34°27′28.11″N84°17′29.02″W / 34.4578083°N 84.2913944°W
Big Canoe ( // ) is a common interest development gated community, consisting of over 8,000 acres (32 km2), located in the mountains north of Atlanta, Georgia, United States.
It is located in Pickens County between Jasper and Dawsonville and has about 3,000 residents. Approximately 60% are full-time and 40% are weekenders.
In the 1830s, Samuel Tate, the owner of a hotel on Federal Road, discovered marble on his property and began buying up the surrounding land through the land lottery. In 1850, he entered a partnership which opened a quarry near the present-day town of Tate.
By 1880, the Georgia marble industry was suffering. However, the construction of the Marietta and North Georgia Railway allowed the stone to reach new markets, and the Tate family founded the Georgia Marble Company in 1884 in response to growing business and newly interested investors. In 1905, Tate's grandson, Colonel Sam Tate, became president and general manager of the company, and oversaw a period of dramatic growth and profit.
Colonel Tate was responsible for bringing numerous improvements to the area, including Wolfscratch School. The school was established and operated in the building now housing the Big Canoe tennis pro shop. Two large chimneys standing next to the real estate office are all that is left of a house built in 1913 for the school's principal and teachers. As other educational alternatives became available, the school was eventually closed. The house with the two chimneys became the primary residence of Steve and Lucille Tate until it burned down in 1959.
Following the death of Steve Tate, the Wolfscratch property was sold. It lay unused for a number of years, until Cousins Properties in Atlanta and the Sea Pines Corporation of Hilton Head partnered to create the community of Big Canoe in 1972.
Fifteen years later, in 1987, the Byrne Corporation assumed responsibility for developing and marketing the community, until 1997, when it merged with Greenwood Development Corporation as Big Canoe Company, LLC.
The community covers over 8,000 acres (32 km2) in both Dawson and Pickens counties. It includes three man-made lakes: Petit, Sconti, and Disharoon. Lake Petit, the largest, supplies the community's drinking water.
Nearly one-third of the total property has been set aside as wildlife areas and parks.
Pickens County is a county in the Northwest region of the U.S. state of Georgia. As of the 2020 census, the population was 33,216. The county seat is Jasper. Pickens County is part of the Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, Georgia metropolitan statistical area.
Gilmer County is a county in the Northwest region of the U.S. state of Georgia. As of the 2020 census, the population was 31,353. The county seat is Ellijay. named for a historic Cherokee town also spelled as Elejoy in the eighteenth century. The county was created on December 3, 1832, and was named for George Rockingham Gilmer, a politician who served two non-consecutive terms as governor of the state. Gilmer County is home of the annual Apple Festival, which is held in mid-October. Ninety percent of the land is in cropland and forest. Poultry raising and processing makes up the largest portion of the agricultural economy, which generates 33.2% of the total revenues. Manufacturing is about 20%.
Dawson County is a county in the Northeast region of the U.S. state of Georgia. As of the 2020 census, the population was 26,798 up from 22,330 in 2010. The county seat is Dawsonville.
Coweta County is a county in the West Central region of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is part of Metro Atlanta. As of the 2020 census, the population was 146,158. The county seat is Newnan.
Ball Ground is a city in Cherokee County, Georgia, United States. The city was originally Cherokee territory before they were removed from the land and it was given to white settlers. A railroad was built in 1882 and a town was formed around the resulting railroad stop. The town was incorporated on January 1, 1883, and became an industrial-based economy largely centered around its marble industry until around the mid-20th century when the industries began to leave and the city started to decline. From 2000 onwards the city saw rapid growth; as of the 2020 census the city had a population of 2,560, which is over three times the city's population of 730 in 2000.
Canton is a city in and the county seat of Cherokee County, Georgia, United States. As of the 2010 census, the city had a population of 22,958, up from 7,709 in 2000.
Nelson is a city in Pickens and Cherokee Counties, Georgia, United States. At the 2020 census, the population was 1,145. It is part of the Atlanta metropolitan area.
Kennesaw is a suburban city northwest of Atlanta in Cobb County, Georgia, United States, located within the greater Atlanta metropolitan area. Known from its original settlement in the 1830s until 1887 as Big Shanty, it became Kennesaw under its 1887 charter. According to the 2020 census, Kennesaw had a population of 33,036, a 10.9% increase in population over the preceding decade. Kennesaw has an important place in railroad history. During the Civil War, Kennesaw was the staging ground for the Great Locomotive Chase on April 12, 1862. Kennesaw is home to Kennesaw State University, an R2 research institution and the third-largest public university in the state of Georgia.
The city of Douglasville is the county seat of and largest city in Douglas County, Georgia, United States. As of the 2020 census, the city had a population of 34,650, up from 30,961 in 2010 and 20,065 in 2000.
Jasper is a city in Pickens County, Georgia, United States. The population was 4,084 in 2020. The city is the county seat of Pickens County.
High Falls State Park is a 1,050-acre (4.2 km2) state park located near the city of Jackson in Monroe County, Georgia. It is the site of a prosperous 19th-century industrial center, which became a ghost town when it was bypassed by the railroad. The park contains the largest waterfall in middle Georgia and a 650-acre (2.6 km2) lake.
Kirkwood is a nationally designated historic neighborhood on the east side of Atlanta, Georgia, United States. It is an historic streetcar suburb situated entirely in DeKalb County, bordered by the neighborhoods of Lake Claire, East Lake, Edgewood, and Oakhurst. Kirkwood is bound on the north by DeKalb Avenue, on the south by Memorial Drive and Interstate 20, on the west by Montgomery Street, and on the east by 1st Ave. A large part of the neighborhood is listed on the National Register of Historic Places as Kirkwood Historic District.
Tate is an unincorporated community in Pickens County, Georgia, United States. The Georgia Marble Company and Tate Historic District in Tate is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The historic district is centered on GA 53 between GA 5 and Long Swamp Creek.
Marblehill is an unincorporated community in Pickens County, in the U.S. state of Georgia.
State Route 108 (SR 108) is a state highway running through northwestern Cherokee County and southern Pickens County in northwestern Georgia. The route begins at SR 20 in Sutallee and ends at the intersection of SR 53 and SR 53 Business in Tate.
Mount Oglethorpe is a mountain located in Pickens County, Georgia, United States. The southernmost peak in the Blue Ridge Mountains, the mountain has an elevation of 3,288 feet (1,002 m), making it the highest point in Pickens County, and the Atlanta Metropolitan Area.
The Tate House is a historic property east of Tate, Georgia on Georgia State Route 53. Colonel Samuel Tate began construction in 1921 and the mansion was completed in 1926. Designed by Walker and Weeks, architects in the Neo-Classical style, the home is made of pink and white marble supplied by Tate's Georgia Marble Company, and sometimes called the "Pink Palace" or "Pink Marble Mansion". Tate was president of the marble company.
Dawson Forest is a 10,130-acre (41.0 km2) public-use forest located in Dawson County, Georgia, southwest of Dawsonville. It is owned by the city of Atlanta, but is considered a state forest, as it is managed by the Georgia Forestry Commission.
The Georgia Marble Company was founded in 1884 by Samuel Tate. Tate leased out all the land in Pickens County, Georgia, which contained rich Georgia marble. Pickens County has a vein of marble 5 to 7 miles long, a half mile wide, and up to 2,000 feet (610 m) deep.
Tate Gymnasium is a historic building in Tate, Georgia built in 1923 to serve the local high school. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places on December 12, 2002. It is located at 5600 Georgia 53 East.
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Municipalities and communities of Pickens County, Georgia, United States | ||
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| Footnotes | ‡This populated place also has portions in an adjacent county or counties | |
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