---

Our headquarters is open Monday-Friday, 10:00-4:00.  We are practicing social distancing.  You may drop off rummage for our two annual sales  anytime.  If you need other help, please email us at director@whitfieldmurray.org &/or call 706-278-0217.

---

Notice:

 

All Whitfield-Murray Historical Society properties are owned by the historical society, so are therefore private property.

 

If you would like to use the grounds for photographs, etc., please obtain permission by calling 706-278-0217, Monday through Friday.

 

Please note that if an event is occurring on the property, no one else is allowed to be on the property.

 

Professional photographers must schedule events for all outside & inside areas at all WMHS properties. The fee for the rental is $100 per session per property.

---

 

---

Rent a Whitfield Murray Historical Society Property for your next event.

As you plan upcoming family or organization events, consider using WMHS property. Contacts for information &/or reservations are:

Old Spring Place Methodist Church

Call Tim at 706-695-2740

 

Crown Garden and Archives

Call Tina at 706-278-0217

 

Hamilton House

Call Tina at 706-278-0217

 

Blunt House

Call Joanne at 706-271-8702

 

Huff House

Call Virgelia at 706-226-6774

 

Chatsworth Depot

Call Ted at 706-581-5482

 

Wright Hotel

Call Ralph at 706-695-9808 or 706-260-1320

---

---

Spring Place Community Festival is August 21

 

“Spring Place:  Rooted in Red Clay” is the theme for the 24th annual Spring Place Community Festival, set for Saturday, August 21 at the Old Spring Place Methodist Church.  A used book sale, breakfast biscuits, a bake sale, an indoor/outdoor flea market,  and other activities will begin at 8 a.m. Highlighting the day is the auction including artist prints, collectibles and historical memorabilia, furniture, rugs, and gift cards donated by area businesses.

The outdoor auction begins at 10:00. The Festival is co-sponsored by the Spring Place Ruritan Club.  Recent “finds”, pictures, and artifacts relating to the agricultural history of the area will be the featured display along with several antique tractors. Proceeds from the festival will go to Church Preservation Fund of the Whitfield-Murray Historical Society. 

For more information contact 706-695-2740 or 706-264-3968.

---

---

Historical Society Awards Scholarships

 

As it has done for almost four decades, the Whitfield-Murray Historical Society has awarded several scholarships to seniors at various local public high schools.  The scholarships are based on the students' interest and work in local history and each scholarship is named in honor of local historic preservationists. 

 

The recipients at Coahulla Creek High School are Cam and Colt Souther who have volunteered at the Prater's Mill Country Fair during their high school careers. The scholarships at Coahulla Creek honor Mrs. Judy Alderman and Dr. Don Thomas, both of whom serve as trustees of the Historical Society  and have given much to the group's efforts to preserve the area's rich heritage. 

 

Joe McDaniel of Chatsworth will receive the James and Nell Ruth Loughridge Memorial Scholarship given at Murray County High School.  Joe has volunteered at the Vann House and at the Old Spring Place Methodist Church since he was in elementary school. He's also a second-generation recipient of this honor.  The Loughridges were active in Murray County's historic preservation work for most of five decades.

 

Several North Murray High School graduates are recipients of this year's Paul Ross Memorial Scholarships.  Some have been been visiting local historic sites since they were toddlers and developed that interest into volunteering at various historical society events such as Tea with Mom at the Wright Hotel, Vann House Days at the Vann House, and the Spring Place Festival at the Old Methodist Church.  The honorees are Reagan Brown, Summer Johnston, Emma Grace Payne, Abby Stafford, and Macy Tucker.  Mr. Ross, a well-known Murray County businessman, was chairman of the Society's Board of Trustees. 

 

Elle Shirah, a member of the Historical Society who has spent much time researching artifacts and learning about the area's history is the honoree at Southeast Whitfield High School.  There the scholarship is named in honor of the late Mr. I.V. Chandler, a former educator, businessman, and Society member, and in honor of Mr. Marvin Sowder, well-known Whitfield County Historian and trustee of the Society. 

---

 

The WMHS Scholarships are funded this year by a grant from the Mashburn Trust.  Members of the 2021 WMHS Scholarship Committee are Judy Alderman, Tim Howard, Deborah Ausmus, Whitney Grant, Jane Pate, Dewey Hughes, and Dr. Don Thomas.  Dalton High and Northwest Whitfield did not have applicants this year. 

 

All recipients will be recognized at their schools as well as at the May 16 meeting of the Historical Society to be held at the Historic Hamilton House on Chattanooga Avenue beginning at 2:30. 

 

 

---

MURRAY COUNTY DEEDS ARE NOW ONLINE

All Murray County deeds--back to 1833--are now accessible online.  This includes the earliest deeds for Whitfield County, too, since we were one county through 1851.  Use this link to access the deeds:

https://kofilequicklinks.com/MurrayGA/

---

Whitfield-Murray Historical Society Benefits from Grants

     

            During the COVID-19 virus pandemic, the Whitfield-Murray Historical Society has benefited from both member donations & government grants. The US government’s Paycheck Protection Program (PPP), created to provide a direct incentive for small businesses to keep their workers on the payroll, enabled the organization to cover employee payroll, payroll taxes, & utilities.  The Society also received funds from the Georgia Humanities Council through the CARES Act Emergency Operating grant.  WMHS is grateful for this state humanities support.

Organized in 1952 to preserve the Vann House, the Whitfield-Murray Historical Society is the pivot point for all things historical in Whitfield & Murray counties.  The Society preserves area history by maintaining structures, archiving objects & materials, & serving as the go-to entity for historical questions.  WMHS also conducts historic house tours, bi-annual rummage sales, and Holiday House tours.  Among the many activities conducted by the WMHS are Social Distancing Concerts at the Chatsworth Depot.  Upcoming date is August 8. 

            The Society has placed 11 sites on the National Register of Historic Places. In addition, the group has preserved the 1864 Dug Gap Battle Park, the 1909 Wright Hotel, old Spring Place Methodist Church (1875), & the 1905 Chatsworth Depot. The 1840 Hamilton House which is the oldest home in Dalton, and the 1848 Blunt House, home of Dalton’s first mayor, and second oldest house are also part of the preservation done by WMHS. The 1855 Huff House was General Joseph E. Johnston’s headquarters during the winter of 1863-64 preparing for the Atlanta Campaign is another WMHS property.

            WMHS headquarters, Crown Gardens and Archives--the 1890 Crown Cotton Mill office building--is a resource for local historical & genealogical research.  The Society sells books on local history & publishes a bi-monthly newsletter as well as a historical review.  Annual scholarships are awarded to young researchers, & historic preservation awards recognize area preservationists.  Meetings feature topics of local historical interest in Whitfield & Murray counties.

            Individuals interested in local history are encouraged to join the Society. Donations to aid in the very important work of protecting our local history may be mailed to: WMHS, P.O. Box 6180, Dalton, GA 30722.  For more information, call 706-278-0217, or visit http://www.whitfield-murrayhistoricalsociety.org.

 

Bylines:
Sherrian Hall, Jean Manly, and Joanne Lewis scraping old wall paper at the Blunt House, one of the WMHS historic properties.

 

Children at one of the history camps rubbing tombstones.

 

VINTAGE MAGIC CHEF GAS STOVE FOR SALE--Manufactured in 1920s or early 1930s.  $ 200 cash.  Serious inquiries only. 

 Call 706-278-0217 & leave message.