Thornton Avenue-Murray Hill Historic District

This Dalton, Georgia neighborhood grew along Thornton Avenue, a former wagon path that became U.S. Highway 41, and extends west through the Murray Hill subdivisions to West Hill Cemetery. The oldest surviving house, built in 1848 for Dalton's first mayor and postmaster Ainsworth E. Blunt, is now a house museum. After Civil War damage to downtown, wealthy bankers, mill owners and physicians built Queen Anne, Italianate, Greek Revival and Neo-classical homes along the avenue. In 1937 the Acme Lumber and Supply Company developed Murray Hill, adding Colonial, English Vernacular Revival and Craftsman houses for middle-class families. Gabled-ell Folk Victorian houses and bungalows show common Georgia housing types. The cemetery holds a Confederate burying ground and a rare stone chapel. The district is recognized for its architecture, its community planning, and its main streets laid out in Captain Edward White's 1846-1847 city plan.