Native Americans, including indigenous peoples of the Mississippian culture, and historic Yuchi (linked to the Muscogee Creek confederacy and later allies of the Cherokee), occupied Tugaloo and the area of Toccoa for at least 1,000 years prior to European settlement.
The Mississippian culture was known for building earthen platform mounds; in the Mississippi and Ohio valleys, the people developed some large, dense cities and complexes featuring multiple mounds and, in some cases, thousands of residents. In what is known as the regional South Appalachian Mississippian culture, by contrast, settlements were smaller and the peoples typically built a single platform mound in the larger villages.
Salvage archeological studies were conducted by Dr. Joseph Caldwell of the University of Georgia in 1957, prior to flooding of this area after construction of a dam downriver. He determined the first settlement was founded about 800 CE and lasted to 1700, when the village was burned. By that time, it was occupied by proto-Creek who were descendants of the Mississippians. Colonial maps until the American Revolution identified this village as one of the Hogeloge people (now known as Yuchi). While they later became allies of the Cherokee, they were of a different ethnicity and language group.
Colonial period
"Saturday the 25th day of September 1725. About four of the Clock in the Afternoon came in the War hoop from Ouconey with a piece of a Scalp of one of the Enemies Scouts, giving an Accot that Scouts being in Number Twenty four that went out from old Estotoe, and Toxsoah having come upon the tracts of three of the Enemy found they were made downwards towards the other Towns (on wch) they Concluded to waylay the Path thinking by that means to Catch the Enemy being three in Number returning back to their old tracts near Estotoe from Town to Town."
Indian agent Col. George Chicken was one of the first English colonists to mention Toccoa in his journal from 1725, calling it Toxsoah.[8]
United States era
European Americans did not settle here until after the American Revolutionary War, when the government gave land grants in lieu of pay owed to veterans. A group led by Col. William H. Wofford moved to the area when the war ended. It became known as Wofford's Tract, or Wofford's Settlement. Col. Wofford is buried near Toccoa Falls. His son, William T. Wofford, was born near Toccoa (then part of Habersham County).
Travelers had to rely on using fords, and later ferries, to get across the Tugaloo River. The first Prather's Bridge was a swinging bridge built in 1804 by James Jeremiah Prather. The first bridge was washed away during a freshet (an overflow caused by heavy rain).
Georgia conducted a Land Lottery of 1820, although the Cherokee had not yet ceded this area to the United States. Scots-Irish who acquired land in the lottery moved to this area from the backcountry of North Carolina and the Georgia coast. The Georgia Gold Rush, starting in 1828, also attracted many new settlers to North Georgia.[9]
European Americans pressed the government to take over the land of the Five Civilized Tribes, seeking cheaper land to develop for cotton plantations. Short-staple cotton, which could be grown in the uplands through this area, had become profitable since the invention of the cotton gin for processing it. At the urging of President Andrew Jackson, Congress passed the Indian Removal Act of 1830, authorizing the government to force cessions of land by Southeast tribes in exchange for lands west of the Mississippi River, in what became known as Indian Territory (now Oklahoma). The 1838 removal of the Cherokee on the infamous "Trail of Tears" extinguished most of their land claims to this area. The US government released former Cherokee and Creek (Muscogee) lands for sale and settlement by European Americans in Georgia.
A more substantial bridge was built across the Tugaloo River in 1850. That year James D. Prather supervised the construction of his plantation house known as Riverside, on a hill overlooking the upper Tugalo River. The Greek revival antebellum house was built by his enslaved African-American workers, and the timber for the house was harvested from his plantation. The Prather family cemetery was developed to the right of the house.
During the Civil War, General Robert Toombs, a close friend of Prather, used this house as a refuge from Union troops.[10] The soldiers pursued him to Riverside,[11] but he hid and escaped capture.
The Prather Bridge was burned in 1863 by Confederate troops during the Civil War to keep the Union enemy from crossing. James Jeremiah Prather and his son, James Devereaux Prather, rebuilt the bridge in 1868. This bridge lasted until 1918, when it was washed away. It was rebuilt in 1920 by James D. Prather. It was afterward replaced by a concrete bridge, but the wooden bridge was kept as a landmark. Vandals burned it down in 1978.
According to historical accounts, the Johns House, a Victorian cottage near Prather Bridge Road, was built in 1898. When the Georgia General Assembly created Stephens County in 1905, Toccoa was established as the county seat.[12]
President Franklin Delano Roosevelt visited Toccoa on March 23, 1938 during the Great Depression. Roosevelt's train made a brief stop there, and he made remarks from the rear platform of the presidential train. He traveled to Gainesville to deliver a major speech, and finished at Warm Springs for a vacation.[13]
Toccoa Falls is located on the campus of Toccoa Falls College. The short 100-yard path to the base of the 186-foot (57 m) high natural waterfall is handicap accessible.
According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 8.4 square miles (22km2), of which 8.3 square miles (21km2) is land and 0.1 square miles (0.26km2) (0.60%) is water.
As of the 2020 United States Census, there were 9,133 people, 3,359 households, and 2,135 families residing in the city.
2010 census
As of the census of 2010, Toccoa had a total population of 8,491. The 2014 population estimate (as of July 1, 2014) was 8,257. The median age of a Toccoa resident is 35.4. The number of companies in Toccoa is 1,135. In educational attainment, high school graduate or higher percentage was 84.1%. The total housing units in Toccoa is 4,009. The median household income was $34,047. The foreign-born population was 213. The percentage of individuals below poverty level was 24.4%.[19]
Economy
Stephens County Development Authority (SCDA) was established in 1965 to continue and sustain the growth of Northeast Georgia.[20] SCDA is responsible for the recruitment of new businesses such as industrial, manufacturing, distribution, corporate and regional headquarters and customer service centers.[21] SCDA serves the following cities: Toccoa, Eastanollee, Martin, and Avalon. Major industrial parks in the area are Toccoa Industrial Park, Meadowbrook Industrial Park, and Hayestone Brady Business Park.[22]
The top Stephens County employers in descending order are the Stephens County School System, Caterpillar, Patterson Pump, ASI (GEM Industries), American Woodmark Corp., Standard Register, Sage Automotive Interiors, Habersham Plantation, Toccoa Falls College, Coats & Clark, Eaton Corporation, and PTL Company (an elevator fixtures and parts manufacturer).[23] Founded and headquartered in Toccoa, 1st Franklin Financial Corporation is a regional financial services company with more than 1,300 employees.[24]
Arts and culture
Annual events
Annual events include the Currahee Military Weekend, the Ida Cox Music Series, Taste of Toccoa, Summer Movies at the Ritz, Costume Parade, Harvest Festival, ChristmasFest, and Christmas Parade.
Music
Toccoa is the center of a thriving music scene and the home of a regional orchestra. The Toccoa Symphony Orchestra[25] is made up of volunteer musicians from the surrounding community, in South Carolina, and Georgia. The symphony exists to provide quality symphonic music to the region and to bring together musicians from throughout northeast Georgia.
The symphony was founded in 1977 by Pinkie Craft Ware and Archie Sharretts, both music educators. Since its founding, the symphony has performed at least three concerts every season. It is supported by a board of directors and an extensive network of patrons.
The orchestra collaborates with many musicians and provides a wide range of concert experiences. The ensemble has premiered works by young composers, presents a yearly Christmas concert with a one hundred voice choir,[26] and incorporates budding performers from nearby Toccoa Falls College.
The rock band Luxury originated in Toccoa, at Toccoa Falls College, in the early 1990s.
Miles Through Time Automotive Museum
The Miles Through Time Automotive Museum was a co-op style automotive museum in a restored 1939 dealership but has moved to Clarkesville, GA in Habersham County.[27] There are over 100 years of automotive history on display. Vehicles can be stored, listed on consignment, for sale by owner or donated and everything is displayed as museum exhibits.
Currahee Military Museum
Currahee Military Museum
The Currahee Military Museum, located in downtown Toccoa at the original train station where arriving GIs would disembark, is dedicated to the paratroopers of World War II who trained at Camp Toccoa. Camp Toccoa was located just outside the city proper, at the foot of Currahee Mountain, and was formerly known as Camp Toombs. The museum houses the original Aldbourne stables where paratroopers of the 101st Airborne Division were housed temporarily in England in 1944. Only one building remains of the original Camp Toccoa (the building is believed to be a former food supply storage facility, based on its position near the former camp's gates and the foundation's construction), and it was donated to the museum in 2011 by the Milliken company, which was using it as a machine shop. The museum intends to restore the building, along with the surrounding grounds.
Annual Currahee Challenge
On the first Saturday of every October, a six-mile race is held along the Colonel Sink Trail, the same trail used by the paratroopers as part of their training for combat. Known as one of the most daunting races in America, the common refrain is "Three Miles Up And Three Miles Down." The race is part of the Currahee Military Weekend, which features World War II military reenactments in a staged military camp, weapons demonstrations, book signings by veterans, a parade through the downtown historic district, a hangar dance at the airport, and a special banquet featuring keynote speakers and veterans.
Ritz Theatre
The Ritz Theatre is a restored 1939 art deco movie theater, located in the Downtown Toccoa Historic District at 139 Doyle Street. It is an active venue for a variety of entertainment.
Ritz Theatre
Other points of interest
Local lore includes the Hanging Tree, located on the western side of the Stephens County Courthouse. [citation needed] The actual tree used for the lynchings is now just a stump on the courthouse lawn, the tree having been removed in 2011. On June 14, 1915, Sam Stephens, a black man, was taken from the Stephens County Jail and lynched by a mob of 100 armed men.[28]
The clock at the spire of the courthouse was restored to operational condition in 2010 as part of an overall renovation of the building, and is the highlight of the historic district which features several buildings from the American Civil War period. [citation needed]
The Toccoa Casket Company, now out of business, was the largest supplier of caskets to the military until Vietnam. Its building, located on the main road leading into Toccoa from the south, on the route from Toccoa to Currahee Mountain, was razed in 2014. [citation needed]
Toccoa also has a thriving classic car culture, as evidenced by frequent car shows. In addition, classic cars from the late 1920s through the 1970s can easily be spotted on the roads and in parking lots. [citation needed]
"Born from fire, and twice rebuilt from ashes, Downtown Toccoa's Albemarle Hotel has witnessed Toccoa's growth, and its struggles, for more than 100 years." The current building, dating from the 1930s, retains some of the previous structure.[29] For many years, it was known as the Alexander Apartments. The hotel is located in the Downtown Toccoa Historic District, and is on the National Register of Historic Places.[30]
Albermarle Hotel
Education
Stephens County Schools
Stephens County Schools[31] serves students in preschool through grade twelve. There are four elementary schools, a middle school, and a high school.[32] The district has 304 full-time teachers and over 4,405 students.[33]
Schools
Stephens County High School (SCHS) (grades 9–12)
Stephens County Fifth Grade Academy (at SCMS) (grade 5)
Stephens County Middle School (SCMS) (grades 6–8)
Liberty Elementary (grades 1-2)
Toccoa Elementary (grades 3-4)
Big A Elementary (grades Pre K-K)
Stephens County High School finished building its new facility in the spring of 2012. It includes a four-sided gymnasium arena, better fine arts facilities, and a larger media center.
Crossroads Juvenile Academy is an alternative school in Stephens County, that gives behaviorally impaired students a second chance.
Mountain Education Center is an online night school that grants full Georgia high school diplomas. This course is designed not only for full-time students but also part-time students who are working to recover lost credits.[34]
Toccoa Amtrak StationConstruction of the Wells Viaduct over the North Broad River near Toccoa, 1901
Transportation
Amtrak's Crescent connects Toccoa with the cities of New York, Philadelphia, Baltimore, Washington, Charlotte, Atlanta, Birmingham, and New Orleans. The Amtrak station is at 47 North Alexander Street. The picture to the left is how the station appeared before the extension of the Currahee Military Museum, which was built to house the Aldebourne Stables and a growing collection of artifacts. That extension was enlarged in 2009 to include a community room and gift shop. The Amtrak line is shared with the Norfolk Southern Railway. Before Amtrak, Toccoa was a stop on the Airline Belle, a regional train of the Southern Railway from 1879 to 1931.
Toccoa is also home to the Toccoa Airport, a small executive airport to the northeast of town. The airport was built by R.G. LeTourneau and is sometimes referred to as R.G. LeTourneau Field.
Downtown Toccoa is located near the courthouse and the train depot, which connects to Atlanta. From the 1950s through 1980s, business bustled in this "mall." Each day people would flood to shop in downtown Toccoa. Several national retail outlets were then located in downtown Toccoa, including the Belk Gallant department store.
In the early 1960s, around the country, local downtown businesses faced competition with large shopping malls, and many began to fail. As an answer to the depressed conditions in downtowns, Toccoa and many other towns erected concrete canopies and closed streets to create a pedestrian mall. In less than ten years it was evident that instead of enhancing businesses and creating a positive downtown image, these canopies actually accelerated the downtown's decline.
When the Belk Gallant department store announced it was going to move along a four lane road called Big A, community leaders organized Main Street Toccoa in 1990. In 1991, the Georgia Department of Community Affairs Resource Team recommended that the canopies be removed and that the street be opened once again to vehicular traffic. However, for many years the project was not supported.
During that time, Main Street Toccoa implemented many changes and improvements to the downtown mall area. Brick pavers were installed and trees were planted. However, the canopies themselves began to deteriorate, and no support was found to repair them. During this time, businesses continued to flounder and many of the buildings were empty and in disrepair.
Over time, however, with growing support, approval was given to start the canopy removal project. Efforts that helped contribute community support for the project included county-wide public surveys, a University of Georgia market study, a UGA design charrette, and renderings of individual buildings without the canopies provided by the GA Trust for Historic Preservation and UGA Community Design Planning and Preservation. To gather the necessary funds for the project, Toccoa partnered with six state agencies (Appalachian Regional Commission, Georgia Department of Community Affairs, One Georgia Authority, United States Department of Agriculture, and Georgia Department of Transportation) that provided $1.3 million, with additional local funding of $552,000.
Downtown renovation construction phase 2007
During the canopy removal and street re-opening project, private interest in downtown increased. In 2008, downtown saw 33 storefronts renovated (under the guidance of the Georgia Mountains Regional Development Center Historic Preservation Planner), 11 new business, 17 new jobs, 28 part-time jobs and 68 full-time equivalent jobs retained, and private investment of $3.5 million. Toccoa's Main Street was re-opened to vehicular traffic.
The Currahee Military Museum, featured recently in the PBS series GA Traveler, and named as one of the best museums along the East Coast by Blue Ridge Mountain Magazine, is another attraction that continues downtown's resurgence. Located in the restored historic train depot, the museum features a massive exhibit of 506's Easy Company memorabilia. This World War II paratrooper company was popularized by the HBO miniseries Band of Brothers. The depot housing this museum was recently restored to its pre-1940s appearance. The depot building had previously been used as a maintenance and storage area for Norfolk Southern. Now it has been transformed to a publicly owned building that is home to the Chamber, Welcome Center, Stephens County Historical Society Museum, the Currahee Military Museum, and Amtrak. Funding for the million dollar project was received through Transportation Enhancement Activity and GDOT funds of $400,000; local funding of $100,000 and private investment funds of over $500,000 were contributed. The museum just completed its second addition, funded by Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax (SPLOST).
Enhancing Toccoa as a Northeast Georgia destination is the newly restored courthouse, which anchors the downtown district. The renovation project was overseen by a governmental appointed citizen authority. Funded entirely by SPLOST dollars, the $2million renovation project brought a historic 1907 building back to life while adding green space to the historic district and retained government offices and downtown customers in the city's square.
Sister Cities
Toccoa has no active sister city program. In the 1970s, a sister city relationship was established with Meßstetten, Germany, but the relationship has not been renewed. [35]
Notable people
The following list includes notable people who were born or have lived in Toccoa.
The novel Fireworks Over Toccoa by Jeffrey Stepakoff was published by St. Martin's Press and released nationwide on March 30, 2010. A day-long celebration was held in Toccoa culminating in a fireworks display at Boyd Field in the evening.
On May 7, 2000, Mary Ann Stephens of Toccoa was shot to death outside a Ramada Inn in Jacksonville, Florida while on vacation with her husband. The incident received national attention and resulted in an Academy Award-winning French documentary, Murder on a Sunday Morning, on the arrest and acquittal of the original suspect.[44]
Awards
2008 Excellence in Downtown Development Award from the Georgia Downtown Association
2009 Great America Main Street Top Ten Semi-finalist from the National Trust for Historic Preservation
2009 Excellence in Rehabilitation Award from the Georgia Trust for Historic Preservation
2014 and again in 2021 Georgia Exceptional Main Street (GEMS) Community designation from the Georgia Department of Community Affairs, the highest designation awarded in the state
2017 Chairman's Award for Excellence in Historic Rehabilitation from the Georgia Trust for Historic Preservation
2018 Downtown Excellence Award in Promotions from the Georgia Downtown Association
2018 Community Grand Award from the Georgia Urban Forest Council
2019 Live, Work, Play Community award from GeorgiaTrend and the Georgia Municipal Association
Franklin County is a county located in the northeastern part of the U.S. state of Georgia. As of the 2020 census, the population was 23,424. The county seat is Carnesville. On February 25, 1784, Franklin and Washington became Georgia's eighth and ninth counties, with Franklin named in honor of patriot Benjamin Franklin.
Spartanburg is a city in and the seat of Spartanburg County, South Carolina, United States. The city had a population of 38,732 as of the 2020 census, making it the 11th-largest city in the state. For a time, the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) grouped Spartanburg and Union counties together as the Spartanburg, SC Metropolitan Statistical Area, but the OMB now defines the Spartanburg, SC MSA as only Spartanburg County.
Smiths Falls is a town in Eastern Ontario, Canada, 72 kilometres (45 mi) southwest of Ottawa. As of the 2021 census it has a population of 9,254. It is in the Census division for Lanark County, but is separated from the county. The Rideau Canal waterway passes through the town, with four separate locks in three locations and a combined lift of over 15 metres (49.2 ft).
Toccoa Falls College is a private Christian college in Toccoa Falls, Georgia. The campus occupies 1,100 acres (450 ha), bordering the Chattahoochee National Forest and is home to Toccoa Falls, a 186-foot (57 m) high waterfall. It is affiliated with the Christian and Missionary Alliance and is accredited by the Commission on Colleges of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SACS). The college is also a member of Council for Christian Colleges and Universities.
The Toccoa River and Ocoee River are the names in use for a single 93-mile-long (150 km) river that flows northwestward through the southern Appalachian Mountains of the southeastern United States. It is a tributary of the Hiwassee River, which it joins in Polk County, Tennessee, near the town of Benton. Three power generating dams are operated along it.
Kelly Barnes Dam was an earthen embankment dam in Stephens County, Georgia, just outside the city of Toccoa. Heavy rainfall caused it to collapse on November 6, 1977, and the resulting flood killed 39 people and caused $2.8 million in damage. The dam was never rebuilt.
U.S. Route 123 is a spur of US 23 in the U.S. states of Georgia and South Carolina. The U.S. Highway runs 75.12 miles (120.89 km) from US 23, US 441, SR 15 and SR 365 near Clarkesville, Georgia, north and east to Interstate 385 Business in Greenville, South Carolina. US 123 parallels I-85 to the north as it connects the Northeast Georgia cities of Clarkesville and Toccoa with the western Upstate South Carolina communities of Westminster, Seneca, Clemson, Easley, and Greenville.
Camp Toccoa was a basic training camp for United States Army paratroopers during World War II, located five miles west of Toccoa, Georgia. Among the units to train at the camp was the 506th Infantry Regiment. The regiment's Company E were portrayed in the 2001 HBO miniseries Band of Brothers.
The Tugaloo River is a 45.9-mile-long (73.9 km) river that forms part of the border between the U.S. states of Georgia and South Carolina. It was named for the historic Cherokee town of Tugaloo at the mouth of Toccoa Creek, south of present-day Toccoa, Georgia and Travelers Rest State Historic Site in Stephens County, Georgia.
Travelers Rest State Historic Site is a state-run historic site near Toccoa, Georgia. Its centerpiece is Traveler's Rest, an early tavern and inn. It was designated a National Historic Landmark on January 29, 1964, for its architecture as a well-preserved 19th-century tavern, and for its role in the early settlement of northeastern Georgia by European Americans.
Currahee Mountain is a mountain located in Stephens County, Georgia, near Toccoa. The name appears to be derived from the Cherokee word ᏊᏩᎯ (quu-wa-hi) meaning "stand alone." Technically a part of the Georgia Piedmont or "foothill" province, Currahee Mountain rises abruptly about 800 vertical feet (240 m) above the local topography and is the highest peak in Stephens County. Part of the mountain is in the Chattahoochee National Forest. On clear days, the peak's 1,735-foot (529 m) summit is visible for many miles and is a prominent landmark to the southeast of Georgia's Blue Ridge Mountain crest.
Lake Hartwell is a man-made reservoir bordering Georgia and South Carolina and encompassing parts of the Savannah, Tugaloo, and Seneca rivers. Lake Hartwell is one of the Southeastern United States' largest recreation lakes. The lake was created by the construction of the Hartwell Dam, completed in 1962 and located on the Savannah River seven miles (11 km) below the point at which the Tugaloo and Seneca Rivers join to form the Savannah. Extending 49 miles (79 km) up the Tugaloo and 45 miles (72 km) up the Seneca at normal pool elevation, the lake comprises nearly 56,000 acres (230 km2) of water with a shoreline of 962 miles (1,548 km). The entire Hartwell "Project" contains 76,450 acres (309 km2) of land and water. I-85 bisects Hartwell Lake and makes the area easily accessible to visitors.
Toccoa Falls is a waterfall with a vertical drop of 186 feet (57 m) on the campus of Toccoa Falls College in Stephens County, Georgia. Toccoa comes from the Cherokee word "Tagwâ′hĭ", meaning "Catawba place" or "beautiful".
Tugaloo was a Cherokee town located on the Tugaloo River, at the mouth of Toccoa Creek. It was south of Toccoa and Travelers Rest State Historic Site in present-day Stephens County, Georgia. Cultures of ancient indigenous peoples had occupied this area, and those of the South Appalachian Mississippian culture built a platform mound and village here. It was an administrative and ceremonial center for them.
Toccoa station, formerly known as the Toccoa Southern Railway Depot, is a train station in Toccoa, Georgia. It is currently served by Amtrak's Crescent. The street address is 47 North Alexander Street, in the heart of downtown Toccoa.
The Fort Hollingsworth–White House is a well-preserved example of an early frontier fort built near Alto, Georgia in the late 18th century. The fort was built around 1793 by Jacob Hollingsworth on newly opened lands resulting from treaties with the Cherokee Nation, and was meant to protect the settlers in the area. The fort was adapted as a farm residence, principally by the White family, and has passed through generations of owners. It is now operated as a non-profit open-air museum.
Lake Yonah is a lake on the Tugaloo River, separating Georgia and South Carolina.
Northeast Georgia is a region of Georgia in the United States. The northern part is also in the north Georgia mountains, while the southern part is still hilly but much flatter in topography. Northeast Georgia is also served by the Asheville/Spartanburg/Greenville/Anderson market.
State Route 184 (SR 184) is a 19.4-mile (31.2 km) state highway that runs south-to-north through portions of Banks and Stephens counties in the northeastern part of the U.S. state of Georgia. The route's southern terminus is at SR 63 in northeastern Banks County. The northern terminus at the Tugaloo River and the South Carolina state line where the road continues as Cleveland Pike Road.
References
↑ Richards, T. Addison (May 1853). "The landscape of the South". Harper's New Monthly Magazine. 6 (36): 731. Archived from the original on August 16, 2023. Retrieved May 12, 2016.
↑ "Toccoa". Georgia Department of Community Affairs. Archived from the original on October 5, 2012. Retrieved September 5, 2012.
↑ Fair, John D. (2016). Paul Anderson (1932-1994). New Georgia Encyclopedia. Archived from the original on February 1, 2017. Retrieved May 9, 2016.
↑ Hay, Fred (2003). "Music Box Meets the Toccoa Band: The Godfather of Soul in Appalachia". Black Music Research Journal. 23 (1–2): 103–133. doi:10.2307/3593211. JSTOR3593211.
↑ Freeman, Greg (2013). Ida Cox (1896-1967). New Georgia Encyclopedia. Archived from the original on March 21, 2016. Retrieved May 9, 2016.
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