Dawsonville,
a
town
of 217 inhabitants, near the center of Dawson county, of which
it is the county seat, was incorporated in 1859. The district including
the town contains 808 inhabitants. This town is in the center of the
gold mining region of Dawson county. There is also a large supply of
various kinds of hard wood near by, suitable for manufacturing
purposes. A railroad through this section would be a great promoter of
prosperity for town and county. Dawsonville has a money order post
office, and is one of the principal trading points of the county.
Georgia: comprising sketches of counties, towns, events, institutions,
and ... edited by Allen Daniel Candler, Clement Anselm Evans
Dawson County was formed from Lumpkin, Forsyth and Gilmer counties in
1857, and was named in honor of Hon. William C. Davrson, a
representative from Georgia in the United States Congress, later United
States Senator from his native State, and still later, judge of the
Ocmulgee circuit. The following counties bound it: Fannin and Gilmer on
the north, Lumpkin on the northeast and east, Hall on tn» east,
Forsyth on the south, Cherokee, Pickens and Gilmer on the west. The
Etowah river flows through the county, and into this empty several
tributary creeks, the largest of which, Amicalola, rises in the
northwestern part of the county and runs through it in a southeasterly
direction. It has a fall of several hundred feet. The appearance of the
range of mountains to the south and west, as viewed from the summit of
the falls is scarcely surpassed in grandeur.
Dawson county is in the heart of the gold region. On nearly every
branch on the north side of the Etowah river is a placer gold mine.
From the bed of the river itself large quantities of gold have been
taken and washed out with an iron pan, rewarding well the labor thus
employed.
The forest growth is oak of the various kinds, hickory, cedar,
poplar, chestnut, locust, gum, walnut, mountain birch and pine. Thus
there is abundance of hardwoods for manufacturing purposes.
The bottom lands of the Etowah are rich and very productive.
Taking all the lands of the county, the average yield per arce is: seed
cotton, 600 pounds; corn and rye, 20 bushels; oats, 25 bushels; wheat,
10 bushels; Irish potatoes, 50 bushels; sweet potatoes, 75 bushels;
field-peas, 10 bushels, crab-grass hay, 2,000 pounds; corn fodder, 250
pounds; sorghum syrup, 150 gallons. The best lands show yields far
above these averages. Tobacco also gives a remunerative yield.
According to the United States census of 1900, during the season
of 1899 and 1900, there were ginned 1,297 bales of upland cotton.
Vegetables of all kinds do well. So also do apples.
In 1890 there were in Dawson county 2,479 sheep, with a wool-clip
of 3,619 pounds; 3,122 cattle, of which 447 were working oxen, and
1,196 milch-cows, 365 horses, 606 mules, 14 donkeys, 6,510 swine and
47,467 domestic fowls of all kinds. Some of the farm products were
361,077 gallons of milk, 102,105 pounds of butter, 60,696 dozens of
eggs, and 13,449 pounds of honey.
There are 30 schools in the county belonging tp the public school
system of Georgia. The average daily attendance is 780 in the 29
schools for whites and 12 in the one for negroes. The school fund of
the county is $3,737.63.
There are no railroads in the county.
Dawsonville, the county site, is a small town of 217 inhabitants. The
Dawsonville district which includes the town has a population of 808.
The area of Dawsom county is 209 square miles, or 133,760 acres.
Its population by the census of 1900 was 5,442, a slight falling off
from 1890 when it was 5,612.
The following returns are taken from the Comptroller-General's
report for 1900: Acres of improved land, 128,069; of wild land, 14,842
(these returns not agreeing with the United States government survey,
as seen above); average value per acre of improved land, $2.85; of wild
land, $0.48; city or town property, $10,700; money and solvent debts,
$46,697; merchandise, $13,344; invested in cotton manufactories, $!,=•
200; invested in mining, $30.00; household and kitchen furniture,
$25,262; farm and other animals, $70,984; plantation and mechanical
tools, $14,805; watches, jewelry, etc., $1,035; value of all other
property, $3,959; real estate, $384,226; personal estate, $180,358.
Aggregate value of whole property, $564,584.
Property returned by colored taxpayers: Number of acres of land,
320; value of land, $460.00; money and solvent debts, $15.00; household
and kitchen furniture, $250.00; watches, etc., $5.00; farm and other
animals, $911.00; plantation and mechanical tools, $146.00; value of
all other property, $32.00. Aggregate value of whole property, $1,819.
The tax returns for 1901 show a gain of $3,767 in the value of
all property, over the returns of 1900.
Population of Daweon county by sex and color, according to the
census of 1900: white males, 2,531; white females, 2,740; total white,
5,271; colored males, 91; colored females, 80; total colored, 171.
Domestic animals in barns and inclosures, not on farms or ranges,
June 1, 1900: 2 calves, 2 steers, 11 dairy cows, 5 horses, 3 mulea, 16
swine.
Source: Georgia, historical and industrial By Obediah B. Stevens,
Robert F. Wright, Georgia. Dept. of Agriculture
Towns, Hamlets
and Villages
Hubbardsville, a post-village in
the southwestern part of Dawson
county, is not far from the Pickens and Cherokee county lines. The
population
in 1900 was 32. The nearest railroad station is Nelson, on the line of
the Atlanta, Knoxville
and Northern.
(Source: Georgia Sketches of Counties, Towns,
Events, Institutions, and
Persons, VOL II, by Candler &
Evans, Publ. 1906. Transcribed by Kim Mohler)
Johntown, a
post-hamlet in the northwestern part of Dawson
county, is eight miles east of Jasper, which is the most convenient
railroad
station.
(Source: Georgia Sketches of Counties, Towns, Events, Institutions, and Persons, VOL II, by Candler & Evans, Publ. 1906.
Transcribed by Tracy McAllister)
Juno, a
post-hamlet of Dawson
county, is on a branch of the Etowah river, about six miles northwest
of
Dawsonville. The nearest railroad station is Jasper, on the Atlanta,
Knoxville & Northern.
(Source: Georgia Sketches of Counties, Towns, Events, Institutions, and Persons, VOL II, by Candler & Evans, Publ. 1906.
Transcribed by Tracy McAllister)
McKee, a post-hamlet of
Dawson county, is about five miles north of Dawsonville. Jasper,
on the Atlanta, Knoxville & Northern, is the nearest railroad
station.
[Source: Georgia Comprising Sketches of Counties, Towns, Events,
Institutions, and Persons, Vol 2, Publ 1906. Transcribed by Renae
Donaldson]
