History has always been interesting and valuable. Before man learned to leave a record on the written or printed page, he sought to perpetuate the memory of worthy deeds in song or story.
Thousands of. Years Ago God saw fit to create this little planet. Countless generations have come and gone since then. They each had their pleasures and their sorrows, their victories and their reverses. We of the present time have inherited the culture and civilization slowly and oftimes painfully achieved by our ancestors. Many a noble life that failed to gain a place on the page of history is recorded in the life and character of the men and women of today.
The Same Hills and Valleys that we call Murray County have been kissed by the morning sun since creation, but no record of the savages who inhabited them has come down to us. They pitched their tents by the sparkling springs, hunted turkeys, deer and other wild game, and cultivated here and there a small patch of corn or tobacco. Footpaths furnished a highway of travel. a few feathers or furs enabled them In dress in the height of fashion. The flowers bloomed the same, the birds sang as sweetly, the sun shone as brightly, the showers were as refreshing and perhaps the red man enjoyed these blessings as well as we.
The Discovery of America 1492 was an important event in the world's history. It furnished an outlet for the crowded anil oppressed people of the old world. Many daring navigators at once sought to learn more of the wonderful land which Columbus had found.
Ferdinand De Soto was one of these. He was the son of a Spanish nobleman, and had joined several expeditions to the new world.
He returned to Spain laden with wealth which be obtained with Pizarro in Peru. Later he was appointed governor of Cuba and Florida.
With six hundred men he started to explore the wilderness. From Florida he turned and led his army to North Georgia.
Fort Mountain, one of the highest mountains in Murray County, was chosen for a camp. Here they built the old stone fort which has given the mountain its name. They remained here some time searching for gold. These were perhaps the first white men to set foot in our county. This was about the year 1540. But luckily Murray was not destined to be the home of Spanish greed and oppression. Not finding the fabulous wealth they had hoped for they continued their march and discovered the Mississippi, 1541.
The Settlement of Georgia, 1733, was made partly to check the Spanish settlements of Florida and partly to furnish a home for imprisoned debtors. History furnishes no better example of simple virtue and unselfish devotion to humanity than is found in the life of James Oglethorpe, founder of Georgia. The first settlement at Savannah, Feb. 12, 1733, was rapidly followed by others in the southern part of the State, but none were made in North Georgia until after the revolution.
Murray County History 1911