Towns County, Georgia: History
Towns County was traversed by a road built upon a traditional Cherokee trading path, the Unicoi Turnpike, which ran north to south through the county, passing through Unicoi Gap. It served as a line between European-American settlers and the Cherokee until after the Indian cessions and Indian Removal in the 1830s, when it fell solely into the hands of the whites. When the Cherokee were expelled by US forces from their villages, they were forced temporarily into "removal forts." One had been constructed in what is now Hiawassee. They were forced to travel what is known as the Trail of Tears to Indian Territory west of the Mississippi River. In the early 1700s, deerskins and furs were shipped along the Unicoi Turnpike from Tennessee to Savannah and Charleston for transport to Europe. A United States fur trade factory was constructed in modern-day Hiawassee between 1807 and 1811.
Hiawassee was settled by whites around 1820 and was designated seat of the newly formed Towns County in 1856. It was incorporated as a town in 1870 and as a city in 1916. Young Harris College was founded in 1886. The historic Towns County Jail was constructed in downtown Hiawassee circa 1935. The two-story stone building is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Blue Ridge Mountain EMC, located in Young Harris, was founded in 1937. Lake Chatuge, an artificial reservoir, was created by the completion of Chatuge Dam by the Tennessee Valley Authority in 1942. The lake surrounded Old Burch Cemetery (established 1856), creating Cemetery Island.
President Jimmy Carter visited Towns County in July 1980, landing by helicopter to go trout fishing with friends. The $27 million Brasstown Valley Resort was built on 503 acres east of Young Harris in 1995. Fieldstone Inn on the shore of Lake Chatuge opened in June 1987. The Clint Eastwood film Trouble with the Curve was partially filmed in Towns County in 2012. As of 2021, tourism generates more than $117 million in annual revenue for the county. Approximately 25 percent of employment in Towns County comes from local outdoor recreation. Tourism supports 1,362 jobs in the county as of 2021. A moon tree was planted in Towns County in 2024.