Category Archives: Indian Springs GA

Big Chief, Indian Springs

This is a convenience store in Indian Springs, and the name is typical of tourist-driven locales with a history of Indian presence. For better or worse, Native American icons and symbols have been appropriated by myriad enterprises since the earliest days of European settlement in North America. They are also a prominent source for place names.

Fort Indian Springs Antique & Flea Market

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.

Indian Springs General Merchandise

I believe this is now an antique store.

General Store, Indian Springs

This old general merchandise store has most recently been home to Watkins Outfitters, an outdoor specialist. It dates to the early 1900s.

Indian Springs Chapel, Circa 1890, Butts County

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.

Indian Spring Hotel, 1823, Butts County

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