Pinhoti Trail Day 33: The Hearn Inn Tour

We decided to take a double zero, one day to relax and one day to explore Cave Spring. Today I am giving you a tour of the historic Hearn Inn located in Cave Spring, Georgia.

To see a full walking tour of The Hearn Inn, check out my video below.

History of the Hearn Inn

The Hearn Inn hasn’t always been known as such, nor has it always been an inn. The Hearn Inn was originally built as the female dormitory for the Georgia School for the Deaf, which now houses City Hall. Several online sources claim it was originally built as a dormitory for the adjacent Manual Labor School (later renamed), but the Cave Springs Historical Society website¹ says otherwise.

However, on the inn itself it says Hearn Academy Inn 1839.

O. P. Fannin, a teacher at Hearn Academy, established the Georgia School for the Deaf in 1846. Which means the Hearn Inn was there before the Georgia School for the Deaf was established.

There isn’t much historical information online about the Hearn Inn; in fact, it is almost non-existent. However, I will keep researching and add information as I find it. If you have any historical facts to add, please leave a comment below.

Haunted?

Is the Hearn Inn haunted? There are stories of strange sounds, items moving, etc…

We were the only ones staying there for the first two nights. Ripley and Suspenders were both on the front porch waiting for me as we were about to go tour Cave Spring. I had to use the restroom before we left, so I turned around at the front door and headed down the hall to the half bath downstairs.

While I was making my “deposit,” I heard footsteps clearly passing by the door. I assumed one of them came back inside to use the full bathroom that was right next to the half bath. I got up, washed my hands, and headed to the front porch where they were both still waiting. Neither one of them had come inside and the front door was the only way in.

Do what you will with that information.

We heard rumors that there is a child ghost, so we did leave my ping pong ball on the living room floor to see if it would move… it never did.

Staying the Night

Yes! You can stay the night in this historic building; it is not just for Pinhoti Hikers. You can rent just a room or the entire house by contacting the Cave Spring Historical Society.

Video Tour of The Hearn Inn

1. https://www.cavespringhistoricalsociety.com/facilities ↩︎