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Chair: Dale Lowman
‘Saturday Singing at the Depot’
Returns to the Chatsworth Depot
June 14, 2025
1-4pm Concert @ 1:00pm
Corner of Market St. & 1st. Ave., Chatsworth
Visit the historic Wright Hotel and Chatsworth Depot 1-4pm.
*1905 Depot was Chatsworth’s first public building and will be open for tours.
*1909 Wright Hotel Tours complete with period and original furnishings will be open for tours.
*Tours and concert are free and provided complements of our business partners Ace Hardware/Bradley’s, Peeples Funeral Home, First National Community Bank, Murray County’s Elected Officials, Modern Woodmen, and Bojangles/Captain D’s/Krystal Restaurants of Chatsworth
Some of the Winkler Sisters, above left to right Linda West, Charlotte Chauncey, Rita Hawkins, and Vickie Chapman, will be featured in a Red Back Hymnal Singing inside the depot at 1:00 pm. Audience participation is expected!
Second Saturday Events at Chatsworth Historic Sites
1 p.m. on June 14
The first Second Saturday event of the summer will include gospel singing at the old Chatsworth Depot, tours of the Chatsworth Caboose, and commemorative displays at the historic Wright Hotel.
Things get underway at The Wright Hotel, located at 201 East Market Street in downtown Chatsworth, has it's continuing displays highlight the story of the 115th birthday of the building listed twice on the National Register of Historic Places. Another display commemorates the 90th anniversary of Murray County High School which has played such a part in Murray County's history--and in the present. The used book sale will be open in the garage and historic memorabilia and souvenirs will be on sale inside, but there is no admission charge for the tours--but donations are always encouraged.
Around the corner from the Wright Hotel is the restored Chatsworth Depot, the oldest building in Chatsworth. Constructed in the middle of the forest as the town started in 1905, the building is always home to various railroad, talc, and early Chatsworth photographs, paintings, and artifacts, but on this Second Saturday it also hosts a "Red Book" gospel singing from 1-3 p.m. A historic piano has also been restored to provide the music for the group singing of favorites from the popular Church Hymnal which was first published 75 years ago. The singing has become a popular annual event at the Depot.
Special singers for the afternoon are the Winkler Sisters (Linda, Charlotte, Rita, and Vicki) who have harmonized all around Murray County all their lives. Their grandfather was a longtime depot agent for the L & N Railroad here, so their ties to this part of local history go back even farther.
After the singing, visitors will have time to see the railroad and talc exhibits and take a tour of the 1960 caboose or the Wright Hotel. Again, there is no admission charged, but donations are welcome. The 2025 Second Saturdays are sponsored by Murray County's elected officials, Bradley Ace Hardware, Bojangle's, First National Community Bank, Captain D's, Peeples Funeral Home, Krystal of Chatsworth, and Modern Woodmen. For more information about the properties, check them out on Facebook.
The Chatsworth Depot Museum.
The Chatsworth Depot is the oldest public building in town as it was built in 1905 by the Louisville & Nashville Railroad. The passenger waiting room contains a talc 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 well-furnished 1960 caboose, located behind the Depot, will also be open for guests to visit. Historical Society members will be present to give tours and answer questions.
The Wright Hotel Museum.
The Wright Hotel was built in 1909 and served as a place for Chatsworth’s visitors to stay overnight. The hotel is furnished with period furniture and other items just as it would have been in the early 20th century. You can even see a bath tub where a baptism occurred! Volunteers from the historical society will be on hand to give guided tours and answer your questions about this historic building in downtown Chatsworth.
The Wright Hotel Turns 115
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.
Thomas Wright, the creator of the Wright Hotel, opened his once flourishing business in 1909. An influx of Northerners and Southerners alike flocked to the rural town of Chatsworth to drink the refreshing mineral waters, enjoy cool mountain breezes, and to dine on Southern-style cooking. Mr. Wright, a farmer, builder and architect, along with his cousin supervised the construction of the three-story hotel. Not only was it a hotel, but also the home of the Wright family, which included his wife and six children. Mr. Wright rented a brick plant for a year to make the rose colored bricks to build his hotel. The heart pine lumber needed for construction was cut from his farm and aged for a year. The hotel has served many including jurors, school teachers, judges, politicians, and honeymooners.
Many historic displays and memorabilia can be viewed here such as the rock that is present at the bottom of the stairs—mail for the guests was placed under this rock, the 7-foot tub in which Mr. Wright was baptized, original furniture and Indian pottery and baskets. The hotel also houses a collection of nursing paraphernalia belonging to Kate Raine, daughter of Mr. Wright, who served as a nurse on the Indian reservations of the southwest. Hotel registers dating to the 1920s give a glimpse of those who stayed there while it was thriving business.
Mrs. Raine left the Wright Hotel to the historical society upon her death in 1986. The society promised to preserve and maintain the site as close as possible to its original condition. The site is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
Share Your Stories of the Wright Hotel
"While I was working at an open house at the Wright Hotel a lady came in with her daughter and granddaughters. She told them she had spent her honeymoon night at the hotel. I offered to look in the register book to see if we could find her name and there it was. We were all excited and I think the children looked at the hotel a little different." ~ Melissa Burchfield
Do you have a story passed down in your family about the time they might have spent at the Hotel? Or maybe you met and spent time with Mrs. Kate Wright Raines, the last family member to own the Hotel. The Wright Hotel Committee is looking for stories about the Wright Family and Hotel for a new book. Please send to Whitfield-Murray Historical Society, P.O. Box 6180, Dalton, GA 30722-6180.
