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Chief Vann's House • Fort Mountain
Chatsworth • Springplace • Eton • Murray County • North Georgia Mountains

As we exit the back door of the Blue Ridge Mountains and look back, we see the great blue wall of the western mountain ranges of southern highlands. To the east the Blue Ridge Mountains rise against the horizon like a fortress wall, protecting a strange forbidden land. To the west of US 411 is an inviting land of rolling hills and farmlands with occasional low ridges running parallel to the highway, this is Murray County.

Approximately 30 miles west, across the "Great Tennessee Valley" are the Cumberland Mountains, a southwestern section of the greater Appalachian Mountains. Traveling south into North Georgia's Murray County we enter the land of the Chieftains Trail.

Murray County, is a land of high and low country. The low lands are rich in the history of both the early white settlers and Native Americans. The higher regions of Murray County are in the rugged mountainous back country of the Cohutta Wilderness in the western Blue Ridge Mountains.

You'll also find an enormous cove surrounded by the high mountain ridges of the Cohutta Wilderness. Here you can view some beautiful meadow lands and the tranquil waterways that irrigate this fertile land. This sparsely populated area at the foot of the mountains, maintains a sense of what this region was like during a less progressive time. You can also catch a view of a natural wood finished church, built to fit the nature of this mountain community.

Chatsworth: Below the high peaks of Fort Mountain State Park, is the town of Chatsworth. The Murray County Courthouse, located in Chatsworth is one of the most impressive courthouses we have seen. The old court house is an immense red brick structure with a huge silver toned dome. It sits on a large square grassy knoll, covering a full city block. When viewed from the upper reaches of Fort Mountain, the courthouse dome shines like a beacon in the valley below.

The town of Chatsworth's early city designers were keen on continuity. The town's design of brown stone structures some dating back over a hundred years, creates a charming flow for folks strolling the downtown shopping district. In Chatsworth and surrounding Murray County you'll find shops, dining, and a variety of lodging.

Near the Murray County Courthouse, you'll find directional signs to the Chief Vann House. Take Hwy 52 west, a few miles, (no more than a few minutes driving) to the community of Spring Place. There, you will find a unique house for its time. The house was built by Cherokee Chief James Vann in 1804. It was called the "Showplace of the Cherokee Nation."

The mountains to the north lie in the Cohutta Wilderness and Wildlife Management, a region of rugged back country and unpaved forestry roads. To the south of Fort Mountain, below the southern edge of the Blue Ridge Mountains are the shores of Carters' Lake, a recreational lake ideal for boating, fishing and other water sports.

Reaching the mountain top, we find Fort Mountain State Park. The main feature here as well as the park's namesake, is an ancient stone wall, 855 feet in length with no known origin. Archeologist date the wall at 500 A.D. Local Native American history has no explanation for the structure. Located within Fort Mountain State Park's 3,268 acres, are hiking trails, mountain bike trails, streams, an old gold mine and a waterfall cascading 400 feet down the cliffs.

Chatsworth Georgia - Weather.com

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Chatsworth • Eton • Springplace • Murray County • North Georgia Mountains