Whitfield-Murray Historical Society

November Whitfield-Murray Historical Society Meeting

 to Feature Civil War Authors

The November meeting of the Whitfield-Murray Historical Society will be held on Sunday, Nov. 13, 2011, at 2:30 p.m. at the Whitfield-Murray History Center (Crown Gardens and Archives) on Chattanooga Avenue, Dalton, Georgia.  

The featured speakers will be Barry L. Brown and Dr. Gordon R. “Rich” Elwell, former staff members of the Georgia Civil War Commission and co-authors of Crossroads of Conflict: A Guide to Civil War Sites in Georgia. These outstanding authors were nominated in 2010 for the Author of the Year award for creative nonfiction by the Georgia Writers Association. 

Published by the University of Georgia Press in 2010, the book covers 350 significant historic Civil War sites in Georgia, including many in the north Georgia area.  With its detailed information, and its full color illustrations, it has been judged the “indispensable guide for the 150th anniversary of the war in Georgia.” 

Barry L. Brown spent six years on the staff of the Georgia Civil War Commission before moving to the Department of Economic Development where he is currently a heritage tourism specialist. With undergraduate and graduate degrees in history and historic preservation, he is recognized today as a professional historic preservationist and Civil War expert.  

Gordon R. Elwell is retired after 30 years with the Centers for Disease Control. He was Administrator for the Georgia Civil War Commission 1996-2007, and currently teaches research methods in the master’s degree program at Central Michigan University in Atlanta.  He holds the BS degree from Florida State University, MA from Emory, and PhD from Georgia State University. He serves as the historian for the Georgia State Defense Force, and has published over twenty articles in journals on military history.

Crossroads of Conflict has received the Award of Merit from the American Association for State and Local History, Leadership in History Awards, as well as the Award for Excellence in Documenting Georgia’s History from the Georgia Historical Records Advisory Board, Office of the Secretary of State.

The program will be followed by a book signing and opportunity to meet these distinguished authors. The public is cordially invited to attend.

Gospel Singing Convention October 28, 2011

The quarterly Murray County/North Georgia Gospel Singing Convention will be held at Smyrna Baptist Church on Saturday, October 29. All singers, leaders, musicians, and listeners are welcome. Singing begins at 7:00 PM with refreshments to follow. The church is located on Smyrna Church Road, south of Chatsworth, GA just off U.S. 411. For more information call 706-695-2740.

Historic Wright Hotel, Old Chatsworth Depot, and Section House 

To be Open During                                                               

Black Bear Festival

The Whifield-Murray Historical Society announces that three of Chatsworth’s most historic structures will be open to the public during the annual Black Bear Festival on October 22 and 23.  The Wright Hotel, the old Chatsworth Depot, and the railroad section house will all be open 10-6 both days.  A nominal admission fee will be charged at the Hotel while admission to the other sites is free.

On the corner of Market Street and Second Avenue, the Wright Hotel is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Built for the Thomas Wright Family in 1909, the Hotel opened for business in 1910.  Operated by the family for more than three decades, the hotel was then leased to other businessmen until the 1960’s. Katherine Wright Raine, daughter of the original builders, returned to Chatsworth in the 1970’s after a long career as a public health nurse among the Indians of the American southwest.  She carefully restored most of the hotel and then bequeathed the building to the Historical Society upon her death in 1986. 

Today, this amazing property contains many original antiques, various old hotel furnishings, numerous Indian crafts, nursing memorabilia, and some more recent antique additions including a pump organ, a sofa, chairs, rugs and a very antique radio. It also houses a gift shop featuring books, postcards, prints, DVD’s, notecards, and other publications of the Historical Society.

The Depot is where Chatsworth began. Constructed in 1905 by the Louisville and Nashville Railroad, the depot was literally built in the middle of the woods, but soon the town of Chatsworth was established around it.  The Depot was moved from its original site by the tracks for preservation by the Whitfield-Murray Historical Society.

Now located on First Avenue adjacent to the Hotel, the building houses many displays relating to early Chatsworth, the talc industry which helped build the town, and the railroad in Murray County.  It is the only depot still in existence in Murray County.  On display during the Festival will be a collection of items from Dr. R. H. Bradley’s office in Chatsworth.  A well-known physician of many years, Bradley was the doctor for railroad employees.  Also on display for the first time is a desk from Chatsworth Elementary School recently donated by the Dick Raber family.

For more information call Emily Cogburn at 706-695-2268 or Tim Howard at 706-695-2740. 

Genealogy workshops

January 14, 9:00 a.m.-12:30 p.m.

  Beginning Genealogy Research

  Organizing Your Records 

     (level:  beginning)

     Lunch break 12:30-1:00 p.m.

     Sack lunches will be available for $5.

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January 14, 1:00-4:30 p.m.

   Exploring Census Records

   Finding Census and Other Records on the Computer             

      (level:  beginning/intermediate)

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January 28, 9:00 a.m.-12:30 p.m.

   Walking Back on the Paper Trail

      (level:  intermediate)

      Lunch break 12:30-1:00 p.m.

      Sack lunches will be available for $5.

January 28, 1:00-4:30 p.m.

   Finding Women Ancestors

   Beginning Cherokee Genealogy Research

   Rigor of Proof—Lineage Societies

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Instructors:

   Sarah C. Roach, NSDAR Genealogy Consultant, named 2011 NSDAR Volunteer 

  Genealogist for TN

  Jean B. Drew, Specialist in Computer Research

Location:

  Whitfield-Murray History Center & Archives

  715 Chattanooga Avenue, Dalton, Georgia

Cost:

  $25 half day; $35 whole day;

  $60 two whole days

   RSVP: Jennifer Detweiler

  wmhs@optilink.us    (706) 278-0217