North Georgia History

"Pickens County lies at the southern end of the Appalachians in North Georgia.

The Cherokee Indians called this area home after they were forced from the Carolinas in the 1770's. In 1805, the Federal Government forced the Cherokees to accept a road through their lands to Nashville. Portions of the Old Federal Road are still visible in the County today. The Cherokee lands were distributed to white men by Georgia in 1832 Land Lottery. The thirst for gold discovered in these lands forced the Cherokees to move westward in the now infamous Cherokee Removal or Trail Of Tears of 1838. Click here to learn more about Pickens County History

Gilmer County nestles in the foothills of the vast Chattahoochee National Forest in the Appalachian Mountain Range.

Gilmer County, in northwest Georgia, is the state's eighty-fifth county. Originally held by the Cherokee Nation, its land lay within that lost by the Indians via treaty, battle, and forced removal in the 1830s. The region was claimed by the Spanish as part of Florida until 1665, when it became part of Carolina. It then became part of the original grant to James Oglethorpe, the founder of the Georgia colony. Early white visitors included the Spanish explorers Hernando de Soto and Juan Pardo with their men. Pardo's chaplain, Sebastian Montero, unsuccessfully tried to establish mission churches in the region. The first non-Indians to settle in what was to become Gilmer County arrived by 1769. Click here to learn more about Gilmer County History

 Fannin County was created from Gilmer and Union counties on Jan. 21, 1854 by an act of the General Assembly.

 The act creating Fannin County authorized the justices of the county's inferior court to select a county seat and provide for construction of a courthouse and other public buildings. Until such action was taken, the act directed that county business and elections take place at Joab Addington's Store. Fannin County's first courthouse, a small wooden structure, was built in Morgantown. Little is known about when, except that it reportedly burned down. In 1895, the county seat was moved to the town of Blue Ridge, where a two-story brick courthouse was built in 1895-96. The courthouse burned in 1936, and a new courthouse was completed the following year funded by the Federal Emergency Administration of Public Works.Click here to learn more about Fannin County History

Georgia's 107th county was named for Col. James Fannin (1804-1836), a Georgian who fought in the War for Texas Independence and was killed at Goliad.

Cities and Towns Includes the cities of Blue Ridge, McCaysville, and  Morganton