Big Spring Park
Cedartown, Polk County, Georgia
Marker Inscription
Big Spring Park. Asa Prior, born in Virginia about 1785, pioneered into this valley and purchased a large tract of land including this spring and Cedar Creek in 1834. In 1852 he deeded the spring and 10 adjacent acres to the City of Cedartown. Another pioneer, Mr. Walthall, established the Walthall Indian Trading Post near the spring. Peace-loving Cherokees gathered here. Indian young people danced their corn dance under the cedar trees. The Cedar Valley Garden Club beautified this park. A shrine was dedicated to the memory of Sen. William Julius Harris, whose funeral was held in the park, April 21, 1932. 115-6 Georgia Historical Commission 1955
Erected by Georgia Historical Commission
The Story
Asa Prior, a Virginia-born pioneer, settled this valley and in 1834 bought a tract that included this spring, deeding the spring and ten acres to Cedartown in 1852. Nearby stood Walthall's Indian trading post, where Cherokees gathered and their young people danced the corn dance beneath the cedars. The park was later beautified by a garden club and made the site of a memorial shrine to Senator William Julius Harris.
Why it matters
Big Spring Park layers the region's history in one place — a Cherokee gathering ground and trading post giving way to a pioneer's homestead and, in time, a civic park, tracing the transformation of the Georgia frontier.
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Related people
- · Asa Prior
- · William Julius Harris
Themes & tags
Nearby & related markers
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