Georgia Natural Wonder #93 – Cave Spring. 1,110

[Top Row Dawg]

Georgia Natural Wonder #93 – Cave Spring

Cave Spring is a small town in Floyd County, Georgia, just 15 miles southwest of Rome, with a picturesque square and a mix of specialty shops, restaurants, and charming bed and breakfast inns. An abundance of antiques, nestled within sight of a 29-acre tree-shaded park, await exploration and discovery.



The namesake limestone cave is the signature attraction of this Southern village.



Cave Spring offers a wonderful getaway and a step back in time with its rich history, architecture and gentle beauty.



The town was named after the cave and water spring located in Rolater Park.



The cave has impressive stalagmites and the legendary "Devil's Stool" formation.



Almost all these photos in today’s post are from my visits there.



There are several caves coming up in future GNW’s.



Not all of Georgia’s caves are in the mountains.



The Cave in Cave Spring Georgia.



Overload of TRD cave shots.



The spring water has won awards for purity and taste. Many visitors bring jugs to fill at the spring and take home for drinking.



Geography

Cave Spring is located in southwestern Floyd County. U.S. Route 411 passes through the city, leading northeast to Rome and west 46 miles to Gadsden, Alabama. The Alabama border is 5 miles west of Cave Spring. Georgia State Route 100 leads north from Cave Spring 12 miles to Coosa and southeast 11 miles to Cedartown.



History

Cave Spring is well known for the natural wonders of the cave and spring site where indigenous peoples came to the area (both Cherokee and the earlier Mississippian culture).


Kids digging Indian sculpture in park.

Legend has it that tribal meetings and games used to be held at the site.



In 1839, Cave Spring was formed as a small town, founded by Baptists who were among the early settlers. The cave and spring site is now part of Rolater Park.



It all was formerly used by educational institutions such as Cave Spring Manual Labor School (renamed Hearn Academy) and others including Georgia School for the Deaf.


Hearn Academy

During the Atlanta Campaign of the Civil War in 1864, both Confederate and Union troops came to Cave Spring for hospitalization and rest.


Old Georgia School For Deaf used as hospital.

The spring flows into a sparkling pond from Rolater Park.



And then into a 1.5-acre swimming pool shaped like the state of Georgia. The pool is constructed out of stones.


Those big gals standing just south of Albany in state shaped pool.

Cave Spring has historic homes and buildings from its early years, such as the 1867 Presbyterian Church,



1880 train depot, Lawn mower shop today.



And 19th century hotels and boarding houses.




Tumlin B & B.

And just houses.



Demographics

The population of Cave Spring was 1,200 at the 2010 census, up from 975 at the 2000 census. It is part of the Rome, Georgia Metropolitan Statistical Area. The average household size was 2.36 and the average family size was 2.89. The median age was 44 years. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 75.5 males.


Kids jumping into Okefenokee Swamp part of State pool.

Georgia School for the Deaf

Cave Spring is the home of the Georgia School for the Deaf, established in 1846.



Neat area driving through historic campus, but it was boarded up 10 years ago when I visited.



GSD was once a field hospital for both Confederate and Union troops during the Civil War.



Northwest Georgia's picturesque Vann's Valley is the home of the Georgia School for the Deaf, Georgia's only residential school serving Deaf and Hard-of-Hearing students. GSD was established in 1846 on the grounds of the Hearn Academy by one of its teachers, O. P. Fannin.


Hearn Academy was in above photo. This is some old Woodshop part of campus. Hope someone has restored these structures. Need to revisit this place.

A log cabin and a $5000 legislative grant began a more than 160-year-long tradition of service to children across the state. GSD was the eleventh residential school for the Deaf established in the United States.


Not the GSD log cabin, but it was all in the news when we visited Cave Spring, how a merchant went to restore his recently purchased business and found this log structure under the clapboard. Super historic find, I wonder what it looks like now.

Like most of Georgia’s Historical markers, this one was erected in 1956 (If your wondering why it list the size of the school in 1955).



Marker Text: In 1833, a deaf man, John Jacobus Flournoy, of Jackson County, great grandson of Jacob Flournoy, a French Huguenot, urging education for the deaf, interested Governor Wilson Lumpkin and the Georgia Legislature in the educational movement. At first the pupils, few in number, were sent to the American Asylum for Deaf and Dumb in Hartford, Conn. Distance, weather and the youth of the pupils made that unsatisfactory. On May 15, 1846, with four pupils in a log cabin, with O.P. Fannin, teacher, this school began as a part of the Hearn Manual School at Cave Spring, Georgia. This school grew rapidly and, in 1847, a brick building was erected and dedicated. Later, other additions were made. The school was closed during the War Between the States and used as a hospital by both Confederate and Union forces. It resumed operations in February 1867 and is still supported by the State of Georgia. In 1955 this school had 82 teachers and employees and an income of more than $500,000.


Early GSD building Rolater Park.

It is a state-funded residential school operating under the auspices of the Office of Special Services of the Georgia State Department of Education and the Georgia State Board of Education. It aims to ensure that appropriate educational programs are available for hearing-impaired and multi-handicapped hearing-impaired students residing in Georgia. GSD has an expansive campus of 480 acres in the small community of Cave Spring. The relationship between Cave Spring and GSD is unique because many residents and business owners are able to communicate with sign language.

Athletics

Georgia School for the Deaf has a varsity basketball team for girls and boys, a football team, a soccer team, and a volleyball team. The female and male varsity basketball teams at GSD compete in the Mason-Dixon Tournament yearly. In 2008 the GSD Lady Tigers won the Mason-Dixon Tournament; it was their first win since 1980.The GSD football team competes against deaf and hearing schools. They use their hearing disadvantage to their benefit by using sign language in their huddles and mental rhythmic plays.



Athletes

Willie Brown played basketball at GSD. In his sophomore year he was 6'6" and averaged 28 points, 12 rebounds a game. He was voted the number one high school player in northeast Georgia. Brown holds the school record of 2,016 points over four years in basketball at GSD. After graduating, he pursued college basketball at Hofstra University in New York, where he played alongside hearing teammates.


William Brown 1984.

We already did a tangent on Floyd County and Rome when we explored the Marshall Forest GNW #54. This whole part of the state has some wonderful Ridge Line mountains and long valleys. A great motorcycle cruising part of the state. Taylor Ridge, Rocky Mountain Park, Sloppy Floyd Park all future GNW’s. Our GNW gal today is a cave woman.