Wood!

At the start of the 20th century the western end of the Nacoochee Valley seems very similar to the valley during the 1820's. The Unicoi Turnpike is still the major road through the area and only occasional farms dot the landscape. Even the population, which has grown and shrunk over the years, is at almost the same level as pre-Gold Rush days.

In 1911 three men buy property along the Gainesville and Northwestern rail line at the western end of the Nacoochee Valley. They intend to build a sawmill, one of the largest in the country. By 1913 the Byrd-Mathews plant opens and begins harvesting the lumber from the headwaters of the Chattahoochee River. The town that quickly springs to life around the mill is named for Helen McCombs, after the teenage daughter of a prominent citizen who owned part of the Gainesville and Northwestern Railroad and later, the Byrd-Mathews sawmill.

In 1912 work begins on the Mountain Ranch Hotel, one of a group of world-renown hotels nestled in the north Georgia mountains. Over the next 33 years, and under a variety of names, the hotel expands and is truly a showplace of Helen and the north Georgia mountains.

End of the Wood era

Golden Ink Internet Solutions
Georgia's innovative design group
Legal Notice
Copyright Policy
Privacy Policy