Villanow, Georgia facts for kids
Villanow is a small community in Walker County, Georgia, United States. It's located between the towns of Dalton and LaFayette. There are no schools in Villanow right now. The old Armuchee Valley Elementary School closed in 1992 after a fire. In 1993, another fire destroyed what was left of the school. In September 2010, the Armuchee Valley Community Center opened. This center is home to Walker County's Fire Station No. 14. It also has a sheriff's office and a place for people to vote.
History of Villanow
A post office was opened in Villanow in 1844. It stayed open until 1934. People say the community got its name when it grew big enough for someone to say, "It is no longer a hamlet, but is now a village." A hamlet is a very small group of houses, even smaller than a village.
The Historic Villanow Country Store
The Villanow Country Store is a very old building. It is listed on the National Register of Historic Places under the name Cavender's Country Store. Records show it was built around 1840. It was likely built by Joseph Warren Cavender, who owned it for the longest time. This store holds a record in Georgia. It is the longest-running stand-alone country store in the whole state!
There's a bit of a mystery about the store's exact starting date. Some people say Joseph Warren Cavender wasn't even born in 1840. This means the date might be wrong.
Joseph Warren Cavender was a soldier during the American Civil War. After the war, he worked for the United States Government. His job was to help clean up and rebuild the areas around the Chickamauga and Chattanooga battlefields. He also helped put up many monuments in Chickamauga Park.
After about four years, people in Villanow say Cavender used his savings. He bought a lot of land in the Villanow area for as little as 25 cents an acre. This included the land where the historic Cavender Country Store was built.
The Cavender Store sold almost everything the Villanow community needed. You could buy buggies or even caskets there! Besides the main store, Cavender also had a buggy and wagon shop. He had a blacksmith shop and a cotton mill on the same property. The store was the main gathering place for the mountain community. The benches outside were a vital spot for people to meet and talk. On clear days, important official business was even done right outside the store.
The store is now closed. It was sold in 1999 to Marty and Sharon Vess. Today, the building is used as a chiropractic office and a private home.
The store is located on the highway between Ringgold and Resaca. Joseph Warren Cavender married Martha "Mattie" Clements. She was the only daughter of Villanow's first doctor, Adam G. Clements. All seven of Mattie Clements' brothers served in the Confederate Army with Joseph Warren Cavender. Three of them became assistant surgeons. All eight of these men from Villanow returned home safely. They lived peaceful lives with their families and neighbors.
