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September 30, 2007

Railroad and talc museum set to open

Misty Watson

CHATSWORTH — After collecting pictures, oil cans, lanterns, and other memorabilia for several years, local historians are excited about the opening of a railroad and talc museum.

The museum, housed in the depot on First Avenue behind the Wright Hotel, will open Saturday at 10 a.m. along with the second annual Fall Art Show at the Depot.

The art show and museum, along with the Wright Hotel and the section house in the city park, will be open Saturday until 5 p.m. and Sunday from 1 to 5 p.m.

There is no admission to tour any of the historic buildings or to view the art show, but donations will be accepted at the hotel.

The art show, featuring several local artists, started last year to celebrate Chatsworth’s centennial. That is also when the depot opened its doors to the public for the first time in decades. But the museum wasn’t complete.

“We’ve really been working on and it really looks good. It looks so much better than it did,” said Pat Ausmus, one of the event coordinators who has also spearheaded the opening of the museum. “We have displays and we are going to have a lot of stuff in the depot.”

Chatsworth was founded in 1906 as a railroad town, and talc was mined in Fort Mountain for decades. Both provided jobs to the city’s first residents.

The depot is the city’s oldest surviving building. Though it opened last year, renovations continued. The porch will now be open to the public, Ausmus said.

A model train has been donated by Betty James to be a permanent part of the museum, Ausmus said. It will be assembled and running this weekend.

“It’s really going to be a great weekend,” Ausmus said. “Everyone has been calling about it.”

A caboose, one of the newest donations to the museum, stands between the depot and the hotel. Renovations are not complete so the caboose won’t be open to tours this year. People will be able to view it from the outside.

This year’s art show is expected to be better than last with a larger variety of pieces, said Ausmus and her daughter Diane Davis, also coordinating the event.

Eric Gallman will have prints of historic churches in Murray County - including Summerour Baptist Church and Spring Place Methodist - for sale, Davis said.

One woman will have birdhouses on display. Quilts by Henrietta McDaniel will be on display.

Ten-year-old Nicole Hammett will be signing copies of her book “Had to be Wild,” which will also be for sale. Her grandmother, Betty Hammett, will also display some of her paintings and pastels.

The historical society and the Chatsworth-Murray County library will have books for sale.

For more information, call (706) 695-4200.

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