Soil Survey of Murray and Whitfield Counties, Georgia

2 Soil Survey
county seat, Chatsworth, is centrally located and had a population of about 3,500.
Chatsworth is approximately 90 miles northwest of Atlanta.
Whitfield County consists of about 291 square miles, or 186,200 acres. The
population in 2000 was about 83,525 (USDC, 2000). The city of Dalton, the county
seat, had a population of about 27,900. Dalton is located in the central part of the
county and is approximately 90 miles northwest of Atlanta and about 30 miles
southeast of Chattanooga, Tennessee.
As of 2006, approximately 63,079 acres of the Chattahoochee National Forest was
in Murray and Whitfield Counties. Soil surveys on National Forest lands were
coordinated by the United States Department of Agriculture, Forest Service using soil
scientists under contract with the Forest Service. The Natural Resources Conservation
Service cooperated with the Forest Service in correlating the contract soil survey for
inclusion in this survey.
The Congressionally designated Cohutta Wilderness Area covers approximately
5,158 acres of the Chattahoochee National Forest in Murray County. These acres are
managed for minimal human intervention and were not surveyed for this soil survey.
This area is identified on the soil survey sheets and is excluded from the general soil
map of Murray County.
General Nature of the Survey Area
This section provides general information concerning the survey area. It describes
settlement and history; geology; farming; physiography, relief, and drainage; industries,
utilities, and transportation; mines and minerals; water resources; woodlands; and
climate.
Settlement and History
Murray and Whitfield Counties were once part of the vast county of Cherokee.
Created in 1831 by a legislative act, Cherokee County was in the heart of the
Cherokee Nation. Later in 1832, a treaty signed by the United States Government
allowed the state to take control of the lands from the Cherokee. A land lottery was
then commenced that granted white settlers parcels of 160 acres. During 1838 and
1839, the Cherokee people were forcibly removed from the area. This removal became
part of the legendary “Trail of Tears” (Howard, 1996; Whitfield-Murray Historical
Society, 1999).
Murray County was created in 1832 and named in honor of the former speaker of
the Georgia House, Mr. Thomas W. Murray. Spring Place, a Moravian mission to the
Cherokee Indians, became the county seat. The area was completely agricultural and
somewhat secluded until 1906 when a railroad was built through the county along the
mountains. This allowed resources, such as timber and talc, to be shipped out of the
mountains. However, the railroad bypassed Spring Place and ran through the infant
town of Chatsworth. Because it was more accessible, Chatsworth quickly began to
grow and prosper. In 1913, after bitter controversy, Chatsworth was named the new
county seat (Howard, 1996).
In 1847, another settlement called Cross Plains became part of the newly
established city of Dalton. Four years later, in 1851, Whitfield County was created from
Murray County. It was named for George Whitefield who was a noted Christian
minister who came to Georgia from England in the late 1700s. Dalton was chosen as
the county seat. The town grew rapidly because of trade and the arrival of the railroad
(Whitfield-Murray Historical Society, 1999).
During the Civil War, Dalton became an important place to the Confederates for its
manufacturing and its hospital. Dalton was also the headquarters for General Joseph