THE Green Hotel/Log Cabin Project Facts Prepared By the Preservation Committee CAVE SPRING HISTORICAL SOCIETY September 3, 2010.

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1 THE Green Hotel/Log Cabin Project Facts Prepared By the Preservation Committee CAVE SPRING HISTORICAL SOCIETY September 3, 2010 What We Know: 1. About Vann s Valley and Cave Spring Floyd County and this valley were settled by Eastern Indian tribes, mostly Creek and Cherokee, in the mid-1700s. Major Ridge (builder and owner of what is now the Chieftains Museum site) was born around (Cherokee Tragedy, Wilkins.) Ridge served early with James Vann, uncle of David Vann, as a member of the Cherokee Council. Vann s Valley is named for Avery Vann, 1 a Scottish trader who married a fullblooded Cherokee woman. Avery s stepbrother was James Vann, a powerful Cherokee chief known for his fierce temper. Avery Vann s son, David Vann, was born in Vann s Valley in David Vann s home is thought to be on Alabama Street within a mile from the cabin site. Anecdotal history points to other David Vann property sites in Cave Spring as well. 2. Location of the Cabin Cedartown Street and Broad Street, where the cabin sits, were main roads of commerce in the late 1700s/early 1800s just as they are today. 3. Construction of the Cabin Hand-hewn: The cabin is constructed of hand-hewn (or possibly hand-split) logs. They may have been finished with an adz (a cutting tool whose thin arching blade is perpendicular to the handle and is used for the rough shaping of wood) or a broad ax. 1 Link from the TOTA website.

2 Chinking: The word chinking applies to a process of covering the spaces between logs. The pieces of wood now wedged between the logs were possibly scrap left over from the roofing of the cabin. These pieces were covered with a mixture of creek mud, fire ash, and other materials during the winter. During the summer, the materials could have been removed for air conditioning. Architectural details also provide historical significance. The windows on the right side are 6 over 9 style. (6 panes of glass over 9 panes of glass). This style dates from the late 1700s to the early 1800s according to several sources. (Field Guide to American Houses; Virginia and Lee McAlester; Knopf). 1830s Known History of the Building Armistead Richardson removed to Vann s Valley and began preparations for the establishment of Cave Spring in By 1839, Richardson s land holdings included thousands of acres in and around Cave Spring The Baptist Church was constituted led by Armistead Richardson. By 1839, the members form a school for the area named The Baptist Manual Labor School with 200 acres of land purchased for the school and buildings. Part of the land was cultivated by the pupils of the school under the supervision of the principal; part of it was laid in lots and sold and later incorporated as the town of Cave Spring Battey s History of Rome and Floyd County, page 36 3 A history of the Simmons Plantation (Ina Black s House/Cherokee Sub Chief David Vann s home) by Kristi Reed 4 James Coffee Harris: Cave Spring and Vans Valley

3 The Baptist Manual Labor School was renamed the Hearn Manual Labor School in honor of Lott O. Hearn. Mr. Hearn bequeathed a sizable amount of money to the school upon his death. In 1903 the Baptist Manual Labor School was given to the Educational Board of the Georgia Baptist Convention. It was reorganized as a preparatory school for college under the name of Hearn Academy Mr. William Posey acquired Lot # 6 from The Hearn Trustees.

4 : William K. Posey then sold Lot #6 to Joel Dean, Thomas Craven, and Walter R. Webster between 1853 and In 1854 the property became known as the Webster Hotel Between 1854 and 1865, Samuel Gibbons obtained Lot #6 and parts of Lot # 9 and Lot #8. Samuel Gibbons sold the property to Joseph Ford, a local cotton baron who built Colonial Heights plantation. Joseph Ford died September 1872, as a result of a train accident, while he was living in the residence currently known as the Forbes House (next door to the Webster Hotel). Mrs. M. E. F. Sheldon bought the property known as the Webster Hotel at public auction for $ Mrs. Sheldon sold the same property to B. F. Strickland on December 8, 1883, for $ The Green Hotel was renovated under the management of Mr. W.D. McCollum, formally of Newnan, Georgia A. W. Findley bought the Hotel property at public sale for $ The property included stable and a storehouse at that time. 1940s-50s To the best of our records, the Green Hotel was divided into four apartments at this time. Mr. and Mrs. Rogers Asbury lived in the left downstairs apartment for many years. Mr. and Mrs. Fred Lyons, their sons and daughter, lived in the right side. In the late 1940 s, Dr. Harvey Norton, Jr., converted the left apartments into a medical clinic and enclosed half of the front porch for his office.

5 1985 Mr. Bobby George bought the property and named it Appletree Nursery and Antiques. He and his son owned the property for 25 years The George Family sold the property to Mr. William Benefield of Cave Spring and Cedartown While the Cave Spring Historical Society began efforts to save the property in November of 2009, serious efforts began in March of 2010.

ALABAMA REGISTER OF LANDMARKS & HERITAGE NOMINATION FORM. Historic Name: and/or Common Name:

ALABAMA REGISTER OF LANDMARKS & HERITAGE NOMINATION FORM 1. NAME OF PROPERTY Historic Name: and/or Common Name: Preferred name for Certificate: Historic Name or Common Name 2. LOCATION Street & Number: