This blog post from an Active Rain member is worth sharing...

Beautiful home with lots of space - 4 BR's and 3 full BA's, large bonus or recreation room downstairs, nice master suite with garden tub and separate shower in bath. Pretty wood cabinets in the kitchen, separate dining room. Living room with fireplace, vaulted ceiling and beautiful windows.

The 4th bedroom, bonus room and laundry room are located downstairs on the basement level, and there is a patio just outside the bedroom. Like the furnishings - especially the pool table? - everything is negotiable, so just ask! 

Oversized garage with heavy duty workbench. Rocking chair front porch, plus the extra large deck in back is perfect for entertaining. Large back yard with privacy fence all the way around. This is a great family home in a great neighborhood!

This lovely home is located in North Ridge Subdivision just off Williams Rd. Please give me a call if you'd like to see it, I'd be happy to show it to you or help you get pre-qualified for your mortgage. (MLS 93493)

See the virtual tour here

This morning's Dalton, GA newspaper ran the following headline: Area Unemployment Falls - Companies Hiring Workers. This is VERY good news for us in North Georgia - it is a modest decline - 12.8% in April vs. 13.6% in March according to the Georgia Department of Labor for unadjusted unemployment in the metro Dalton area (Whitfield and Murray Counties). This is a decline nonethess and hopefully the light at the end of the tunnel.

Whitfield and Murray Counties have been hit very hard with unemployment due to the carpet industry closing plants. Foreclosures have also been very high, with over 60% of inventory being foreclosures.

The good news is that there are plenty of good deals out there if you're shopping for a home, and the job situation is improving if you're concerned about that.

Don't give up - things are getting better - North Georgia doesn't give up that easily! 

Here's another agen't view of the infamous "overpriced listing" we all encounter on a regular basis.

I really thought it was common knowledge by now that when you want to buy real estate the place to start is the bank. The first thing we do is go to the bank to get pre-qualified, right? But very few "buyers" who have called me in the last year or two have done that. Just yesterday I talked to a gentleman who just recently lost his home to foreclosure. He said the mortgage was just in his name, so now they are looking to buy a house in just his wife's name. He was calling about a specific property and wanted directions so they could go look at it. He said he didn't know if his wife would qualify for a home loan based on her income alone or not.

Buyers - please, please go to the bank and get pre-qualified before you call an agent to look at properties. If you don't, you are very likely to find a property you love and then find out you are unable to buy it. On top of that, sellers these days want a copy of the qualification letter attached to offers on their property - and I would too, wouldn't you? The man I mentioned above was concerned about the bank pulling credit and turning them down, then he'd have to go to another bank and they'd pull credit too, lowering the credit score. My feeling is that if you go to a reputable lender in today's market and they turn you down, the search should stop there. Bouncing around from lender to lender till you find someone who will approve you is partly what got us in the mess we are in.

So, the moral of this post is "Do your homework BEFORE you look at homes." Put the time in up front to determine 1) whether you are in a position to buy a home or not, 2) what price range you need to be looking in, and 3) what type of loan you qualify for and how much out of pocket money you need. If you don't know a good lender, make that call to the agent - but instead of asking to look at properties, ask them to help you get pre-qualified.

This is just common sense, folks, be smart and go into the home buying process with your eyes open, armed with the confidence that you are indeed able to purchase a home by working with your lender FIRST - you want to have an awareness of where your financial comfort zone is so you are not facing foreclosure as well.

Congratulations to the Murray County Chamber of Commerce for utilizing technology to expand their network and make information more accessible to their members! They are brand new Twitter members, and they're learning to Tweet and to track down good Peeps to follow. If you haven't noticed, Twitter is on fire these days, and if you haven't got your account running, then maybe you are just on the verge of being in the "yestertech" crowd. Get onboard and get on Twitter so you can follow one of our local Chambers and be informed about what's going on in our community. Click on the birdie to follow the Chamber!

Included in the Online Relocation Package Whitfield/Murray County GA - information about Whitfield and Murray Counties and nearby areas.

Whitfield County was formed from part of Murray County in 1851. Georgia's 97th county was named for the Reverend George Whitefield, the founder of the Bethesda Orphan House in Savannah. The spelling of the county's name was changed to reflect the way it was pronounced.

Dalton, the largest city in Whitfield County, is the gateway to the 150 mile Chieftain's Trail which traces the path of the Cherokee Indian sites located in northwest Georgia. Whitfield County is rich in civil war history (read about the Great Locomotive Chase). Then there was the bloody Battle of Chickamauga, fought in nearby Catoosa and Walker Counties.

Chatsworth - located about 11 miles east in Murray County - is the county seat, and according to a popular legend received its name after a road sign with the word "Chatsworth" fell off a passing freight train nearby. Someone put the sign on a post, and the name stuck.

The Whitfield/Murray area has much to offer: scenic mountain views, four distinct seasons - though none are usually extreme - hunting, fishing, boating, picnicking, golf, tennis, and the list just goes on. I-75 runs through Dalton, thus we're about an hour and a half from Atlanta and about 30 minutes from Chattanooga, TN. The cost of living here is relatively low, and we have a friendly, small town flavor. You'll like it here!

Included in the Online Relocation Package Whitfield/Murray County GA - information about Whitfield and Murray Counties and nearby areas.

When you visit North Georgia, you'll want to include a trip to Etowah Indian Mounds - located near Cartersville, about 45 minutes south of Dalton. This 54 acre site contains 7 earthen mounds, a plaza, portions of the original village, borrow pits and a defensive pit. This is the most intact Mississippian Culture site in the southeastern United States. It was home to several thousand Native Americans between 1000 A.D. and 1550 A.D.  The Mississippian Culture spanned from Wisconsin and Minnesota in the north, through Georgia to the south, and westward into the Great Plains. These people enjoyed an intricate system of trading, were accomplished craftsmen, and practiced sophisticated religious beliefs.

Only 9% of the site has been excavated, but examination of the artifacts reveals much about the people who lived here more than 500 years ago. This was a society rich in ritual, and the natives of this political and religious center decorated themselves with shell beads, tattoos, paint, elaborate hairdos, feathers and copper ear ornaments. Artwork on pottery shows meticulous attention to detail with intricate patterns.

Etowah Indian Mounds Historic site is located at 813 Indian Mounds Rd SW, Cartersville GA 30120. The phone number is 770-387-3747.

Stop by and travel back in time through the memories of our North Georgia ancestors - bring along a picnic, walk the trails, and tour the museum - it'll take you a couple of hours to enjoy everything.

Included in the Online Relocation Package Whitfield/Murray County GA - information about Whitfield and Murray Counties and nearby areas.

It's a little eery to stand and look across the fields of Chickamauga Battlefield - you can almost still hear the cries of battle as the wind whistles through the trees. Ghost stories abound, not surprisingly, about the site of one of the bloodiest battles of the Civil War. The battle just lasted two days - September 19-20, 1863 - yet the casualties were among the highest in the war.

From where I live in north Whitfield County, Chickamauga Battlefield is a short drive, thanks to easy access to I-75, and I like to visit ever so often to enjoy the beautiful scenery and reflect on the history that took place here.

If you're in the North Georgia area, you might want to visit the Chickamauga-Chattanooga National Military Park. The park also commemorates the Battle of Chattanooga, fought on September 23-25, 1863. The seven mile loop tour features markers and monuments placed by states after the  war.

Here is a summary of the battle:

The First Day (Sept. 19, 1863)

During the night preceding the battle both sides were shifting troops. "Neither army knew the exact position of the other....It is probable that division commanders on either side hardly knew where their own commands were in the thick woods, let alone the other troops of their own army, or the troops of the hostile army. The lines were at this time about six miles long."
       

On the morning of the 19^th Thomas ordered Brannan's division, then posted on the road two miles north of the Lee and Gordon's Mill, to reconnoiter toward Chickamauga Creek. Brannan encountered and drove back Forrest's dismounted cavalry, which called on the nearest Confederate infantry for help. This brought on an all-day battle. Every division of the XIV, XX, and XXI Corps was committed. Of the Confederate forces, only the divisions of Breckinridge and Hindman, on the south flank, were not engaged. Neither side gained any decided advantage.

The Second Day (Sept. 20, 1863)

During the night the two opposing forces further rearranged their dispositions in the difficult terrain. Rosecrans prepared defensive positions, and Bragg planned an attack. Longstreet had arrived during the night; he was given command of the left wing of Bragg's army, and Polk was given command of the other.
       

Bragg's units were to attack successively from north to south. Breckinridge attacked on the north at 9 o'clock Sunday morning. Thomas, commanding the Federal left wing, called for Negley's division, which was supposed to be in reserve. Due to an error, however, Negley was in the line. Wood, whose division was in reserve where Negley's was supposed to be, moved up to relieve Negley, while the latter sent one brigade and then another to reinforce Thomas. For two hours the Federal left successfully held off heavy attacks.
       

Rosecrans' misunderstanding as to the true location of his units then led to a fatal error. He was trying to strengthen the defenses on his right while Thomas held the other flank. Thinking that Wood was on Reynolds' (right) flank, he ordered Wood "to close up and support Reynolds." Actually, Brannan was on Wood's left, and following his instructions, Wood pulled out of the line, passed behind Brannan, and fell in on Reynolds' flank. The divisions of Sheridan and J.C. Davis were closing to fill this gap at abut 11:30 when Longstreet attacked. By a strange coincidence, Longstreet hit the precise point left open by the Federal error. Sheridan's and Davis' divisions were shattered by superior force, and the Federal right was driven back on its left flank.
       

Rosecrans, McCook, and Crittenden, unable to rally the troops around them, fled to Chattanooga, thinking the entire army was being destroyed. Thomas remained on the field, turning Wood and Brannan to block Longstreet on the south. Bragg had failed to provide for a general, and so was unable to exploit Longstreet's success. Three brigades of Granger's Reserve Corps ("Army of the Kentucky") were near McAffee's Church with orders to remain there and protect the flank. In a splendid example of battlefield initiative Granger violated his orders and "at the moment of greatest need reported to Gen. Thomas with two brigades" (Whittaker and Mitchell from Steedman's division). Van Horne says "the opportune aid o these two brigades saved the army from defeat and rout" (Van Horne, I, 353). Thomas held the field until dark and then, on orders from Rosecrans, withdrew to Rossville Gap. Rosecrans withdrew his army into the defenses of Chattanooga. Bragg followed, occupied Missionary Ridge and laid siege to the town.

 Epilogue

Although Bragg had won a decided tactical victory, his piecemeal method of attack and lack of a general reserve deprived him of the success that an outstanding general might have achieved under the circumstances--particularly the rare bit of luck occasioned by Longstreet's attack finding a gap. Failure to pursue the shattered Federals deprived Bragg of the fruits of his victory. The work of Thomas--the "Rock of Chickamauga"--the steadfastness of the troops on his wing, and the troops on his wing, and initiative of Granger, all helped make this a Pyretic victory for the South.
       

An evaluation of the statistics shows that the Union had 19.6 percent killed and wounded and Confederates 25.9 percent. Using Livermore's "hit by 1,000" system of comparing the combat effectiveness, Rosecrans' troops killed or wounded 292 Confederates for every 1,000 Federal soldiers engaged; Bragg's forces, on the other hand, killed or wounded only 172 Federals for every 1,000 of their own troops engaged. The battle, fought in a densely wooded area which permitted little or no tactical control of units, was one of the bloodiest of the war.
       

Chickamauga was a maker and breaker of reputations. Thomas's performance elevated him to top command, and Granger was also marked for higher responsibility. Rosecrans, Alexander McCook, Crittenden, and Negley were relieved: the last three were charged with misconduct but acquitted. The fractious Bragg, whose personality defect were large responsible for the poor cooperation of his subordinates, relieved Polk, D.H. Hill, and Hindman for unsatisfactory performance during the campaign.

Source: "The Civil War Dictionary," by Mark M. Boatner III

Included in the Online Relocation Package Whitfield/Murray County GA - information about Whitfield and Murray Counties and nearby areas.

Sometimes we take our own back yard for granted - historic events have taken place in our own town but are long forgotten. Well, let's bring this one back - a few years ago I watched the old movie The Great Locomotive Chase made in 1956 and it was quite a treat. Here's the story:

"Boys, we're going into danger, but for results that can be tremendous," said Union spy turned saboteur James J. Andrews to the 24 volunteers he had recruited from three Ohio regiments to take part in a secret railroad-bridge-burning mission. Union General Ormsby M. Mitchel wanted to capture the Confederate city of Chattanooga, Tennessee, and he and Andrews had concocted a plan to isolate that important munitions center from Rebel reinforcements by cutting its rail connections and then sending in the Union army.

The plan was for Andrews and his men, in civilian clothes, to make their way in groups of 3 or 4 to Chattanooga, where they would board a train headed south to Atlanta. They would get off at Marietta, about 25 miles north of Atlanta. There they would commandeer a northbound train and race back toward Union lines, and they would burn bridges and cut telegraph lines as they went. Mitchel's army, in the meantime, would move to cut the tracks west of Chattanooga and be in position to take the city when the raiders returned.

Two undercover Union raiders were drafted into the Confederate army before they reached Marietta and two others overslept, but at daybreak on the morning of April 12, 1862, Andrews and the remaining 20 raiders boarded the morning train from Atlanta and started back north.

The train was pulled by the locomotive General and was composed of a tender followed by three empty boxcars and a string of passenger cars. The train pulled into the station at Big Shanty, Georgia at 6:15 A.M. for a quick breakfast stop. The train crew and the passengers all got out and filed into Lacy's Hotel to eat, and Andrews' men quickly undid the coupling in front of the passenger cars. Three of the raiders with railroading experience climbed aboard the General. One of the diners in the hotel looked out the window and shouted to the train's conductor, "Someone is moving your engine!"

Conductor William A. Fuller was surprised to see his train-minus the passenger cars-suddenly lurch forward and race off down the tracks. Realizing it was being stolen, Fuller chased after the train on foot.

Andrews stopped the train often to take on wood and water; the raiders took up a rail to delay pursuers and also cut telegraph wires so that word of the stolen train would not precede them up the tracks.

After traveling 30 miles, the raiders came to Kingston, where they sat for an hour waiting for southbound trains to pass, thereby clearing the track ahead. Four minutes after Andrews pulled out of Kingston going north, Fuller arrived from the south in a locomotive he had commandeered for the chase. Finding his way blocked by three southbound trains, Fuller abandoned his engine and boarded another, continuing the pursuit, this time with 40 armed men on board.

Four miles from Kingston, Fuller again abandoned his train because the raiders had torn up another rail, and again he continued the chase on foot. Meeting a southbound train, he turned it back after the raiders. Andrews' men stopped again to tear up a rail, but before they finished Fuller's train came into view and raced toward them with its whistle screaming. The raiders jumped aboard their train and tore off up the tracks with Fuller pursuing.

The track ahead was clear to Chattanooga, but the raiders hoped to burn more bridges. A flaming boxcar was left on one covered bridge, but Fuller's train arrived in time to push the car onto a side track. The Confederates were following so closely now that the raiders could not stop for fuel, and they were forced to abandon their train 18 miles south of Chattanooga and scatter into the woods. The eight-hour chase had covered 87 miles.

The confederates captured all of the raiders and hanged Andrews and seven others. Eight escaped and the rest were exchanged in March 1863.

You can see the General today at the Kennesaw Civil War Museum and follow the chase from its start in Atlanta to its end north of Ringgold, Georgia. The centerpiece, however, is the General itself, restored by the old Louisville and Nashville (L&N) Railroad in time for the 1962 centennial.