Murray County, Georgia

Murray County Education, Geography, and History

Murray County is a county located in the state of Georgia. Based on the 2010 census, the population was 39,628. Murray County was created on December 3, 1832. The county seat is Chatsworth. The county is named in honor of Thomas W. Murray (1790-1832), famous state legislator.

Murray County is part of the Dalton, GA Metropolitan Statistical Area, which is also included in the Chattanooga-Cleveland-Dalton, TN-GA-AL Combined Statistical Area.

Etymology - Origin of Murray County Name

The county is named for Thomas Walton Murray, a Speaker of the Georgia House of Representatives.

Demographics:

County QuickFacts: CensusBureau Quick Facts

Murray County History

Murray County, created in 1832 from part of Cherokee County, was named for Thomas Walton Murray, a Speaker of the Georgia House of Representatives.

One version of how Chatsworth got its name, is that a sign fell off of a passing freight car. The sign was placed on a pole by the tracks and the name stuck.

Points of Interest

Among the county's attractions are the Vann House Historic Site at Spring Place. Constructed in 1805 for James Vann, a Cherokee chief, the two-story red brick home was built alongside the Federal Road, a major early path in northwest Georgia.

Fort Mountain State Park, an 1,897 acre park in the Cohutta Mountains, is also a popular destination. This area was presented to Georgia in 1934 by Ivan Allen, Sr. for a state park. It includes possibly the oldest fortifications in North America, believed to have been built in 1530 to defend against DeSoto's men.

Another major asset is the Chattahoochee National Forest, which occupies a large portion of northeastern Murray County. Within the forest is the Cohutta Wilderness Area, a mountainous landscape featuring several of Georgia's premier backpacking trails.

Carter's Lake, on the Coosawatee River, was formed by the Carter Dam, which is the largest earth-rock dam east of the Mississippi. The 3,200 acre lake attracts fishermen, boaters and campers.

Geography: Land and Water

As reported by the Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 347 square miles (900 km²), of which 344 square miles (890 km²) is land and 2.2 square miles (5.7 km²) (0.6%) is water.

 Murray county is located in northwest Georgia. The county is in the Coosa River basin.

Neighboring Counties

Bordering counties are as follows:

• North: Bradley County, Tenn.
• Northeast: Polk County, Tenn.
• East: Fannin County
• Southeast: Gilmer County
• Southwest: Gordon County
• West: Whitfield County

Education

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