SPRING PLACE — With his booming voice, the auctioneer echoed the numbers raised by the 100 or so people sitting in chairs under the gray Georgia sky.

“45, do I hear 50? 50 do I hear 55?” he bellowed.

The auction at the 11th annual Spring Place Festival, held at the Old Spring Place United Methodist Church on Ga. Highway 225, is the highlight of the event. Bargain shoppers bid on coins, books, gift baskets and bedspreads at the auction held on the lawn.

Inside the church, dishes, toys, electronics and other flea market items beckoned potential buyers.

A big draw was the peacock chenille bedspreads, including one that was raffled off at the end of the auction. The “spreadline” of chenille bedspreads was reminiscent of Dalton’s Peacock Alley along U.S. Highway 41 before Interstate 75 was constructed.

Another highlight was the official presentation of local historical paintings by Crandall artist Erik Gallman that portray the Murray County Courthouse at Spring Place, Lucy Hill Institute, Spring Place Grammar School and Methodist, Baptist and Presbyterian churches.

The money raised from the festival funds the upkeep of the Old Spring Place United Methodist Church, Murray County’s oldest standing structure. Built in 1875, the church is at the center of the annual festival.

The festival is sponsored by the Spring Place Ruritan Club and the Whitfield-Murray Historical Society.