Hiawassee, Young Harris, and Towns County

Points of Interest

Hiawassee
Hiwassee
Young Harris
Young Harris College
Lake Chatuge
Moccasin Creek
Richard Russell Scenic Highway
Georgia Mountain Fair Grounds
Georgia Mountain Fair
Coleman Scenic Area
Chattahoochee National Forest
Anna Ruby Falls (Chattooga Ranger District)
Dukes Creek Falls (Chattooga Ranger District)
High Shoals Falls (Brasstown Ranger District)
Horse Trough Falls (Chattooga Ranger District)
Mill Creek Falls (Chattooga Ranger District)
Raven Cliff Falls (Chattooga Ranger District
Arkaquah Trail
Jack’s Knob Trail
Wagon Train Trail
Brasstown Bald
Brasstown Wilderness

History

Created in 1856 from portions of Rabun and Union Counties, it was named for George W. Towns, an early Governor of the State of Georgia. The two incorporated towns, Hiawassee and Young Harris are located where ancient Cherokee trails crossed. Of the 106,240 acres of land in Towns County, the Chattahoochee National Forest covers over 57,000 acres and the Tennessee Valley Authority owns another 7,000 acres. The Tennessee Valley Authority built Lake Chatuge in 1941. Lake Chatuge is the only lake that crosses the North Carolina and Georgia borders with Hayesville, North Carolina on the northern side and Hiawassee on the southern side in Georgia.

Lake Chatuge

Construction of Lake Chatuge began in 1941 and was completed in 1942 and was originally built to prevent flooding down stream. The level of water in Lake Chatuge Reservoir varies about 9 feet during the course of a normal year. Lake Chatuge Dam is 144 feet high and stretches 2,850 feet across the Hiwassee River. Lake Chatuge has a flood-storage capacity of 62,619 acre-feet. The generating capacity of Lake Chatuge Dam is 10,000 kilowatts of electricity. Lake Chatuge Reservoir, located on the Hiwassee River in western North Carolina, is 13 miles long and extends southeast from the dam into north Georgia. The reservoir is named after a nearby Cherokee Indian settlement. Sport fishing is popular at Lake Chatuge, both in the reservoir and in the Hiwassee River below the dam. Concrete weirs have been installed below Chatuge dam to provide a steady flow of water and to increase oxygen levels for fish and other aquatic animals. Wade fishing for trout is popular here since fish are attracted to the weirs, where food is abundant. Lake Chatuge is operated for many purposes, including flood control, power generation, and augmentation of water flows for navigation downstream. Lake Chatuge is one of the most popular Lake in the area for sport fishing, water skiing, swimming and all other water sports. Boats and skidoos can be rented from some of the local marinas. Black Bass, Channel Catfish, Large Mouth Bass, Spotted Bass are the most common fish taken from Lake Chatuge. Trout can be fished for in the Hiawassee River below the dam.

Georgia Mountain Fair

Something is always happening at the Georgia Mountain Fair starting with the Spring Country Music and Rhododendron Festival and Bluegrass Festival, flowed by the Country Music Superstar Concerts in the Music Pavilion. In an average year 10 shows are offered to the public. The Georgia Mountain Fair has been presenting to the public shows and festivals for 54 consecutive years. Great shows at reasonable cost. On the Fair Grounds are 60 craftsmen showing their work daily. The Fall Festival in October features concerts and the famous Georgia Official State Fiddlers Convention.

Downtown Hiawassee Square

In addition to the activities at the Georgia Mountain Fair Grounds, every Saturday evening on the square in downtown Hiawassee there are free outdoor concerts featuring regional performers that offer a large variety of music styles. Also being offered is the Enchanted Halloween on the Hiawassee Square. You just can’t miss the Midnight Coon Dog Howl, Towns County New Years Eve Celebration festivities where we have the Ugly Coon Dog contest, music, food and fun.

Hiawassee Festival of Fine Arts

Held in August, this festival features over 90 artist displaying juried fine art and crafts. Artwork included jewelry, painting metal work, sculpture, weavings, and pottery blown glass, carving and mixed media. Jazz musicians perform throughout the weekend.

Spring Swing and Fall Classic Golf Tournaments

The Towns County and Hiawassee Chamber of Commerce sponsor two, one day golf tournaments. The Spring Swing Tournament is held in May or early June and the Fall Classic is held in September. Golf tournaments can be held at one of three Golf Courses in the area, Within Towns County is the Brasstown Valley Country Club located just outside of Young Harris, next is The Ridges located in Clay County, North Carolina about 5 miles east of Hayesville, North Carolina, third is Chatuge Shores Golf Club located between Hayesville, North Carolina and Hiawassee, Georgia, with some links on Lake Chatuge.

The Rollins Planetarium

The Rollins planetarium is one of the largest in the state of Georgia, is located in the Alva and Edna Maxwell Center on the campus of Young Harris College. It houses a GOTO "CHRONOS" projector under a 40-foot-diameter dome and is capable of seating 109 people in comfortable reclined chairs. The Rollins Planetarium was opened in 1979 and honors Grace Rollins and the late O. Wayne Rollins

Brasstown Bald and The Brasstown Wilderness

Highest in a spine of mountains collectively known as Wolfpen Ridge, Brasstown Bald looms over the Southern Appalachians taller but less popular than its' better known brothers, Blood and Trey Mountains. Easily recognized by the tower atop the peak it is actually the third station to sit on the acme. The pristine wilderness from which Brasstown Bald rises is in and of itself unique. Below the peak to the north and east is a "cloud forest," the only one in Georgia. This environmentally sensitive slope features lichen covered yellow birch and spectacular wildflower displays. The area is usually dripping wet from the moisture in the clouds that give this forest its name. A boulderfield typical of a cloud forest is nearby, but be cautious--the rocks are slippery. Here in the shadow of Brasstown Bald is the southernmost habitat of many northern species and home to many animals that populate the forests of Georgia including the black bear. Off hour visitors often report bear sightings in the park itself. Throughout the area varieties of oak dominate with willow, ash and occasionally beech and sugar maple. This natural mix makes for a truly marvelous fall view. Clearings in the area sport laurel and rhododendron, while herb, alliums (locally called ramps), and wood fern abound. More astute naturalists will detect a wide variety of lesser known plant and animal life.

Cultural History

White men visited the area in the 1500's under the command of Hernando DeSoto while controlled by Georgia's first inhabitants; the Moundbuilders Cherokee inhabited the area near the bald as early as 1650. The Cherokee, who called it Enotah, respected the peak but worshipped Blood Mountain, unusual in a culture that traditionally took the highest places as holy. Their legends tell the story of a flood that killed all people except for the families that landed on top of Enotah in a great canoe. The land was cleared by the Great Spirit and the survivors planted crops so they could live until the flood subsided. When whites began to encroach en masse after the Gold Rush of 1828 the Cherokee were forcibly removed from the area in the ”Trail of Tears”. The name "Brasstown" comes from settler's confusion over the Cherokee itse-yi ("Place of fresh green") and untsaiyi ("brass").

The Tower is built

Today Arthur Woody still greets visitors to the tower that he conceived, originally designed and, with the help of the federal government, built. The story of how those structures got there goes back to a young man who grew up not far from the peak in the sleepy town of Suches, Ga. The world to Arthur didn't extend much past the town of Dahlonega to the south. He lived where the places took the names of families in the area, and his family was no exception, lending its name to Woody Gap and Woody Lake. Arthur grew up with simple dreams, like most boys. He dreamed of his beloved mountains covered with trees the way his father described, before the lumber companies stripped the land bare. He dreamed of deer, frolicking without a care in these imaginary woods. And he dreamed of tower, to watch it all from, on the highest point in Georgia. In the midst of the Great Depression, the opportunity arose to build the tower of which he dreamed. The Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC), formed to provide work and a living wage for unemployed men, moved into the area. Headquartered in a storage shed in Suches, the men spread out across the Georgia National Forest constructing buildings that would remain as monuments to a time long past. The shelter on Blood Mountain is one of their buildings, as was the original tower on Brasstown Bald.

A rough sketch of the tower was completed in less than a week on Arthur Woody's kitchen table. The men would follow (and improve) an old logging road up to the peak, build a camp and use local material to construct the station. The stone building was completed during the summer of 1935 and remained until a modern steel structure was completed by its side in the late 1940's. The present stone structure, completed in 1965, sits near the location of the original tower and houses a museum that explains much of the natural and human history of the area in an exhibit entitled "Man and the Mountain", hosted by a very lifelike Arthur Woody. Although access to the tower is restricted, a 360 degree panoramic vista of North Georgia and neighboring states can be seen from the observation deck.

Local residents still laugh at the confusion some mapmakers have exhibited in local cartography. State Road 66 (180 Spur), the access road to Brasstown Bald is shown on some maps as completed to Young Harris. When the approach was developed a road was cut around the mountain to the city but never developed. This road is known today as Wagon Train Trail. Jack’s Knob Trail, which heads south from the parking lot, is the logging road the CCC improved to build the original tower in the 1930's. It serves as an access path to the Appalachian Trail. The Arkaquah Trail follows high ridges to the Track Rock Road Archeological Area, where ancient Cherokee writings are protected from modern vandals by obtrusive wire cages. The Brasstown Bald Trail climbs 500 feet in half a mile. It is the equivalent of walking a thousand miles north. This footpath is the only place in Georgia where rhododendrons bloom in June.

The visitor's center at the top of the mountain and the gift shop/bookstore at the base are open daily from May to October and on weekends through November. A picnic area at the south end of the visitor parking center has 15 tables.

If you would like additional information call or email me and I’ll point you in the right direction.