President’s Message
Welcome to the Cave Spring Historical Society Newsletter
In 1975, a small group of local artist and other lovers of beauty met and formed this
organization. They had been disturbed by the deterioration of several abandoned historical
buildings in lovely Rolator Park. They enlisted Diane Dawson, who was a local dynamo, to
spear head the renovation. First, they needed funds so they started the Cave Spring Arts
Festival which has now been active and popular for 40 years. Then they searched for Grants.
No Federal monies, State monies, Foundations were readily available. So what could they do
in a town of 900 citizens and no millionaires? They rolled up their sleeves and asked for
volunteers who wanted to be a part of a community action. Hundreds of people gave sweat
equity and worked thousands of hours so that you and I can enjoy these buildings featured in
this site.
Five years ago an observant citizen noticed a log cabin hidden inside an old dilapidated hotel
building. Since then it has been verified that this two story building was built by the Cherokee
Indians in 1810. It has been researched and documented for five years and again dollars are
not raining from the sky so the organization is asking for the community to again come
together and remove the dilapidated building that is hiding the treasure. We are seeing history
repeat itself. Come to Cave Spring and see what a determined citizenry can do with their own,
“blood sweat and tears.”
We’ve heard about community barn raising. Well, on April 11, 2015, the City of Cave SpringGeorgia under the auspices of the Cave Spring Historical society will have a Cabin revealing.
Five years ago an observant citizen, noticed something strange under the dilapidated clap
boards of an abandoned hotel. Five years of extensive research has verified that there is a two
story hand hewed log cabin built by Avery Vann, upstanding citizen of the Cherokee Nation, in
1810. Rooms were added sometime in the past 150 years that obscured the cabin structure.
The insides had been remodeled as hotel rooms. It was a huge surprise to even the 100 year
old citizens in our fair town. There had been rumors but they were discounted and now there it
was. Contrary to popular belief, grant monies haven’t rained from the sky, so we have decided
to have a big work day where maybe a 100 citizens: young and old, black and white, deaf and
hearing will come together and work as a team to remove the decaying structure that is hiding
the “diamond in the rough.”
We know this can be done because 40 years ago the historical society was formed to save
three abandoned buildings that were deteriorating in beautiful Rolator Park in our fair city. They
raised money through art festivals and through lots of sweet equity the Society and the citizens
of Cave Spring came together and saved these buildings from certain destruction and turned
them into beautiful, functional, historical buildings that you and I can enjoy. The historically
significant, Presbyterian Church, was donated to the Society for preservation. Again volunteers
came together to build a back porch close to but not attached to the historical building and
added two restrooms and a storage room so that the desanctified building could become an Art
Gallery to be enjoyed by visitors to our beautiful community snuggled in the foothills of
Northwest Georgia. Take a Saturday, April 11th to visit us and drink from our spring waters
judged best in Georgia on numerous occasions. While you are here you can picnic in the park
and enter our intriguing cave and on yeah, you can help us remove old boards and plaster and
expose what will in a short time be a tribute to our heritage and to those native Americans who
called our fair village home for hundreds of years.
March 29, 2015
Michael Burton
President of the Cave Spring Historical society
770-748-8542, BurtonMik@mac.com
