservation of the forests. Did you ever see such beautiful wild flowers? All of us admire the honeysuckle (wild azalea) which has been of all colors and varieties. The dogwood and sweet shrubs have also been beautiful, and now the mountain laurel and rhododendron aie blooming. Would it not be a crime to have all these beautiful flowers killed by disastrous fire? Of course, we all know the value of preserving and conserving the trees that will be used commercially in the future and probably will repay our Dear Old Uncle Sam for taking caie of us during these trying times of the depression. Also, everyone can see that it is essential and desirable to keep these flowers and shrubs for their beauty. We received last week a supply of first-aid kits, and smoke remedies. If accidents should happen, do not get excited, especially in case ot" snake bite. Do not exercise at all unless absolutely necessary. First aid will be administered as soon as possible by the leader. The carnp surgeon is giving instructions in first aid. Our side camp is now occupied but not filled to capacity yet. We have not completed the dinmg tent, and some other things will be necessary to complete it. But in due time we hope to have a model camp with running water, electric lights, baths, etc. at an elevation of 3,000 feet above sea level. Claude Arrowood is in charge. The following new officers were elected for the Literary Club at its regular meeting last Monday night: President, Floyd Wooten; Vice-president, Ray Tuggles; Secretary, Paul Jones. The officers also constitute the program committee. The Literary Club scheduled an extemporaneous debate for last Wednesday night. The relative values of the mule and cow as farm animals was argued. Affirmative side: Jasper Henderson, Orville Hegood, and Hugh Carmichael;Negative side: Proctor Scrivens, Hoke Isenhower, and Ray Tuggles. Judges were Lieutenants Obear and Sumner, and enrollee Robert Rainey. Old "Bossy" won the argument, and the debate was a laugh from start to finish. May 24, 1934: Captain John R. Tindall of the 324lh infantry Reserve, has served as C.O. of two other CCC companies, coming to this organization from Company 1475 of Whitwell, Tenn. Captain Tindall is a graduate of the Army Infantry School at Fort Benning, Ga. FORESTRY NEWS - By W.F. Montgomery, Project Superintendent George Stephenson, forest ranger for this section of the National Forest, paid our camp a visit on last Friday. He was here making arrangements for building a lookout tower and cabin on the lop of Grassy Mountain. Harvy Rouse is in charge of the construction and our boys.,, Our trail builder is now at work on the building of the Grassy Mountain road, and within a week or more the road will be open to the top of the mountain. Rouse is beginning to get out the timber today to build this lookout and he will be camping at a spring near the proposed lookout station. Our new CCC enrollees, 23 of them, are out at work this morning . . . TRAVEL CLUB - By Ployd Woolen, Secretary Our Travel Club is proving very interesting as well as educational. The club meets twice a week, and some members tells of his travels . . , The purpose of out club is to study the points of interest in our country and the world at large with reference to their geographical, economic and social values. At the same time the boys are being trained to express themselves before an audience. SPORTS - By C.A. Paine Holly Creek vs. Ellijay Camp - Last Sunday Holly Creek flowed into Ellijay, but the Ellijay boys turned the tide by the score of 6 to 5 in one of the most interesting games of the season. Outstanding players for Ellijay were "Curley" Milton, Pinson, Mitchell; for Holly Creek, Vinson, Deaton, and Eugene Wellborn. Batteries: Mitchell and H. Milton, and Campbell, Cook, Snelling. BY HAL DOBBS - Holly Creek vs. Duane Chair Company - Holly Creek defeated Duane Chair Company, of Dalton, Saturday at Eton in one of the best games of the season. Campbell, of Holly Creek, was in rare form, allowing only five hits and walking none, York, for the visitors, pitched a good game and deserved a better fate, but Holly Creek was not to be denied. He gave up a total of eight hits, which were kept well-scattered, except in the second, and walked only one man. A bit of humor was injected into the game when, in the seventh, Huggin singled between short and second, and the ball was lost in high grass. The whole Holly Creek team searched frantically for several minutes before it could be found. Huggin had ample time to score, but elected to hold first, thinking he was being led into a trap. May 31, 1934: Bridge Work Progressing Rapidly After a slow start in getting up the first pier, the bridge crew is now making rapid progress on the second and middle piers. They will finish the second pier this week, and probably the cofferdam for the middle pier. Assistant Leader Henry Leonard is building the cofferdams, and Assistant Leader Marvin Rogers is in charge of the forms for the piers. Mr. Lanham is supervising the work. The boys in the bookkeeping class taught by Lieutenant Sumner are showing great interest in their study. This week each member of the class has received a portfolio of forms for practice. Our new company commander. Captain Tindall, is taking great interest in the camp educational program. He has already secured many supplies, including blackboards, chalk, erasers, library books, textbooks, etc., all of which were badly needed. Upon his advice the camp educational adviser has organized two new classes, one in business English and one in business arithmetic. Also, Captain Tindall has volunteered to teach one or more subjects. The class in carpentry is to be congratulated on having him as instructor, beginning this week. June 7, 1934 OLD TIMERS WILL LEAVE CAMP ON JUNE 30th It was a year ago on June 4th and 5th that this company was formed at Ft. Mc-Clellan, Ala. There were two groups, the first from Atlanta, the second from Rome, Ga. They combined to become 209 strong and did they feel their strength! These Old Timers built this camp, it was through them that we have nice barracks and a mess hall. Many will leave with regret the friendships they have formed while here. This year will linger in the memory of those who found work that will be a monument to them for years to come. FOREST NEWS As we have some new men in this camp who perhaps don't understand the Forest Service system of roads, 1 will tell you in this article something about them. The Cherokee National Forest of several thousand acres lies in Tennessee, Georgia, and North Carolina. A large acreage of this forest is here in Murray, Gilmer and Fannin Counties, Georgia. The Old Westfield Pike which is the road leading from Crandall to the Holly Creek camp and on to Mulberry Gap is the present southern boundary of this part of the Cherokee National Forest. We consider this road as our base and are building four or five other roads turning off in a northerly and easterly direction to connect with the Cowpen Mountain Road which has already been built along the crest of the mountain. The Tibbs Road which is almost complete is one of these roads. The Potato Patch Mountain Road which we are just now beginning, will be another and we have the Mill Creek Road and the Emory Creek Road yet to take up. We also have another, the Mule Top Three Forks Mountain Road, which will lead off from the Cowpen Mountain Road and will connect with a road system being built by Camp Tennessee F-10. Probably other road projects will be added. The primary purpose of these roads will be to use in fighting fires, and next in importance will be for use for recreation. The value of these roads will probably repay the government and the people for the expense now being spent on them. This in addition to giving the young men something to do in these trying times. On April 3, 1934 the camp's commander was George S. Obear III who was succeeded by Captain Tindall. Others were Lt. Summers, Lt. Walker, and Captain Flemings. Superintendents included Paul Arrowood and Bill Montgomery. Claude Arrowood, Porter Huffstetler, Jack Kelly, Mac Trammell, and Temple Johnson held various foremanships. The demobilization of the Holly Creek Camp was ordered, but, due to the efforts of Congressman Malcolm Tarver and Senator Richard Russell, the order was rescinded. At this time the camp numbered 165 "boys" with Captain Y.E. Bargeron, Lt. V.B. Cagle, Lt. V.C. Pulliam, and project superintendent J.L. La-Rue were camp officers. Captain Nimmo Old, Jr. succeeded Bargeron as commander. The camp disbanded in the fail of 1941 but some of the cabins existed years later. Most of the CCC work area was incorporated within the Chattahoochee National Forest whose story is told by Mrs. DiGioia as follows: Following passage of the Weeks Law in 1911, the U.S. Government began to purchase land in the east as part of the National Forest system. Originally, the Georgia Purchase Unit was a part of the Cherokee and Nantahala National Forests. But on July 9, 1936, it was established by Presidential proclamation as the Chattahoochee National Forest. In 1936, the Chattahooehee was organized into two Ranger Districts, the Blue Ridge and the Tallulah, The original land area was composed of 1,165,000 gross acres. Approximately 500,000 of these acres were located in Dawson, Fannin, Gil-mer. Habersham, Lumpkin, Murray, Rabun, Towns, Union and White counties. In 1937, the Armuchee Purchase unit of 250,000 acres in Caloosa, Chalooga, Floyd, Gordon and Walker Counties was approved for addition. The lands purchased were mostly cut-over, burned-over, eroded lands which were considered of little value. Fire protection was one of the biggest jobs as million of trees were planted in the cut-over and burned-over areas. Fish and game were also restocked in areas where they had been depleted. During this time, managing the National Forest for the 'greatest good' was difficult. Travel over the forest was mostly on horseback. The Civilian Conservation Corps, created out of the Depression era, was instrumental in the management of the early Chattahooehee National Forest. The CCC'ers planted trees, checked and controlled tree disease and insect infestations, built fire-towers, roads, ranger stations, and recreation areas, laid communication lines, and did erosion control work. The 60's began with the signing of the Multiple-Use, Sustained Yield Act that specifies National Forests to be managed for outdoor recreation, range, timber, watershed, fish and wildlife purposes in such combination and manner that they will best serve public needs. The 1960s were characterized by a wave of activity on the Chattahooehee. Tremendous construction efforts were undertaken to provide recreation areas within SO miles of every major town. Roads such as the Richard Russell Scenic Highway were built to provide better access to the National Forest. Timber harvests also increased in the 60s as the timber planted in the 1930s began to mature. The largest timber sale on the Chattahooehee was made in January, 1964. It took five years to cut over 9,390 acres taking only 10.5 million board feet of timber. The explosive growth period in the 60s brought concerns and greater appreciation for the nation's natural resources. E nviron men tabs m became the critical factor in forest management in the 1970s. During the mid-70s Cohutta and Ellicott's Rock Wilderness areas were established. These areas offered forest visitors more primitive recreation activities in secluded areas. The Chattanooga River was designated as a wild and scenic river by Congress during this time. The 70s brought many changes in traditional forest management. Fire towers were phased out and replaced by aerial lire detection and expanded disciplines brought more technical expertise to the forest, During 1980, a process known as land management planning began on the Chattahooehee. By actively seeking public input, the forest service worked to develop a plan to manage all of the resources of the Chattahooehee over the next 10 to 15 years. The plan was recently completed and is now being implemented on the forest. The Chattahoochee has come a long way since the early days of forest management. By managing the forest environment for a variety of resources, the U.S. Forest Service is helping to ensure that each of these resources will have a place in our future and in our children's future. For many years Charles Dunn, a Murray native, headed the Forestry Unit. Bill Black is now superintendent. Lake Conasauga Recreation Area boasts camping, hiking, and picnicking facilities as well as Georgia's highest lake. All of it began half a century ago with the CCC.
GROWTH AND DEVELOPMENT
Education - County School System
The Murray County School System has "come a long way" since the pre-Civil War era when a Grand Jury recommended "school districts for the county for not less than 25 or more than 100 children age 8-18 to attend at least three months a year." Today the Murray County Board of Education operates a fully accredited system with four elementary schools (grades K-6), one junior high (grades 7-8), and one high school (grades 9-12). All teachers hold at least a 4-year college professional certificate and an increasing number have advanced degrees. Current enrollment is approximately 5,000. During the 1870's, Georgia's public school system was established and by the 1880's Murray County was following state guidelines to a degree. Rev. S.H. Henry was the first county school superintendent and his personal records of these early days provide much of the existing information about this era. In 1880 the county board, then appointed by the Grand Jury, operated more than 30 schools. Due to poor transportation every community had its own little one- or two-room school. Since the meager funds which were available had to be distributed among so many facilities, most of the schools were poorly equipped. Therefore, local trustees were elected or appointed in each school district to provide extra leadership, more supervision, and added community support. Often these trustees would set work days to improve the school, offer lodging to teachers, attend special programs at the school, and even provide wood for the school's heater. Most of Murray's children were expected to help with the farm work at home so attendance during the already brief school terms was not always good. Generally held during the winter when farming tasks slacked, school was often hampered by bad weather. Teachers were rarely even high school graduates during the early days but were "county licensed" when they passed a test. Trustees usually sought the teacher they wanted for their school and requested approval by the county board. Unfortunately "dirty politics" sometimes got involved and teachers rarely knew where they would be assigned from year to year or if they would have a job at all. Therefore, many educators taught at a variety of schools across the county during their careers. This structure existed through the 19SO's. For the year 1896 the entire Murray County school budget was $5,781.03. From this amount the superintendent was paid a salary of $304 while the salaries for members of the board of education were $190. Only $120 was "expended in the purchase of school supplies and buildings" and $42.05 was spent on "postage, printing, and other incidentals." The remaining $5,124.98 was divided among the 50-plus teachers for the year. In other statistics for 1896 Murray County had the following: 2 "private" high schools; 2 "private" elementary schools; 1 school library valued at $60; 72 � � average monthly cost per Pupil; 1,149 average daily attendance (1,014 white, 135 black); 100 full school days; 10 buildings which belonged to the county valued at $5,450; 30 buildings "not belonging to the board" valued at $400; 1,893 students enrolled (1,740 white, 153 black). As the years passed, things improved-slowly. Some schools remained "local subscription" meaning that the residents raised the funds while others were "county schools" and received some state funds. The following excerpts of the existing minutes of county board meetings reveal the growth: 1916-17 - Term is 3'/2 months, Teacher's salaries range from $24 to $40 monthly. Schools with average daily attendance of 20 earn one teacher, of 55 earn two, and of 80 earn three teachers. 1918 - Salaries remain the same for four month schools. 1918-19 - Salaries $28 to $40 monthly. May 25, 1918 - Board agrees to pay "� of salary, provided it does not exceed $200, for hiring an agent for domestic economics." Scholastic population is 3,071. Nov. 6, 19 IB - Schools to run 3 months in winter and two in summer. May 6, 1919 - 'The Board instructed the Superintendent to contact U.S. and English authorities of their desire to change to metric system . .." Oct. 20, 1919 - Lula Gladden hired as "county organizer for adult illiterates" for three months. Salary is $150. Nov. 4, 1919 - P.H. Bond elected county "attendance officer." Lucy Hill Institute selected to become a 4-year high school 1919 - Salaries $35 to $60 per month.. Dec. 7, 1920 - T.P. Ramsey "truant officer" June 7. 1921 - Board requests a 3-rnill tax for education. Oct. 4. 1921 - Horace Dodd, trustee of Chatsworth replaced "because he absconded as a result of being accused of embezzling from the Bank of Chatsworth." 1922 Problems regarding proposed consolidation of Fashion and Sumach School Districts as well as financing new school at Sumach. "Light must come from the East before the Board will pay anything." July 31, 1922 - Teacher institute held at Eton until date for teacher examination on August 8. Aug. 15, 1922 - "A physics laboratory to be equipped at Eton High at a cost of $150. Jan- 2, 1923 Truant officer M.W. Shields requested that teachers who fail to report student absences would forfeit 5% of their salaries. Feb, 6, 1923 - Above action rescinded and teachers were asked to instead report on the truant officer! April 3, 1923 - Board insures all school buildings for $1,050 against fires and cyclones. July 3, 1923 - New rule: "Every teacher shall read a chapter in Bible and have prayer every day during school." Nov. 6, 1923 - W.S. Stroud elected truant officer. Jan 1- 1924 - Notice to be published in local paper: "the license of any teacher teaching in Murray County will be revoked if he or she attends a dance, whether they dance or not." 1925 - Fred I. Davidson succeeds Dr. T.W, Colvard as school superintendent. May 5, 1925 --4 mill tax. July 7, 1925 - Principal's salaries $60 per month, salary of $57.50 for 1-teacher schools down to $38 for lowest certificate. Average attendance of 15 required. Local tax schools can run nine months, others only seven. April 6. 1916 - County tax - 5 mills. Cohutta Banking Co. designated as depository of all school funds. Feb. 1, 1927 - Telephone to be installed in office for superintendent and board. 1927-28 - Borrowing money "wherever it can be found" to pay teachers and insurance premiums, 1928 - 2,838 children of school age in Murray, Eton was the largest district with 385; Rock Creek the smallest with 8. Jan, 31, 1929 - the board does not supply free textbooks for students. Nov. 5, 1929 - Teachers who attend GEA meeting in Cartersville have "a holiday." Apr. 4, 1930 - Trustees from various schools called in "to decide when their schools would close because of lack of funds." Sept, 2, 1930 - Trustees can no longer make contracts with teachers, only the county board according to State Department of Education. January 1931 - "Mass meeting of Board members, trustees, and teachers to arouse better interest in attendance." Feb. 3, 193] - E.P. Adams appointed temporary attendance officer. Mar. 3, 1931 - Board turns down opportunity for Home Demonstration Agent due to lack of funds. Oct. 6, 1931 - Resolution passed that all schools build sanitary toilets. Nov. 3, 1931 _ No Board member will receive his full per diem payment unless he stays for entire meeting. Rules for teachers (added to contract): Said teacher agrees further: To perform at least six hours service in the school room each day, to attend the monthly teachers' meeting, or any special teachers' meetings when called upon to do so, either by letter or published announcement, or to render a satisfactory excuse for not so doing, to be firm in government, but not cruel to pupils, to supervise play grounds, or, if assistant, to aid in supervising play grounds and the conduct of children under their care, to require good order, to keep school room in neat order, to fasten doors and windows each day after school, and to give thorough instructions in the public school branches of study. Said teacher further agrees to refrain from joy riding, attending picture theaters, or other places of public amusement at night. Dancing is barred by the school board, also social engagements throughout the school week. The school laws of Georgia require that a chapter from the Bible be read by the teacher each day to the school children. In schools of more than one teacher assistants are to exercise their hearty cooperation with principals and school officials for the best interests of school work. Where the above conditions are not complied with in the public schools of Murray County the Board of Education and County Superintendent will exercise their judgement in withholding salaries, or suspending teachers for not conforming thereto. All teachers must have their licenses recorded in the County Superintendents' office. March 1, 1932 - Marble Hill denied transportation due to "bad roads, unsafe for hauling children." April 1, 1932 - First year in history of county that all schools had operated seven months. "Gratitude expressed that not a single teacher nor trustee had expressed dissatisfaction as to the payment or delay of payment during the year." July S, 1932 - Lee Cox employed as attendance officer. August 12, 1932 - Mr. Cox reports 1200 pupils in (summer) school. He has raised 141,50 to buy books for needy children. "Each Board member voted his per diem payment for this meeting to the above cause." Also, a county nurse to be hired "under pretext of a half-time health teacher," Dec. 6, 1932 - Average daily attendance 2,006, An increase from the previous year's 1,760. January 3, 1933 - Retiring superintendent S.L, Jackson delivered official papers to his successor Earl Foster, then one of the youngest superintendents in Georgia. February 1933 - 2,521 pupils enrolled. July 3, 1933 - Lee Cox to be paid S3 for each day he works as attendance officer. September 5, 1934 - Board approved a $32,396.04 budget based on a 5 mill county tax for schools. Levies in local tax districts ranged from one mill at Oak Grove to five mills in Eton, Spring Place, and Chatsworth. Others with the extra school tax were Colvards, Franklin, Sumach, Union Grove, Hooker's, Cisco, Oakland, and Ramhurst. Oct. 3, 1933 - Board voted to join the Georgia Education Association 100%. Nov. 7, 1933 - Board voted to designate Spring Place as the county high school. This school to receive the $1,000 State Aid, Also, the following schools to receive $500 State Aid for consolidated elementary schools: Chatsworth, Eton, Franklin, Spring Place, and Union Grove. Dec. 1, 1933 - Called meeting of Board voted to accept offer of Chatsworth Clay Manufacturing Company for the free use of its facilities to make brick to repair thirty-six school buildings provided the Civil Works Administration would provide funds to hire labor to renovate these buildings. All members were present and voted unanimously for this resolution. April 3, 1934 - NEW RESOLUTIONS: "No teacher shall be replaced ... by a teacher of lesser qualifications in terms of teacher training and experience. Teachers in service shall be given preference over teachers out of service; residents and taxpayers shall have preference over non-residents and non-taxpayers. April 16, 1934 - The Board authorized Superintendent Earl Foster and Chairman M.D. Jefferson "to receive grants and gifts and 10 make and execute all contracts necessary for erection of county high school building." Foster and Jefferson were also authorized to make "bus driving contracts." Several schools consolidated. June, 1934 - Salary Schedule Approved: Board voted to elect one teacher for each 30 pupils in average attendance or major fraction thereof with the following salary: College Certificate Teacher $60,00 per month Principal $65.00 per month Normal or Junior College Certificate Teacher $50.00 Teacher three years experience $55.00 Principal three years experience $60.00 General Elementary Certificate Teacher $45.00 Teacher three years experience $50.00 Principal three years experience $55.00 County license teacher $40-00 Principal $45.00 Supply teachers $40.00 Board voted that should the attendance run in excess of the teacher a supply teacher would be elected for such time as the attendance was temporarily in excess. 1935 - School enrollment is 2,750 March 5, 1935 - The General Assembly "diverted funds from the State Highway Board for payment of past due teacher and bus driver salaries. Those who received back payment were Mr. & Mrs. W.F. Huffaker, Mr. & Mrs. R.D. Carter, Sarah Lee Leonard, A.N. Sanders, Allen and Charles Pannell, Willie Mae Pritchett, Annie Ross, Thelma Cox, Agnes Kemp, and Berniia Harris. June 4, 1935 - Board authorized Superintendent and Chairman to borrow money from V.C. Pickering to meet May's payroll "if needed." Nov. 1. 1935 - Board voted to buy diphtheria serum for the vaccination of students. Also November 29 was declared "a school holiday in honor of the homecoming of the President. March 3, 1936 - Board still borrowing money to meet payroll. October 6, 1936 - Teachers to have holiday on October 26 to attend GEA meeting in Calhoun, 1937 - S.L. Jackson returns as superintendent. June 2, 1937 - Board voted to pay Superintendent $115 per month and the clerk $25 from the general fund. May 3, 1938 - The Board agreed to pay the bus drivers for holidays provided they haul children free during commencement. The Board also requested all teachers to attend Church and Sunday School, "Teachers who hold low grade certificates and licenses are expected to use their utmost efforts to raise them." September 19, 1938 - Proposed budget for 1938-39 was $62,671.58. 1938 - Jack Greeson named school superintendent to fill the unexpiied term of S.L. Jackson who died in office. April, 1939 - State supervisor recommended further consolidation of county schools. March, 1941 - Eight month term for all county schools. December 1, 1942 - Bus drivers received a 1� per mile raise. March 1, 1943 - A letter to V.C. Pickering is included in the minutes: Dear Mr. Pickering: The Murray County Board of Education wishes to take this means of expressing their appreciation for your generous gift of the "Davis Farm" to the high school. Our aim is to develop the farm so that it may be used as a practice farm for the Agriculture students. Thanking you again for your kindness and generosity. Yours very truly, Murray County Board of Education By: Mrs, Jack Grceson,Secretary March 10, 1943 - "After discussion, it was decided to run the county schools on Saturday in order to close by May 8 so the children could help with the crops." December 5, 1944 - Ray Bagley, the newly elected superintendent, will continue to serve as principal of the high school also. "The request for his deferment from military service was signed by the Board members and filed with the Selective Service Board." Nov. 6, 1945 - The Board agreed to donate land belonging to the high school as the site for a hospital "provided it was constructed as far away as the old Davis Home and provided that if the hospital should close, the building and ground would go back to the Board." (Almost 30 years later a hospital was built near this spot.) Also, transportation for four black children to Dalton High School cost 30� per day for each child. July 12, 1946 - Board agreed to assist in the opening of a lunchroom in basement of high school. Sept. 2, 1946 - Seward Hix asked to be visiting teacher. Jan. 7, 1947 - Under the new State constitution local school trustee would be appointed by the County Board rather than be elected by the residents. December 2, 1947 - "Motion made, and seconded, and passed for County schools to go into 12th-grade program at the beginning of the 1948-49 term." 1949 - George Ross - visiting teacher Aug. 2, 1949 - L.N. Foster employed as instructional supervisor for county schools. 1950 - Jathan Gregory visiting teacher. 1950's - continued consolidation of elementary schools. March 3, 1953 - Employed Miss Christine Bowen for 1953-54 term "to divide her time equally between all county teachers"- instructional or curriculum supervisor. (Re-employed 1954-56). April, 1953 - The meeting made the Dalton news (4-12-53) as follows: POLITICAL STEW OVER SCHOOL POSITIONS BEGINS TO SIMMER The perennial political stew over school appointments began to simmer this week in Murray County and a boiling point is expected to be reached, as usual, by May 5 when most school positions will be filled. The County board this week filled vacancies, re-appointed members and named new members for local boards who serve in an advisory capacity. At May meeting these boards will recommend persons for teachers and administrators in their respective communities. Local trustees were renamed for most communities, bul the biggesl shakeup came when three new men were named to the Eton local board replacing three men who had not resigned. J.P. Loughridge, Herbert Childers and Hubert Williams were named to succeed T.L. Gregory, Grover Bates, and Carl Loughridge. The other two members of this board, C.D. Harris andToliver Richardson were retained. Just what significance this change will make in the school administration at Eton remains to be seen at the May meeting. Other changes made, but without the degree of controversy accompanying the Eton action, included: - Harold Wilson appointed to succeed C.L. Hillard who resigned from the Tennga board of trustees. - Two new members added to the board at Ramhurst to make five. They were Mrs. Bill Dunston and George Reed. - Bob Holcomb named trustee at Spring Place to replace Paul Smith who was named a member of the county board by the last Grand Jury. - At Hookers, Ed Ridley and John Fox added to the board to making a three-man board. - Bob Causby and Ernest Brindle were appointed Trustees for Casey Springs. Only position filled in the Murray County schools at the meeting this week was the reappointment of L.N. Foster as principal of the Chatsworth Grammer School. Members of the county board besides Smith, are Ed Hemphill, chairman; F,P. Bond, George Holmes and Henry Gallman. Superintendent of Murray County Schools is Ray Bagley who was elected for a four-year term in the county-wide general election last November. Nov. 14, 1953 - Col. Wright Mitchell employed "to look after the legal interest of the County Board." 1954 - Con solid at ion of schools to form Northwest and Southwest Elementary schools approved. New buildings constructed by Leonard and Ingle who were also working on additions at Spring Place, Eton, Chatsworth, and the high school. Dec. 1956 - "The Board agreed to advertise and sell to highest bidder ... the old courthouse at Spring Place." It sold in January for $525. Ruby Fallis hired as instructional supervisor, 1957 - Disposal of abandoned school buildings discussed. February, 1958 - The superintendent was authorized to sign a petition to the City, requesting the City to extend the Chatsworth limits to include all the High School property. March, 1958 - Charles Poag hired as visiting teacher. August, 1958 - Jimmy Witherow hired as visiting teacher. March, 1959 - Bernard Peeples elected visiting teacher. March, 1964 - The Board was informed that, effective "next year" no separate allotment of white and black teachers would be made by the state. 1964 - Seward Hix - visiting teacher, 1965 - Sara Bob Hix became curriculum director. May 4, 1965 - Resolution adopted "Any pupil, regardless of race or color shall be eligible to attend the school of his or her choice in ... Murray County . .. effective . . . September, 1965 ... the Negro schools . . . close at the end of the present term and the children be included without distinction with all other students . . ." September, 1965 - Mr. Bagley (now principal) reported that no problems had been encountered in the integration of the high school. C.W. Bradley begins a four-year term as superintendent. June, 1966 - First mention of consolidating Ramhurst, Southwest, and Spring Place in a new school at Spring Place along with the building of a junior high for grades 7, 8, and 9- Currently all elementary schools house grades 1-8. June 25, 1968 - Bond referendum which allowed the construction of the two new schools passed! 1969 - Jimmy Witherow takes office as superintendent. May 4, 1969 - Board voted to close Ramhurst and Southwest. Fall, 1969 - Construction of new Spring Place Elementary and Murray Junior High is completed. Oct., 1970 - School enrollment 3,372. Offices move to Chestnut Street from courthouse. 1972 - In August primaries Doug Griffin defeated Superintendent Jimmy Witherow who resigned on August 31. The Board appointed Griffin to complete the unexpired term. 1974 - B.V. Ozment is assistant superintendent, Jim Davis Director of Transportation and Maintenance, Jerry Davis Homebound Teacher, and Carolyn Anderson Reading Coordinator. 1975 - Vocational wing added to High School. M.D. Jackson, vocational director. 1976 - Enrollment in county reaches 4,129. 1977 - Lamar Adams - Director of Maintenance and Transportation; James Turner - Visiting Teacher; Rick Warren - Homebound Teacher. September 12, 1977 - Board votes to establish a scholarship fund with a bequest from the estates of Fred L. and Minnie B. Dunn. 1977 -G.W. (Dee) Stafford and his brother, L.C. (Bud) complete 30 and 26 years of service as county bus drivers. 1978 - A Hall of Recognition is established at the Central Office by the Murray County Retired Teachers. 1982 - Talk of redistricting the county results in a change in election procedures. Board members must reside in their districts but are now voted on county-wide. Redistricting is dropped. 1985 - Lamar "Pete" Adams succeeds Doug Griffin as superintendent,
GROWTH AND DEVELOPMENT
Murray County High School
"The board discussed the question of building a county high school and means of financing same. Board voted to authorize County School Superintendent (Earl Foster) and Chairman (M.D. Jefferson) to receive grants and gifts and to make and execute all contracts necessary for the erection of a high school building." - Board of Education Minutes, April 16, 1934 Thus was the beginning of Murray County High School and a month later The Chatsworth Times noted that construction had started at the high school. Mr. Foster later gave this account of the early days: "In 1934 the three small high schools in the county, Lucy Hill, Chatsworth and Eton were consolidated into Murray County High School. The original rock buildings were built with funds which included a $5000 gift from V.C. Pickering, $5000 surplus finds from the County Board of Education, and two highway refunding certificates which after discounting brought $10,500 for the two. These refunding certificates were given by the state to the County Commissioners to reimburse them for paving done before the State Highway System was set up. The county commissioners, Amos Keith, John White Harris and Luke Shields, turned these over to the County Board of Education, earmarked for the construction of the high school. At this time Mr. M.D. Jefferson, Mr. H. Middleton, Mr. Marion Gallman. Mr. G.H. Holmes and Mr. B.A. Gregory were the members of the County Board of Education. "An interesting side light to the school's construction was how the rock for the outside walls was obtained. The blasting done for the construction of the Chatsworth-Ellij ay Highway had left tons of stones of a suitable size. These were donated to the project and local truckers hauled them in for fifty cents a load!" The consolidation of the three high schools was a sensitive subject due to the emotional, social and commercial benefits derived from having a school, however small and ill-equipped, in the community. The obligation of leadership in this task carried with it the inherent probability of political suicide, although as one of the youngest County School Superintendents in the state, with a promising political future, Mr. Foster, never-the-less felt that the good that would accrue to Murray County's children for years to come would outweigh! the personal sacrifice. As was expected, the building of the school led to Mr. Foster's defeat by Sam Jackson in the 1936 general election. When the idea of a new school was first presented, most agreed that a new facility was needed, but the problem of the location created quite a stir. Citizens of Spring Place did not want Chatsworth to have the school, Chatsworth did not want Spring Place to be the building site, and neither of those towns wanted the school to be built at Eton. Thus, the new high school was built on the former Davis farm near the center of the county but not actually in either town. Situated in a cornfield, Murray High was once called "the stepchild of Murray County." The Board of Education had purchased 36 acres of the Davis estate for the School site. Later Mr. Pickering gave 164 additional acres to the school board to supplement the school farm. (This gift has since provided space for the hospital, the junior high, a county library, the health center, the school's central office, the recreation center, and the training center.) Workers who constructed the building were paid $I per day with the stone masons earning $2. The Board then increased the pay to 50� per hour for the stone masons and 30� per hour for carpenters. "Common laborers" earned 15� per hour. Mr. Watkins was the head stone mason. The building was a one-story structure with a basement. Eight classrooms, a small library, and an office were located on the main floor while agriculture classes and science laboratories were in the basement. The Board purchased 400 auditorium seats for $1.85 each and then bought ten typewriters from Dalton High to furnish one of the dressing rooms as a typing classroom. W.M, Wiss and Company installed heating and plumbing in October, 1934. Until this time drinking water was furnished by two barrels placed on the building's south steps each morning. This was despite the fact the board had authorized construction of a pipeline 3 months earlier. The desks were made of rough slabs of lumber and the unfinished floors more or less worn smooth, while the first chalkboards were just glossy black paint on a wall which was merely plaster over the exterior walls. The building was insured with T.W. Brooks Agency for $I 5.000. M.D. Collins, state school superintendent, was the guest speaker at Murray High's opening ceremonies. Mr. Foster's brother, L.N., was elected principal of the school�one of the first consolidated rural high schools in Georgia. Thirteen teachers greeted approximately 300 students, including 60 seniors, in the fall of 1934. The school's nickname, the Indians, came from the older Chatsworth High School while Miss Pauline Ogletree, an original faculty member and longtime counselor, selected the school colors-green and white. Besides Foster and Miss Ogletree, others on the first faculty included Lula Gladden, Julian Keith, Elswick Keith, G.I. Maddox, Ruby Henderson, Roland Carter, Herbert Rogers, Leona McDonald. Irene Chambers, Jack Greeson, Harold Ellis, and Edward Chapman (the first and only male librarian). By the next year the Home Economics Building, south of the school, was ready for occupation. Doris Steed succeeded Irene Chambers as home ec. teacher who was in turn followed by Ruth Ann Loughridge (Pannell) in 1937. In 1945 Miss Edna Jo Butler began an almost 30-year tenure as head of the department.Also in 1935 the cannery was built by Mr, Pickering with WPA labor through the Board of Education. For 40 years the cannery, operated by vocational agriculture and home economics teachers, was a beehive of activity every summer. In 1976 the aging facility was replaced with a SO' x 60' brick structure on the high school campus. The agriculture building, begun in 1935 was completed in 1936. Much of the work was done by agriculture students under the direction of long-lime teacher G.I. Maddox. The first band at Murray was begun in 1935 and boasted 21 instruments. Signor Silvio LeLama, an Italian, was the director of this short-lived ensemble which included teachers as well as students. Also in 1935, "electric lights were installed." For many years chapel was held regularly. Students marched into the auditorium as music teacher Alwayne Bowers Jones played the piano and directed the program. Mr, Morgan Blake was invited to deliver the commencement "sermon" at Murray High's first graduation on May 18, 1935. Thirty-eight seniors received their diplomas. In 1940,43 students graduated. Elswick Keith, who had left the faculty in 1935 to work with the CCC, returned in 1937 to succeed L.N. Foster as principal. In 1942 Mr. Keith was called into World War II but was given the promise of resuming his principal-ship at the war's end. During the interim, C.W. Bradley and Ray Bagley, both of whom joined the faculty in 1935, became principal and assistant principal, respectively. When Mr. Bradley took a position at Lincoln Memorial University in 1944, Mr. Bagley moved to the higher slot. However, in the fall of that year Bagley won the superintendent's race and so from January 1, 1945 until the term's end, he was both superintendent and principal. Mr. Wallace Petty served as principal from 1945 until Mr. Keith returned in 1948. Called back into service during the Korean Conflict, Mr. Keith was succeeded by Howard C. Boston from 1952 until 1956, when Mr, Bradley once more became head of the school. Also in 1956 an extensive addition to the school facility was completed by Leonard and Ingle Construction. Later called "the old annex" this project included a new lunchroom, new home economics rooms, principal and counseling offices, a library, science laboratories, and several classrooms. In 1964 Mr, Bradley ran against Mr. Bagley for the superintendent's position. When Mr. Bradley took office on January 1, 1965, Mr. Bagley returned to the high school as principal. Also, a new shop building opened during the 1964-65 term. Ten years later a new comprehensive wing nearly doubled the size of the school's physical plant. This annex housed new offices, seven classrooms, three shop classrooms, and a new library. M.D. Jackson became vocational director. In 1975 Mr. Bagley retired after 40 years of service in Murray County education. James E. Davis was selected as the next principal and held that position until 1979, He was succeeded by France Adams who had been assistant principal since 1966. Larnar "Pete" Adams became assistant principal and served until 1983. In 1983 Bob Joye became principal. His assistants are Doug Ellis and France Adams. Many teachers have come and gone during the five decades of Murray High's existence, but a surprising number of educators have devoted much or all of their careers to this institution. Countless students benefitted from !he advice and humor of G.I. Maddox, agriculture teacher from the school's opening until 1968, Likewise memorable are Alwayne Jones' rigorous English classes, Gladys Bradley's science classes, Edna Jo Butler's amazing cooking and sewing skills, C.W. Bradley's fact-filled history classes, Lucille Pack's stern lectures, Eulola Robinette's quiet library, Troy Richard's prowess in algebra, Ray Bagley's mathematical and administrative abilities, Pauline Ogletree's varied talents (Miss Ogletree was counselor and taught English, social studies, and even driver's ed, at various times), Elswick Keith's strictness, Annie Laurie Howard's gentleness, and Inez Kerr's Biblical quotations. Today, senior faculty members are Hazel Langford. Marguerite Raber. M.D. Jackson, Kenneth Ross. France Adams, Frank Ross, and Robert Leonard, all of whom have devoted more than two decades to the school. Those who have taught there between 10 and 20 years include Margaret Adams, Ginger Baker, Troy Beasley, Suzanne Crow, Reba Daniel, Janice Durocher, George (Willie) Fowler, Charles Garner, Arnos Green, Gene Hannah, Danny Harkleroad, Carry Jones, Jerry Jordan, Nolen Lee, Margaret Longmire, Nell Ruth Loughridge, Linda Lunsford, Brenda Penland. Larry Sampson, Janice Smith, and Franklin Withrow. Other teachers from past years include Miss Lula Gladden, an original faculty member who taught Latin, English, and mathematics. Former teacher Mrs. Lovadah Maynard provided this account of "Miss Lula's" life which appeared in the January 24, 1958 edition of The Indian, a school newspaper: MCHS Funeral for the Author of Alma Mater - Miss Gladden, By Gene Ledfond What? Do you mean to say that a funeral was actually held at Murray County High School! Yes, this is a fact which was carried out at the request of Miss Gladden, former teacher, considered great among Murray County teachers of ail times, and author of our beloved Alma Mater. Because Miss Gladen was loved so well and had contributed so much to the welfare of Murray High and our community several hundred people attended her funeral, which was held on September 28, 1944. She was born in Gladden Springs, October 15, 1876. After completing her A.B. degree and after graduating from Peabody College, she taught school mostly in Murray County but also in Walker County, and Polk County. She taught for 51 years. Not only did she spend much of her time teaching school but she was also a firm believer in the saying "a friend in need is a friend indeed." If she knew of anyone in need she was quick to administer any help even if she had to borrow money or buy something on the credit. In asking several people about her, the first words from their lips were that she was a fine Christian lady sacrificing her own needs to help others. She was one of the founders of the First Baptist Church in Chatsworth, a great worker with young people, and held the love and respect of all her students. The most beautiful and well written words to our Alma Mater were written by Miss Gladden and was given to us by Mrs. Lovada Maynard. In the first verse, she was thinking about the rock walls of the old academic building, which was the only building at that time. These walls came from the hills of the Cohutta Mountains. In the second verse, she was thinking about the young pines-at that time, north of the gym, was the lawn so lovely. She was also thinking about Murray High as really a green spot or watering pool on the desert of love to which we can look to with deep appreciation. I think it would behoove us all to take time out of out busy schedules to go into the library and look at the beautiful portrait of the late Miss Gladden. Many members of the student body know the Alma Mater, but do you? This is our school, and we have a song we can all be proud or and lake great pride in. The teams learn their plays, the band learns its music, so let's learn our Alma Mater! Let's express to the opposing team that we are proud of Murray!
From the cliffs of old Cohutta,
Once against the sky
Came the walls of Alma Mater
So rugged and so high.
Chorus
Forward ever be our watchword
Conquer without fail;
For our hearts shall love thee ever,
Alma Mater, Hail!
Zephers blow among our pine trees,
Our hall, a harvest queen;
Diamonds sparkling on the dew drops,
Make our lawn a sheen.
Murray County High School -
Dear Murray County High School,
Always our hearts shall ne'er careen;
But loyal to our colors ever, Just pure white and green
For this Oasis on life's desert,
We shall breathe a sigh.
To the fountain of the purest,
We'll turn to Murray High.
The County Board of Education passed a resolution in "Miss Lula's" memory at their November 18, 1944 meeting and the MCHS Class of 1945 left $75 from the profits of their Senior Play to commission a painting of the venerable lady. Today her portrait hangs in the school library along with likenesses of L.N. Foster, Mr. Bagley, and Mr. Bradley. Other high school teachers during the 1930's were Louise Chambers, Charlie Pannell, Claude Brown, Sadie Cline, Fied Driver. Sybil Ruth Richardson, Leona McDonald, Myrtle Sloan (librarian), Maude Young, and Wright Loughridge.Mr. Maddox served as assistant principal for a time. In the 1940's, Edna Waldroup (librarian), Ruby Brooks, Jeraldine Bowers, Cordelia Timmons, Bemice Groves, Harriet Hargrove, Milma Ernest, Johnnie Hartley (librarian), Lovadah Maynard, Lucy Cox McWhorter, Sara Frances Daves (librarian). Frances Townsend, H.J. Miller, Jr., Henrietta Green, Helen Pierce Taylor, Marjorie Pritchett, Mary Morrow, Blanche Ware, Virginia Anderson, & Margaret Wilson (music) were members of the faculty, while the 1950's brought John Milburn. Lynn Daniel. Frances Bradley, Flora Hix, PaulMosteller, W.A. Crump, Aurelia Ann McCamy, Marjorie Johnson, Henry P. Woods, Barbara Saxton, Betty Pierce, Mrs. E.H. Campbell. Miss Margaret Jackson (librarian). Patsy Miller, John Jolifee, Margaret Gregory,Mrs. Albert Bruce, C.A. Ross, Howell Brown, Virginia Arthur, Seward Hix, Larry Doak, Bobby Mosteller, Richard Raber, Vann Compton. Anna Jo Dunn, and Rossie Ann Henry to the school. New faces during the 1960's included Lawrence and Margaret Kresse, Clarence Brannon, Mildred Moore. Bain Johnson, Allen Terry, Lake Boyer, Ruth Roberts, James Alford, Calvin Robbins, Bruce Rogers, Charlotte T. Ross, William Taylor, Mrs. Lee Alforii, Keith and Carol Strevel, Robert Wilson. Sara Holt, Jerry Revels, Carolyn Jenkins, Pat Weathers, Virgil Crisp, James Couch, Kenneth Witherow, Marvin Shields, Gerald Coppack, Jean Ponders. Carolyn Widener, Carl Hickman, and Lester Surber. Other teachers during the 1970's were Roy Day. David Forrest, Hoke Isenhower (counselor), Mrs. Julian Peeples, Carol Gobies, Gary Smith, Jerry Davis, Morris McDonald, James Beal, Jeffrey Stewart, Judith Hanke, Rodney Bailey, Mary and Gary Stevenson, Ann Day, Jeff Scott, Ronald Willingham, Phyliis Bagley, Solomon Douhne, Sharon Slinson, Kenneth Bishop, Harold Tankersley, Walter Riley, Barbara Peets, Donna Haley. Louis Wild, Ralph Jennings, Penny Acord, Mike Grantham, Ray Ridley, Rodney Compton. Janet Rahamut, Camilla Springfield, Grace Cavnor, Mike Davis, Jesse Howard, Ruth Howard (librarian), Johnny Tucker, Sharon Bailey, James Campbell, David Meer, Becky Waters, Jim Morton, Ron Hunnings, Cheryl Davenport King, Peggy Quarles, Calvin Buttrarn, George Holland, Michael Ballew, Glenn Minibs, Kevin McHugh, Renee Whitfield, Dean Ratledge, and Tom Black. Among the arrivals in the 1980's are Joy Cox and Alice Adams (librarians), Eleese Shaddix, Doug Mosteller, Johnny Beason, Ran-dall Sales, James Toland, Roseta McCamy, Angie Parrott, Bill Napier, and Roy Sexton, Longtime staff members include secretaries Helyn Bagley, Mary Davis, Pat Hines, Carolyn Boling, Henrietta Coffey; janitor Felton Quarles; and lunchroom workers Miriam Maddox (manager), Annie Jackson, Mrs. Felton Quarles, Eugenia Smith (manager), Estelle Hannah, Frances Phillips, Lucille Owens, Frances Swanson, Mae Davis, Blanche Springfield, Pearl Hensley (manager), and Virginia Harris. A new lunchroom was completed in 1977. The facility has "come a long way" since the lunchroom's first home�a former army barracks. Extra-curricular activities have been an important part of the school since its opening. Among the oldest clubs are FFA, FHA, and Beta (founded by Miss Ogletree about 1937). Science, Library, Y, 4-H, Future Teachers, Future Business Leaders, Drafting, Vocational Industrial Clubs, ROTC, Scholar's Bowl, Vocational Office Training, Quill and Scroll, Journalism, Drama and Thespians, FCA, Student Council, Industrial Arts, Language, Letterman, Art, and Time-Out Clubs are also popular. The first sport at Murray High was basketball, followed by baseball and track. Principal L.N. Foster was the first basketball coach, leading both the boys' and girls' teams. Games were played in the rock auditorium. In 1935 C.W. Bradley became head coach for both squads and remained boys headmaster until 1958, except for 194446 when he coached at Lincoln Memorial University and Troy Richards filled in at Murray County. During Mr. Bradley's tenure many teams won district championships. His successor as boys coach was a former P'ayer, Kenneth Ross, who continued the fine winning tradition. On his way to a 400 win mark, Coach Ross led three teams to the state championships in 1960, 1962, and 1969, Following his retirement as head coach in 1980, Ross continued to serve as athletic director. His successors have been two of his former players- Lamar "Pete" Adams and Gary Jones. Many people have coached in the girls* basketball program. Mr. Bradley was the headmaster on several occasions. More recent girls' coaches have been Charles "Judy" Poag, Tom Clary, Doug Griffin whose 1966 squad was the state champion, Charles "Bubba" Faulkner, Jerry Davis, Margaret Adams, Bob Lawrence who led the 1977-78 team to the state tournament, Gary Mealer. and Roy Sexton. In 1949 a new gymnasium was built and the next year four classrooms as well as dressing rooms were added. Also in 1950 Murray Field was built and football became the major fall sport. Head football coaches have been C.H. "Red" Bonner (1950-53), Paul Kennedy (1954-55), Tom Clary (1956-58), Doug Griffin (1959-68), Charles Faulkner (1969-70), John "Buzzy" McMillan (1971-72), Danny Harkleroad (1973-78), Buddy Windle (1979-80), Bob Joye (1981-82), and Tony Plavich (since 1983). The 1977 football team made history by defeating Dalton High for the first lime ever. The score was 9-0. This feat was repeated by the 1984 edition which advanced to the State Quarter finals to become the school's best ever football team. Hornecornings began in 1956 and since then countless beautiful floats have highlighted the parades on Chatsworth's Third Avenue. Homecoming Queens have included: 1953 Emily Phillips Cogburn; 1956 Rachel Greeson Ridley; 1957 Ila Ann Maddox Elkins; 1958 Becky Harris Whaley; 1959 Carolyn Greeson Mas-sengale; 1960 Johanna Sanford Brown; 1961 Judy Hooker Leonard; 1962 Priscilla Keith McCree; 1963 Carol Dooley Bagley, 1964Peggy Headrick Kenemer; 1965 Deborah Hufstetler Hudson; and 1966 Laura Ridley Strickland. Also, 1967 Lynda Ellis Beard; 1968 Sheila Robinson Thompson; 1969 Carol Etheridge McCamy; 1970 Gwen Childers Bailey; 1971 Deanna Steele Haynie; 1972 Susan Ellis Ridley; 1973 Janice Ozment Feeley; 1974 Tammy Richards Ellis; 1975 Vivian Green Lawson; 1976 Vickie Defoor Peeples; 1977 Vickie Winkler Mealer; 1978 Reba Young Mealer; 1979 Suzanne Green Etheridge; 1980 Tracy Ridley Brindle; 1981 Carol Hooper Ross; 1982 Kirn Ridley, 1983 Barbie Kendrick; and 1984 Tonya Landen. Murray High athletics has been strongly supported by the Touchdown Club and, recently, the Tip-Off Club. The Murray High baseball program has had an uneven history and a variety of coaches. Margaret Adams has led the tennis teams for some time. Danny Harkleroad built the wrestling program, while in recent years girls' soft ball, track, and cross country have become more popular and more successful. Senior plays were a tradition for many years and the Class of 1968's Wizard of Oz was a huge success. Following the demise of the senior production, Murray was "drama-less" until 1975 when the students performed "Lil Abner." Since 1977 Troy Beasley, Linda Lunsford, Larry Sampson, Randy Richards and the Murray High Players have presented many fine musicals for the community. They began with "Bye, Bye Birdie" and have continued with "Oklahoma," "Oliver," "Camelot," "South Pacific," "Guys and Dolls," "The Sound of Music," "Grease," and "Damn Yankees," The band program was re-established in the 1950's. As the years passed, the band, aided by a group of "Band Boosters," improved steadily and has won many awards. Directors have included Frank Carter, Stanley Lewis, James Bonner, James Couch, George Broom, Nita Bowman. Jim Gladson, Scott Moody, and Lewie Humphrey. Murray High students have excelled academically in countless ways and many have gone on to successful careers. Most of Murray County's 25 STAR Teachers have been members of the high school faculty which has awarded diplomas to an untold number of future teachers, lawyers, doctors, judges, college professors, managers, supervisors, nurses, craftsmen, business people, elected officials, executives, and workers in the past 50 years. Murray High is no longer a "stepchild" but a vital part of the community and life in the county.
GROWTH AND DEVELOPMENT
Murray County Junior High
Murray County Junior High opened in the fall of 1969 with seventh-, eighth-, and ninth-grade students from the six county elementary schools forming the first student body. Royce Patterson was the first principal with Helen Porch as assistant. The faculty for 1969-70 included Lamar Adams, Frances Townsend, Richard Carithers, Hazel Langford. Pat DeLoach, Charles Faulkner, Calvin Rob-bins. Hiram D. Coffey, William Crofts, Yvonne Fields Carver, Margaret Adams, Carolyn Anderson, Lucille Pack, Martha B. Morrison, Wiliiam M. Browder. James Goodwin, John Kenemer. Michael Harrington, John McNabb, Harry Sutton, Larry Sampson, Harry Tracy, William Johnson, W.T. Richards, and David Fleming. Elaine Kirby Butler and Edward Campbell were assistant principals in 1971-72 by which time John Cargile was principal. Julian Coffey, who had been assistant since 1972, succeeded Mr. Cargile as principal in 1978, Johnny Payne then became assistant. Guidance counselors have been Martha (Billie) Morrison Haven, Phyllis Dotson, Linda Kennedy (1983-86), and Ruth Greeson. Librarians have included Elizabeth Watson, LucyMcWhorter, Edith Ledford, Hugh Pritchett, and Elaine Bridges. Longtime staff members a( the junior high include Ruby Witherow (since 1969), Kate Kemp, Rilla Richards (lunchroom manager 1969-85), Mrs. Jim Payne, Icy Dill, Lena Wilbanks, and Martha Miles. Howell Brown, Harry Tracy, and Malcolm Cheatham all retired from the faculty. Teachers who have served at the school for 10 years or more include William Johnson, Ed Campbell, Yvonne Garner, Michael Browder, David Fleming, Jerry Ridley, Jim Goodwin, Elaine Bridges, Susan Brooks Fleming, Danny Frazier, Paige Harkleroad, Martha B. Haven, Johnny Payne, Richard Warren, Judy Poss, Gwen Childers Bailey, Monty Boling, Jean Ponders. Bob Campbell, Sandra Davis Ramsey, Bob Campbell, Robert H. Smith, Debbie Ramsey and Jim Miller. Known as the Warriors, the junior high athletic teams have excelled in basketball, football, wrestling, tennis, golf, and, at times, baseball. Among those who have served as coaches are Charles Faulkner, Monty Boling, Debbie Ramsey, Bob Campbell. Danny Frazier, Rodney Hess and Bob Wilson. Chorus director Yvonne Gamer has had many outstanding performances and the junior high FFA chapter has won many awards under sponsors Larry Lough-ridge, George Holland, Del Richards and Jim Folsom. In 1986 the junior high became Murray County Middle School.
GROWTH AND DEVELOPMENT
Adult and Post-Secondary Education
Adult education in Murray County goes back to the early days of this century when teachers like Lula Gladden and Bessie Mae Davis Adams worked with the parents of their school children to remove illiteracy. Various programs tried to help the widespread problem over the years and in 1965 the County Board of Education initiated adult classes "for those having not completed the eighth grade." Mrs. Icy Plemons was elected as the teacher "pending completion of the plans." These efforts continued for a decade when in 1974 Elaine Butler became Adult Education Coordinator for Murray. Gilmer, Pickens, and Fannin Counties. Mrs. Butler increased participation in the G.E.D. programs and in 1977 the Murray School System received a $15,000 grant for adult education. The old Saddle Club building near the high school was renovated to house the unique center for adults. In 1975 Mrs. Butler became part-time coordinator for the Chatsworth Center of Reinhardt College. Since then numerous local residents have obtained associate's degrees in education, business and other areas due to the availability of courses nearer home. Breneau College, a 4-year institution located in Gainesville, has made classes available at the Chatsworth Center since 1979, allowing Murray Countians to pursue bachelor's and even master's degrees. Pam Bishop is Ms. Butler's assistant. The Murray County Training Center was erected by the citizens of the county led by the Association of Retarded Citizens. Georgia Lieutenant Governor Zell Miller spoke at the dedication of the facility on Chestnut Street on October 19, 1975. Juanita Coulter was the first director of the center.
GROWTH AND DEVELOPMENT
County Services - Murray County Library
The Murray County Library was established more than 60 years ago due to the efforts of the Chatsworth Woman's Club. In 1920 the local newspaper mentioned that a "library fund" was "being raised" by the club. "Col. & Mrs. W.C. Martin of Dalton headed the list with a donation of $25." Within a year or two the library opened, staffed by voluntary club members. Townspeople who remember the early days say that most of the ladies kept the library going while they were raising families. They divided up the week and took turns running the facility-"even if it meant lugging a small child to the building on Market Street" (at the corner of First Avenue). The club often struggled to keep the library opened and received no outside help until the 1930's when the Works Progress Administration (WPA) provided funds to pay a librarian. Finally, the library got someone's attention and Mrs. Johnnie Pierce Hartley became the first librarian. Affectionately known as "Miss Johnnie," Mrs. Hartley served the library for about 30 years. She worked for practically no pay for many years just so Murray County could have a library. A resident of Eton, Miss Johnnie was active in the Eastern Star, the Methodist Church, and the Red Cross. She died in 1979 at the age of 91�just months before the new library opened. During Miss Johnnie's tenure the Murray library became a part of the Dalton Regional Library System. Following Miss Johnnie's retirement, Bonnie Gudger and Edna Sampler Dunford served as librarians with members of the Woman's Club filling in at times. In 1977 plans were made for a new library, since the building on Market and First was too small. The Murray County Board of Education provided land on which to build the new 4,000-square-feet structure. (The land was part of a gift made to the Board by V.C. Pickering some 40 years before.) A $160,000 grant through the Appalachian Regional Commission provided most of the funding for the library on Old Ellijay Road across from the Murray County Hospital, A construction contract for the new building was signed in January, 1979 and by December the library had moved in. Harold Bishop, a Summerville contractor, constructed the new facility. Dedication ceremonies and an open house were held on January 20, 1980. Participants in the program included County Commissioner Kirby Patterson, Regional Library Board Treasurer James H. Phillips, County School Superintendent Doug Griffin, Mayor Zeke Hufstetler, and Regional Library Director Eugenia Cavender. Members of the Woman's Club were recognized for all their work and acted as hostesses for the open house. State School Superintendent Charles McDaniel was the guest speaker. Members of the Murray Library Board were Chairman Larry Sampson, Vice-Chairman Marie Kelly, Secretary-Treasurer Robbie Cowart, Caroline Amis, and Frances Heartsell. Theda Sampler has been librarian for several years. Renda Stafford is her assistant.
GROWTH AND DEVELOPMENT
Health And Welfare Services
Murray County has long been concerned about the health and welfare of its citizens. Official records show that the county operated a "poor farm" several times during the 19th century. Anderson Farnsworth was superintendent in 1854. Ellis Daniel was in charge on another occasion. In August. 1882 the Murray County Grand Jury recommended a "poor house" and in 1888 records show that the county was out of debt since the "pauper farm" was in "good condition" and almost "self-sustaining." The locations of these farms varied. One was located on Highway 225 near the later "Huse" Gregory farm and another facility was on the Leonard properly, east of Central on Highway 76. At least two convict or "chain-gang" camps have existed in Murray. One was on Fort Mountain east of the Chatsworth water tanks. This could have been the one sold to the State Highway Department in 1929. About this same time, a new building to house convicts was constructed nearer Chatsworth. Walt Robinson and John Morris were the builders of the facility which included a "sweat box." a narrow cell where an unruly prisoner was confined. Later rock veneer was added to the original frame structure and in 1935 it became the county home for the "aged and infirm," W.A. (Dock) Whitener was the supervisor of the home. Begun through the New Deal's Emergency Relief Administration, the county home operated until 1950 when it was convened to storage space. In 1968 the county began to dispense commodity foods to persons certified as eligible by !he Department of Family and Children's Services. And, the west end of the building was used as an office for the commodity foods program. Then, in August, 1972, one room and a hallway of the building became the office for the Food Stamp program. Later that year Northwest Georgia EGA monies became available for an EGA local county office. Two rooms of the old building were renovated for EOA office space. In 1974, plans were initiated to renovate the east end of the old building to include office space for the County Agent and Home Economics agent, (whose offices were located then in the Federal building on Fort St.); the local highway department office; Area Extension Specialist for the TVA office; and a small conference room for the local planning commission. Approximately $15,000 in Federal Revenue Sharing funds were used to finance the renovation of the east end of the building including an air-conditioning-heating system. The Murray County Department of Family and Children Services also had offices on Green Road. Mr. R.E. Chambers served as chairman of the Board from 1937 until his death in 1982. Others who have served on that Board include W.H. Penland (1970-73), Jack Clayton (1968 to date), F.C. Leonard (1968-72), Herbert Fields (1968-70), Marvin Shields (1972-78), Albert Ledford (1976-86). S.D. Rogers (1968-70), Roland Harbin (1971-76), Milma Earnest (1978 to date), Mary Petty, and Mary N. Kendrick. Mary H. Richardson, long-time department director, retired in 1972. She was succeeded by Barbara Weaver who supervised the move of the department to a new home on Highway 76 near the hospital in 1984. Other staff members in the past 20 years have included Rossie Dunn. Jan Harrison, Judith H. Salvaras, longtime secretary Geraldine Young, Patricia Smith, Vilinda Hayes, Nancy S. Poweli, Cheryl D. Springfield, Dianne M. Dunn, Vonda S. Patterson, Frankye Long, Dianne Hall, Carol St. John, Mike Lewis, and Maurine Elrod. Health Center - For many years Murray County had only a single county health nurse. Margaret Kennedy held the position in 1932. In 1954 Mrs. Joella Rogers became public health nurse and gave 23 years of devoted service in that capacity. The Murray Health Department was partly integrated with that of Whitfield County for some time and shared the services of a medical doctor as Commissioner of Health and a Sanitarian. In 1974, after a quarter of a century in the basement of the hospital, the Department moved to its fine, modem facility on Old Ellijay Road. The variety of services grew from mostly immunizations to family planning, pre- and post-natal care, WIC Food program, and dental services. Celia Kinney retired in 1985 after almost 31 years as secretary. Other employees include June Griffin, Jean Cole, Billie England, and sanitary engineer Robert M. (Mike)Kelley. The Murray County Memorial Hospital � Murray County's hospital is very appropriately named for it was begun, supported, and maintained by local residents with relatively little outside help during its almost 40-year existence. Also, the hospital has benefitted greatly from bequests by several outstanding Murray citizens, so it is a memorial to the generosity and concern of Murray Countians for their fellow residents. The Chatsworth Times of October 11, 1945 carried the announcement "Hospital Planned for Chatsworth - Lions Club Begins Project to Build Hospital for County." The next year, noted Murray politician, builder, philanthropist, and Lions Club member V.C. Pickering left $100,000 to found and build a hospital. W.A. Tatum gave land on Walnut Street and Fourth Avenue on which to build the facility The hospital was formally dedicated in February 1950 At the time G.I. Maddox was chairman of the hospital board and Mrs O.L Hammond. a registered nurse from Dalton, was the superintendent The $250,000 structure was completed at an estimated cost of $175,000 since Murray Countians contracted it themselves. About the time the hospital was completed, an $80,000 gift came from the estate of J. Frank Hall who had died in 1948. This was not the only legacy from Mr. Hall. P.H. Bond, an administrator of the Hall estate, added the following account: Among the things the peculiar Mr. Hall saved as mementos were two red handmade bricks. They were molded in 1840 by his Grandfather Harris, While they were drying in the sun, a sow and her little pigs walked across them, leaving footprints in the bricks. Mr. Hall had treasured them all his life. Mr. Bond insisted That the bricks be used in the hospital, and they were. The 109-year-old pigs' prints may be seen still. "He was the savingest man 1 ever knew," said Mr. Bond in summing up J. Frank Hall's character. "The slogan that fits him best, and the one I'm going to put on a plaque in the hospital is 'He saved for others.' " According to a 1956 publication of the Chatsworth Enterprises Club: "This hospital is located in Chatsworth and is rendering a valuable service to its citizens and to the health of this area. It is thoroughly equipped with specialized equipment for the protection of the health of its citizens and the treatment of diseases. Five medical Doctors, a Public Health Nurse and nursing and technicians are on the staff of this modern institution. A new addition was started in 1954 and completed during the early par! of 1955 which increased the number of beds from 25 to 37. The institution is well equipped with modern X-ray machines, operating and delivery rooms and all modern surgical supplies and equipment are available in this modem hospital." By 1964 the hospital staff had increased from 13 to 36 employees, one of whom was the very dedicated Jackie Baggett. labeled "Mr. Everything" by the staff. At the time Odell Ingle, I.M, Peeples, Fred Long, C.H. Greeson, and Clarence Ridley composed the hospital board. Although the hospital saw some lean years it survived under administrators Joella Rogers (1951-53), Stanton Jones (1953-55), Raymond Cox (1955-67), Jerry L. McDowell (1967-70), Elmer Clarke (resigned 1975), and Steven Hammock (1975-76). As the 1970's began, it was evident that a new facility was needed. Physicians were difficult to attract, space was lacking, and modern equipment was needed. On May 18. 1971 the voters of Murray County approved a $1 million bond issue to finance the construction of a new hospital. Another $379,000 came from a Federal Appalachian Grant. On May 20, 1972 groundbreaking ceremonies were held with U.S. Senator Herman Talmadge as the speaker. Hospital authority members were Chairman Tom Turner, Tucker Brown, Jeff Mullinax, and Sherman Leonard. Work began on the new building in the fall of 1972 and continued through 1973. By 1974 work was 80% complete. John Martin Co. of Chattanooga was the builder and Bobby Toles was the architect. Additional donations were sought to fully equip the new structure and Open House was held July 6, 1975. The 42-bed hospital on the Old Ellijay Road then employed 55 full-time and 16 part-time workers. Dr. Otis Walker was then chief of the medical staff which also included Drs. Harry Johnston, Fernando Ramos, and O'Neal Sutler. Marvin Shields chaired the hospital authority of which Tucker Brown, Sherman Leonard, and Shirley Russell were members. A few days later Mrs. Renie Tatum, widow of the original land doner and frequent benefactor of the hospital, became the first patient in the new facility. Also in July, the Hospital Auxiliary was re-activated. The next year David Butler became hospital administrator. During his tenure and now under his successor, Jim Hazel, the hospital continued to develop into a fine medical institution. In recent years a "Let's Save Our Hospital" campaign has given new life to the hospital. Several doctors have been added to the medical staff and many others have courtesy privileges. Among longtime hospital employees have been Edna Ridley, Lillian Bryson, Martha Ramsey, Flora Bowen, Director of Nursing Naomi Fehrle. Another important donor to the hospital was Pauline Keith Young in whose memory the Special Care Unit was named in 1984. The old hospital building was sold at auction in 1975 and has since been vacant. For a time, rumors persisted that it would be converted into a nursing home, but this was not to be. However in 1979 plans were announced that such a facility would be built near the new hospital off Hospital Drive. John J. Harte Associates of Atlanta were the architects-engineers for the $1,400,000 complex. First Etowah Corporation of Rome did the construction. Chatsworth Health Care Center opened in December, 1980. Webb Henderson was the first resident. Leaders of the staff were Pat Haynes, director of nurses; Pam Quinn, social worker; Beth Mallett, activities director, and Scott Shull, administrator. Also located in Murray County's growing medical complex are Dr. Charles Clark's dentistry, the Doctor's Building (1976) owned by Dr. O'Neal Suiter, and a Professional Office Building, constructed in 1985 on land donated by Dr. Sutler. Lee Gravitt, chairman of the Hospital Auxiliary, presided over the February ribbon-cutting ceremony which saw State Representative Tom Ramsey deliver the main address. Various Murray County businesses donated funds and materials to the project. The hospital has served as the base for the Murray County Ambulance Service since the Service's inception in 1975. An ever-improving group of emergency medical technicians staff the Service which has received much recognition over the years. Other County Services - Murray County also boasts a fine Rescue Squad or Civil Defense Unit. Headquartered on South Second Avenue in Chatsworth, the Rescue Squad was directed by Bill Elrod until 1981 when former assistant Oran Hogan succeeded him. James Tankersley has also been involved with the Unit for some time. Many residents and visitors have benefitted greatly from the services provided by these volunteers. For fire protection, Murray Residents rely on the Chatsworth Fire Department within the city limits, the U.S. Forestry Service in some areas, and the Murray County Fire Service. The latter is an independently owned business led by Terry Grant. While the main station in located on Cohutta Street in Chatsworth, the county-wide service has expanded to include stations in Eton and south of Spring Place near Springdale Estates. In 1974 the North Georgia Community Action Agency was incorporated to "plan, operate, coordinate and evaluate community service programs for the economically disadvantaged and other eligible persons." Murray is one of six member counties along with Cherokee, Fannin, Gilmer, Pickens, and Whitfield. One of the results of this organization was the beginning of the Aging-Nutrition Center which provides lunch, recreation, and a variety of social services for participants who are over 60 years of age. The first home of the "Nutrition Center" was the Jaycee building on Old Ellijay Road, but in 1980 the group got their own facility. Since the county library got a new home that year, the Chatsworth Woman's Club leased the former library building on Market Street to the county for SI to provide a permanent home for the senior citizens center. Edna Sneads was the first director of the Center which is now headed by Mary Noland. The center has also provided a "Meals on Wheels," program since 1977. This service delivers a nutritious meal to homebound senior citizens five days a week. These services have greatly benefitted many elderly Murray Countians. Another service is the Home Health Care program which provides for nurses to visit homes to check various patients. This and other programs are funded partially by Murray's ever increasing United Way campaign. The City of Chatsworth and Murray County cooperate on many projects such as the library and the hospital. Another area which has received considerable support from both governments as well as from the private sector is recreation. The well-groomed Chatsworth-Murray County Recreation Center contains the E.D. Bridges Swimming Pool, picnic areas, tennis courts, playing fields, and basketball goals which are enjoyed by countless Murray Countians each year. The impressive recreational schedules at this modern facility show that many changes have come to the area since people like C.W. Bradley, Walter Swanson, and others formed organizations like the "Murray County Baseball League" in 1950. Today a jointly appointed Chatsworth-Murray County Recreation Commission supervises the Center, located near the high school on the old school farm. Bill Ross, Curtis Burt, Edward Nichols, Oran Hogan, John Kenemer, Dan Townsend, and Ray Ridley currently serve on the Commission.
GROWTH AND DEVELOPMENT
Industry & Transportation - Industry
Murray County has changed tremendously since the end of World War II. Several factors such as population shifts, a different labor force, increased technology, and a decline in agriculture contributed to the change, but the coming of the textile industry was the principal cause of growth in the county. The first Chatsworth-Murray County Chamber of Commerce billed the area as the "Home of the Nation's Talc Industry" in the late 1940's. This group's promotional brochure called Murray "a good place to work, to play, and to live." However this Chamber seemed to "under sell" Murray saying in their brochure that "there are several chenille plants, a factory manufacturing wood boxes, a large lumber industry, a metal working plant, two mattress factories, two freezer locker plants, several small wood working plants, and last but not least three talc processing plants." However they added that the labor supply "for small plants" was available and said: "Murray County" is served by the Georgia Power Company, TVA, L&N Railroad and Mason & Dixon Truck Lines and is located within 25 hours by air, rail or motor freight of 51 percent of the people in the nation. Also the seaports of Savannah and Brunswick . . . are not too far away." This Chamber of Commerce was "dragging its feet" according to the late R.E. Chambers, so in 1955 a new group called "Chatsworth Enterprises" was formed. Bi-weekly meetings and the leadership of bank president Chambers kept this group busy and active. They were more aggressive than the earlier organization and headlined their promotional flyer "We Want a New Factory." The "Enterprisers" got the backing of the city government to actively seek businesses to locate in Murray which was no longer just a "good place," but an "ideal place to work, play, and live." In an impressive 1980's-style report the Enterprise Club gave detailed information about climate, water and sewage treatment facilities, labor supply. government, availability of utilities, existing manufacturing establishments*, and even included diagrams of available building sites. Chats-worth Enterprises' was extremely active into the 1960's, but disbanded in the early 1970's. In 1966 a special amendment to the Georgia constitution created a seven-member Industrial Development Authority whose purpose was to promote and expand industry, agriculture, and trade; to make long-range plans for such development and (expansion; and to authorize the use of county funds for such purposes. Early Authority members were R.E. Chambers, Billy Brindle, John C. Webb, James Lou-ighridge, H. Barren Brooks, J.W. Yarborough and Sam Calhoun, Jr. The Development Authority now consists of Johnny West. Robert Anderson, Richard Barnes, Neil Ingle, Tucker Brown, Ron Moreland, and Barren Brooks. About the same time, Chatsworth Industries, Inc., a group formed in 1957 to encourage real estate development, became more active. W.W. Fincher was president of the corporation and R.E. Chambers served as secretary-treasurer. Over the years m^ore than 30 Murray County businesspeople invested in the projects financed by Chatsworth Industries. Directors at various times were S.D. Rogers, Edwin Wilbanks, Sarn Calhoun, Mildred Brown, Jack Greeson and Frederick A. Brovwn. This group financed the construction of several textile-related plants including a new Ten-Tex, a firm that manufactured tufting machinery and parts, Fort Mountain Spinners, and others. In November, 1965 four stockholders in Chatsworth Industries�Barron Brooks, Tucker Brown, W.C. Bradley, and R.E. Chambers-purchased the old J.A. Howard farm on the outskirts of town. By 1968 Murray Industrial Park was part of the City of Chatsworth and the home of Fort Mountain Tufters, Southeastern Carpets, and Trinity Carpets as well. Chatsworth Industries continued to provide funds for new ventures until 1980. The next year, on June 10, stockholders received this letter from Secretary-Treasurer R.E. Chambers: Dear Stockholders: We are concluding liquidation of Chatsworth Industries, Inc. You can take just pride in the progress you have assisted in by your Investment in the Chatsworth Industries, Inc., as the Corporation has been successful in locating a number of new industries in Chatsworth and Murray County when we only had the talc and lumber mills at that time. Our population has more than doubled and that has been the incentive for other lines of business such as super markets and other merchandise and service establishments to locate here, increasing our tax digest and furnishing employment to many people. While we didn't expect to make any profit on our investment, I am pleased to enclose a check for more than double the amount of your original investment. I join you in celebrating a job 'Veil done," and trust that Chatsworth and Murray County will continue to be the "Garden Spot" of our state and the New South and fulfill our slogan of: "A GOOD PLACE TO LIVE, WORK AND PLAY." Sincerely Yours, R.E. Chambers While Chatsworth Industries gave the textile industry a much needed boost, "spreadhouses" and "rug plants" on a smaller scale had been around for several years. In the early 1940'a Frank and Fannie McCarty founded McCarty Chenille in Chatsworth. The company became a leading carpet manufacturer and moved to Dalton in 1949. The following year, Barwick Mills bought the company. Crown Chenille came to Murray County in 1941 and remained the largest and most successful spread business for over 40 years. Boyles Custom Rug was established in 1951, Since then countless carpet businesses have existed in Murray County. Many are small family operations�maybe even a single machine in an old chicken house�while others are large corporations. There is no way to list all of the textile enterprises, but a few do bear mention. On the occasion of their 10th anniversary Galaxy Carpets founders Irv Pomerantz, Irv Harvey, Charles Bramlett, and Murray County's own Bobby Hosteller wrote the following about the funding of their ultra successful company. "Galaxy . . . was founded by the four of us who had a dream about owning our own company (we flipped a coin and Harvey lost, so he became President) . . . Galaxy was incorporated ... on April 11, 1968, and we introduced our first line at the June Market that year in Chicago. ... the entire story [of Galaxy) is kept in a series of scrapbooks . , . there is a great deal ... to relate . . . Like our first Board meeting at Wilson's General Store in Tennga, Georgia, with the four of us sitting on orange crates eating bologna and cheese sandwiches, LIKE the 67 rolls of carpet we sold at the first Market (half of which we believe were later cancelled and almost caused us to slit our throats). LIKE buying out one of our original partners before we might have thrown him out of the 13th floor window of the Merchandise Mart, because he wanted us to sell his retail stores at cost. LIKE the completion of our original 32,00 square foot plant in January of 1969. LIKE being a breath away from going broke later that year until Pornerantz and Harvey got off their fannies and went out and sold some rolls. LIKE going public in 1972-a thrill that comes once in a lifetime. LIKE the confidence that Mr. Frank Cole of Walter E. Heller had in us to loan !-! us the funds with which to grow in the early years. LIKE the confidence that four other individuals (three of them brothers and one a big left-handed hitter from the East) had in our new little company shortly after it began-to invest a substantial ,� amount of money in its future. LIKE all the great carpets that got us to where we are: Spaceway, Lightening, Caravel, Tranquility, Serenity, Skyway, Waikiki, Crescendo, Wildcat, Innovation, Wind Song, Vista, and even Polly and Esther which were two of our very first carpets, named that way because no one would tell us Polyester yarn, and so many others. LIKE Bobby and Charlie staying up all Saturday night before the Sunday opening that June of 1968 to complete our samples-how many times that has happened since!! LIKE all the expansions over the years (we should have opened our own construction company at the very beginning). LIKE all the thrills of large orders, and the traumas and heartaches they often caused also. LIKE the opening of new warehouses and showrooms which now blanket these entire United States. LIKE selling our first order overseas. LIKE receiving our first order overseas back! LIKE opening our own dye house, and then our own heat set plant, and then acquiring our own spinning mill. LIKE all the wonderful laughs we had together, from the very first day till now, during good times and bad. The bad never seemed to interfere with our senses of humor (and thank God for that, since surely it was all that kept us going at times). And last, but most important, LIKE all the wonderful people who have conlri-buted so greatly to the success of this company, many of whom are still with us, and some of whom have left us for one reason or another (and especially the five besides ourselves who have been with us since year one). To all of them and all of you belongs the real success of Galaxy, and we are forever grateful. -Galaxy Universe, 1978 Galaxy has not only benefitted Murray County by providing hundreds of jobs, but also with its generosity in civic and community projects. Diamond Carpet Mills, begun in 1970 by Ed Weaver, was the second largest privately owned carpet mill in the country by 1983. At that time the business included "four plants totaling 1,000,000 square feet spread over some 300 acres from Calhoun to Eton to Chatsworth." Other noteworthy carpet enterprises of the past and present include Majestic, Candlewick (1968), Dixie (1968), Caradon (1972), Cascade (1970), Chatsworth (1966), D&W (1969), Executive (1970), Fort Mountain Spinners (1965), Highland (1969), Howard (1971), Kerobi (1969), Kendrick (1972), Mica (1971), Playfield (1971), Prestigue (1973), Yarnset (1972), Better Backers, Cumberland (1973), and Trinity (1967). Other Industries in addition to mining, agriculture, services, lumber, and textiles, Murray County boasts other industries. In 1981 oil companies such as Freeport sought oil leases here and in 1985-86 the county was considered as a possible location for a proposed pumped storage hydroelectric facility. Earlier, in 1978, officials announced that Eton had been selected as the site for the $6.5 million facility of Emerson Electric's Browning Manufacturing Division. Since its opening the Plant has produced a wide range of power transfer equipment to world markets. Browning is one of several more recent additions to the diversification of Murray's industry. The present-day Chatsworth-Murray County Chamber of Commerce has worked successfully to bring and keep businesses to the area as well as to improve education of the population through Drop-Out Prevention and Business "Adopt-a-School" programs. The Chamber along with the Northwest Georgia Travel Association has also boosted the tourist industry in Murray County. However, the Vann House Historic Site and the annual Appalachian Wagon Train have been drawing visitors to this area for many years. Begun and led by C.W. Bradley the Wagon Train is sponsored by the Murray County Saddle Club. The first event, in July 1960, and several successive ones included an actual wagon "train" across the mountain to Ellijay. Later the route was changed and in 1975 the site was moved to the new Saddle Club grounds east of Chatsworth, Frontier Week. Pilot Club ice cream sales, street dances, and visits from celebrities and famous Georgians like Kitty Wells, Junior Samples, George T. Smith, Zell Miller, Ed Jenkins, Sarn Caldwell, Tommy Irvin. Hal Suit, and Lester Maddox became part of Murray County's heritage.
GROWTH AND DEVELOPMENT
Transportation
In the past, Murray was served by the L&N, bus routes, and horse and wagon. Tennga once had the Rosstex air strip and the Dalton Municipal Airport is as close to Murray soil as it is to the city limits of Dalton, but the highways are the county's main means of transportation. U.S. 411 and Georgia 225 run the length of the county while U.S. 76 and Georgia 52 cross it from river to mountain, U.S. 411 was once known as one of the state's most dangerous highways. In 1976 Governor George Busbee and Department of Transportation Commissioner Tom Moreland (a Murray native) participated in the formal opening of a "new, smoother, straighter, and safer" 411. Five years later a virtually new five-lane U.S. 76 was completed, effectively joining Interstate 75 and 411 via Dalton, Gladden Springs, Central, and Chatsworth. This certainly eased the traffic problem for the many Murray residents who are employed in Whitfield. A portion of this highway has been named the Gordon Maddox Parkway in honor of G.I. Maddox, a longtime Murray High vocational agriculture instructor (who taught road commissioner Moreland).
GROWTH AND DEVELOPMENT
The People, Housing, and Statistics
Murray County's population at the turn of this century was 8,623. By 1910 it had risen to 9,763. Then began a small decline to 9,490 in 1920 and 9,215 by 1930. During that decade the number of residents increased to 11,137 in 1940. Following World War II the population again declined. It was 10,676 in 1950 and just slightly lower (10,447) in 1960. According to the 1970 census there were 12,986 Murray Countians. Eight years later statisticians estimated that the population would be 18,814 by 1980. Instead it was 19.685. The county population was estimated at 23,000 in 1984. The Murray County economy has gained steadily since the early 1970's. At the time of the 1970 census Murray had over 5,000 housing units. Costs were lower than the national average due to the general year-around building season, productive labor, and moderate land costs. Many people invested in developments and several important subdivisions have arisen. Among them are: Woods Estates (1973-4). Riverview (1970's), Fort Mountain Estates (1974), Murray Springs (1975), Whispering Pines (1965), Fox Fields (1969), Spring-dale (1970), Chatheton Terrace (1955), Lakeview Estates (1946), Barksdale Estates (1967), and Mountain Acres (1972-3). In 1979 Chatsworth was included in a national magazine. Albert Edwards of The Chatsworth Times wrote the following about the November 26 U.S. News and World Report story: "Already Overcrowded" is (he title of the section devoted to Chatsworth in the national news magazine. Appearing under a feature article entitled, "What Lures Americans Back to the Land," the piece opens with the following statement: "For years, this remote hill town tucked into the mountains of northwest Georgia was known for only one thing-its annual wagon train." The article goes on to note the rapid growth of an area where the writer says the population is expected to total about 30,000 by 1985. The story also states that this area has attracted about 1,000 newcomers annually. It attributes this growth to a diversification of industry, and a desire of some people to try the enjoyments of small-town life. Murray County Commissioner Kirby Patterson was interviewed for the article and the commissioner also called attention to the area's rapid growth. "We're a rural county," Patterson was quoted as saying. "I'd love to stay that way, but it looks like we won't get to." Perhaps [he best part of the article had to do with the progress being made here. The writer concludes the paragraph on this by noting, "But crews of workmen are building all over town, and the rural aura is wearing thinner as more people, businesses and vehicles appear." Less than a year later, on July 31, 1980. The Times printed the following: "Voter Number Listed By District" A total of 7,223 Murray County residents are eligible to vote in next Tuesday's Democratic and Republican Primaries. The breakdown-by voting precincts-is as follows: Bull Pen (1201)-306; Carters-Doolittle (872)-514; Cisco (1011)-211; Eighth (984)-246; and McDonald (1013)-910. Shuck Pen (1039)-386; Spring Place (1895)-1090; and Tennga (I713)-164; Tenth (874)-319;Town A-K (824)-l,566 and Town L-Z (824)-l,511.; Today two governmental groups oversee the development of Murray County. Chatsworth-Murray County Joint Planning Commission: This joint City-County agency is responsible for the development of Murray County and its municipalities. This responsibility includes the preparation of comprehensive development plans for land use, roads, community facilities and plans for zoning and land use regulations to implement planning proposals. The City of Chatsworth adopted a zoning ordinance in 1967. Murray County adopted subdivision regulations in 1967. North Georgia Area Planning and Development Commission: This is a 6-county regional body created by its member units of government to formulate goals, strategies, and techniques for area development; to coordinate public and private efforts toward shared objectives; to guide growth of cities and counties; and to enhance the quality of life for the citizens of the North Georgia Area. The NGAPDC provides staff assistance and technical aid to Murray County and its municipalities including the Chatsworth-Murray County Joint Planning Commission and acts as a clearinghouse for Federal aid programs. Murray's future looks as rich and as varied as its heritage!
GROWTH AND DEVELOPMENT
Special Features
The following is by Nina J. Hill and was published in The Daily Citizen News on March 31,1976. Former Slave and Wife Have Scores of Descendants "My Life and Travels" is the title of a small book written by Levi Branham, a former slave who enjoyed talking about his life in Murray County and his travels in Georgia. The book was printed and published by A.J. Showalter Co., Dalton,in 1929. The following excerpt from the book introduces a large number of descendants of this man who still live in the area: "I was born in 1852 in Murray County, Georgia, and lived there until 1863. Then I refugeed from here (Murray County) to South Georgia, Terrell County, of which Dawson was the county seat. "My first owner that I am able to remember was Dr. Black who later sold me to Mr. Jim Edmondson. Dr. Black not only sold me but he sold all of his Negroes to Mr. Edmondson, declaring that he (Mr. Edmondson) would not separate the Negroes. White Playmate "A white boy, Sam Carter, brother to Sooth Carter, was my first white playmate that I am able to remember. We would tie pine tops together to make a seine to catch fish. The place where we fished in our childhood days is now under cultivation. During Sam's and my play together he claimed that I gave the whooping cough to him. This was during the Civil War and Sam was living in Spring Place. "In 1873 1 left the South and came back to Murray County to see my old playmate. When I arrived at his home he was sick with the measles which he said he was going to give to me because I had given him the whooping cough. Sure enough I took the measles. "I spent a large part of my life with my old master in the Chief Vann House. One of my young masters was John Edmondson. I was Tom Polk's waitman until he went to the Civil War between the North and South. All the waitmen stayed in the Edmondson's house, now known as the Chief Vann House. "My old mistress, 'Miss Becky' was very good to us. She took more pains with us darkies than our parents did, simply because she had more to care for us with, and, too, she loved us. I thought as much of 'Miss Becky' as I did my mother. "When all the white boys and girls would be away 'Miss Becky' would gather the Negro children around the fire and talk with us. One day J said to her 'Why do we little Negro children have to work for you?' "She said, That's the way our fore-parents fixed the matter.' "I said to her, "When I get grown I am going to change the situation somewhat.' "I had some very bad times when I was small and some very good times, too. Mr. Edmondson, my master, owned two farms, one in Tennessee and another in Georgia. My mother was in Tennessee on his farm while 1 was in Georgia with my old mistress whom I loved as well as my mother, for she was very dear to me." 13 Chapters The history in "Life and Travels" is told in 13 chapters. There are many facts of interest, some sad and others happy and joyful. In chapter 13 Levi tells of the three wars he had seen and stated that he thought the Civil War was the worst. Levi was a Christian and he often stated that he loved everybody, both white and black. He closed his book with several familiar quotations of Scripture which he liked. Among them was Ecclesiastes 1st Chapter 91st verse. His own thought ended the writing: "God has always intended to do whatever He does. We choose and can act freely and are held accountable for all our actions. Amen." Levi Branham never talked too much about his father, Lewis Branham, but he often told of the stories told by his mother, Allie. She told of how she saw the slaves being loaded on ships in Africa and brought to America. He had several sisters and brothers: Rosa, Alice, Susan, Amanda, Richard, Abe. Perhaps they stayed on the farm in Tennessee of which she spoke. Married Half-Indian On December 15, 1880, Levi Branham was married to Amanda McDade, a half-Indian, whose mother was a full blooded Indian from the hills of Kentucky. Her mother was Judy McDade. "I feel that I was blessed because I had the privilege of living with my grandparents in a home on a large farm for about 30 years. They were hard working people and instilled within their children and grandchildren a love for hard and honest labor, a love for people, and a love for God," is the statement of the author of this article. Nine Children Children of Mr. and Mrs. Levi Branham, better known to the older generation as "Uncle Boisey" and "Aunt Mandy," are: Lewis (Tump) born 1882; Houston (Huse) born 1884; Carrie bom 1886. died in childhood; Eula (Pat) 1888-1938; Joe born 1890 (deceased);Essie born 1892; Matthew (Dock) bom 1898-1957; Katie (Sister) born 1900 (died in early childhood); Luke Elijar born 1902 (died in infancy). Other Descendants Lewis Branham married Florence Beck and their children are: Essie Mae, who married Rev. White;Thelrna, who married John Famber (daughter Carolyn Gay); Eugene who died in infancy; Colquit Branham, an employee at Sterchi Brothers Furniture; Fannie L., a nurse at the Government Hospital in Tuskeegee, Ala., married Frank Thompson and has a son. Kenneth. Her second husband is Ted Buiney, a Tuskeegee car salesman; Marie, married to a retired army officer James Brown, is a graduate of Fort Valley State College and teaches in North Carolina. Houston Branham, a farmer, married Effie Beck. They have one daughter, Aleen (Mrs. tester) Bonds who is a graduate of Fort Valley State College and a retired teacher, resides in Chatsworth taking care of her blind invalid father, Houston Branham at his home. Eula Branham married Edgar Moore, a farmer. Mrs. Moore graduated from Tuskeegee Normal and Training Institute, and taught school in Murray County for a number of years. Mr. and Mrs. Moore were parents of Carrie. Esthernette, Nina J., and Howard Moore (deceased), died in infancy. Carrie's Family Carrie Moore attended Murray County schools and graduated from Dalton Public schools. She taught school in Murray County. She was married to Ernest Ramsey. and their children are Kate Lynn, Ernest Jr., and Roberta, Kate Lynn Ramsey married George L. Benton and their child is Ernestine Benton, graduate of Clarke College and a teacher in Murray County. (Ernestine Benton married Donald Sumlin, a graduate of Clark College with a BS degree in chemistry.) Ernestine and Sgt. John Davis of USA Army had a son Anthony Benton Davis prior to this marriage. Kate Lynn's second husband was Willie Kemp and their children are Samuel, Daniel, James, and Karen, students of Murray County High School. Ernest Ramsey Jr. married Annie R. McDade and their sons are Ernest III, and Kenneth, students at Dalton High School. Roberta Ramsey, college graduate and teacher, married Jimmy McCluer, General Electric Co., Cincinnati, 0., and their children are Jacqueline, Judy, and Alan. Esthernette Esthernette Moore graduated from Dalton High School and attended Spell-man College and Savannah State. She is a teacher and married to C.T. Gay, farmer, also of Gay Lint Co., and Real Estate business. Their daughter is Mary Lynn who is married to William J. Breeding. Mrs. Breeding is a graduate of Clark College, and holds both a master's degree and six year's certificate from the University of Georgia and is teacher in Greensboro, Ga. Mr. Breeding holds a master's degree from Atlanta University and is a past president of Georgia Education Association 1972-73. Their daughter, Katrina is a graduate of Clark College and received a scholarship to study at Oxford in England. After traveling in Europe, she is currently a law student at Howard University, Washington, D.C. Their son, William, is a senior in Greensboro High School with a football scholarship to the University of Georgia for 1976-77. Nina Moore married the Rev. J.E. Hill. After graduating from Fort Valley State College, she studied at Atlanta University and Peabody College. She retired last year after having taught in Murray, Catoosa and Wilcox Counties and Dalton Public Schools. Before his death, Rev. Hill was pastor at St. Timothy A.M.E. Church, Valdosta, and principal at Rochelle High School. Joe Branham married Onnie Beck and their children are: Lucille.Eula, Aman-da, Ruby, and Murray (deceased). Lucille Branham married Mr. Murphy and their daughter Edna Joe graduated from Clark College and did further study at Howard College, Washington, D.C., before her death. Eula Branham graduated from Emory High, Paine College, and holds a master's degree from Atlanta University and six years in library science from Georgia State University. She is employed by the Atlanta Public School system. Amanda Branham married William Calhoun and their children are Mary (Mrs. Henry L. Sims). William, and Elaine (Mrs. Herman) Wynn. Capt. and Mrs. Henry L. Sirns returned to Dalton after a tour of overseas duty and Mrs. Sims attended Dalton Junior College and was recipient of a scholarship to Georgia State College. William is married to Susie Hill, Day Care Center instructor and they have two children. Stacy and Gary. Elaine (Mrs. Herman) Wynn is in nurse training at Dalton Junior College. She and Mr. Wynn have two daughters, Letitia and Everette Wynn. Ruby married Mack Goodlette after graduating from Emory High School and studying at Albany State college. They have one son, Murray G. Goodlette, graduate of Ernory Street High School and Clark College and listed in Outstanding College Athletes of America. Murray married the former Deborah Small, a graduate of Morris Brown College with a master's degree, and is a teacher with Atlanta public schools. They have a daughter, Camilla. Maynard Faintly Essie Branham is married to Jim Maynard, farmer. She taught for a number of years in Murray County. Their children are; Levi (deceased), James and Houston, Nina J., and Esther Kate. Levi Maynard, eldest son of Essie and Jim Maynard, married Marguerite Bond. Their children are Charles, Levi Jr., and Peggy Maynard. Levi's first wife was Fleta Bannister. They have a daughter, Lesia. His second wife, Mary Moore and Levi have a daughter. Lassie. Peggy Maynard and a Mr. Williams have a son, Patrick Williams. Houston Maynard served in World War II and married Inez Bonds. Their children are Jerry (deceased); Sherlie. Inez and Juanita. Shirley and Ervin Jackson have a daughter. K. Rochelle Jackson, Esther K. Maynard graduated from Emory Street High School, attended Morris Brown College, married a Mr. Bowie, got a degree from Atlanta University. They have a daughter, Brenda Bowie. She also attended Emory Street School and Clark College and is presently employed as a secretary to an Atlanta firm. Esther K. Maynard later married Ralph Alford (now deceased). They had two daughters, Carol and Judy Alford. Carol is a graduate of Dalton High School and attends Dalton Junior College. She is married to Charles Powers, a student and outstanding athlete. He was transferred to Georgia State College where he participates in sports. They live in Marietta and have two children, Melissa and Charles Powers Jr. Judy Alford resides in Dalton with her mother and grandmother, Essie Branham Maynard who is a partial invalid. Nina J. Maynard graduated from Emory Street High School and tookGrady nurse's training. She married Freddie Richardson and their daughter, Barbara, is a graduate of Spellman College, teacher in Dalton Public School System, and is married to Kenneth Willis. After U.S. Army service. Mr. Willis accepted a position with the Dalton Police Department. Mr. and Mrs. Willis have two children: Kimberly and Kenneth Jr. James Maynard, who is separated from his wife and has no children, lives with his mother Essie Maynard on Fredrick St. He and his brother, Houston, were among the first blacks to volunteer for military duty in World War 11, but he was turned down for physical reasons. Matthew Branham, farmer, married Louise Ramsey. Their children are Matthew Jr. (Jack) and Bertha Mae. Jack Branham married Ora V. Phillips. They have two sons, Matthew 111 and Martin Branham. a student at Dalton High School. Matthew III and Patricia Grissom have a son, Carey Branham. Bertha Mae Branham married D.L. Taylor. They have two daughters, Jane and Tennie Taylor. Jane married James Calvin Macon and their children are Loretta. Eric and Tony Macon. Tennie Taylor married William Dwight. a victim of the Vietnam War. Their children are Patricia and David A. Dwight. Both Jane and Tennie are graduates of Dalton High School and are now employed in Dalton industry. John William Greene, M.D. I do not believe the history of Murray County would be complete without some mention of the contributions of John William Greene. M.D. Dr. Greene was born in Tilton, Whitfield County, Georgia, on September 20,18S4, the son of Dr. Henry Haines and Elniina (Jackson) Greene. His early life was spent there and in Murphees Crossroad, Blount County, Alabama, where his father relocated the family during his service in the War Between the States. In 1876, in Chattanooga, Tennessee, John Greene married Ellen Luanda Treadwell, the daughter of Senator Smith Treadwell. Senator Treadwell, whose life is amply recorded elsewhere, was a prominent figure in the history of the northwest Georgia region. Dr. and Mrs. Greene set up housekeeping in a home near Mill Creek, on 65 acres of land given to them by her father. Shortly afterwards. Dr. H.H. Greene moved to Atlanta, and his son John took over the manufacturing business in Tilton. In 1881, John Greene decided on anew career and also moved to Atlanta to attend the Medical College there. When he graduated, he joined the Dr. H.H. Greene and Sons in their practice of medicine in Atlanta. For many years after, Dr. Greene and his wife and children, Thomas Elijah, Mary Ellen, Ethel Lucinda, Leila Treadwell and Elizabeth Mobley, spent their winters at their home on Washington Street in Atlanta and their summers in Murray County. All along. Dr. Greene continued to acquire land in Murray County and to take part in the political development of the area. In 1893, he built a home on a hilltop, near what was to become the town of Chatsworth. Because of its beautiful location and view of Fort Mountain, Dr. and Mrs. Greene called their home "Mountain View." The family would trave! by train to Dalton Shortly after the turn of the century, the Louisville and Nashville Railroad decided to extend its line from Cartersville to Knoxville, Tenn. One of the stations on this line was to be built at the foot of Fort Mountain, and several prominent citizens, including Dr. Greene, determined to locate a town at the site of the proposed rail station. Land was surveyed and lots were sold. A bank was needed so Dr. Greene and the Cohutta Banking Company constructed a two-story building on Market Street, one of the first brick buildings in Chatsworth. The bank and a drugstore occupied the first floor, and Dr. Greene's and others' offices were on the second floor. The railroad company was persuaded to open an express freight depot in their Chatsworth station, and the post office to open a branch in the bank building. In order to acquire a formal "first class" rating for this post office. Dr. Greene sent large volumes of mail, including boxed sets of encyclopedias and other heavy material, from his residence in Atlanta to Chatsworth. At the time of the creation of the new town. Spring Place was the county seat of Murray County. For a number of years. Spring Place and Pleasant Valley (now called Eton) had disputed the proper location of county government. Around 1910, a sentiment arose among the county commissioners to have this location established nearer the railroad line in Chatsworth. Four years of debate ensued, during which time Dr. Greene and other prominent citizens were called upon frequently to travel to Atlanta to exert whatever influence theyt could on the state legislature to move the county government to Chats-worth. These journeys were often made overnight, so that the men could be present at the morning legislative sessions. There is a photograph of the men responsible for making Chatsworth the seat of county government, which the Greene family gave to the county, and which still hangs in the courthouse. For many years after the founding of Chatsworth, Dr. John Greene and his wife continued to live in Murray County and to participate in the development of the area. Dr. Greene's son, Thomas, established his residence at "Greene Haven" on the family property and served as a state senator from Murray County in 1923 and 1924. In 1926. John Greene and his wife celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary at their home "Greene Acres." It was there, in 1931, that Ellen Greene died. In 1938, having lived a full and useful life. Dr. John W. Greene died and was buried with his wife in Oakland Cemetery in Atlanta. Many years later, when the road past Dr. Greene's home was widened and straightened between Chatsworth and Dalton. his heirs gave the right-of-way through three entire land lots. The resulting highway is known to this day as Green Road. Some of his original land remains in his family, more than 100 years later. Dr, Greene has no relatives in Chatsworth or Murray County. By the late Ethel Greene Brown The Quarles Quartet For many year, singing conventions were popular and well attended in Murray County as well as surrounding areas. These gatherings drew large crowds, were well organized, and were planned months in advance. They were usually all-day affairs with "dinner on the ground." The Quarles Quartet, a group of sisters from Chatsworth, was very popular during the 1916-22 era. The sisters traveled to various conventions and churches in this area and by 1919 were invited to sing throughout Northwest Georgia, The ladies were the daughters of Mr. & Mrs. John Quarles. Julia Mae (later Mrs. Frank Westfield) sang soprano and played the organ; Ruth (Mrs. Stuart Crowe) sang tenor; Analee (later Mrs. Frank Huffaker) sang bass, and Hazel (later Mrs, Vin Haviland) sang alto. Their brother, Morgan, did not sing but often traveled with them and had several hymns published. He married Sibyl Dunn. The group practiced at night after working in the fields and/or around the house all day. They designed and made their own dresses and hats. The youngest sister was 10 when she started singing and they carried a wooden box for her to stand on. The Quartet performed their last songs as a group in 1922, School and marriages made other demands on the sisters. Several of their children and grandchildren have followed careers in music. At the time of this writing (1984) all the sisters are still living, while Morgan died several years ago. By Frances Westfield Townsend Victor Conroy Picketing Victor Conroy Picketing was bom in 1883 in Murray County and died in 1947. He spent his entire life in and doing things for Murray County. He was a philanthropist and one of Murray County's leading citizens. He made many contributions to Murray County. Below are some of his contributions: After the Murray County courthouse was built, he built up the grounds and landscaped them. Built highway across Fort Mountain to Ellijay. Contributed money and labor to First Baptist Church at Chatsworth, Georgia. Also contributed large sums of money to First United Methodist Church at Chatsworth, Georgia, First United Methodist Church, Baptist Church and Spring Place Consolidated School at Spring Place, Georgia. He was largely responsible for grading and paving Highway 411 from Cartersville to Etowah, Tenn. This was done while he was in the Legislature. He gave a deed to the Murray County Board of Education of the Davis farm, consisting of over 100 acres. The new Murray County Hospital, Murray County Health Center, the new Murray County Farmers Market, Recreation Center and Developmental Center are located on this property. Many contributions of money and equipment were made to the Murray County High School Agriculture Department and Murray County Cannery. A large sum of money was left to build the first hospital in Murray County, the Murray County Memorial Hospital. So many things, Victor Conroy Pickering did for humanity, about which we will never know. By Lovadah Maynard and G.I. Maddox Murray County's Grand Man by Tim Howard The little boy was as proud as could be. He and his father had just opened a savings account for him at Murray County's oldest financial institution-the Cohutta Banking Company in Chatsworth. While another employee took care of the final details of the transaction, a friendly senior citizen shook the boy's hand and said, "We are pleased to have you as a part of our organization ."The child's face was aglow and the father was equally proud. The senior citizen mentioned above is in his 91st year and his is a familiar face to most Murray residents. Though this particular episode took place in l979, it has occurred countless other times in the past five decades. The gentleman is Mr. R.E. Chambers and his name appears high on the list of Murray County's past public officials, as well as on the list of leading businessmen and Prominent civic-minded individuals. The careful signature, "R.E. Chambers," appears on an unknown number of the County's legal and financial records and numerous organizations have his name on their membership rolls. The name itself is a symbol of honesty, dignity, integrity, and charity-lending credibility to any project or organization with which it is associated. Robert Elisha was the name given to the son born to Richard Elisha and Mary Elizabeth Chambers on December 28, 1890 in Clifton, Wayne County, Tennessee. The boy attended school in Corydon, Indiana, and Montgomery County, Tennessee, completing his education in Gilmer County, Georgia, where his father had moved the family lumber business. While working with his father, Young Bob developed good business acumen, which has served him well throughout his life. The family moved over the mountains to Murray County and the young man worked for a short time on the L&N Railroad and then as a rural letter carrier in the Ramhurst area. Reared in the Baptist church. Chambers began attending Sunday school at Mt. Pisgah Church and there he met Miss Laura Worley, the daughter of Joseph S. Worley of Ramhurst, On November 8, 1908 the couple rode to Spring Place, then the county seat, and began 72 years of married life. A few years later opportunities presented themselves and the young couple moved to the likewise young town of Chatsworth, the new county seat. Chambers accepted a bookkeeping position with the Chatsworth Garage where Mr. T.L. Gregory was the local Ford dealer. Mr. Chambers still drives Ford automobiles. As the county elections of 1924 approached several friends urged Chambers to run against incumbent Clerk of Court, W.B. Robinson. Always interested in politics, he entered the race and was elected. "Mr. Robinson and I were good friends after that," says Mr. Chambers. Thus began a 12-year stint at the Murray County Courthouse during which Mr. Chambers supervised the reorganization and indexing of county records, establishing the system still in use. "His work is systematically and efficiently performed and has received high commendation," wrote a biographer in 1926, As Clerk, Mr. Chambers came to know many of Georgia's greatest leaders including Governors Cliff Walker, L.G, Hardaman, and Richard Russell. "Dick Russell was my favorite," says Mr. Chambers and the two continued to associate with each other after Russell went on to be U.S. Senator and Chambers had also taken a new job�at the Cohutta Bank. In March, 1933 Mr. Chambers was named Cashier and Chief Executive officer of that institution. Richard Kendrick was sworn in as deputy clerk of court to serve out Mr. Chambers' term thus saving the county the expense of holding a special election and a love affair between R.E. Chambers and Cohutta Bank had begun. In 1936 he was named president of the bank and soon the two were synonymous. During the next 33 years. Chambers presided over tremendous change in the bank and in the county. As president of the major financial institution in the county, he had a great deal of influence in recovery from the Great Depression, surviving World War U, and a new wave of expansion in the 1950's and 60's. Bank capital had increased from under $25,000 in 1936 to $325,000 at the time Mr. Chambers stepped down from the presidency in 1969. Since 1967 he had served as chairman of the board and continued his association with the bank in this position until 1980 when he became chairman emeritus. During these six decades as public official and businessman Mr, Chambers has participated in various civic and fraternal organizations. He is a Woodman of the World, a Shriner, A Fifty-Year Mason, and has been associated with the Eastern Star for more than half a century. He has served with the Murray Department of Family and Children Services since 1937. During World War II he received two Meritorious Service Awards for participation in the Georgia War Fund, also serving on the Advisory Board for registrants. He also attended the first Georgia Bankers Conference in 1939, As a charter member of the Chats-worth Lions Club he has actively supported that group in countless projects to improve the community and in several leadership capacities as well. He also participated in establishing boys agricultural clubs in Murray which has since evolved into the 4-H Clubs. Perhaps the work dearest to Mr. Chamber's heart was his involvement with Chatsworth Enterprises, a group which promoted tourism and industry in Murray County during the 1950's (since replaced by the Chamber of Commerce). This group began the fight to save the historic Chief Vann House in 1952. This project brought Chambers into the Whitfield-Murray Historical Society and when he was asked to do the foreward for If The Vann House Could Speak, a book which tells the story of the old mansion, in 1980, he wrote: "I count it one of my greatest achievements that I was chosen to serve as treasurer of the committee that purchased the house , . . and helped raise the money to buy that house for the Georgia Historical Commission. My finest hour came during its dedication." He continues to support and have a special interest in the Vann House. Mr, Chambers served 2 years as Mayor of Chatsworth and also 2 years as City Clerk. The Chatsworth First Baptist Church is very special to him as he served as Sunday school superintendent and as chairman of the board of deacons for some time. Several honors have been bestowed upon this fine man. In 1971 the Murray Jaycees selected him as "Boss of the Year" and in 1973 he placed the first official direct-long-distance phone call from Chatsworth. At a special meeting of the bank's executive committee in March, 1973, the committee room of the bank's newest Chatsworth facility was named in honor of Mr. Chambers. The bank has also honored him with a scholarship fund for a deserving Murray student to go to Dalton Junior College each year. To further express their appreciation to Mr. Chambers, the bank employees hosted a special "R.E. Chambers Day" reception, at the bank of course. Numerous friends dropped by to extend best wishes to this true southern gentleman. Mr. Chambers is the father of two daughters, Mrs. Irene Greeson and Mrs, Louise Miller. The family also includes three grandchildren, five great-grandchildren, and one great-great-grandchild. One grandson, Tom Greeson, succeeded Chambers as president of the Cohutta Bank and is now chairman of the board. Mrs. Chambers passed away in 1980. A very modest man, Mr. Chambers does not talk much about his accomplishments saying that he "could not have done anything without good help." At 91 he still maintains an office at the bank, surrounded by many mementoes of his long and useful life, and works every day. He attributes his longevity to "hard work and moderation." Of the changes he has seen in his life the one which pleases him most are the many improvements which have taken place in education throughout the area. An interviewer in 1926 ended his account of the first 36 years of Mr. Chambers' life as follows: "He has always been loyal to every trust reposed in him, whether of a public or a private nature, and he is a young man of fine character and pleasing personality, enjoying the esteem of many friends." Though not a "young man" now, the trust, character, personality, and esteem have ever remained the same. The slogan of the Chatsworth Enterprises billed Chatsworth and Murray County as "The Garden Spot of the World-A Good Place to Work, Live, and Play." Murray County is more of a garden spot and indeed a better place to work, live, and play because R.E. Chambers has lived and worked. We owe a great debt to this venerable leader, "Well done thou good and faithful servant"�Robert Elisha Chambers�Murray's Grand Man. -printed in Conasattga Magazine, 1981. Mr. Chambers passed away in 1982.
GROWTH AND DEVELOPMENT
Clubs And Organizations
Over the years, several clubs and civic organizations have been formed in Murray County. A note in The Chatsworth Times of 1916 said that "A Corn Club for boys in Murray County has died out." Since then other groups have come and gone. Among the various organizations which have existed are those which submitted histories that follow. Others include the Jaycettes which have been active at various times, assorted agriculture related groups, local community improvement clubs, PTA's at most all of the schools, and still other groups which have been formed jointly with organizations in Dalton and Whitfield County. Beta Phi Chapter of Alpha Delta Kappa Chartered on June 25, 1977. Chatsworth, Georgia The Georgia Beta Phi Chapter of Alpha Delta was chartered on June 25, 1977, in Chatsworth, Ga. This group formed Murray County's first organized fraternity for women educators. Charter members and officers included: President; Carolyn Peeples Anderson; Vice-President: Kin ma Huffstetler Bond; Recording Secretary: Nell Sexton Wilburn; Corresponding Secretary: Betty Rogers Henry; Treasurer: Shelia Spivey Rich; Chaplain: Estelle Coffey Townsend; Sgt.-at-Arms: Leslie Haney Jackson; Historian: Nancy Brooks Dunn; Amy Tarpley Fields. Maxine Tracy, Sharon Stafford Klippert. Ann Green Bailey, Carolyn Zelinsky Luffman, Brenda Duncan Penland, Donna Whitlock Jones. In 1978 the following members joined the sorority: Karen Ross Waters, Hazel Smith, Nancy Turner Kinser, Sharon Leonard Young, Phyllis Parrot Bagley, Ranelle Hannah West. JoAnn Hensley Huggins, Fayna Gleek Nunley. In 1979, Frances Westfield Townsend, Rickie Elrod CaldwelJ, Gwen Childers Bailey and Grace Peeples Davis joined Beta Phi. Alpha Delta Kappa was incorporated in the state of Missouri in 1947 with the privilege to organize chapters in every state. The first national convention was held in 1955 with authorization to establish international chapters. Steady growth of the sorority, based on emphasis on the professional stature of teaching and on its altruistic programs, necessitated the decision to build an International Headquarters in Kansas City, Missouri. The sorority recognizes outstanding women educators who actively engaged in teaching, administration, or in some specialized field of the teaching profession. Alpha Delta Kappa promotes educational and charitable projects, awards scholarships, and builds fraternal fellowship among women educators. In carrying out the international purposes, Beta Phi has awarded three scholarships to local recipients. In 1979 Beta Phi sponsored the prospective educator who was awarded the district scholarship. Beta Phi has contributed by various ways and means to many community projects of both a charitible and altruistic nature. American Legion and Auxiliary Post 167 The American Legion and Auxiliary has made many contributions to the county since it was chartered on Dec. 1, 1943 by the National Executive Committee. Charter members of Post 167 were; Willie Evans, Leach Richards, Thomas Harrison Gryder, Walter M. Davis, Russell S. Presley, W.S. Scott, Kimsey Dyer, Fred F. Long, A.C. Bradley, Hill Jones, Thomas W. Colvard, Jr., Dock Adams, John B. Johnson, Hill Wilbanks, George Robinson, Frank Westfield, Homer Adams, Car! Groves, John Langford, A.B. Thompson, Vernon H. Mock, Andrew M. Middleton, Otto J. Oscher., J.F. Charles, J.S. Jones, O.M. Keener, Grady Adams, Ben Leonard, A.F. Terry, G.H. Phillips, James W. Winkler, Barnie Pierce, William Tyler Stafford, John Hemphill, J.G. Robinson. Gus Terry was president 1949-50. Officers for 1950-51 included: Ben Leonard, president; Tom Peeples, 1st vice commander; Arnold Wilbanks, 2nd vice commander; Mack Coffey, adjutant; Ronald Richardson, finance officer; Jack Greeson, seargeant at arms;CarlTanksley, service officer;Dick Kenemer, chaplain. American Legion Post 167 Auxiliary was granted a charter on March 13, 1945. R.H. Gregory was commander. Specific contributions include the Veterans Monument located at the Murray County Courthouse. Tyson W. Haynes, 1978 Murray County Arts Council The Murray County Arts Council was organized in 1979 to locally promote various art forms. Iris McGill was the first president. In 1980 the Council purchased the old Fort Theatre and planned to renovate the structure as an arts center for Murray County. Several successful music and art activities and events were sponsored by the organization during the next 2 years. However, by 1982 the active membership had dwindled and despite numerous attempts to increase support and participation, the organization was dissolved in 1983. The Theatre property was sold to repay the original loan. The last officers were president Iris McGill; vice-president, Lynn Murphy; Secretary, Reba Daniel; and treasurer, Carolyn McCraney. The Chatsworth-Murray County Chamber of Commerce The Chatsworth-Murray County Chamber of Commerce was organized March 5, 1948 at Murray County High School. J.T. (Dick) Kenemer was the first president. Charles A. Pannell was vice-president and R.E. Chambers was secretary-treasurer. After the purchase of the Vann House and the delivery of the deed to the Georgia Historical Commission the organization began dragging. Due to lack of attendance at meetings etc., it was decided to disband and organize under another name. A new organization was formed under the name of Chatsworth Enterprises, Inc. and was chartered January 17, 1956. The purpose of the organization was to promote industry and tourism. This organization was also disbanded in a few years due to a lack of interest. New Chamber Formed A new Chamber was organized in the early months of 1977. The first recorded minutes of a meeting was May 31, 1977 by the already appointed board of directors. The meeting was called to order by Lawrence Knight, temporary chairman. All 17 directors were present: Luther Carter, H.Y. Dangler, Carl L. Davis. Olivene Godfrey, Tom Greeson, Lawrence Knight, Jerry Leonard, Jerry Lifsey, James B, McCraney, Calvin Means, Bobby Hosteller, Doug Mosteller, Ed Ralston, Thomas Ramsey, Carlton Petty, Paul Rosa, and Gordon Wilson. A copy of the May 31 meeting follows: The meeting was called to order by Lawrence Knight, temporary Chairman. All seventeen (17) Directors were present; Luther Carter, H.Y, Dangler, Carl Davis, Olivene Godfrey, Tom Greeson, Lawrence Knight, Jerry Leonard, Jerry Lifsey. James B. McCraney, Calvin Means, Bobby Mosteller, Doug Mosteller, Ed Ralston, Thomas Ramsey, Carlton Petty, Paul Ross, and Gordon Wilson. A Treasurer's Report was submitted by the Organizational Treasurer and presented to the meeting by the temporary Chairman, indicating a donation and membership dues of $5,058.00, expenses of $1,142.97, a bank balance of $3,915.03 on deposit at the First National Bank of Chatsworth. The following Directors were appointed to serve on the nominating committee to elect the Chamber Officers to serve until December 31, 1978: Calvin Means, H.Y. Dangler, Bobby Mosteller. The offices to be filled are: President, four (4) Vice Presidents and a Secretary-Treasurer to serve in lieu of an active Executive Vice President. Jerry Lifsey agreed to proceed with necessary actions to incorporate the Chamber. The following were appointed to the by-laws committee: Jerry Lifsey, Chairman, Tom Ramsey and Doug Mosteller. Copies of proposed by-laws were to be sent to all Directors. H.V. Dangler was recognized by the Directors for his generous contribution of free office space during the organizational period of the Chamber and for the remainder of the year. The Board voted to name R.E. Chambers as an honorary member of the Board for his role as consultant to the Chamber and for past efforts to promote Chatsworth and Murray County. Tom Ramsey suggested an agenda be sent to Directors prior to meetings. The following were appointed to secretarial committee: Lawrence Knight, Ed Ralston, and Olivene Godfrey. Mr. Knight was asked to contact the Dalton - Whitfield County Chamber of Commerce, Murray County Commissioner, Kirby Patterson, and the Chatsworth City Council regarding financial assistance to the Chamber. Mr. Knight was also asked to investigate the possibility of having the State Highway Department designate U.S. 411 between Atlanta and Knoxville, Tenn. a scenic highway with signs to be erected along the route highlighting Murray County's tourist attractions. Bobby Mosteller suggested the Chamber investigate the possibility of having all charities work through an annual Community Chest fund drive. The next meeting of the Board of Directors was scheduled for Thursday, June 9 at 5 p.m. ai the First National Bank of Chatsworth. The meeting was adjourned. Lawrence Knight, President Andrew Becton, Secretary On June 9, 1977, at a special meeting of the Board of Directors, the first officers were elected. Charles Etheridge, President; Vice-Presidents Lawrence Knight, Ed Ralston, Ben Messer, and Sam Burchfield; Secretary-Treasurer, Bennie Becton. The Chamber was incorporated as Chatsworth-Murray County Chamber of Commerce, Inc. on June 27, 1977. The first office at 114 � 3rd Avenue was donated by H.Y. Dangler. The office now is located at the Federal Building that is connected with the post office on Fort Street. The Chamber was oranized for the purpose of advancing and encouraging development of the City of Chatsworth and Murray County and the best interest of all citizens of the entire Community; to advertise the City and County and aid in procuring new industries and business enterprises. Mr. Lawrence Knight was employed as a part-time executive director. Mrs. Bobbye Smith was the first full-time executive secretary hired March of 1978 when Lawrence Knight moved from this area. Mrs. Wylene H. Richards was hired in December 1979 as executive secretary after Mrs. Smith resigned. Since the Chamber was organized in 1977, membership has grown to 139 members in 1984. An Annual Festival called the Red & Gold Leaf Festival held in October of each year was organized in 1980 and is now advertised all over the tri-state area and in southern publications as an event to visit each October. The Annual Meeting is held in September of each year hosting the largest number of 120 members attending in 1984. The Chamber has been very active in the industry development of the City and County and a strong supporter of the Water and Sewer expansion. The Chamber is also a strong supporter of tourism to this area through the publication of brochures and other advertisement inviting people to visit this area and see its natural beauty and potential growth opportunities. The Tourism Committee of the Chamber is very much involved with the Northwest Georgia Travel Association in the promotion of the area. The following are past presidents: Charles Etheridge, Jerry Lifsey, Ben Messer, Tom Greeson, Edward Lewandowski, Sue Wilson and Doug Ellis 1984-85. Board of Directors at present: president, Doug Ellis; president-elect, Albert Edwards, Sue Wilson, Elaine Butler, Hugh McDaniell, Dan McEntire, Tom Ram-sey, Willard Davis, Sue Mullinax, Ed Ralston, Jesse Jones, Debbie Carpinelli, C.W. Bradley, Dixie Jones, Bert Watts, Bill Yarbrough, Glenda Dunn, Dan Town-send, and Don Phillips, Vice-presidents: Peggy Dunn, Sam Pullen, Jr., W.W. Fincher and Jim Hazel. Chatsworth Eastern Star Chatsworth Chapter No. 449, Order of the Eastern Star was instituted May 17, 1955; chartered June 15, 1955; constituted January 13, 1956. Mr. R. Loyd Scott, Worthy Grand Patron, assisted by other Grand Officers officiated in the forming of this chapter. Eton Chapter No. 78 is the mother chapter. Charter members are the following: Jennie Evelyn Peeples, Pauline S. Middle-ton, Bessie Mae Adams, Alice H. Scott, Alice Hemphill, Edith Bradley, Mary Ruth Middleton, Eunice L. Fincher, Beulah Luffman, Martha E. Middleton, Inez Guess, Willie Mae Fletcher, Clarice Foster, Pearl B. West, Laverne S. Thomas, Docia Meier, Rita Campbell, Mary Hollman, Annie Greeson, Lillian Mullinax, Arminta McCann, Sallie Owens.S.W. Thornton, Parks Adams, Thomas J. Peeples, Andrew M. Middleton, W.W. Fincher, Jr., A.D. Holman, Elmer Hemphill, Robert W, Bradley, Harris Middleton, John L. Guess, R.G. Elrod, Toby McCann, T.W. Burger, Wyatt Mullinax, Fred Robinson, J.M. Owens, W.A. West, and C.H. Greeson. The first officers were Worthy Matron, Pauline S. Middleton, Worthy Patron, Harris Middleton, Associate Matron, Eunice L. Fincher, Associate Patron, W.W. Fincher, Jr., Secretary, Mary Ruth Middleton, Treasurer, Clarice Foster, Couductress, Beulah Luffman, Associate Condustress, Alice Scott, Chaplain, Bessie Mae Adams, Marshall, Mr. A.D. Holman, Organist, Jennie Evelyn Peeples, Adah, Mrs. Rita Campbell, Ruth, Mrs. Inez Guess, Esther, Mrs. Lillian Mullinax, Martha, Mrs. May Holman, Electa, Mrs. Pearl West, Warden, Mr. Elmer Hemp-hill, and Sentinel, Mr. T.W. Burger. About three years after the constitution of the Chatsworth Chapter, the Chapter Room was destroyed by fire. An outstanding member of this chapter is Mrs. Bessie Mae Adams, whose present age is 96 years. She has been a member of the Order for 59 years, has served as Chaplain for 33 years, and has held every office except those of Secretary and Treasurer. She has been honored on several occasions for her services. Present officers are: Mrs. Thelma Jones, Worthy Matron; Floyd B. Jones, Worthy Patron; Helen Thompson, Associate Matron; Bob Thompson, Associate Patron; Jennie Weyman, Secretary; Barbara Tankersley, Treasurer; Debra Lay, Conductress; James T. King, Chaplain; Rick Goley, Marshall; Sandra J. Smith, Organist; Brenda Sue Jackson, Adah; Millie Y. Young, Ruth; Suzette M. Goley, Esther; Martha Gail Walters, Martha; Wanda Jackson, Electa; Jimmy Lay, Warden; and Douglas N. Walters, Sentinel. The Order of the Eastern Star is a fraternal, benevolent organization dedicated to the principles of Love, Concern, and Truth. Wives, widows, mothers, daughters, and sisters of Master Masons are eligible for membership. Chatsworth Chapter No. 449 and the remaining subordinate chapters share the honor of supporting Mrs. Helen D. Roquemore of Georgia, Right Worthy Associate Grand Matron, General Grand Chapter, Washington, D.C., who in October, 1985 will be elected Most Worthy Grand Matron. Stated meetings of Chatsworth Chapter are held every third Thursday, in the Chapter Room, Masonic Building, North Third Avenue, Highway 411 in Chats-worth. Chatsworth Masonic Lodge Chatsworth Masonic Lodge No. 664 was chartered November 1, 1916. W.H. Ratcliff was Worshipful Master, S.H. Kelly was Senior Warden, Louis P. Huffstetler was Junior Warden, and G.A. Kelly was Secretary. Information provided by Jesse Jones, 1985 Chatsworth Merchants Association The Chatsworth Merchants Association was organized October 12, 1978 to promote Chatsworth and improve business in the city, Officers were: President, Ben Messer; Vice-President, Greg Brown; Secretary, Steve Williamson; Treasurer, Dixie Jones; Membership Chairman, Ruth Delay; Promotions Chairman, Gary Butler; and Publicity Chariman, Albert Edwards. Submitted by Ben Messer, 1979 Chatsworth Woman's Club Ratified and adopted at Chatsworth, Georgia, July 24, 1919. Officers 1919-1920: Mrs. J. Roy McGinty, Pres.; Mrs. R.M. Gudger, V. Pres.; Mrs. W.M. Graham, Sec.;Mrs. H.H. Leonard, Treas. Object: To secure benefits resulting from organized effort, the recognition and promotion of civic ethics, to foster a scientific spirit in educational and civic work, to secure and maintain a proper standard of efficiency, the enlightenment of the public as to better town, the promotion and maintenance of all civic laws, and in general the advancement of all civic and educational interests. Charter members: Mrs. Parks Adams, Mis. T.W. Brooks, Mrs. E.H. Dickie, Miss Nettie Gladden, Mrs. W.M. Graham, Mrs. Thomas E. Green, Mrs. R.M. Gudger, Miss Martha Holbrook, Mrs. Porter Hufstetler, Mrs. M.D. Jefferson, Mrs. Alvin Jones, Mrs. Clarice Jones, Mrs. Sam Kelly, Mrs. Henry Leonard, Mrs. J. Roy McGinty, Mrs. Tom Moreland, Mrs. Fannie Nichols, Mrs. J.L. Parker, Mrs. W.A. West, Mrs. Guy White, Miss Leila Wilson. This club was organized as Chatsworth Civic League, May 1, 1919. It was ratified and adopted as Woman's Club, July 24,1919. The major project has been the establishment of the Murray County Library, begun in 1920. The first home of the library was a small building on Market Street owned by Miss Martha Holbrook and Mrs. T.M. Wright. In 1932 the Clubhouse on the corner of 1st Ave. and Market was constructed and the Library housed there until 1980. In the early years the club worked diligently on the Chatsworth City Park, greatly improving its appearance. The group also worked on school improvement. Fund raisers included box suppers, ice crearn suppers, and bazaars. Submitted by Sybil McLemore and Bessie Mae Adams, 1981 Robert Loughridge Chapter � Daughters of the American Revolution The organizational meeting of the Robert Loughridge Chapter D.A.R. was held on April 2, 1976, with Mrs. W.W. Fincher, Jr., calling the meeting to order. Mrs. C.P. Brindle gave the devotion. Mrs. Hugh Peterson, of Ailey, Ga., State Organizing Regent, gave an account of the history, contribution, deeds and goals of the National Society of D.A.R. She introduced Mrs. Sara Yarbrow of Milledgeville who is now Honorary State Regent of NSDAR. By unanimous consent the Chapter was given the name of "Robert Loughridge." Robert Loughridge was an Officer of the Guard in the Revolutionary War while he was living at Wrightsboro. Ga. He received a land grant in Muscogie Co., Ga., for his service. His son, Benjamin, moved to Murray County and raised a large family. Fourteen members of this newly organized chapter are descendants of Robert Loughridge. The following officers were installed by Mrs. Peterson: Organizing Regent, Mrs. W.W. Fincher, Jr.; Vice Regent, Mrs. Mae Routh; Secretary, Mrs. Gene Taylor; Registrar, Mrs. Charles Pannell, Jr.; Chaplain, Mrs. C.P. Brindle. The organizing members are as follows: Mrs. Moses Bond, Mrs. W.W. Fincher, Mrs. Charles Henderson, Mrs. Addie Herron, Mrs. Marie Kelly, Mrs. Charles Pannell, Sr., Mrs. Charles Pannell. Jr., Mrs. Mae Routh, Mrs. C.P. Brindle, Mrs. T.L. Gregory, Mrs. Helen Harris, Mrs. V.N. Hansford, Mrs, Helen Harris, Mrs. Charles R. Baugh, Mrs. George Mitchell, Mrs. Douglas Scott, Mrs. Edgar Smith, Mrs. Gene Taylor, Phyllis Fincher Parsons and Jane Fincher Peterson. In 1979 some of the members placed copies of their membership papers in the Crown Gardens and Archives for preservation and research. In December 1979 a flag which had flown over the nation's capitol and a flag pole were presented to the Crown Gardens and Archives, the headquarters of the Whitfield-Murray Historical Society in Dalton. Submitted by Mrs. W. W. Fincher, Jr., 1980 Delta Kappa Gamma Society International - Murray County, Ga. The Delta Kappa Gamma Society International was founded May 11, 1922, as an honor society for women in education. The Delta Kappa Gamma International, Psi State, Georgia, was organized in Atlanta, Ga., Nov. 28, 1936. The Local Chapter, Omega, was organized on May 21, 1949, in Dalton, Georgia. The territory included Catoosa, Murray, and Whitfield Counties. Mrs. Ruby Sanders was first Murray Co, president of the local chapter, serving for the 1962-64 term. The Beta Omega Chapter of Delta Kappa Gamma was the 72nd chapter to be organized in the State of Georgia (Psi) during recent ceremonies at the Murray County High School Library, with Misses Eva Gardner, Annie Frances past Psi state president, Ms. Malissa Cox, president of Psi state, and Dr. Pauline Noble of Shorter College presiding at a very impressive installation ceremony. Charter members of Beta Omega Chapter are the following; Joy Cox, Elaine Edwards, Judy Hassler, Billie Haven, Elizabeth Holt, Hazel Langford, Maxine Porch, Edna Jo Butler, Sara Bob Hix, Alwayne Jones, Nell Ruth Loughridge, Lucy McWhorter, Jo Glenn Meyer, Nan Ozment, Peggy Quarles, Marguerite Raber, Eulola Robinette, and Ruby Sanders. Members who were absent for the installation service were Elaine Butler, Sybil Ruth McLemore, and Renee Whitfield. On April 24, 1980, the Omega Chapter of Delta Kappa Gamma initiated seven new members into its society. The following members were present for iniiiation by Mrs. Lucy McWhorter, chairman of the initiation: Joy Cox Elaine Edwards, Judy Hassler, Billie Haven, Elizabeth Holt, Hazel Langford, and Maxine Porch. Participants in the service were: Harriet Susman, President of Omega; Nan Ozment, first Vice-president; Marian Langford, second Vice-president; Margaret Brown, Recording Secretary; and Gail Lowery, Treasurer. Submitted by Sybil McLemore, 1981 Eton Eastern Star The Eton Chapter No. 78, Order of the Eastern Star was initiated May 1909 at the Masonic Hall in Eton. The Chapter was constituted May 18, 1910 with the following charter members; Mrs. JP. Gregory, Mrs. W.Z. Latch, Mrs. S.G. Treadwell, Mrs. L.A. Latch, Mrs. Will Gregory, Mrs. W.M. Harris, Mrs. L.A. Hartley, Will Gregory, W.W. Keith, L.A. Latch, T.W. Brooks, D.S. Butler, L.A. Hartley, A.D. Hitchcock, J.P. Nanney, J.H. Belk, W.M. Harris, Mrs.Annie Harris, Mrs. Lou Hill, Mrs. J.H. Belk, Miss Ethel Petty, Mrs. C.C. Keith, Miss Pauline Keith, Mrs. J.P. Nanney, Mrs. S.A. Brown, Mrs. Sadie Davis. Mrs. J.H. Steed, Miss Eva Moreland, A.H. Nanney, Bob Hill, Mrs, Tay Steed, Mrs. Sybil Steed, Mrs. Gus Pierce, and Mrs. Inez Faith. Mrs. Jennie Brown was the first Worthy Matron and Mr. Walter M. Harris the first Worthy Patron. Meetings were first held in the Masonic Hall located on the second floor of the Keith Store building during the afternoon. Later, night meetings were held to encourage attendance. Sister Sallie McElroy was the first of many Worthy Grand Matrons of Georgia to make official visits to Eton in 1926-27. Brother John Pinson was the first Worthy Grand Patron of Georgia to visit in 1952-53. On August 22, 1979 both the Worthy Matron and Worthy Patron, Sister Doris Christian and Brother John Perry, visited the chapter. Some special Eton Star members include Sister Inez Keith who served as Worthy Matron for many years, Sisters Bess Lefurgy and Regina Brown who alternated as secretary for several terms, Sister Bessie Mae Adams of Chatsworth who sometimes had to walk to meetings at Eton, and Sister Johnnie Hartley, the last surviving charter member. Before her death in 1979, "Miss Johnnie" had filled many stations including three terms as Worthy Matron. She also attended Grand Chapter as a Grand Page. Grand officers from the Eton Chapter include Sister Louise Gregory who was Grand Electa 1951-52 and Sister Grace Brown who was Grand Ruth 1956-57. Both also served as Grand Page at various times. Mr. Fred T. Brown was a loyal member and Mr. Glenn Howard, a very active member at the time the first Murray County Hospital was built, helped complete the Chapter's pledge to furnish a room. Ten members of the Eton Chapter received 50-year membership pins from Grand Chapter over the years including: Brother Fred Brown, Brother Robert E. Chambers, and Sisters Johnnie Hartley, Remmie Keith, Ella Jane Holcomb, Bessie Mae Adams, Naomi Coffey,Louie Gregory, Mary Long, and Ruth Holmes. In 1979 membership in the Eton Chapter totaled 81 including several emeritus members: Miss Margaret Brice, Ollie Bailey, Naomi Coffey, R.E. Chambers, Aileen Clayton, Geneva Choates, Dell Choates, Louise Gregory, Tom Gregory, Magalyn Gregory, Gertrude Gregory, Ruby Holmes, Annie Laurie Howard, Glenn Howard, Ovilee Hall Macie Jackson, Remmie Keith, Marie Kelly, Mary Long, Grace Mealer, Mildred McCamy, Maurine Neal, Frances Phillips, Ruth Puckett, Nora Reddish, Allie Thompson, and Julie Turner. Several years ago the Masons built a modern Masonic Hall at Eton. The Eastern Star aided them in the furnishing of the Hall and how meets there on the second Thursday evening of each month. Eton is one of the oldest active chapters in the state. Submitted by Louise Gregory and Robbie Ryan (Worthy Matron, 1979) Eton Masonic Lodge No. 509 - Murray County Georgia On November 28, 1907, A.L. 5907 Eton Lodge No. 509 met on call communication in the Lodge room for the purpose of instituting a Masonic Lodge. After being opened in regular form, the Lodge retired to the room below, where 'he same was instituted under the authority of the Grand Lodge of Georgia. The following were charter members: W,L. Isenhower. C.C, Keilh, W.A. Latch, S.G. Treadwell, S.A. Brown, E.M. Ellis, John W. Harris, WJ. Peeples, �J-D. Harris, John W. Clements, C.A. Strawn. W.M. Harris. They were installed by the following Grand Officers: R.W.G.M., T.H. Jeffries; R.W.P.G.M., S.E. Berry; R.W.G.S.W., W.Z. Latch and R.W.G.J.W., C.L. Henry. The Eton Lodge No. 509 was instituted with the following officers: Bro. S.A. Brown, W.M.; Bro. C.C. Keith, Sr. W.; Bro. John W. Clements, Jr. W.; Bro. E.M. Ellis, Treas.; Bro. W.L. Isenhower, Sec.; Bro. W.M. Harris, Sr. Deacon; Bro. N.B. Bates, Jr. Deacon; Bro. W.A. Latch, Chaplain; Bro. Harley Plemons, Sr. Steward; Bro. Farris Haggard, Jr. Steward;C.A. Strawn,Tyler. After the institution, the brethren returned to the Lodge Room where the same was closed in due form to meet on the 2nd Monday night in Dec. The lodge meetings were first held in the old furniture store and funeral home upstairs in Eton. We now have a regular meeting hall. Submitted by T.L. Gregory Eton Ruritan Club The Eton Ruritan Club was organized in 1958, with James Loughridge as President. The following were charter members: James C. Loughridge, B.V. Ozrnent, Bill Presley, W.W. Keith, Martin Dooley, Cecil Petty, Carlton Petty, Howell Brown, Tom Gregory, J.W. Edwards, Paul Huddleston, Kenneth Peden, Bill Bailey, Marvin Childers, J.W. Spivey, Bentley Willis, Walter Richards, B.F. Babb. W.T. Green is the present President. Some of the projects over the years have been road-side parks, and helping with the recreation program in the schools. Fort Mountain Home and Garden Club The Fort Mountain Home and Garden Club was organized in early June, 1980. Those attending the first meeting, held at City Hall in Chatsworth, included: Charlene Love, Caroline Amis, Sybil McLemore, Reba Westfield, Mary Petty, Debbie Love, Nell Wilburn, Zennia Parker, Diane Gallman, Milma Ernest, Edna Weyman, Ann Bare, Barbara Vice, Geneva Yarbrough, Veda Adams, Mr'. & Mrs. M.D. Jackson, Benny Huggins, Mr. & Mrs. Randall Richards. Iris McGill, Jackie McEntire, Lou Locklear, Wyleene Richards, Susie Leonard, Vadah Ken-drick, and Dixie Jones who presided assisted by Albert Edwards. The club was organized as part of the Governor's Project Competition for community beauti-fication and improvement. The first officers included President Charlene Love, Vice-Pre si dent Geneva Yarbrough, Secretary Edna Weyman, and Treasurer Ann Bare. Among the projects of the Garden Club have been landscaping at the Murray County Library, the comer of Market Street and Green Road at Chatsworth Elementary School, and other spots around Chatsworth as well as assisting with the Vann House Christmas Candlelight Tours, floats in the Christmas parades, and an annual picnic. Meetings are now held on the second Monday of each month except during the summer. Active members at this time are President Dodie Anderson, Vice-President Geneva Yarbrough, Secretary Jennie Weyman, Treasurer Ruby Mostel-ler, Chaplain Lucille Weatherly, Sybil McLemore, Reba Westfield, Gladys Mc-Craney, and Carol Miles. Information provided by Jennie Weyman, 1985 Future Farmers of America The organization, Future Farmers of America, was founded in 1926 by a Virginian, Henry G. Groseciose, who was engaged in the business of helping leathers of vocational agriculture in his state with the problems of preparing boys for the vocation of farming. A few local chapters of Future Farmers of America were organized in Georgia in 1928. The movement spread rapidly over the state. During the summer of J929, the first State Convention was perfected. Billy Bowdoin, of Statham, was the first president of the State Organization. Georgia received her Charter from the National Organization in 1929. There is an F.F.A. organization in every community in Georgia where vocational agriculture is taught. Murray County Chapter was organized by G.I. Maddox, agriculture teacher, in 1935. Mr, M.D. Mobley, State Advisor at that time, signed our chapter's charter. One hundred fifty boys joined the first year. There are four degrees of active membership: "Green Hand," Chapter Farmer, State Farmer, and American Farmer. A member may attain the different degrees by his accomplishment in connection with vocational agriculture program. Activities Accomplished by the Murray County Chapter include: 1) Built our agriculture classroom in old rock building. 2) With F.F.A. boys and N.Y.A. built ag building. 3) Constructed cannery building. 4) Bought and canned 1,600,000 cans for the public. 5) Lions Club and Mr. V.C. Pickering furnished canning equipment. 6) Chapter operated school farm. 7) In cooperation with Soil Conservation Service, Chatsworth Lions Club sponsored Farm Face Lifting Day, August 1952. a) Cleared 25 acres of land, b) Planted and fenced 35 acres of pasture, c) Built two stock ponds, d) Constructed first pole barn in county, e) Graded baseball field, f) Started herd of white face cattle, g) Cohutta Bank invested $1,000 in Hereford cattle herd. 8) In cooperation with Bowater Paper Company and Hiwassee Land Company sponsored forestry field day. 9) Murray High F.F.A. Chapter attended The Atlanta Chamber of Commerce Fat Steer Show from 1942 through 1968, The Chapter showed 520 steers. 10) Showed swine a number of years in the Southeastern Atlanta Fair and at the State Fair at Macon. II) Mr. V.C- Pickering bought and donated to our chapter a new M-International tractor, mowing machine, tiller, John Deer Seeder cutaway harrow. J2) Our Chapter furnished two State Officers: Raymond Keener, State Treasurer (1944-45), and Allen Terry, State Vice-President (1958-59). David Butler made the National F.F.A. chorus, singing in Kansas City. Randall Richards was selected Drum Major for the National F.F.A. Band in Kansas City. The following vocational agriculture teachers have been advisors to Murray County F.F.A. Chapters at the high school and the junior high (since 1969): G.I. Maddox, M.D. Jackson, Clarence Brannon, Dwayne Witherow, George Holland, David Forrest, Del Richards, Mike Grantham, Mike Davis, Larry Lough-ridge, Jim Folsom. The Murray Chapter entered the Tri-State Queen Contest, sponsored by the Chattanooga paper. The chapter won several runners-up and two queens-Miss Mary Hemphill and Miss Edith Robinson. Melvin Parker received an American Farmer Award in 1975. A $3,000 scholarship fund was left to the chapter by Mr. Sam Carter's sister. Known as the Sam Carter Memorial Scholarship, a deserving member is awarded the interest from the original principal each year. In 1980 the FFA String Band was invited to the National FFA Convention in Kansas City, Missouri. Members were Jim Pankey, Mark Tatum, Robert Leonard, Bobby Patterson, and Mike Davis, Advisor. Submitted by G.I. Maddox, 1981 FFA Alumni Association The Murray County FFA Alumni Association was organized in September, 1974, to provide support and funds for projects and activities of the Murray County FFA. The group established an annual rodeo to raise funds and had other projects as well, such as the awarding of the Sam Carter Memorial Scholarship to a Murray High Agriculture student. Among the early members of the Association were: David Forrest, Tom Graves, Jack Ensley (Chairman), M.D. Jackson, Arnold Gray, Kenneth Forrest, Johnny Hickman, Ragan Springfield, Wesley Baynes, Henry Robinson, Alan Ensley, Doug Griffin, Dannie Green, Baxter Lay, Eugene Banks, Harold Harris, Cleve Gallman, Bobby Ballew, Jimmie Witherow, Larry Loughridge, and Willie Fowler. Retired Murray High Agriculture teacher G.I. Maddox was given lifetime membership in the association due to his many contributions to the farm program. Information provided by Tom Graves, 1979 Georgia Mule Association The Georgia Mule Association was founded by C.W. Bradley with membership nationwide and headquarters at the Murray Co. Saddle Club. This group sponsors a show the first weekend in October to crown the state champion of Georgia. C.W. Bradley is active in the following organizations: World Racking Horse Jubilee, N. Ga. Racking Horse Assoc., N. Ga. Quarter Horse Assoc., N. Ga. Walking Horse Assoc., and Lincoln University Alumni Assoc., founder and long-time president. Submitted by C.W. Bradley Georgia State Racking Horse Show The Georgia State Racking Horse Show was founded in 1967 for crowning the State Champion Racking Horse in Georgia each year. The show was held at Dalton Fairgrounds for several years, sponsored by the Cohutta Ruritan Club. It has since been moved to the Murray Co. Saddle Club site where it is now sponsored by the Chatsworth Lions Club. Murray County Memorial Hospital Auxiliary The Murray County Memorial Hospital Auxiliary (Pink Ladies) was organized in the early 1960's to supply volunteer service, hospital equipment, and scholarship funds to local women who were obtaining nursing degrees. The Auxiliary disbanded in 1969 when there was a lack of practicing physicians in Murray County. As the new hospital on the Old Dalton-Ellijay Road was nearing completion in 1975, the need for an Auxiliary was seen by then Administrator Steve Hammock. Through his efforts and those of Sue Mullinax a former Pink Lady, the group began to reorganize in June 1975. A meeting was held on July 1, 1975 to elect officers and approve by-laws. The following Murray Countians were present for this meeting: Caroline Amis, Mattie Bagley, Judy Bostic, Ruth Bostic, Peggy Bradley, Anne Brindle, Alta Carter, Ina Cox, Annette Crisp, Glenda Downey, Milma Earnest, Director of Nursing Naomi Fehrle, Betty Gowin, Ruth Lay, Peggy Leonard, Mozelle Little. Viola Miller, Sue Mullinax, Hannah Pendley, Mary Petty, Estrella Ramos, Susan Ritchie, Eulola Robinette, Janet Shields, Carolyn Terry, Pauline Waters, Bobbye Weaver, Phyllis Weaver, and Mr, Hammock. The members render volunteer service to the hospital and its patients, maintain a gift shop, and care for daily television rentals. Each year needed hospital equipment is purchased from the group's funds. Officers in 1979 included President Caroline Amis, Vice-President Peggy Leonard, Secretary Anne Brindle, and Treasurer Ruth Spencer. In 1980 the officers were President Ruth Lay, Vice-President Robbie Ryan, Secretary Robbie Elrod, and Treasurer Edna Graves. Submitted by Anne Brindle Jaycees The Murray County Jaycees were organized in 1956. Charter members were L.D. Spivey, Rembert Townsend, Tom Clay, Billy Ray Knox, Calvin Townsend, Julian Westfieid, Barren Brooks, Gerald Leonard, Troy Free, Raymond Ballew, and Bobby Hosteller. In 1976 they celebrated their 20th anniversary. The officers at that time were: Danny Penland, pres.; Dale Brown, internal v.p,;Bruce Kendrick,external v.p.; Doug Smith, sec.; Larnar Dunn, treas.; Kelly Babb, dir.; Jim Reich, dir.; Jeiry Lifsey, state dir. Members included: Byron Bond, Gary Brock, Alton Bridges, Gary Butler, Jerry Cutshaw, Doug Fraker, Danny Harbin, Randall Ingle, Gary Jackson, Tony Kendrick, Ron Lindenboon, Houston Smith, Mike Snead, Jerry (Flash) Leonard, Don Young, Teddy Welch. Projects included: wilderness, Wagon Train street dance, Little League field, Junior Hiss, STAR student, training center Christmas party, needy family fund, outstanding VMOY, a scholarship, Easter Sea] BAC-A-CHILD, safety break, street numbering project. Cub Scout and Boy Scout troop, Dixie Youth baseball team. 1982-83 officers were Tim Bolding, TomCaylor, Jerry Leonard, Witlie Winkler, Tony Jones, Sarn Kemp, Ronald Leonard and Randy Beavers. Jerry Leonard in now president (1983). Kiwanis Club The Chatsworth Kiwanis Club was chartered on February 25, 1972, under sponsorship of the Dalton, Ga., Kiwanis Club. The original slate of officers consisted of: President Olin Cole; Vice-president B.V. Ozment; Secretary Ronald Atkinson; and Treasurer Charles Etheridge. The first meeting place was the original Kin's Restaurant which was in the south end of Chatsworth, The Club was incorporated as a non-profit corporation on December 11, 1973. The corporate name is The Kiwanis Club of Chatsworth, Ga., Inc. The Kiwanis Club traditionally has sponsored projects that benefit the elderly as well as handicapped children and those with learning impairments. The name "Kiwanis" stems from an Indian phrase which, roughly translated, means "to express one's self." John C. Kenemer, Secretary 1984-85 Murray County League of Women Voters The League originated in Murray County during the fall of 1983 as a unit of the League of Women Voters of the Dalton area. Credit goes to Louise Stewart for the formation of this group. Edna Sneeds served as the first unit director followed by Margie Keener. Betty Hampton has faithfully served as secretary-treasurer since its beginning. 1984 activities included: 1) An indepth study of the water and sewer position in Chatsworth and Murray County. Guest speakers during the year included Mr. Jack Dozier, Chief of Water Quality Control, Environmental Protection Division, Mr. R.L, Vining, Chatsworth Water Commission, State Representative Tom Ramsey, District 3, and Mr. Mike Kelly, Senior Sanitarian for the Murray County Board of Health. 2) Study of the election process and voter registration regulations instructed by Mr. Larry Sampson, County Registrar. We also participated in a county-wide voter registration drive on June 23rd which added quite a number of additional voters to our voting population. 3) Sponsored a political forum. 4) Conducted a "Latch Key Study" among industry dealing with adequate child care for working parents. 5) Had our first study on education with Mrs. Margaret Ball, State Secretary to the Parent Teacher Association. 1985 activities included: 1) Dixie Jones, Martha Young, Betty Hampton, Margie Keener, from Chatsworth, Marilyn Hughes and Margaret Ball from Dalton attended League Legislature Day in Atlanta where various legislators from across the state discussed legislation pending before the House and Senate. Special attention was given to health care for the medically indigent, pre-natal care for the unborn child, and the county's obligation for securing these services. Newcomb of the Governor's staff discussed the Governor's Education Bill fully explaining what it would mean to public education. 2) March llth, the membership elected to request recognition as a seperate unity from that of the Dalton Area in order to better serve our community with regard to issues directly affecting Chatsworth and Murray County and at the same time strengthen League work within our two counties. 3) Met all requirements necessary for state to grant recognition. In less than 2 weeks, our membership increased from 13 to 44. To date, we are at 47 members with 26% being gentlemen from the community. Definitely, we are not restricted to the female gender. 4) In march we studied (he services offered by our local hospital and were fortunate enough to have Mr. Jim Hazel, hospital administrator, give us a slide presentation which was followed by a question-answer session with regard to the DRG Bill and the effect it has had on the residents of this county and the financial impact on our hospital. 5) April 2nd was the official organizational meeting for our group to set bylaws, budget, and select officers and Board members. Lee Wash, President, and Shirley Brother, Membership Chair from LWV-Ga., along with Juanita Edwards, President LWV-Dalton, attended to inform members as to what League is all about, answer questions, and lay the groundwork necessary to attain status as a provisional League. 6) April 23rd, we hosted the LWV-Dalton members at the Mountain Lakes Golf and Country Club for a study on "Sales and Use Tax," 7) May 3rd, an important date for us! Recognition was granted by state to our group as the Provisional League of Women Voters of Chatsworth-Murray County. Accepting recognition was Betty Hampton, Louise Stewart, and Margie Keener, who were in Macon for state convention and spring workshop. 8) During May we studied the student drop-out rate in Murray County through the direction of Mr. Bill Yarborough, chairman of the "Stay In School Task Force," sponsored by the Murray County Chamber of Commerce. Information from League i Newsletter, May, 1985 Chatsworth Lions Club The Chatsworth Lions Club was organized June 22, 1932, Charter members were Dr. R.H. Bradley. Physician; W. Lee Cox. Truant Officer; R.E. Chambers, Clerk, Superior Court; R.E. Dillard, Machinist; Withers Davis, Civil Engineer; Earl C. Foster, Supt. Eton School; L.N. Foster, Supt. Chatsworth Elem.; J.H. Henderson, County Agri. Agent; J.C. Loughridge, Farmer;George T. McDonald, Civil Engineer; J.Roy McGinty, Jr., Publisher and Printer; Mack Trammell, Businessman; Jesse M. Sellers, Attorney at law; Robert L. Vining, Merchant; L.S. Woodson, Merchant. First Officers were R.E. Chambers, President;L.N. Foster, 1st Vice-President; J.H. Henderson, 2nd Vice-President; Earl C. Foster, Secretary and Treasurer; R.L. Vining, Lion Tamer; R.E. Dillard, Tail Twister. The Board of Directors consisted of Jesse M. Sellers, Dr. R.H. Bradley and J.C. Loughridge, Chatsworth Lions Club Charter Night was Wednesday, Sept. 21, 1932 at 8 p.m. ai the Desoto Hotel in Chatsworth, Georgia. Toaster was Lion G.C. McDonald; Song Leader, Lion L.N. Foster; Song America, Assembly; Return Thanks, Lion J.M. Sellers; Welcome Address. Lion Earl C. Foster; Response to Welcome, Lion L.B. Lawton (Dalton Lions Club); Song, Quartet; Introduction of Visitors, Toastmaster; Sponsor's Speech, Cartersville Lion Member, Clayton Henson; Song, Quartet; Presentation of Charter, Lion Marvin G. Pond, District Governor; Acceptance of Charter, Lion R.E. Chambers, President, Chatsworth Lions; Song, Quartet; Song "Lions, Till We Meet Again," Assembly. Some projects sponsored by the Chatsworth Lions Club (the oldest men's civic organization in the county): 1) Murray County Cannery�opened July 20, 1932 in the midst of the Depression at the old county convict camp east of Chatsworth. 2) Fort Mountain State Park. 3) Home economics building (Rock) at high school, 4) County-sponsored face lifting of Murray County High School Farm, 1952: a) Built 10,000 feet of pasture fence; b) Seeded 45 acres pasture; c) Built pole barn. 40x50 ft.;d) Dug 2 stock ponds; e) Cleaned 20 acres of land; f) Graded baseball field; g) Started herd of cattle. 5) Forestry Queen. 6) Apple Queen. 7) Paving around high school, 8) F.F.A. and 4-H Clubs Fat Cattle Steer Show, 1941-1968. 9) Contributed yearly to Cancer, Polio and Heart drives. 10) Contributed yearly to Light House for the Blind. 11) Contributed yearly to Cherokee Boys and Girls Estate. 12) Sent high school football players, 40 in number, to Peach Bowl Football Game for the blind. 13) School Book Fund and a Stay In School program in the 1930's and Rally Day in 1932. The club's main project is Sight Conservation. In 1975, 85 children and 35 adults received aid from the Club. Officers for 1977-1978: President, Johnny Peeples; 1st Vice-President, Joe Wiggins, Sr.; 2nd Vice-President, Judy Poag; 3rd Vice-President, Harlan Peeples; Treasurer, Charles Dunn; Secretary, Curtis Love; Tail twister, G.I. Maddox; Lion Tamer, Raymond Co\; Chaplain, W.D. Weatherly; Directors: Wallace Lecroy, C.W. Brad ley, Willard Da vis, Tom Graves and Jack Ensley. Members in 1978 were: Dale Baggett, C.W. Bradley, Richard Brock, Sam Burchfield, Raymond Cox, James Edward Crisp, Willard Davis, Charles Dunn, (Jack) Thomas J. Ensley, W.W. Fincher, Jim Franklin, Tom Graves, James W. Grider, Lewis Hufstetler, Odell Ingle, Ishrnael Joyce, Elmer Lawless, William W. Lecroy, Jerry Leonard, James Loughridge, Curtis Love, G.I. Maddox. Winston Massengale, J.L. Moreland, Harlan Peeples, John Peeples, (Judy) Charles Poag, Leonard B. Ridley, J.C. Robinson, Wayne Rogers, Orville L. Stuckey Jr., Gene Tapley, W.D. Weatherly, Joe Wiggins, Joe M. Wiggins, Jr. Jimmie Witherow, Oscar Crow (member-at-large), C.H. Greeson (member-at-large) Gerald Leonard (member-at-large) William Leonard (member-at-large) John Webb (member-at-large) and F.C. Leonard (Privileged member). The Murray Association of Educators The Murray Association of Educators is the largest prokfessional organization for educators in Murray County. Begun at lest five decades ago as the murray Educator's Association, the l,ocal group was long affiliated with the Georgia Educator's Association and was for many years the only teacher's organization in the county, usually enjoying 100% membership. While records of the association before 1960 are lacking, MAE has been very successful since then. Many events of the past 25 years are highlighted in the history of MAE. Since all teachers and administrators were MEA members, the opening convocation for each year was also the first MEA meeting. (This practice continued until 1971.) Successive monthly meetings were rotated among all the schools and the county office. Then the Murray School System included schools at Ramhurst, Spring Place, Eton, Northwest, Southwest, Chatsworth, and Murray High. In the early 1960's, MEA established a scholarship fund with each teacher contributing 10 cents and also sponsored a Plan for Improvement of Education and listed needs of the Murray Schools in 1961-2. In 1963, under the leadership of Lucy McWhorter, the organization worked with the Board of Education to get teachers in the Social Security program. A major reason for the existence of MEA then was to obtain group health insurance. Not until 1971 did the Board of Education begin paying a portion of insurance costs. The first grievance committee was formed in 1963 with one representative from each school serving on the panel. Also that year, Superintendent Ray Bagley asked the association to study the county's sick-leave policy and present a new or improved plan to the Board of Education. The association first persuaded the Board to allow teachers to accumulate sick leave in 1964-65. The group first asked to carry over just one-half of the days not used. (Recently the Board voted to let teachers accumulate up to 60 days.) The association also sponsored an annual banquet each February. In 1965 the guest speaker was George T. Smith, Speaker of the Georgia House of Representatives. The next year, former Georgia governor Ernest Vandiver was the speaker. In 1966 the local association printed a full-page advertisement in The Chatsworth Times to support the proposed bond issue. This was successful as in 1969 the Murray Junior High and the new Spring Place Elementary School (combining Spring Place, Ramhurst, and Chatsworth) opened-a record expansion for the Murray schools. MEA asked the Board to consider its first local supplement to the state teacher's salary in 1965. The amount requested was $250. In May, 1969 Mr. M.D. Jackson was appointed chairman of a committee to work on a tenure policy to present to the Board of Education�the first action of this nature ever taken by the local group. During 1969 and 1970, MEA was confronted with two major issues-a proposed merger with GT & EA (the black educators association) as well as a stronger tie with the National Education Association. At this time 122 Murray teachers were members of GEA while only 19 joined NEA. After numerous local and state meetings as well as many constitutional revisions, GEA and GT&EA were united to form the Georgia Association of Educators. MEA became MAE to reflect the name change and merger. Though a United Teaching Profession was discussed in 1972, not until 1974 were the three levels of educational organizations truly united. An MAE committee was appointed in 1970 to examine local board policy and cooperate with the board about policy statements. Board members also participated in a forum on taxes and local supplements. Teachers then received a 5200 local supplement-when the average Georgia teacher's salary was $8,010. By 1972 the county board had a policy that teachers either have liability insurance or join MAE & GAE which provides liability insurance for members upon payment of dues. MAE began sponsoring an annual county-wide Spelling Bee in 1971. Mrs. Ruby Sanders coordinated this event for several years. In 1973-74 MAE members met with the Murray County Grand Jury concerning the drug problem among Murray students. Also in the early 1970*s, the group began giving retiring members appreciation plaques and in 1975 nominated Senator W.W. Fincher for GAE's "Friend of Education" Award. Two very important MAE goals were achieved in 1977. For the first time members could pay dues through payroll deduction and the Murray County Federal Credit Union was formed. MAE paid the charter expenses for the credit union which has loaned over $100,000 to school employees and now has over 200 members. MAE President Reba Daniel attended the NEA convention in 1978 and in January. 1979 GAE President Barbara Munteen was the guest speaker for the local association. Several teachers were nominated for the GAE Teacher Hall of Fame including Mrs. Ruby Sanders, Mrs. Estelle Townsend, Mrs. Nancy Kinser, and Mr. Easter Elrod. In 1980 MAE's constitution was revised and the group attempted to develop a written procedure for parents with complaints about a teacher to follow. During 1981 MAE assisted in the developing of a bonus plan for teachers who did not use all of their sick leave. The next two years were very busy as MAE worked on a bus problem, assisted in obtaining athletic passes for all school employees, brought a change in the state sick-leave policy to the attention of the Board, and later brought the flexible fringe benefit plan to Murray County, being one of the first systems in the state to offer this program, The activity of the local association is financed through dues and some fund raisers. Membership in MEA has varied over the years from 1961 when all teachers were members to 1984 when we had 200. In 1968 MEA had 108 members, while in 1969 the membership was 125. By 1972 this number was 160. Following the merger, membership declined for a while, but has now been growing every year since 1977. Presidents of the local association since 1960 have included: Howell Brown 1960-61; Lucy McWhorter 1961-63; Jim Witherow 1963-65; France Adams 1965-66; Bain Johnson 1966-67; Urry Kresse 1967-68; Charles Lewis 1968-70; Ruby Sanders 1970-71; Ed Campbell 1971-73; David Forrest 1973-75; Jerry Ridley 1975-77; Reba Daniel 1977-79; David Fleming 1979; Lynn Murphy 1980-81; Troy Beasley 1981-83; Elizabeth Holt Could 1983-84, 1985-86; Kinma Bond 1984-85;Tim Howard 1986-87. Submitted by Tim Howard, 1985 Murray County Fair Association Murray County Fair was chartered on June 14, 1965. It was organized in 1964 with the first officers being M.M. Dunford, Pres.; Mrs. Ruby Sanders, v-pres.; Olen Cole, sec.-treas. Board of Directors: 1964-66, Otis Burger, Mrs. Morris Phillips, Clarence Ridley; 1964-65, C.W. Bradley, T.C. Kendrick, Ben Messer; 1964,Mrs. R.F. Hill, Aaron Leonard, Jim Mashburn. Mr. and Mrs. Dunford, Olen Cole, Mrs. R.F. Hill, G.I. Maddox, and Wilene Foster were the first ones to really work on the organization of a fair. The fair has shown steady growth. C.W. Bradley has been manager and director for the past three years until January, 1980. In January, 1980, a meeting was called to discuss the future of the Fair due to the resignation of C.W. Bradley as president of the Murray County Fair Association. New officers were elected as follows: Mike Davis, president; Dutch Jones, 1st vice-president; Del Richards, 2nd vice-president; Louie Canova, secretary-treasurer. Board of Directors includes: Jerry Bryson, Jim Folsom, Ben Messer, Lou Locklear, and Iris McGill. Tentative dates for the 1980 fair were set for Sept. 22-27. The fair will be held at the Murray County Saddle Club grounds. The association has now disbanded. Submitted by C.W. Bradley National Association of Saddle Riding Clubs C.W. Bradley founded and organized the National Assoc. of Saddle Riding Clubs in 1963 and remained its president until 1969. The Saddle Clubs were largely in Ga., Ala., Tenn. with others across the nation. The goals of the club were to promote horseback riding for pleasure and show along with family recreation and fellowship. The Appalachian Wagon Train in Chatsworth was an outgrowth of NSARCA. Submitted by C.W. Bradley History of Northwest Georgia Travel Association Organization date November 7, 1979, Chickamauga National Military Park with 46 in attendance. Phil Francis hosted the meeting. Dick Borden chaired meeting. Dan Biggers with Martha Berry and Oak Hill Museum, Rome, Georgia, was nominated and elected President. Bill Chapin of Rock City agreed to chair a committee to select a name for the organization to be decided by next meeting. Committee chairpersons were nominated as follows: Marylyn Moore, Weyman Mineral Center Museum, Cartersville, Georgia. Membership� Diana Shad-day, Rome Tourist, Rome, Georgia. Dues, Bill Chapin, Rock City. Bylaws, George Wilson, Conasauga Magazine, Dalton, Georgia. Projects, Jane Harrell and Judy Alderman, Praters Mill, Dalton, Georgia. The first meeting was held at Cartersville with Marylyn Moore as hostess. December 12, 1979 at 10:00 at which time we selected, as name of the organization, The Northwest Georgia Travel Association. Our purpose is to promote tourism in the 16 Northwest Counties known as Pioneer Territory. With the talents of Don Ritchie who lives in Crandall, Georgia, and is now employed by Dalton Junior College, we came up with a booth built by Coosa Valley Tech to look like the back of a Conestooga Covered Wagon, with a map of the 16 Northwest Counties. It has served us well at travel shows and many other places including the Georgia Tourism Conference; it has won two awards. Our best known travel show is the Annual Stay and See Georgia at Lenox Square in Atlanta. Our booth is manned by volunteers and has brochures from all 16 counties. In September 1984 we hosted the Governor's Georgia Tourism Conference in Rome, Georgia. This was a notable event usually held in a much larger city; only as an organization were we able to attract this conference. Active members from Chatsworth-Murray County included: Charter member Dixie Jones, Board of Directors of Chatsworth-Murray County Chamber of Commerce and Board of Directors, Northwest Georgia Travel Association. Hugh McDaniell, Vice-President Northwest Georgia Travel Association, of Fort Mountain Estates is also chairman of the Legislative Committee. Wylene Richards, Secretary of Chatsworth-Murray County Chamber of Commerce and 1984 Secretary for Travel Association, also Board member. Floyd Franklin, Cohutta Lodge; Albert Edwards, Chatsworth Times; Tim Howard, Chief Vann House; Galaxy Carpet; City of Chatsworth; Fort Mountain State Park; Cohutta Banking Company; First National Bank of Chatsworth; Milton Clarke, Little Rome Pizza Restaurant; and Wolf Jedamski, Cohutta Springs Aventist Center are all members of the Travel Association. Since organized we have had three presidents who have done an outstanding job, along with our 111 members. The first two years Dan Biggers was our president. Jane Harrell was next and Phil Francis to present (1984). Northwest Ruritan Club The Northwest Ruritan Club was chartered the 12th day of October 1976. Lamar Henry was elected as our first president. The following is a list of our charter members: Lamar Henry, Larry Loughridge, Terry Henry, Jimmy L. Tatum, James Burns, Frank Bailey, Arnold L. Hill Jr., James Hammontree, LD. Richards, Grady Bryant, David Causby, C.H. Anderson, Arthur Smith, Fred Stevenson, Paul Ross, George H. Baxter, Donald Carter, Gary W. Beavers, Jerry Joe King, Glenn Earnest, Phil McCamy, George Ross, Jesse Dunn, Dale Richards, James Turner, Billy Caylor, Ernie Ballew, Jerry Noland, Carlton Petty, Jimmy Petty, Edward Calhoun, Marvin McClure, Buddy Crisp. The club has had some very successful projects. An icemaker has been bought for the school lunchroom and new playground equipment has been purchased. We have bought encyclopedias for some of the school classrooms. All of these things have been purchased with funds from the projects that the Ruritan Club has sponsored. The Ruritan Club wishes to express its appreciation to the school principal, Larry A. Loughridge, for his great cooperation and support. It also wishes to thank each teacher and all of the members who have made this club a success. Chatsworth Optimist Club Late in 1980 efforts began to establish an Optimist Club in Chatsworth and in January, 1981 the group was chartered with 38 members. The Northeast Cobb Optimist Club served as the sponsoring club. The organization focuses on support of youth activities in the county and has made great strides in recognizing deserving students and has organized junior chapters at Murray Junior and Senior High Schools. The first officers included President Brad Davis, Vice-Presidents Bill Barker and Melvin Welch, and Secretary-Treasurer Charles Etheridge. Other charter members were Jimmy Beavers, John Burgess, Bobby Campbell, Luther Carter, Novis Davis, Reg Dangler, Hilton Dunn, Albert Edwards, Barney Elrod, Terry Grant, Torn Greeson, Jimmy Gregory, Bill Hansird, Macky Holcornb, Jerry Holmes, Paul Hurst, Tony Jones, Gerald Leonard, Jim McCraney, Dan Mc-Entire, Kenneth Moore, Claude Parker, John W. Peeples, Paul Ross, Jerry San-ford, Scott Shull, Huston Smith, Jirnmy Thomason, Billy Townsend, Rembert Townsend, Kenneth Vance, and Fred Welch. Information from The Chatsworth Times, January 15, 1981 Pilot Club of Chatsworth The Pilot Club of Chatsworth became an official chapter of Pilot International on February 24, 1973 under the sponsorship of the Dalton Pilot Club. Miss Robbie Cowart, the club's first president, accepted the charter. Friendship and service to the community were the goals the club made great strides in promoting. Furnishing a room in the new Murray County Memorial Hospital was the club's foremost fund-raising goal. The highlight of the first year was an official visit from Miss Gertrude Stanford, 1973-74 Governor of District 1, Pilot International. During 1974-75, under the direction of the second president, Mrs. Marilyn Holsomback, the club continued to strive for community service and friendship. This year's theme was "Trailblazing to New Horizons" and the club carried out many fund-raising projects to furnish the hospital room. Because of the many hours of service performed by our members, the club was awarded the Club of the Year award. A visit from Mrs. Martha Jones, District Governor, was enjoyed by all members. "Service Today Insures Tomorrow" was the 1975-76 theme for all Pilots. This theme was carried out under the direction of the club's third president, Miss Inez Deal. The club's annual Ijttle Miss Murray County Pageant was held with great success and proceeds went toward the hospital furnishing project, A variety of community services, such as the Easter Seals campaign, a covered dish supper for senior citizens, a shower for the Murray County Training Center, Mini Olympics, Murray County Fair Queen contest, a bike-hike, etc., totaled over 2,000 service hours. As a result, the club was once again awarded Club of the Year recognition at the District 1 Convention in Macon. Two other awards were also presented to the Chatsworth Club: the Project Hope Award of Merit and the Care Certificate of Appreciation. The Pilot Club Project for 1978 was beautification of the city and county by the planting of Crepe Myrtles throughout the area. Succeeding presidents have included: Ann BaiJey (1976-77), Denise Brown (1977-78), Zora Brooks (1978-79), Edna Jo Butler (1979-80), Nell Wilburn (1980-81), Brenda Kilgore (1981-82). Other active officers and directors have included: Edna Young, Cindy Ramsey, Frankie Hufstetler, Laverne Roberson, Mary Helen Swinney, Iris McGill, Becky Jordan, Julia Long, Barbara Kinney, Lynn Cochran, Vivian Ridley, Paula Kelley, Ethel Jones, Donna Boling, Rachel Ridley, and Wanda Poteet. Murray County Chapter, American Red Crossbr> Information provided by Annette Patton and Louise Stewart, 1985 Retired Teachers Association Murray County Retired Teachers Association, a unit of Georgia Retired Teachers Association, was organized Aug. 28, 1975 for the purpose of promoting beneficial legislation and providing information and referrel services of help to the members. Officers were: President, Hoke Jackson; V. President, G.I. Maddox; Sec.-Treas., Edna Jo Butler; Reporter. Minnie Calhoun; Membership Chr., Howell Brown. Charter members were: Marvin Shields, G.I. Maddox, Edna Jo Butler, Howell Brown, Hoke Jackson, Walter Richards, Troy Richards, Icy Plemons, Ray Bagley, Callie Knight, C.W. Bradley, Estelle Middleton, Minnie Calhoun, and Ione Hemphill. Submitted by Sybil McLemore Saddle Club The Murray County Saddle Club was organized in 1957 at Center Valley Church. Charter members were: C.W. Bradley, Jim GlatJdson, James Lough-ridge, Fred Fraker, Odell Ingle, Aaron Leonard, Gerald Leonard. Officers elected were: Jim Gladdson, president; C.W. Bradley, v-pres.; Fred Fraker, secy.-treas. The club grew rapidly and many family activities were enjoyed by the members. The club was chartered Aug. 17, 1959. C.W. Bradley was president and has continued as president to the present time, except for one term each for Gerald Leonard, Dewey Sitton, R.H. Howard, and Homer Robinson. The first horse show was held Oct. 11, 1958 at the Murray High School football field. The club bought a house and moved it to the 7-acre tract south of Murray High School. The property was purchased in 1960. The Appalachian Wagon Train was started in the spring of 1960. Other area saddle clubs joined in the sponsorship. The trail went from Chatsworth to Ellijay, through the National Forest through Mulberry Gap to Ellijay, about 26 miles taking about 8 � hours on the road. As the Wagon Train celebration developed over the years, it has expanded into a full week of celebration with various activities in which to participate. The club built a new block clubhouse in 1965. As the club grew and the county grew, the club concluded a trade with the county and moved to the new site of 40 acres east of Chatsworth in 1975. Some of the activities which use the facilities are: The Murray County Fair, Georgia Mule Frolic Show, Georgia State Racking Horse Show, FFA Alumni Rodeo, and various other groups' activities. The club works with the FFA in the schools and also the Cattlemen's Association, works with the county agriculture officials, 4-H Clubs, and sponsored the County Fair for some years. Officers, 1978: C.W. Bradley, pres., John Webb, v-p.; Martha West, sec.; Dutch Jones, treas.; Miles Winkler, chaplain; Cliff Lewis(?) sgt. at arms; Bd. of Directors: Arnold Gray, James Brown, Ishmael Joyce,Dick Barnes,R.H. Howard. Submitted by C.W. Bradley, 1978 Senior Citizens Club The first meeting of the Murray County Senior Citizens Club was held in the old Murray County Saddle Club. The club was started by William Petty and was an immediate success. Our first five meetings were sponsored by the five Home Economics Clubs that were headed by Mrs. Fay Creel, Home Economist, with the Georgia Extension Service. The by-laws of the Murray County Senior Citizens Club are registered in the Georgia State Office of Aging Programs. They were formulated by Mr. William J. Petty and H.O.Cole. The following officers were chosen to lead the club and were elected to serve 3-year terms: William J. Petty, president; James M. Jones, vice-president; Mrs. Blanche Robinson, secretary; and Miss Frances Heart sell, treasurer. The entertainment at the first meeting was presented by Mrs. Clyde Truan, imitating Minnie Pearl, and G.I. Maddox and the FFA String Band, composed of Wesley Baynes, Jeff Robinson, Alvin Deal, and Gary Cowart. Mr. Maddox led the members in singing. Charter members at the first meeting in June, 1970 were: M/M Frank Hagel, M/M William J. Petty, M/M G.I. Maddox, M/M James M. Jones, M/M Clyde Truan, Mrs. Wyatt Mullinax, Mrs. Bessie Mae Adams, Mrs. W.H. Padgett, Miss Zora Ensley, Mrs. Bonnie Gudger, Mrs. Marie Kelly, Mrs. Hugh Knight, Mrs. Sara Lou Kilgore, Miss Frances Heartsell, Mrs. Sybil McLemore, Mrs. R.D. Waters, M/M Homer Robinson, Mrs. Pearl West, Mrs. George Holmes, Miss Mattie Bagley, Mrs. Caroline Amis, Mrs. Ruth Bates, Mrs. Jewel Gray, Mrs. Wilbur Jackson, M/M W.W. Keith, Jr., and several visitors, Mrs. Nancy Kinser, Mrs. Jean Smith and Joyce, Mrs. Jerry Leonard and Tonjua, Mrs. Sherman Leonard and Mrs. Fay Creel. Several of the members have gone on to their eternal rewards, some moved away, and a couple are incapacitated. Our membership has grown with the years and today we have a larger membership than ever before. We are proud to be Senior Citizens of Murray County and to have such a fine club. Submitted by Mary Petty, Sept. 5, 1978 Spring Place Rurilan Club The Spring Place Ruritan Club was organized in 1950. Charter members were: Loren Ross, B.E. Pritchett, Paul Smith, Odell Ingle, W.C. Petty, Troy Richards, G.I. Maddox, Ben Jones, J.B. Vaughn, Huea Robinson, Barnie H. Pierce, Floyd Cook, H.L. Ballew, Nay Ballew, James Mashburn, Jr., Luther Jones, Chester Hannah, B.C. Wilbanks, W.A. Leonard, Edwin Hilley, Tucker Brown, and Hill Hannah. Each year the Spring Place Ruritan Club holds a fall carnival during the month of October. The precedes go to support several activities and projects around Spring Place and Murray County. Each year donations are made to Spring Place Elementary School, Scouting program in Murray County, Cherokee Boys Estate, WhitfieId-Murray Historical Society, Special Olympics, Murray County Association of Retarded Citizens, Murray County E.M.T. program, Heart Fund, and Future Farmers of America. Through these donations, the Spring Place Ruritan Club promotes a better place to live by service to our community and by encouragement to other individuals, institutions, and/or organizations who also serve our community. Jerry E. Ridley, Secretary, 1984-85 Sumach Masonic Lodge Sumach Lodge No. 55 was chartered November 1, 1882; John C. Mclntyte, Worshipful Master, W.R. Hill, Senior Warden, and W.H. Ricket, Junior Warden. CHARTER MEMBERS OF SUMACH LODGE NO. 55 R.R. Bates SUMACH LODGE NO. 55 LODGE OFFICERS FOR 1978 Worshipful Master Tommy Eddie Cowart MEMBERS 1978 James Russell Arthur HONORARY MEMBERS OF SUMACH LODGE NO. 55 Worshipful Brother Whitfield-Murray Historical Society The Whitfield-Murray Historical Society has seen many dreams come true since its organization in the 1950's. The first project was the restoration of the Vann House in Spring Place. Now operated by the Georgia Department of Natural Resources, the Vann House has already celebrated its Silver Anniversary as a historic site and has some 20,000 visitors each year. During the 1950's Mr. R.E. Chambers, Mr. Charles A. Pannell, and Mr. Odell Ingle helped provide much support from Murray County to the Historical Society, headed for many years by Mrs, B.J. Bandy of Dalton. Following a period of inactivity, the Society was reorganized in 1976 with Dot Seaton of Cohutta as president. Other officers were Helen Henderson, Thelma Morris, Scott Sapp, and, from Chatsworth, Mrs. Catherine Raine. Since the reactivation the Society has established its headquarters at Crown Gardens and Archives in Dalton, restored the old Spring Place Methodist Church, assisted with restoration at the W & A Depot in Dalton, restored the Blunt House�home of Dalton's first mayor�surveyed cemeteries in both counties, indexed marriage records, published a Historical Journal in which Murray County has often been highlighted, sponsored open houses and various meetings in Murray County, and established the James Loughridge Memorial Scholarship at Murray County High School. Of course, a major project sponsored by the society has been the writing of this new history of Murray County, Numerous sites have been placed on the National Register of Historic places also�including the Wright Hotel, the Murray County Courthouse, and the Vann House. Presidents of the Historical Society since the reorganization include; Mrs. Dot Seaton 1976-77, Mrs. Mildred McCamy 1978 & 1981, Emily Davies 1979-80. Mary Gene Dykes 1982-83, and Tim Howard 1984-85. Polly Boggess has served as executive secretary since 1977. Submitted by Tim Howard, 1985
The Murray County Chapter of the American Red Cross was organized February 8, 1918 in Chatsworth. Charter officers included: Chairman Donald P, Start, Treasurer T.W. Brooks, Secretary Bonnje Kate Barnett, Chairman of the Finance Committee M.D. Jefferson, Chairman of the Membership Committee Miss Nettie Gladden, and Chairman of the Executive Committee Mrs. J. Roy McGinty. Two other Murray Countians who served in the Red Cross Chapter for many years were Mrs. Johnnie Hartley of Eton and Mr. R.E. Chambers of Chatsworth.
R J. Bryant
W.E. Burch
J.E. Cain
E.I.F. Cheyne
P.A. Haggard
G.W. Hall
A.T. Harris
S.H. Harris
W.G.Harris
A.J. Hembree
S..H.Henry
W.L. Henry
W.R. Hill
C.C. Howell
P.W. Ivester
F.M.Jones
D.H. Lacewell
W.R.Loughridge
Thomas Leach
J.W. Mackey
John C. McEntyre
J.L. McEntire, Sr.
J.L. McEntire, Jr.
J.W. McClain
Thomas McClain
J.W. Morjiers
J.M. Poag
W.H. Ricket
J.L. Smith
W.F. Summerour
D.C. Rimmies
C.L. Wasmae
E.B.Wasmae
Jesse Wasmae
Euclid Waterhouse, Sr.
Euclid Waterhouse, Jr.
P.E. Whittles
J.E. Wilson
Senior Warden William E. Phillips
Junior Warden Frank Ronald Rogers
Treasurer Merial C. Maloney
Secretary Donald Eugene Bedwell
Chaplain Monroe W. Steelman
Senior Deacon Russell T. Miller
Junior Deacon Jimmy D. Sherill
Senior Steward Albert A. Ledford
Junior Steward Edward H. Brown
Third Steward Eddy E. Steelman
Director of Work Donald EugeneBedwell
William Kavanough Arthur
Johnny Junior Beavers
William Henry Beavers-Past Master
Donald Eugene Bedwell� Past Master
Russell Heartsell Bond-Past Master
Thomas Hendrex Brackelt-Emeritus
Preston Albert Brock
Edward Holmes Brown
Grady Earl Bryant-Past Master
Gib son John Burnett
Thomas William Colvard� Past Master
James William Campbell
Billy James Caylor
Herbert Ralph Cochran-Past Master
Tommy Edward Cowart
Edward Jack Dalton-Past Master
Harvey Clinton Davis
Emmett Oscar Dean-Past Master
Roger Colin Dollar
Frank Paul Dills
Johnny Elrod
Leroy Elrod
James Harold Go ley
Johnny Green
Ralph Howell Green
Homer Chester Hammontiee Jr.-Past Master
William J. Hawkins
John Hayes-Past Master
Dane Walker Henry-EmeritUI
Paul Dean Higdon
Robert Lee Higdon
Samuel Turvey Higdon
C.L.Holcomb-Emeritus
Joe Dunn Holcomb-Past Master
James Arvil Hulett
Floyd Lewis Hulett
William Kenneth Jones-Past Master
Neil Hall Keener
Raymond Fetyzer Keener-Past Master
Lee van Kirk
Albert Allen Ledford
Marvin Clyn Ledford-Past Master
John Loyd McCamy
William Troy McCamy, Jr.
Merial Clifton Maloney
Douglas Terrell Mathis
Raymond Eugene McEntire
Samuel Henry McEntire-Past Master and Emeritus
Russell Thomas Miller
Hugh L. Paige
Kenneth Paige
Jimmy Roy Page
Grady Payne
Bobby Tie Peden
Fred Walter Peden
William Emmett Phillips
Charles Newton Poteet
Frank Ronald Rogers
Wayne George San ford
James Donald Sherrill
Arvil Luther Shields
Edward Putman Slaughter-Emeritus
Jesse Henry Stafford
Donald Eugene Steelman
Eddy Eugene Steelman
Monroe Willard Steelman
Jesse Lee Stewart-Past Master
Virgil Lamar Turvey-Past Master
Bob Henton Weber
Charles Cecil Wheat
Jerry Lebrun Wheat
Charlie Lee Wilson-Emeritus
J.L.Wilson-Emeritus
Charles Lee Young
Clyde Young
Robert James Young
Henry Ross-Conasauga No. 396
Worshipful Brother
Don Wilkey-Conasauga No. 396
Brother
Frank Rogers-Chatsworth No. 664
Brother J.D. Bostic-EtonNo.509
Brother Glenn Kendrick-Chatsworth No. 664
Worshipful Brother Wendell Chastain -Eton No. 509
For more information see Sumach on the Hill by Conway Gregory, Jr., 1976.
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