Spring Place Festival, Spring Place, near Chatsworth, Georgia: August 15th

Spring Place Festival Set for August 15, 2015; To Include Dedication of Fort Hoskins Historic Marker

Spring Place, Georgia, near Chatsworth, in Murray County, Georgia: The 18th annual Spring Place Community Festival will be held Saturday, August 15 at the Old Spring Place Methodist Church just off Georgia Highway 225 South.  Sponsored by the Spring Place Ruritan Club and the Whitfield-Murray Historical Society, the Festival commemorates Spring Place’s heritage and raises funds for the continued preservation of the Old Spring Place Methodist Church, Murray County’s oldest building designed for public use.  

The Festival’s theme this year is “Spring Place:  Red, White, and You” and will feature a special display of 20th Century U.S. Military memorabilia collected by Murray Countians Dale Sluder and Ronald Scott.  A historic display inside the church will include postcards and photographs from the Hill Jones collection of the Society’s archives, World War II photographs donated by Velma Ray, and “Home Front items from World War II and Korea loaned by Carlton McDaniel.  A highlight of this display will be a copy of a letter written home by Gary Cruse, one of four Murray County men who died in Vietnam along with newspaper clippings and a World War II “Gold Star” banner from the Center Valley community donated by Paul Ross. 

The festival will open at 8 am and will have something for everyone. Members will have their usual bake sale with homemade cakes of all kinds. Breakfast biscuits and hot dog lunches are among other items being sold to raise funds to maintain the old church. A large assortment of “new” and used books, collectibles, and flea market items including Christmas decorations, vinyl records and VHS tapes, glassware, toys, and household items attract buyers as well. The flea market will also include clothes again this year, too. 

Another part of the fundraiser is a raffle for a 20” X 30” Murray County Veterans Memorial Park photograph by Benny Huggins along with a gift card from Hobby Lobby toward framing.  The raffle has a $100 value and tickets are $2 each or three for a $5 donation.

DVD’s, books, maps, post cards, note cards, Christmas ornaments, and posters will be available for purchase at the Historical Society booth. Historic calendars, prints, newspapers, quarterlies, and even a cookbook are among other items that will be for sale. The Old Church Museum room will be open throughout the day, too.

The largest fundraising event is an auction set to begin at 10:00 a.m. Things to be auctioned include several artist prints (including Susan Ingle McKinney’s new Vann House print, Ben Hamptons, and others); gift certificates to area businesses such as Chatsworth Ford; sets of local history books; antique furniture, antique farm equipment, vintage tools, children’s bicycles and a rug donated by Value Carpets.

The culminating activity of the day will be the dedication of the Fort Hoskins historic marker.  Hoskins was a Cherokee Indian removal fort located in Spring Place.  The ceremony will take place at 1 p.m. The erection of the marker was a joint project of the Daughters of the American Colonists, Daughters of Indian Wars, and the Friends of the Vann House. 

The MCHS Alumni Association will have rock building post cards, notecards, and prints for sale while First National Community Bank, The Spring Place Ruritan Club, the Murray County Gideon Camp, and Keep Chatsworth-Murray Beautiful will have information tables. Beavers Family Farms will be selling local honey and other products, too.

The church is south of the Chief Vann House State Historic Site, off of Georgia Highway 225. Parking will be available on Elm Street.  To find out more about the festival, call Elizabeth Robinson at 706-695- 6021, Carlton McDaniel at 706-695-2110, Jyana and Chuck Smith at 706-695-8297, or Tim Howard at 706-695-2740.