Atlanta, Ga., Feb 14 — The State Forestry Department has decided to accept the gift of Fort Mountain in Murray County from Ivan E. Allen, Atlanta business man, B.M. Lufburrow has announced. The department will meet all the conditions stipulated by Mr. Alien. The mountain is located near Chatsworth.

The above brief news item from Atlanta will be read with a great deal of interest by the people of this section, especially those who are interested in the preservation of the old fort and its surroundings.

The announcement of the tender of Fort Mountain to the state by Mr. Ivan Allen, who purchased it a year or so ago, was contained in the following story carried in The Atlanta Constitution of Monday:

"Georgia's forest preserves will be enhanced in the near future by the presentation to the state of the historically famous Fort Mountain in Murray County, by Ivan Allen, Atlanta civic and business leader, it was learned Sunday.

"The offer of the land was made Saturday by Mr. Allen to members of the Georgia Forestry Association and will be referred to the state forestry department, which may accept the offer in behalf of the state if it sees fit to follow certain suggestions Mr. Allen had made for its use and maintenance.

"The section including the mountain has an area of more than 600 acres and lays immediately east of Chatsworth, seat of Murray County. The "fort" which tops the mountain has long been a source of controversy among antiquarians and historians. Some maintain that the rough battlements are the work of a prehistoric people known as the Moon Eyes, while others believe that it is a much more recent work, having been built by the Cherokee Indians, basing their belief on pottery and weapons found in the ruins. Still another theory is that DeSoto, while on his way to the Mississippi, raised the rude fortifications.

"Three sides of the mountain are so precipitous as to make ascent virtually impossible, while from the fourth side the summit may be reached only by following a steep and tortuous trail. One of the conditions imposed by Mr. Allen in making his offer was that this path must be left the only route to the summit and must not be improved. The reason for this request, as given by Mr. Allen, was that if this path remains the only way to the top only those who are genuinely interested in the wild and in nature's beauties will make their way to the top, there to enjoy the remarkable view afforded.

"It also was the expressed wish of Mr. Allen that the extensive timber tracts, wherein are many miniature waterfalls and springs, be left in the pristine beauty and preserved as a wild bird and animal sanctuary as well as a timber preserve.

"Mr. Allen, who has been for many years interested in forest preservation, recently accepted the Indian lore chairmanship of the Georgia Forestry Association."

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