Our History

The Cave Spring Historical Society met for the first time on August 11, 1975. More than 100 people attended, and 106 signed up to join the CSHS. The gathering was held on the lawn in front of the Hearn Classroom Building in Rolater Park, Cave Spring. John Lindsey, brother of Tom Lindsey and Vicki Abernathy and son of Dewell and Martha K. Lindsey, organized this first meeting and also gave the organization its name.

Winnie Williams Morrow and Becky Davis operated a gift store inside the Hearn Academy building, which was falling into disrepair. Customers were often heard to say, “What a beautiful historic building.” After hearing that comment repeatedly, Winnie suggested to John that they get some people together to save the building. He then suggested forming the Cave Spring Historical Society and immediately organized the first meeting.

John knew Diane Dawson, sister of the famous American singer-songwriter Alan Jackson, who had moved to Cave Spring with her husband, Jim. The couple was restoring the old Dickerson house on Alabama Street. John also knew nearly the entire town because his family owned and operated the Cave Spring Hardware Store. Diane had already talked with John about the treasures Cave Spring possessed, including the many historic structures that remained intact at the time. She agreed to speak to the people of Cave Spring at the initial August meeting.

As someone who was not originally from Cave Spring, her first comment at the podium was, “Well, I don’t know what I’m doing up here.” However, she proceeded to tell the assembly about her belief that the building behind them could and should be saved. Winnie echoed Diane’s comments before adding stories about the many people who had visited the gift shop and spoken favorably about the building.

Following Winnie, Jack Brewer took the podium and said, “Well, everybody says they don’t know what they’re doing up here, but I know what I’m up here for, and that’s to save this building!” He received a great round of applause.

Diane was elected president of the newly formed organization. She made a good impression and seemed to have considerable knowledge about how to go about restoring buildings.

After the first several meetings and once the organization began getting established, Winnie was asked to chair the Board of Directors. The first directors were to oversee the business of the Society, while the membership made the decisions. As with all new organizations, there was a great deal of support in the beginning, but a small core group remained committed and managed to keep the ball rolling.

This group, together with support from the Cave Spring community, quickly raised enough money to put a roof on the Hearn Building. The roof replacement was completed by the Brewer and Summerlin Construction Company of Cave Spring.

After the roof was replaced, Diane stood on the front steps of the building and pointed out that the other Hearn School building, the old dormitory, was actually older than the classroom building and should be restored, too. The Historical Society group planned a visit to Marie and Gordon (Draves?), who were the current residents of the building. Inside, there was a huge accumulation of water, and the plastic covering the roof was sagging almost to the floor under its weight. The sky could even be seen through one place in the front hall. Diane’s enthusiasm and creative vision were contagious, and the CSHS decided to make the old Hearn Dorm its next restoration project.

There were people in Cave Spring who thought the CSHS was crazy for trying to take on such a large project and restore all these old buildings, but support continued to pour in. In the meantime, Diane had started working for the City. She was instrumental in helping Cave Spring become a Main Street Community.

Under Diane’s leadership, labor was provided by First Offenders, a youth program that gives young people who have been in trouble an opportunity to perform community service activities. This was a tremendous benefit to both the CSHS and First Offenders, offering the youth involved a chance to feel a sense of pride in their work.

The original Hearn Dorm had a bell tower, and Jim Dawson drew up the new design based on old photographs of the building. The bell tower was constructed to look very much like the original. This final touch completed the restoration of the Hearn Dorm, now known as the Hearn Inn.

The CSHS decided the restored dormitory would become an inn so it could generate income to help maintain the structure. The Hearn Inn was decorated with as many period pieces as could be found to fill the space and create the ambiance of days gone by.

Within six weeks of the dormitory's completion, every room had been sponsored and furnished. Each room was sponsored by different individuals and organizations that provided money to purchase antiques and other era-specific décor. The bed coverlets were made by a local weaver who was a friend of Diane’s. Plaques were placed on each door to recognize the sponsors.

Diane did a good job of commemorating all the contributors who helped make this huge renovation project possible. There were several fundraisers, including a play that was performed for a sold-out crowd in the auditorium of the Georgia School for the Deaf. The play was “The War Comes to Prior Station,” directed by Don Rudesil (?), a member of the Rome Little Theatre in Rome.

During the late 1970s, Cave Spring held an annual festival known as the Cave Spring Country Festival. The money raised at this festival was given to the CSHS to help support and maintain the buildings. This is the festival now known as the Cave Spring Arts Festival, which currently takes place in June each year and continues to be a major fundraiser for the Cave Spring Historical Society.

Restoration projects have continued over the years, and the Cave Spring Historical Society now manages the Hearn Academy, the Hearn Inn, and the Old Baptist Church in Rolater Park; the caboose and the Old Cabin on Broad Street, just off the downtown square; and the former Presbyterian Church on Alabama Highway on the west side of town.