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Other Information: In September 1833, Murray County's first
court session was held in Spring Place. Likely, private homes,
churches, or other structures served as courtrooms, as there is
no record of a real courthouse in the county's early years. On
Dec. 27, 1842, the legislature authorized the county to levy a
special tax to fund construction of a courthouse -- but it is not
known if county officials implemented the law. Murray County's
first known courthouse was a two-story brick structure built in
Spring Place in 1886 (see
photo). Chatsworth was designated county seat in 1913, and
three years later work began there on a new two-story brick courthouse
that continues in use today. After county government moved to
Chatsworth in 1917, the old Spring Place courthouse became a
school house.
County Courthouse Historical
Marker: Click
here
County History:
Murray County was created from Cherokee County on Dec. 3, 1832
by an act of the General Assembly (Ga. Laws 1832, p. 56). [Click
here
for complete text of legislation.] According to the 1832 act
:
. . . such parts of the twenty-seventh, twenty-sixth, twenty-fifth
and twenty-fourth districts of the second section, as lie west
of the lines herein-before designated, and the seventh, eighth,
ninth, tenth, eleventh, twelfth, thirteenth, fourteenth, twenty-fifth,
twenty-sixth, twenty-seventh and twenty-eighth districts of the
third section, and the sixth, seventh, eighth, ninth, tenth,
eleventh, twelfth, thirteenth, eighteenth and nineteenth districts
of the fourth section, shall form and become one county, to be
called Murray.
In way of background, by 1830, the Cherokee Nation consisted
of most of northwest Georgia (see
map), plus adjoining areas in Alabama, Tennessee, and North
Carolina. Even while Cherokee Indians remained on their homeland
in Georgia, the General Assembly on Dec. 21, 1830 enacted legislation
claiming "all the Territory within the limits of Georgia,
and now in the occupancy of the Cherokee tribe of Indians; and
all other unlocated lands within the limits of this State, claimed
as Creek land" (Ga. Laws 1830, p. 127). The act also provided
for surveying the Cherokee lands in Georgia; dividing them into
sections, districts, and land lots; and authorizing a lottery
to distribute the land. On Dec. 26, 1831, the legislature designated
all land in Georgia that lay west of the Chattahoochee River
and north of Carroll county as "Cherokee County" (see
map) and provided for its organization (Ga. Laws 1831, p.
74). However, the new county was not able to function as a county
because of its size and the fact that Cherokee Indians still
occupied portions of the land. On Dec. 3, 1832, the legislature
added areas of Habersham and Hall counties to Cherokee County,
and then divided the entire area into nine new counties -- Cass
(later renamed Bartow), Cobb, Floyd, Forsyth, Gilmer, Lumpkin,
Murray, Paulding, and Union -- plus a reconstituted and much
smaller Cherokee County.
According to its original boundaries, Murray County comprised
the entire northwest corner of Georgia (see
map). Later created entirely from Murray County were Walker
County (1833), Dade County (1837), and Whitfield County (1851).
Georgia's 86th county was named for lawyer and legislator
Thomas W. Murray (1790-1832) of Lincoln County. Murray, who served
as Speaker of the Georgia House of Representatives in 1825, was
a candidate for Congress at the time of his death in 1832.
County Seat:
The 1832 legislation creating Murray County directed the
first justices of the new county's inferior court to select a
site to serve as county seat. In September 1833, the first court
session was held in Spring Place. On Sept. 19, 1834, Abner Holliday
and Matthew Jones deeded 40 acres at Spring Place for use in
erecting public buildings for the county. On Dec. 20, 1834, the
legislature incorporated Spring Place and designated it as Murray's
county seat. In 1905, the Louisville and Nashville Railroad was
built through Murray County, giving the county its first rail
service. Unfortunately for Spring Place, the L&N RR's north-south
path ran three miles to the east. The Georgia Talc Co. was located
east of Spring Place near the path of the railroad, and a railroad
depot was built to serve the company. After the depot was built,
the Chatsworth Brick Co. was built and the Chatsworth Land Co.
formed. The area around the depot was laid out into land lots
and a town quickly followed. On Aug. 18, 1906, the legislature
incorporated the town of Chatsworth -- though the origin of the
town's name is unclear. In Aug. 1912, two-fifths of Murray County's
voters signed a petition calling for a referendum to move the
county seat to Chatsworth. The following month, the election
resulted in 862 votes for Chatsworth, 427 votes for Eton, and
155 votes for keeping Spring Place as county seat. The referendum
subsequently was challenged, as the petition calling for an election
had not mentioned Eton as a possible candidate for county seat.
Georgia's Secretary of State, however, upheld the election because
a clear majority had supported Chatsworth. As a result, the legislature
in 1913 designated Chatsworth as the new county seat.
Maps
Size of County (Total
Area): 346.9 square miles
County Rank in Total
Area: 80th out of 159
Population:
Murray County
City of Chatsworth
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