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 Newsletters will continue to be mailed through the Post Office by mail, rather than by email. Please look for the May and upcoming newsletters in your mailboxes!
Membership Meeting &
Historic Preservation & Scholarship Awards
Sunday, May 5
at 2:30
Old Spring Place Methodist Church
237 Elm St. Chatsworth
in Spring Place
Tea With Mom Returns to Historic Wright Hotel
Saturday, May 11
201 E. Market St. Chastworth, Ga. 30705
The Whitfield-Murray Historical Society will host "Tea with Mom" at the Wright Hotel in Chatsworth on Saturday, May 11, 2024. Seatings will be at noon and at 2:00 p.m.
Tea with Mom is an annual event which features an assortment of tasty refreshments served in the dining and living rooms of the Hotel which was built in 1909. North Murray students traditionally are on hand to assist visitors with hats, hair, and make up as well as serving the tables. There will also be photos and short lessons about tea party etiquette. Plan to arrive 15 minutes before your seating.
Tickets for the Tea are $20 for mom and a guest with any additional guests $5 each. Tickets are now on sale and can be purchased from the Clerk's office at the Murray County Courthouse or at Pat's Antiques on Market Street in downtown Chatsworth. Seating is limited, so reservations should be made early. The deadline is Thursday, May 9. Proceeds from the event go toward the continued preservation of the Wright Hotel, a property of the Historical Society twice listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
For more information contact
Donna Flood at 706-695-2932 or
Peg Adams at 678-488-6847.
Headquarters Closed for Memorial Day
Monday, May 27
Crown Gardens & Archives
Dalton
Mother’s Day Celebration
The Blunt House
506 S. Thornton Ave. Dalton, GA 30720
In celebration of the 175th anniversary of the Blunt House and the three Blunt family mothers, we are presenting a Mother’s Day display of community items reminiscent of our mothers and grandmothers.
The display may be viewed every Friday, in May and June, from 10:30 am to 4 pm. Admission is free, but donations are appreciated.
If you would like to honor your mother or grandmother, we are accepting items for display. If interested, call 706 280 8474 or 706 271 8702.
Second Saturday Tours
Chatsworth Depot and Wright Hotel
Saturday, June 8
From 1 p.m. to 4 p.m.
Headquarters Closed
For Juneteenth
Wednesday, June 19th
Crown Gardens & Archives
Headquarters Closed
For July Fourth
Wednesday, July 3 through 5
Crown Gardens & Archives
Dorothy "Dot" McCrory's second book,
"View from the Gaming Table,”
is now available. Copies are $35.
A copy can be mailed for $45.
Book sales benefit the Lesche Club scholarship fund.
The Emery Center, Inc.
110 West Emery Street
Dalton, GA 30720
Tours are available on Wednesday's
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
We have an assortment of years of high school yearbooks from Dalton High and Southeast High Schools. The yearbooks are used and are sold as is.
The books are $20 each.
Stop by the Crown Gardens and Archives at 715 Chattanooga Avenue, Dalton 30720 to purchase your book.
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.
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
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: