Editing Murray County, Georgia (section)

==History==
In December 1832 the [[Georgia General Assembly]] designated the extreme northwestern corner of the state as Murray County. Formerly part of Cherokee County, the area was named for a distinguished Georgia statesman from Lincoln County, Mr. Thomas W. Murray, a former speaker of the Georgia House. Within a short time the legislature found the county was too large to administer properly as the population grew, for the county then included what is now Dade, Walker, Catoosa, Whitfield, Murray, Gordon and parts of Bartow and Chatooga Counties, so further division became necessary.    Within two decades, Murray County came to be {{convert|342|sqmi|km2|0}} of land with Spring Place as its county seat until the railroad was built through Chatsworth. With Chatsworth more accessible, the county seat was moved there.

===Cherokees===
The area was in the heart of the Cherokee Nation at the time the boundary lines were drawn through the territory. Not until after the Cherokees were removed in 1838–39 did white settlers enter the county in large numbers. Spring Place had been established in 1801 as a [[Moravian Church|Moravian]] mission to the Cherokee and had been a post office since 1810 – the second oldest in North Georgia. After the Cherokee removal, the Moravians relocated with the tribe in what is now Oklahoma to establish New Springplace near the town of [[Oaks, Oklahoma]]. Sometime during the late 19th century, James B. Brackett donated the land upon which the Brackett Indian School was built.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web|url=http://www.murraycountymuseum.com/mcs.html|title=Murray County Museum - MURRAY SCHOOLS|last=Museum|first=Murray County|website=www.murraycountymuseum.com|access-date=December 28, 2016}}</ref>  The school did not always function as a segregated Indian school. At one point in its previously integrated history it was referred to as the Lone Cherry School.<ref name=":0" />

The Brackets were a notable Eastern Cherokee family<ref name=":1">{{Cite web|url=http://www.ancestrypaths.com/native-american/eastern-cherokee-applications-us-court-of-claims-1906-1909/|title=Ancestry Paths: Eastern Cherokee applications US Court of Claims 1906-1909|website=www.ancestrypaths.com|access-date=March 22, 2018}}</ref> that lived along Brackett's Ridges, amongst several other American Indian families, several of which were also Eastern Cherokee.<ref name=":1" />  Most of the Brackets were forced to leave Georgia during the Trail of Tears earlier in the 19th century; however, some of them returned to Georgia several years later.  James Brackett's brother Adam Brackett, along with several other siblings show up on the Dawes Rolls as being enrolled members of the Cherokee Nation of Oklahoma.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.okhistory.org/research/dawesresults.php?lname=Brack|title=Search the Dawes Final Rolls {{!}} OHS|website=www.okhistory.org|access-date=December 28, 2016}}</ref>

===Civil War===
At the outbreak of the [[American Civil War]], Murray County had no industry and very little wealth. When Georgia seceded from the Union, hundreds of men and boys{{Citation needed|reason=Reliable source needed for this sentence|date=August 2013}} from Murray enlisted in the Confederate Army. The following units were from Murray County:
* 3rd Battalion, Georgia Infantry, Company B, Spring Place Volunteers
* 11th Regiment, Georgia Infantry, Company C, Murray Rifle Company
* 22nd Regiment, Georgia Infantry, Company D
* 37th Regiment, Georgia Infantry, Company A
* 39th Regiment, Georgia Infantry, Company A, Cohutta Rangers
* 39th Regiment, Georgia Infantry, Company B
* 19th State Troops – Capt. John Oats Company
In 1864, two skirmishes between Union and Confederate soldiers took place just to the west of Spring Place, one of which took place on June 25, 1864, with the 8th Michigan Cavalry US.{{Citation needed|reason=Reliable source needed for this sentence|date=August 2013}} The First Tennessee Cavalry CS also skirmished about 5 miles north of Spring Place on April 19, 1864.{{Citation needed|reason=Reliable source needed for this sentence|date=August 2013}} Another skirmish took place near Westfield late during the night of August 22, 1864. Captain Woody of the Murray County Home Guard was reported wounded.{{Citation needed|reason=Reliable source needed for this sentence|date=August 2013}}

On February 27, 1865, and April 20, 1865, there was a skirmish at Spring Place between Confederates and the 145th Indiana Infantry US.{{Citation needed|reason=Reliable source needed for this sentence|date=August 2013}} This was followed by a skirmish on Holly Creek on March 1, 1865. By 1865 Spring Place was known as an area occupied by Confederate Guerrillas. During March 20–22, 1865 Union soldiers made an attempt to suppress this activity.{{Citation needed|reason=Reliable source needed for this sentence|date=August 2013}}

===Railroad===
In 1906, after two earlier attempts at building a railroad in Murray County had failed, the Louisville and Nashville line was built to run north to south through the entire length of the county. Murray grew, with new towns developing along the railroad. One of these new towns was named [[Chatsworth, Georgia|Chatsworth]]. With the new railroad line in place, timber could be shipped out of the mountains, and talc deposits, discovered in the 1870s, was able to be mined and the ore shipped throughout the country.

The old county seat of Spring Place was bypassed by the railroad. Some Murray Countians began an effort to move the county seat to the more central and accessible railroad town of [[Chatsworth, Georgia|Chatsworth]]. Much dissention was caused by this effort. A county-wide referendum was held on the matter in 1912, which resulted in [[Chatsworth, Georgia|Chatsworth]] being named as the seat of local government, where it remains to present day.

Into the twentieth century, Murray remained predominantly agricultural. Shortly after World War II the textile industry, prevalent in neighboring [[Whitfield County, Georgia|Whitfield County]], began to move into Murray. Today, the carpet industry is the predominant employer in Murray County.