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From 1733 until 1777 only Augusta and part of Richmond County (known as St. Paul in 1758 when the parish system was implemented for political purposes or Augusta district for military purposes) was the only part of today's North Georgia in the English colony. In 1777 this changed with the acquisition of Wilkes County, Georgia, which extended the control of the Americans well into North Georgia. During the American Revolution Wilkes County played a pivotal role in Georgia history. When the British were claiming to have control of the newly-organized state a government-in-exile was created at Fort Heard (Washington, Georgia).
Between 1783, when the Cherokee and Creek first ceded land in North Georgia to the whites, and 1828, much of North Georgia remained under Native American control. The first cessions, made between the Cherokee and Elijah Clarke at Long Swamp in 1782, were in northeast Georgia and extended west to include parts of present-day Habersham and Banks Counties. 1784 saw the creation of Franklin and Washington Counties from the combined Creek/Cherokee cessions to fulfill the promises of land make to men who fought in the Revolution.
Georgia's economy did not do well following the end of the American Revolution and politicians were counting on two things to change this. By attracting veterans in North Carolina and Virginia with parcels of land granted under a headright system they hoped to increase population (and revenues). The government also hoped to sell land. With the offer of cheap land Americans began to flock to the state, raising the population from about 33,000 in 1783 to 82,548 at the first census in 1790.
Expansion west was not the only direction from which settlers made the journey into North Georgia. Fannin County, in the north-central part of the state was among the first areas to be settled when Amercians headed west through a gap in the Smoky Mountain to Fort Loudon, Cherokee Territory. Heading south on the Tennessee River, some settlers explored the Ocoee River and settled near the eastern headwaters of that river. They also followed the river further south and west. Some of these settlers ended up in present-day Cattoosa and Walker counties.
In 1784 Georgia worked a deal with William Blount to form a county near Muscle Shoals, present-day Alabama. Luckily for Georgia Blount became more interested in forming the state of Franklin and nothing happened at Muscle Shoals. This would not be the state's last attempt to earn a little spare cash.
In May 1794 General Elijah Clarke crossed the Oconee with the intention of establishing a Transoconee Republic. He began recruiting and erecting fortifications to the alarm of both Georgia and the United States. He also negotiated with the French to mount a joint attack on the Spanish. The Oconee War and Clarke's Transoconee Republic came to an end on September 28, 1794, when Clarke surrendered to a large force of Georgia and Federal troops even though his men voted to stand their ground and sell their lives dearly. The Federals then burnt Fort Defiance and the other fortifications of the short lived republic.
In the east, the Unicoi Turnpike brought settlers from the north to northeastern Georgia. Many of these settlers encroached on Indian lands causing much consternation to Cherokee in the area. Brutal attacks by whites on Native Americans and vice versa created an unfriendly atmosphere that lasted until whites completed the subjugation of the Indians of the area by 1820.
In 1803 the Cherokee agreed, in principal, to a Federal Highway(Map) to join Knoxville and Savannah meeting in the area of present day Ringgold, Georgia. Road construction started immediately and when the federal government ran out of money in 1804, Georgia contributed $5,000 to its completion. The Cherokee viewed the whites desire to build such a road as a curiosity at the time, but agreed in writing to the road in the Treaty of Tellico, 1805, the year it was finished. In spite of completion of this and other roads, river travel remained the chief form of transportation in Georgia until the advent of a major rail system in the state in the 1830's.
The Federal Highway ran from Ringgold southeast to Tate, then on a more easternly route to Athens. Portions of the road are still visible, and the keen eye can see the bed even through crops that now overgrow most of the path in northcentral Georgia. Along the road white and Cherokee establishments serviced the needs of the travelers as early as 1804. Chief James Vann, whose home sits near the path of the road, controlled many of these establishments including the ferry across the Chattahoochee River, the start of Indian Territory. As the state of Alabama began to grow after the Creek War of 1814, a second set of roads was developed running west. Although discrepancies exist as to the exact routes and numbers of these trails, three and possibly four routes heading west from the Chattahoochee were called the Alabama Road. The most famous of these followed the route of the Hightower Trail, running from near the present location of Gainesville, Ga. to Cartersville(built on the Cherokee town of Hightower, then west through Euharlee. Gravestones on this route date to 1808. The first United States Post Office was established on the Federal Highway in Rossville(1819) almost 15 years before the Cherokee were forced to surrender northwest Georgia.
Counties began to organize in further west in North Georgia. Gwinnett, Habersham and Hall Counties were formed in 1818. With Rabun County, which formed the following year, Georgia stretched from the Atlantic Coast to North Carolina. Development was slow and most residents were subsistance farmers because markets were limited by the lack of rapid transportation. In 1828 Georgia Senator Joe Brown changed that with a ride from Decatur to Chattanooga, exploring the feasibility of a canal connecting the Chattahoochee and Tennessee River. While he and engineer Hamilton Fulton decided a canal was not feasible, they began looking at a railroad to do the same. Over the next decade, with the Western and Atlantic Railroad and the "discovery" of gold the face of North Georgia would alter dramatically.
Historian and author Richard Irby contributed to this article
North Georgia gold rush
North Georgia History
Georgia History
Articles about North Georgia history and the state in general. This section is currently being developed. For more information on North Georgia History, please see North Georgia History
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