-Chapter IV- TOWNS, COMMUNITIES, AND MILITIA DISTRICTS (1880-1980)
A Chatsworth Chronology
A variety of facts and interesting bits of Chatsworth history are included in this chronology-
Between First Avenue and the railroad was once the beautiful DeSoto Park, complete with a barbeque pit, gazebo, and bandstand. Building encroached upon the park until by 1960 it had disappeared.
1913 _ J.F. Harris elected mayor. Councilmen - S.C. Gregory, H.S. Willingham, R.M. Gudger, and Ed Bishop.. Election contested!
1914-1916 A circus comes to town and one of the elephants kills Alfred Phillips as he takes to the town well {at Market and Second) for water.
May, 1916 - A terrible fire destroys four houses on Fourth Avenue.
Fall 1916 - Eight trains stop at Chatsworth daily!
November 1916 - Chatsworth Masonic Lodge No. 664 is chartered. Officers are W.H. Ratcliff worshipful master S.H. Kelly, senior warden; L.P. Hufstetler , junior warden, and George Kelly, secretary.
1918 - Bonds for Chatsworth Water Works system are approved.
1919 - Civil League beautifies town.
January 1919 - H. H. (Henry Leonard is Mayor; Councilmen are W. H. Ratcliff, J.T. Dillard (Mayor Pro-tem), E.J. Lunsford, and S. H. Kelly. J.R. Webb is marshall and T.W. Brooks, clerk and treasurer.
July 1919 - Radcliffe Chautaugua System came to town with the "best entertainment." This is the second of at least three annual visits for this lecture and culture program.
1919 - A U.S. Highway from Knoxville to Atlanta is proposed. Each merchant, garage, and drug store in Chatsworth must close on Sunday. A city "Club Fair" planned.
April1 192 1 - A farm loan association is organized.
January 1922 - M D Jefferson re-elected mayor without opposition. Councumen are Ben F. Bates, T. H. Moreland, J Roy McGinty (Mayor Pro-Tern), and V.C. Peering. Some 15 or 20 women voted!
January 5, 1922 - Town may soon have an electric light plant.
April 6, 1922 -Chatsworth Radio Club is to install receiving set.
Jan 11 1923 Town is out of debt for first time in its history! Talk of a new charter.
January 1924 - Mayor: J.F. Harris, Councilmen W.S. Bradley, E.H. Dickie, T.N.Gordon, and T.L.Gregory.
October 1924 - Alvin Jones sends first letter by air.
January 1925 - T.L. Gregory is Mayor Pro-Tem, Mack Trammell & Associates are to put in electric lights, power line from Dalton to Chatsworth. A Chatsworth Merchants and a Cotton Growers Association are in existence. R.M. Gudger is town justice of the peace.
January, 1926 - R.E. Chambers, Mayor; Councilmen remain the same. W.A. West replaces T.W. Brooks as clerk and treasurer. Jesse Sellers is city attorney. Ordinance passes: "Any lewd woman of bad character found upon the streets . . . after 9 p.m. will be arrested . . . confined to jail to be punished in the mayor's court." Speed limit: 15 m.p.h. (10 at intersections). Building permits cost 25¢. Bicycles are not allowed on sidewalks. Horses could not be hitched to trees. Unlawful to allow any horse, mule, cow, hog or goat to run at large on the streets. Dogs must be "substantially muzzled."
June 1926 - Franchise for light and power line is given . . . will have 24- hour electric current within four months. January 1928 - Work on Knoxville-Atlanta Highway begun. R.P. Campbell is town justice of the peace.
1928-29 - Mayor J.R. McGinty; Councilmen: R.H. Bradley, R.M. Gudger, R.P. Hufstetler, and Walker Moreland. A.S. Cooley re-elected marshall, H.H. Anderson is city attorney, and R.E. Chambers is clerk.
1929 - Georgia Power service is connected with Chatsworth.
Jan. 1930 - A "big" snow -6 inches. Chatsworth's population is 607. Mayor: R.M. Gudger, Councilmen are Bradley, Cochran, Dillard and Hix.
1932 - Anderson and Gordon replace Cochran and Bradley on city council. Richard Ken-drick begins 12 years of work as city clerk. S.H. Kelly begins an 8-year stint as justice of the peace.
June, 1932 - Chatsworth Lion's Club is organized; begins projects to boost school attendance.
1934 - City, in cooperation with the FERA, extends city water mains northward and buys three additional springs. Wi!l Butler supervised this project which cost $10,000 and employed a "large crew of local men."
1934-35 - Mayor M.D. Jefferson; Councilmen are J.F. Harris, AJ. Waters, G.W. Swanson, Dr. R.H. Bradley; Policemen: RJ.Parrott and G.W. Duncan.
1935 - Plans made for a "Community Chest" drive. Mad rush for housing in Chatsworth as population reaches 900.
August, 1935 - "Mayor and Council ... let the contract for the engineering plans and supervision for the local WPA city sewage system project composing of 21,000 feet of sewers and a plant that will take care of the city's sanitary needs for the next twenty-five years. Mr. Thomas, consulting engineer of Atlanta, has had over thirty years of experience in doing this type of work for cities throughout the state. He has done several hundreds of dollars worth of this type of work for the cities of Marietta, Fort Valley, Cartersville, and Monticello. Mr. Thomas will have personnel on the job this week to start the running of lines in the city and mapping out of the plans and cost estimates for the projects. This project in which the town and WPA are working together will be done with labor furnished by the local relief office headed by Miss Mary Heartsell while the engineer will furnish the services of a full time instrument man for the day to day work of laying the lines and pipes.
This project received final o-k by the government Monday, August llth, together with 600 others throughout the state. The federal government allotted $10,440 and the city voted $12,000 in bonds.
1937 _ M.D. Jefferson retires; Dr. C.C. Russell defeats Dr. R.H. Bradley in the Mayor's race. R.E. Chambers and Lee Harrison join George Swanson and Jack Waters on the council. A WPA writer describes Chatworth as follows: "At an altitude of 800 feet Chatsworth lies near the foot of the Cohutta Mountains, which are rich in minerals. It is a rich agricultural region and is a shipping point. It has a post office, bank, postal telegraph. Railway Express and Western Union stations, and a population of 1,001. Chatsworth was named in honor of an official of the LAN Railway at the rime the city was established.
Civic Clubs are active: September 1937-"Civic Clubs Get Old Jail Cell - The civic clubs of Chatsworth believe in preserving the old relics of the county. This was exemplified Friday when an old cage, said to have been constructed about the year 1878 by Col. C.N. King and Captain J.W. Patrick for the purpose of a county jail, was sold by the city of Chatsworth for scrap iron. As the old relic was about to be loaded into the truck for transportation to the scrap iron yards, representatives from the Woman's Club, the U.D.C. chapter and the Lions Club took the matter into their hands and by their protest were able to halt the removal of the cage,
Committees from the clubs appeared before the city council Monday night and asked that the cage be donated to them to be reconstructed and preserved. The request was granted and the clubs are making plans to raise funds to reconstruct the cage which was divided into four parts in order to load it on the truck. Members of the clubs state that the old relic will be preserved and kept up by the clubs."
Ruth Sellers, Willillen Brooks, Raney Goswick, Annie Ruth Wilbanks, Maga Lynn Goswick, Jeannette Tucker, Miriam Maddox, Kate Jefferson, and Lucy Cox are in the Junior Woman's Club.
1938 - Dr. R.H. Bradley becomes mayor. Sewer syslem completed.
1939 - City plans a disposal plant.
February 22. 1940 - "Winds of gale force lash the city for 12 hours."
1941 - Dr. E.H. Dickie succeeds Dr. Bradley as mayor.
April 24, 1911 - Voters approve water filtering bond issue.
1942 - M.D. Jefferson is once more elected mayor.
March 2, 1942 - 3Vi inches of snow in town.
1943 - R.E. Chambers is mayor; C.H. Greeson, John Hemphill and M.C. Queen are on the Council.
1944 - City streets to be paved. First Home Economist Club is organized by W.A. Gaines, county agent, and Collene Poole, Home Economist. Members are Mrs. W.A. Gaines, Cleo West, Mrs. Leach Richards, Lou DeBoard, Ruth Bates, Mattie Bagley, Mrs. Gus Terry, Mrs. Hoy Miller, Mrs. Richard Kendrick, and Miriam Maddox.
1945 -S.H. Kelly is mayor.
1946 -- Bill Groves is mayor.
1947 - S.H, Kelly returns as mayor. Ball park is constructed at school. First fair held. Jack Cole brought the mid-way act from McMinnville, Tennessee.
January 24, 1948 - 5" snow falls on Chatsworth.
November 28, 1948 - parts of city flooded.
1948-49 - J.S. Jones elected mayor. W.A. West, as mayor pro-tem, fills out term. City Charter is amended; Waterworks Commission is created by state legislature.
1950 - Population reaches 1,214, In the previous 30 years the city's growth rate had exceeded that of the county and increased the city's portion of Murray's total population. W.A. Meier, chairman of the Water Commission, announces that a water main for Fourth Avenue is to be laid. W.H. Long requested water service for "the new Long and Parrott subdivision to be developed just outside the north city limits." City attorney is Charles A. Pannell, Sr. T.H. Underwood and C.B. Honey are on Council; S.H. Kelly once again serves as mayor.
1952-53 - Mayor M.B, Jackson; Council is made up of Seward Mix (Pro-Tern), W.H. Bramblett, W.A, West (re-elected), and Mr. Gordon; City Clerk: Bonnie Gudger; Tax assessors S.H. Maynard, J.E. Swanson and S.H. Kelly; Board of Health: Dr. Harold Carson, Dr. R.H. Bradley and Ray Bagley; Police Chief: M.C. Queen; Marshalls: Roy Parrott and Henry Leonard; Volunteer Firemen: Chief R.L. Vining, Herbert Parrott,Clyde Greeson, J.V, Greeson, Harold Swanson, Barren Brooks, Arnold Wilbanks, Emmett Cochran, Barney Elrod, Frederick Brown, and Willie Ponders, City is rein corpora ted.
April 12. 1953 - City attorney: J. Paxson Amis. Water Works and Sewer Works combined. $80,000 in bonds authorized for construction of 300,000-gallon steel tank a short distance up Fort Mountain to increase city's water pressure and supplement the Storage capacity of the 45,000-gallon tank then in use. W.A. Meier, John Hemphill, and Dr. Bradley comprise water commission.
1954 - S.H. Kelly is re-elected mayor.
1955 - Chatsworth Lodge Hall on Second Avenue burns. Rebuilt on Third Avenue in 1958.
1956 - City limits are extended; Chatsworth wins second place in Georgia Power's "Belief Town" contest.
1957 - Mayor Pro-Tern Seward Hix fills in until Mr, Kelly completes term.
1958 - Woodmen of the World Lodges No. 1706 and 1722 begin brief existences.
1958-59 - Marviri B. Jackson is re-elected mayor.
September 6, 1959 - Sam H, Kelly, the last surviving founder of Chatsworth, dies following a lengthy illness at age 78.
1960 - Citylimits are changed; T.H. Underwood is elected mayor. Population is 1,184.
1962 - Mr. Jackson is re-elected Mayor; City limits are extended this year and again in 1965, 1967 and 1971.
1967 - A spring at Eton is added to water system in anticipation of future expansion.
1968-69 - Tom Greeson is mayor; Barney Elrod and Donald Bradley on council. Sewage treatment facility completed.
1970 - New city charter; Barney Elrod is elected mayor; population is 2,706.
1972 - Council members are Billy Vick, Greg Springfield, Robert Little, Jr. and Horace Cantrell.
1973 - Luke Butler, a 12-year veteran of the city police department, is named chief (serves until 1978).
1974, April - Tornadoes rip through Chatsworth and Murray County.
1975 - A $2 million water-sewerage improvement project, financed by a Farmers Home Administration Loan, is completed. Judson Vick is Water Commissioner. Work included water reservoirs at Eton and Spring Place, three sewage package treatment pumping stations, and made sewage service available to all city residences and businesses. Water service extended to areas around Eton, Spring Place, and southward on Ga. 225 to include Springdale subdivision.
1976 - Tom Ramsey chairs a "Frontier Days" celebration held on the courthouse lawn (for the second year) in commemoration of the nation's Bicentennial. Robbie Co wart co-ordinates local Bicentennial activities,
1977 - Roland Harbin succeeds Mayor Elrod. Council members are Margaret Adams, France Adams. Jere Weyman, and Ken Wilbum. Members of the Water Commission include R.L. Vining, Jim McCraney, and Calvin Townsend. Throughout the 1970's and into the 1980's the Council makes major improvements or expansions in the water and sewage system, flre service, police department, sidewalk construction, recreation facilities, and sanitation. Faye Harrison is city clerk. Horace Cantrell succeeds E.D. Bridges as justice of the peace. The former Home Demonstration club reorganizes as Chatsworth Home-makers Club with Mrs. Pearl West as president.
1978 - J.L. "Zeke" Hufstetler becomes mayor. The Pilot Club, Chamber of Commerce, and city council unite to beautify city and bill it as the "City of Crepe Myrtle."
1979 — Charles Whitener begins rennovation of downtown buildings-a William sburg theme. Public housing units off Old Ellijay Road near the high school are planned. Sam "Pete" Calhoun continues his lengthy service as city attorney.
1980 - The Fort Mountain Home and Garden Club is organized as part of the Governor's Project Community Competition program. The new Chatsworth Merchant's Association joins the Murray County Saddle Club in sponsoring the annual Christmas parade.
1981 - Chatsworth-Murray County Chamber of Commerce initiates an annual Red and Gold Leaf Festival.
1984 - Dan McEntire succeeds Mayor Hufstetler. Margaret Adams continues to serve as mayor pro-tem.
1985 - Former mayor Zeke Hufstetler narrowly defeats veteran councilman Jere Weymun in an election which drew 66% of the city's 1.150 registered voters.
Murray County Heritage