The Whitfield-Murray Historical Society is proud to announce that the Polar Express is returning to the Chatsworth Depot on Saturday, December 6th. Dramatic readings of the book, THE POLAR EXPRESS, by local retired educator C. L. Dunn, will take place inside the depot on each half hour. The Chatsworth Train Depot will be elaborately decorated for the Christmas Holidays. The Depot’s Big Blue Train will take riders to visit Santa at the Wright Hotel located around the block from the Depot. The hours of operation will be 12:00 noon until 4:00pm.
Highlighting the afternoon will be a model Christmas train set up and running in the freight room of the depot. Trains just seem to go with Christmas!
The Wright Hotel will also be open for tours during the same hours. The hotel will be decorated for the Christmas season and a display of vintage Christmas cards from the Hotel archives is planned.
Refreshments will be served by the Chatsworth Depot Committee members. The event is free for children 10 and under (must be accompanied by a paid adult), but a $3 donation for those ages 11 and up is requested for Depot admission. Big Blue Train rides to see Santa are free, but donations are always appreciated. The event is sponsored by the Wright Hotel Committee and Chatsworth Depot Committee.
Upcoming Events
Vann House 2025 Candlelight Tours
December 12 & 13, 2025
5 pm to 9 pm each evening with live music.
Hot apple cider and Moravian cookies will be served.
Rachel's Star Lighting on Mount Rachel
Monday, December 1 at dusk
Hamilton House open for tours 3 to 5 pm
Crown Gardens & Archives open for refreshment and Christmas Carols at 5 to 6 pm
Thanksgiving Holiday Hours
Closed on November 27 & 28
Christmas Holiday Hours
Closed the week of Christmas
December 22 through 26
and
New Year's Day Holiday
closed on Thursday, January 1
Our headquarters is open Monday-Friday, 10:00-4:00.
You may drop off rummage for our two annual sales during business hours. If you need other help, please email us at whitfieldmurrayhs@gmail.com &/or call 706-278-0217.
The Chatsworth Depot and the Wright Hotel, owned by the Whitfield-Murray Historical Society, The Hotel is celebrating its 115th anniversary with special displays and souvenirs. Admission to tours and trains will be free, but donations are appreciated.
The Chatsworth Depot, constructed in 1905 by the Louisville & Nashville Railroad, is the oldest public building in town. The passenger waiting room contains a museum showcasing the talc industry in Murray County. The station agent’s office and the freight room contain historic railroad artifacts and exhibits related to the depot. The 1960 caboose is located behind the Depot.
Around the corner from the Depot located on First Avenue is the historic Wright Hotel at the intersection of Market Street and Second Avenue. Built with locally produced materials, the Hotel opened in 1909 and the 115th anniversary of that historic occasion is the focus of events there over the next year. The business operated into the 1960’s, sometimes under the name “Chatsworth Hotel” and today is a double listing on the National Register of Historic Places—first as an individual site and again as a part of the downtown Chatsworth historic district.
A property of the historical society for almost four decades now, the site will feature some new photographic displays as well as offering souvenir T-shirts, buttons, magnets, and coasters to commemorate the Hotel’s first 115 years! Proceeds from these items as well as donations will go toward the continued preservation of the amazing three-story building.
The Historical Society would like to thank the 2024 business partners who make the programs possible. Many have been supporting Second Saturdays for many years. Partners are Peeples Funeral Home, Bradley’s Ace Hardware, Bojangles, Captain D’s & Krystal restaurants, Chatsworth First Community Bank, and the Murray County Elected Officials. Be sure to tell them you appreciate their supporting the historic properties of Chatsworth anytime you visit or contact one of these.
Dorothy "Dot" McCrory's second book,
"View from the Gaming Table,”
is now available. Copies are $35.
A copy can be mailed for $50.
Book sales benefit the Lesche Club scholarship fund.
The Emery Center, Inc.
110 West Emery Street
Dalton, GA 30720
Tours are available on Wednesdays
Tour Times are:
10:15 a.m.
12:15 p.m.
2:15 p.m.
Please call the Emery Center to schedule a tour
at 706-277-7633
or 706-280-7695.
The Emery Center is located at
the corner of Emery St. and S. Pentz St.
MY LIFE AND TRAVELS
written by former slave
LEVI BRANHAM
has been reprinted.
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 recollect 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.
A white boy, Sam Carter, brother of 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.
So begins the story of an incredible man who made a huge difference in the Northwest corner of Georgia. He was a slave at the Chief Vann House in Murray County. Because he was taught to read and write by his Mistress while a slave, he recognized the advantage of an education. He taught schools following the Civil War. He traveled around the area, helping found educational opportunities for freed slaves and their families/ He was also a Sunday school teacher. Mr. Branham, known locally as "Uncle Boisey" published My Life and Travels in 1929, when he was seventy-seven years old.
The book has just been reprinted and will be available for $8 at the Crown Gardens & Archives, 715 Chattanooga Ave, Dalton, GA 30720. (706) 278-0217
Assorted Yearbooks for Sale
Used Yearbooks are $20 each
Sold As Is.
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Crown Gardens & Archives
715 Chattanooga Avenue
Dalton, GA 30720
The hours are Monday through Friday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
The Whitfield-Murray Historical Society recently received a $500 Keep Dalton/Whitfield Beautiful Grant for the 1840 Hamilton House. Our focus was to add fresh paint to the doors and windows. Along the way, we also painted porch furniture and added new plantings. Thanks,KD/WB, for encouraging us to spiff up!
The window paint was chipping, and we needed a facelift! In addition to the fresh paint, we decided to change the paint color from brick red to black for the doors and porch.
The new paint pops, and the side porch bench and floor are more welcoming.
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.
Photographers must schedule events for all outside 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 706-529-8082
Chatsworth Depot
Call Ted at 706-581-5482
Wright Hotel
Call Ralph at 706-695-9808 or 706-260-1320
Historical Dalton City Directories are online
Researchers may now access Dalton city directories from 1940-1963 online, thanks to Georgia Public Library Service. They joined previously digitized Georgia city directories from Albany, Athens, Atlanta, Columbus, Gainsville, and Macon. To locate a city directory, go to the following link.
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:
