Murray County's beloved "old rock building" has been placed on the National Register of Historic Places. The structure, located on Green Road in Chatsworth, Georgia, was built in 1934. The building is significant as the first consolidated high school in Murray County, Georgia. It replaced three small high schools: Lucy Hill, Chatsworth, and Eton High Schools. Interestingly, before the new rock high school was even completed, Chatsworth High School was struck by lightning and burned. Consolidating the schools was a controversial move and caused some squabbling among the various towns, several of which hoped to have the high school in their own community. See photos (recent, pre-renovation).

The rock building is also significant for its architecture and stone masonry. The building is made of grayish brown mountain rock that is native to the area. The stone was blasted from the mountains during the construction of the Chatsworth-Ellijay Highway and was donated to the School Board at the request of V.C. Pickering. Local truckers hauled them to the site for fifty cents a load. Mr. Watkins was the head stone mason on the project. The natural stone and unique facade make it one of the most attractive buildings in the county, and one of only a handful of such stone buildings in North Georgia. The surrounding landscape is set off by the cobalt blue of the Cohutta mountains. These features make the building a favorite landmark, much loved by the local community.

The building was completed as a project of the 1930's Works Progress Administration of the government. According to a 1934 article in Dalton Citizen, over 55 local men were put to work on the project. Workers received one dollar per day and stone masons, two dollars. (The school board later raised this amount and paid hourly wages of up to fifty cents.) V.C. Pickering, a prominent citizen of the county, was instrumental in getting the high school built, obtaining the stone and donating $5,000 and 164 acres of land to the school board; hence, the building's new name, the V.C. Pickering Administrative Center. Other funding came from the state and the Board of Education.

A complete renovation will kick off a new era in the building's long history, as it becomes the new headquarters for a much-needed central office for the Murray County school system. Fundraising efforts for the renovation project have already begun, with the Rock Building Committee is in charge of fundraising for the project. Various local organizations have pledged support for the old rock building renovation project. Among these are the Murray County High School Alumni Association and Whitfield-Murray Historical Society. The Alumni Association is challenging graduating classes of Murray County High School to raise money for the project. Classes that raise $10,000 or more will have a room or suite in the rock building named after them. Several classes have already met their goal of $10,000.

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