Audio tour Cave Spring Historical Residential Locations

In 1828, the Georgia Legislature said everything in Cherokee, Georgia, was now under the laws of Georgia. The U.S. Government divided land into lots. Vann's Valley and the area around what is now Cave Spring were sold in 40-acre land lots.

After visiting the area, Armistead Richardson went home with a report that the land would be a good place to live. His son-in-law, Alexander T. Harper was the first to move to the area and established a trading post. In 1832, Alexander T. Harper III was the first white child born in Vann's Valley. Armistead Richardson moved to the area shortly thereafter. 

In 1836, eight Baptists led by Armistead Richardson formed the Baptist Church. By 1839, they established a school, the Manual Labor Institute of Vann's Valley. The School purchased 200 acres of land in the center of what is now Cave Spring from Richardson. By the mid-1850s, they also had established the Cherokee Wesleyan Institute.

In 1844, the Georgia Baptist Convention met in Cave Spring, and the local Baptists gave their school and the 200 acres of land to the Georgia Baptist. Lott Hearn, a prominent Baptist, bequeathed $12,500 to the school, and the name was changed to the Hearn Institute. By 1846, downtown Cave Spring began to emerge. In 1852, the Village of Cave Spring was described as "650 yards from a hickory tree near the town well," probably located on the square.

 Sometime after 1846, O.P. Fannin, a teacher at the Hearn School, went to Connecticut and learned sign language. In 1849, the state of Georgia established the Georgia School for the Deaf, and Mr. Fannin became its first principal teacher.

On January 22, 1852, the Georgia Legislature granted a charter, and "Temperance Town" became the Village of Cave Spring. By 1858, there were 70 (white men only) voters. Many dwellings were built.

During the Civil War, life was difficult. Fannin Hall served as a hospital for both the Confederate and Union Armies (at different times). The Reconstruction years were also hard on the residents. Many folks would carve GTT (gone to Texas) on their doors and leave. Most of the wealth was lost, and sharecropping became a way of life.

On October 29, 1902, a large fire burned most of the wooden structures in the center of the village. The city council passed an ordinance that all structures built in the downtown area would be made of brick. However, due to another fire at the Tumlin Mercantile Store, owned by then mayor, A.N. Tumlin in the 1930's, all city records to that time were lost. 

Cave Spring is named for the natural limestone cave from which flows a crystal clean spring of several million gallons each day. The spring feeds the 1.5 acre swimming pool built in the shape of the State of Georgia in the 1930's by the WPA.

Many historic buildings remain in Cave Spring. In fact, almost 90 structures in the downtown area listed on the National Register of Historic Places.