Historical society to present preservation awards

Published 9:57 pm Sunday, May 8, 2016

The Whitfield-Murray Historical Society meets Sunday, May 15, at 2:30 p.m. at First Presbyterian Church at 101 S. Selvidge St.

May is Historic Preservation Month. The following individuals and groups have been selected for the Historic Preservation Awards for 2016.

• Paul Belk has donated open historic land to the public. Through his work with the Whitfield County Preservation Commission and the Save Dalton Battlefields LLC, many acres of precious land have been saved for future generations.

• Arnold Caylor helped save the Huff House. Were it not for the valiant effort put forth by Caylor, the Huff House would not be standing today.

• Sherrian Hall is almost always helping with projects. She is a docent at the Blunt House, serves on the Archives Committee, and helps out with rummage sales, Christmas sales, open houses and gardening around the Archives.

• Dalton Civil War 150th Commission. This group of dedicated men and women, representing 18 organizations, served from 2010-2015. They were dedicated to the history of Dalton. They sponsored commemorative activities including tours, ceremonies and publications.

• Sumach Cumberland Presbyterian Church is rich in the history of Murray County. A committee and volunteers inventoried the cemetery. The church hosts one section of the “Murray On My Mind” class each year. The history room has a permanent display of Sumach’s historic artifacts.

The Whitfield-Murray Historical Society accepts nominations for the Historic Preservation Awards to honor individuals, living or deceased, who have made unusual and outstanding contributions to the preservation of the history of Whitfield and Murray counties. These contributions may be through time and dedication, monetary or real property donations, or a combination of both. Nominations may be held up to five years.

High school seniors will also be presented their awards and scholarship checks at this meeting. The students are Laura Alton (North Murray), Linsey Briley (North Murray), Macy Briley (North Murray), Sydney Fowler (Coahulla Creek), Whitney Gribble (Murray County), Kathleen Jones (Northwest Whitfield), Jordan Moore (North Murray) and Tori Richards (Murray County).