Frank W. Hall

Frank W. Hall, a Visionary

Frank W. Hall moved from Vermont to Dahlonega in 1868 as a representative of The Boston Massachusetts Company to oversee local gold mills and machinery of the Dahlonega mines. Although a poor man when he arrived, he ended as one of the most influental and richest man in Lumpkin county acquiring many business, tracts of land and a general merchandise store. Today, his store, Hall's Block remains as one visible remnant of his legacy on the northwest corner of the Public Square.

Cpt. Hall purchased a piece a property east of the square, lot 110, to build a house for his second wife. The home he built is today known as the Smith House restaurant and hotel where guests, in a communal setting, enjoy dishes whose recipes have been handed down through the generations.  Freida Bafile, a member of the family who now owns the Smith House spoke to the Society on November 2014 on Frank Hall whose influence in Lumpkin County continues to this day. Here is an audio presentation of her talk.