Gamble Springs

Historic Estate with flowing Natural Springs — Anchored by an 1836 Home Older Than the County Itself.

Some properties are inherited from a generation. Gamble Springs was inherited from a century. Built in 1836 — two years before Chattooga County itself was carved out of Floyd and Walker — the home stands on land where Cherokee families farmed Raccoon Creek bottom and where Sherman, ten minutes up the road, telegraphed Lincoln his plan for the March to the Sea. The bricks were made here. The stones were laid here. The springs that still flow today are the same springs that built it.

One hundred and ninety years later, the springs still run. The bottomland still holds deer. The pastures still pay. And the home — restored to the studs, with original mantels, original wood-paneled walls, and original brick — is ready for its next steward.

"We just wanted to be good stewards of this history. It’ll be here long, long past when we’re gone.” — Robert Long, Landowner

Mornings on Gamble Springs start with the sound of water — the spring that fed Cherokee families two hundred years ago still pulls down through the hardwood bottom before first light. The deer move out of the creek edge into the pastures. The magnolias hold the drive in shadow. By the time the coffee is poured on the screened porch, you have already remembered why people don't sell places like this.

Water is the wealth. Multiple constantly flowing natural springs feed the property year-round, anchored by a main spring framed in professionally laid stonework that feels less like an improvement and more like the heart of the place. The water flows down through the hardwood bottom along Raccoon Creek — a stream that took its name from an old Cherokee town two miles south, near present-day Berryton.

"We do not inherit the earth from our ancestors; we borrow it from our children."

In the Ridge-and-Valley Appalachians, springs of this volume and consistency are not a feature. They are the asset. They cannot be drilled, replaced, or replicated. Pressure systems with filtration and UV purification deliver spring water to both the house and the shop. The land feeds itself.

The 123 acres are composed for both work and pleasure. Five established hunting blinds sit across a property where edge habitat, hardwood bottom, and constant water have built consistent wildlife activity over decades. Three fenced pastures generate grazing or income. A reinforced bridge crosses the creek. Multiple homesites give the next owner room to grow into the property without ever having to leave it.

Behind a gated entrance lined with magnolias and anchored by brick columns stands the 3,840 square foot home. The bricks were made on the property — fired from on-site clay, almost certainly with water drawn from the same springs that still run today. Original stone fireplaces remain in several rooms. Original wood-paneled walls from 1836 still cover the second-floor interiors. The chimneys were rebuilt with the original brick.

The home underwent a significant restoration and infrastructure overhaul in 2023, including new aluminum-clad Jeld-Wen windows and doors, a new roof, updated HVAC systems with whole-house dehumidification, upgraded electrical and plumbing systems, foam insulation, encapsulated crawlspace improvements, and extensive structural reinforcement beneath the home. Modern systems—including high-speed fiber internet, full-property surveillance, automated gate access, water filtration with UV purification, and a 26 kW Generac standby generator—were carefully integrated without compromising the home's historic character.

2023 Renovation & Infrastructure Highlights:

• New aluminum-clad Jeld-Wen windows and wood doors
• New roof
• Two new HVAC systems with updated ductwork and whole-house dehumidification
• Encapsulated crawlspace with dehumidification system
• New floor system, joists, footers, and steel support columns on main level
• Foam insulation in attic and rooflines
• New hardwood flooring throughout
• Updated kitchen and laundry countertops and backsplashes
• Tennessee fieldstone additions in living room and laundry room
• Reconstructed fieldstone front porch and steps
• Automated blinds throughout the home
• New lighting, trim, and interior/exterior paint throughout
• New septic system with dual drainage fields
• New water filtration, softener, and UV purification system
• Whole-house 26 kW Generac generator
• High-speed fiber internet to both house and shop
• Full camera and security system with gated access control
• Upgraded power and expanded electrical service to shop
• Outdoor grill and kitchen area with gas service
• Gas fireplaces with remote-operated gas logs
• New landscaping and horse rail fencing from entrance to residence

Within the home there are four bedrooms, all en-suite. Two primary suites — one on the main level, one upstairs with cedar storage and a walk-in closet. A formal dining room that comfortably seats twelve. A kitchen with granite, stainless, and an eat-in area that opens directly into the main living spaces. A family room anchored by a wood-burning fireplace and a vaulted screened porch that pulls the living area outdoors.

"It didn’t need to be changed. We wanted to keep the look and preserve the history of the home, but behind the scenes we wanted to make it right.” — Robert Long, Landowner

This is what a 1836 home looks like when it has been loved correctly. Most of them are gone. This one is still here.

"One generation passes away, and another generation comes; but the earth abides forever." — Ecclesiastes 1:4

Infrastructure across the property has been carefully addressed. Spring water is delivered to both the house and shop through dedicated pressure systems, paired with filtration and UV purification. The home and improvements are supported by updated mechanical systems, high-speed internet, a full surveillance system, and a 26 kW Generac backup generator.

A detached shop and garage with storage. A multi-bay equipment building with climate-controlled space. An intact 1920s hay barn that has held its line for a century. A pea gravel drive lined with magnolias. A circular drive with parking. A gated entrance with camera, intercom, and remote access. The infrastructure is what you would build if you were starting from scratch — except it has already been built, tested by time, and integrated into the land.

Gamble Springs enjoys the rare advantage of feeling worlds away while remaining remarkably accessible. Located just outside the historic town of Summerville in the rolling foothills of Northwest Georgia, the property sits approximately 30 minutes from Rome, just over an hour from Chattanooga, and less than two hours from Atlanta and Birmingham. The surrounding area is defined by scenic mountain views, productive farmland, and a deep-rooted sporting and agricultural heritage that has shaped this region for generations. Summerville itself retains the character of old Georgia — a quiet Southern town where historic storefronts, local restaurants, and generational land ownership still define the community. It is a landscape where privacy, natural beauty, and authenticity remain intact, yet major cities and modern conveniences are comfortably within reach.

Gamble Springs is not for everyone. It is for the family that understands a property like this is borrowed, not bought — held in trust between the hands that built it and the hands that come next. The buyer who belongs here is the one who reads "1836" and feels the weight of it.

"The past is never dead. It's not even past." — William Faulkner, Requiem for a Nun

Gamble Springs is the kind of property the market produces once in a generation: a true sporting estate where water, history, and land come to one address. For the buyer who has been waiting for something they cannot manufacture — a home older than the county, springs older than the home, and land that has fed both — this is it.

“There’s just a happiness at this property. I’ve never experienced a property like this.” — Robert Long, Landowner

A Note on Owning an 1836 Home:

Properties of this age and provenance trade rarely. The buyers who acquire them tend to hold them for decades — sometimes generations. A few things every serious buyer should understand before stepping into ownership:

Tax position. Georgia offers a state historic rehabilitation tax credit, and qualifying properties may also be eligible for federal historic preservation tax credits. The land itself may qualify for Conservation Use Valuation Assessment (CUVA), reducing ad valorem tax exposure on the acreage. A JKA advisor can introduce you to the specialists who structure these correctly.

Insurance. Antebellum homes require specialty insurance carriers — not standard homeowner policies. The right carrier prices the home for what it actually is: an irreplaceable structure with documented historic value.

Maintenance philosophy. The home has been taken to the studs and brought back. The major systems are new; the structure, masonry, and original interior elements are original. The next owner inherits a property at the strongest maintenance position one of these can be in — but a 190-year-old home is a custodianship, not a possession. Plan accordingly.

National Register eligibility. Properties of this age and integrity are often eligible for the National Register of Historic Places. Listing is voluntary and does not restrict private ownership, but it unlocks specific tax-credit advantages and adds documented historic value to the property file.

Resale character. Properties like Gamble Springs do not trade like residential real estate. They trade rarely, privately, and to qualified buyers. The buyer pool is small, but it is also patient and well-capitalized. When the time comes — whether in this generation or the next — the right firm matters more than the right list price.

Why this price — and why this property:

Gamble Springs is priced where it is because the asset is non-replaceable. Multiple year-round springs in the Ridge-and-Valley Appalachians, a hardwood-bottom corridor along a Cherokee-named creek, three fenced and producing pastures, and a fully restored 1836 home that pre-dates the county itself — there is no comparable sale on any public site. There is no subdivision waiting next door. There is no second one of these for sale in Chattooga County, in north Georgia, or — at this composition — anywhere in the Southeast we cover.

The price was built by a process. We have specialized in this niche for 35 years and closed over $2 billion of similar properties. Every transaction we have closed — including the largest recreational land sale in Georgia history — sits inside our Land Intelligence Map™. Every one of them informs how Gamble Springs is priced today.

If you are seriously considering this property, that knowledge can be working for you. A JKA advisor will walk you through the pricing, the value, and the comparable sales behind both — privately, and on your timeline.