Like so many other rural congregations, England Chapel Methodist began meeting in a brush arbor in 1885 until the construction of a permanent home. The property upon which this church was built was given by D. N. Carmichael in 1887 and a local mill operator, J. B. Settle, offered to prepare the timber for the construction. Members from the surrounding community cut trees on their property and donated it to the church, which they also helped build. It still serves members today.
Flovilla was established in 1885 and its name means “Villa of Flowers”. Much of its early history is linked to the Flovilla & Indian Springs Railway. The shortline was established in 1888 to transport passengers from Flovilla to the resort in Indian Springs. At the time, it boasted of being the shortest incorporated railroad in the world. Heard Street, running parallel to the railroad tracks, is Flovilla’s historic commercial center. Very little remains, after fires in 1907 and 1923 destroyed numerous stores and offices.
The Indian Springs F & AM Lodge at Flovilla is definitely one of the most unique I’ve seen in Georgia.
John Haney and family have maintained a flea market near Indian Springs for years. This is just a small glimpse of what they offer. It looks like they have a little bit of everything. Zeke Haney wrote in June to let us know that his grandfather had recently passed away.
I believe this is now an antique store.
This old general merchandise store has most recently been home to Watkins Outfitters, an outdoor specialist. It dates to the early 1900s.
Said to have been built from timbers left over from the construction of the iconic Wigwam Hotel (later lost to fire), the little Victorian chapel at Indian Springs has been home to a Baptist congregation, as well as serving as a non-denominational place of worship throughout its history. Restoration work has been done in recent years.
The first section of the Indian Spring Hotel was built as an inn by William McIntosh, who operated it with his cousin Joel Bailey. McIntosh, a half-Scot half-Native American and the cousin of Governor George M. Troup, was Chief of the Coweta band of Creek Indians; he was also the owner of over 70 slaves. The two-story addition which gave the hotel its present appearance was completed in 1825, the year McIntosh signed the Treaty of Indian Springs, ceding much of the historically Creek lands to white settlers. His role in this treaty, viewed unfavorably by a majority of Creeks, lead to McIntosh’s subsequent execution. The addition included a tavern known as the Treaty Room and a large ballroom. Significantly, the McIntosh Inn is the only known antebellum mineral springs hotel still standing in Georgia. Mineral springs resorts were as popular in Georgia in the 19th century as coastal resorts are in the modern era. In 1850, the property was purchased by the Varner family, who owned and operated it as the Varner House, a nationally famous resort. The Varner descendants sold it to J. H. Elliot in 1953. Today, the Indian Spring Hotel/Museum is open on weekends between Memorial Day and Labor Day.
National Register of Historic Places