Old Summerour Church

Old Summerour Cemetery is on Old Summerour Church Road in Crandall, Georgia. The community was named after the Summerour family who owned land there. Old maps of Murray County show a chapel there. The church that is remembered by most people now living in Murray County is a later church. It, too, was very old. It was built as, or became, a Methodist church.* Summerour Methodist Church was located less than a mile west of the old chapel, on Old Summerour Church Road. The little white-framed church was built in the late 1800s and stood for 105 years. Across the road from it is Summerour Methodist Cemetery. (My great aunt had a son buried there). One year, the church survived a tornado that knocked the building off of its corner stones, but didn't do too much harm, and it was placed back on a better foundation. Summerour Methodist Church had simple-but-pretty purple, textured stained-glass windows. On sunny days, the church was filled with a pleasant, pink-tinged light from the windows. The church was sitting empty in the 1970s and '80s. I remember that some of the windows had been broken by vandals. Amazing Grace Baptist Church renovated the building and began to hold services in the little church some time after that. There were enough stained-glass window panes left that they were able to form a purple cross in each window by putting the glass in the center panes only. The little church was a landmark ~ its steeple was visible from a long way down the road. Sadly, the church building was destroyed by arson in the 1990s (as I recall). Amazing Grace built a new church on the premises, and it is very like the old church, though not quite as pretty. Amazing Grace also has a new cemetery behind the church. The church and cemeteries are about 1 1/2 miles from Cohutta Springs. *I'll try to research and clarify some of these things as I go!

New Echota

New Echota was the capital of the Cherokee Nation from 1825 to 1832, when the State of Georgia claimed the lands of the Cherokee and ordered the removal of the Cherokee People. New Echota was the site of a treaty signed by minor Cherokee chiefs who did not have the authority. They opposed Principal Chief John Ross and did not seek approval from the Cherokee people through Council, as required. By that treaty, the Cherokee people lost all of the remaining land lying within the boundaries of Georgia. New Echota is a State Park and Historic site just north of the town of Calhoun, Georgia, on Georgia Highway 225. New Echota is located at 1211 Chatsworth Hwy NE Calhoun , Georgia. It is 31 1/2 miles South of the community of Cohutta Springs.

Chief Vann House

The Chief Vann House is in the community of Spring Place, Georgia, about 12 1/2 miles south/southeast of Cohutta Springs. The State Historic Site was once owned by Cherokee Chief James Vann, and later, by his son Joseph Vann, who was finally forced from his home by Georgia State Militia in 1834. The Vann House features tours of the restored Vann House and plantation (including slave cabins), and a fine small museum. It is located at the intersection of Georgia Highway 52 Alternate and Georgia Highway 225, Chatsworth, Georgia (in the community of old Spring Place).

Site Address

This blog (History of Cohutta Springs) is a sub-section of CohuttaSpringsHistory.com. Its URI is History.CohuttaSpringsHistory.com.

Cemeteries in the Summerour Community near Cohutta Springs (east)

Summerour Chapel was once located near the area of Cohutta Springs (era not known, probably Civil War era and perhaps earlier). It is sometimes spelled "Summerhours," especially in old correspondence. It was located near the Old Summerour Methodist Church Cemetery and lies east of the railroad track on Summerour Church Road. Later, Summerour Methodist Church was built about 1905. The cemetery across from the location of that church (no longer a Methodist Church) is Summerour Methodist Cemetery. It is located west of the railroad track on Summerour Church Road, Crandall, Georgia. The Summerour Methodist Church burned a decade or so ago, and the church now located there is Amazing Grace Baptist Church, on Summerour Church Road. These are the cemeteries in that community, with links to the memorial pages at Find A Grave.

Old Summerour Methodist Church Cemetery
Surnames include Ash, Caldwell, Carnes, Dunn, Hicks, McCamy, and many others.
http://findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=cr&CRid=2167262&CScn=old+summerour&CScntry=4&CSst=12&CScnty=487&

Summerour Methodist Cemetery
Surnames include Aly, Beavers, Dunn, Lackey, Gossage, Hansird, Henson, Jones, and many others.
http://findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=cr&CRid=2360203&CScn=summerour&CScntry=4&CSst=12&CScnty=487&

Summerour Family Cemetery: I don't actually know the location, and don't know whether it is near the old Summerour community featured here. It says Chatsworth, but many areas over the county are designated by mailing route as "Chatsworth." (This may be the site at the corner of Cohutta Springs Road and U.S. Highway 411, where there is an old grave with an infant burial. I don't have the name of the child right now and cannot check this list for it.
http://findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=cr&CRid=2405115&CScn=summerour&CScntry=4&CSst=12&CScnty=487&

Amazing Grace Baptist Church Cemetery
(Burials there are fairly recent.)
http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=cr&CRid=1978198&CScn=amazing+grace&CScntry=4&CSst=12&CScnty=487&