Map created by Jess Hansen, Whitfield County GIS Department
Two years of behind-the-scenes cooperation among several local, state, and national groups has resulted in the purchase of historically significant Civil War land in Whitfield County.
The land, known as the Grant Farm, was the site of two battles during the Civil War and consists of 301 acres next to the previously preserved 650-acre Rocky Face Ridge site, which will create a flowing interpretive experience for visitors and provide a full view of troop movements.
Local historian Greg Cockburn contacted the county in 2014 and carried Commission Chairman Mike Babb on a tour of the property to point out the reasons it was important to local Civil War history.
Mr. Cockburn provided written information and layouts about the flow of the two battles that took place there. The county used his information to make maps through its GIS department, submitting the maps and information to the Civil War Trust.
The Civil War Trust confirmed the historical significance of the property and signed a contract with the owner to purchase the land for the appraised price of $1.38 million.
For the past two years, various groups have been pulling together the necessary funding and worked out the conservation easement with the Georgia Piedmont Land Trust.
“I hope Whitfield County will become a benchmark on bringing divergent interests together to help preserve our environment, history, and health,” Chairman Babb said.
The deal closed recently, with no property tax funds having to be used. Instead, the purchase was made possible through several local, state, and national contributions, including:
?Lyndhurst Foundation (of Chattanooga) - $75,000;
?Riverview Foundation (of Chattanooga) - $80,000;
?Northwest Georgia Community Foundation - $25,000 (a follow up to the money it donated 15 years ago toward the purchase of the west side of Rocky Face Ridge);
?Whitfield SPLOST (with the agreement of the local Southern Off Road Bicycling Association (SORBA) - $150,000;
?Dalton Save the Battlefields - $5,000;
?Board of Commissioners’ TVA easement funds (paid to the county for the TVA easement through the Carbondale Business Park) - $45,000;
?Dalton Utilities - $260,000 (to secure part of the watershed feeding into the upper Haig Mill lake);
?National Park Service’s American Battlefield Protection Program - $690,000; and
?Civil War Trust - $100,000.
Under the purchase agreement, the Civil War Trust acquired the property and will grant a conservation easement to the Georgia Piedmont Land Trust. The CWT then will transfer the property to Whitfield County.