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Towns
County, GA History
TOWNS COUNTY.
Towns County was formed out of Union and Kabun counties in 1856, and
was named in honor of G. W. Towns, who represented Georgia in Congress
in 1834, and was governor from 1847 to 1849. He died in the city of
Macon in 1854, at the age of 54 years.
Towns county is bounded on the north by the State of North Carolina, on
the east and southeast by Rabun and Habersham counties, on the south by
White county, on the west and southwest by Union county. Hiawassee
river flows from north to south through the center of the county. Other
streams are Hightower, Fodder's, Bell and Brasstown creeks.
This is a mountainous country, but on the river and creeks are some
very rich lands.
The climate is cool and bracing; the water, freestone, clear and cold.
The loamy black soil along the mountain streams is well adapted to
corn, rye, oats, fruits and vegetables. The clay, mulatto soil of the
uplands is well adapted to all crops. Clover, though not extensively
raised, gives fine yields on good land. Red top is best adapted to this
county. The natural grasses that grow about the lowlands are the chief
reliance for hay. Peavines, wherever planted, give an abundance of hay.
The average yield to the acre of the various crops under ordinary
methods of cultivation is: corn, 25 bushels; oats, 30 bushels; wheat,
12 bushels; rye, 10 bushels; Irish potatoes, 60 bushels; sweet
potatoes, 50 bushels; field-peas, 20 bushels; ground-peas, 20 bushels;
crab-grass hay, 4,000 pounds; corn fodder, 1,000 pounds; sorghum syrup,
100 gallons. With scientific farming the lands do even better. Towns
county produces the very best quality of cabbages, with heads firm and
white, large as a peck measure, and weighing 15 or 20 pounds. Turnips
of immense size and excellent flavor are raised in great quantities.
Fruits, melons and berries do well, but remoteness from the railroad
prevents the raising of more than enough for home consumption. Apples
are on exception, however. Large numbers of them are sold and at good
profits. Nearly every farmer has plenty of peaches for home use. Most
of the chestnuts found in the markets of our Georgia cities and towns
in the fall of the year come from Towns and other counties of this
section.
At Osborn there is a small vineyard producing the best varieties of
grapes.
There are no dairy farms in the county, but there is a considerable
amount of butter made on the farms. The people raise some cattle for
beef, and there is considerable improvement in the breeds of both dairy
and beef cattle. Some pure breeds, especially bulls, have been lately
brought into the county. The poultry and egg industry is decidedly on
the increase.
The stubble fields and meadows give excellent pasturage, and there is
good mountain range for cattle, sheep and horses, and a fair supply of
ma.=t for hogs, which grow fat on acorns, hickory-nuts and chestnuts.
In 1890 Towns county had 4,242 sheep with a wool-clip of 7,093 pounds,
2,998 cattle, 504 working oxen, 980 milch-cows, 406 horses, 292 mules,
6 donkeys, 4,731 swine and 37,374 domestic fowls of various kinds.
Among the products were 268,033 gallons of milk, 61,673 pounds of
butter, 29,914 dozens of eggs and 9,590 pounds of honey. There is
abundance of mountain trout in the streams, and in the mountains some
game, such as bear, deer, turkey, wolves and panthers.
There are about 75,000 acres of forest land, mostly in hardwoods. The
most valuable species are oak, hickory, poplar, walnut, chestnut,
cherry, Lynn birch, maple, ash and locust. The price of the timber is
from $8 to $10 a thousand feet. There ore 3 sawmills getting out timber
for the home supply.
The mountain streams afford abundance of water-power, varying at
different points from 1 to 1,000 horse-powers.
There are some few small flour-mills and grist-mills scattered through
the county, grinding for the county custom, probably about 30, all but
3 of which are operated by water.
There is one tannery. The people are anxious for manufactories,
especially such as will work up their hardwoods, which are very
valuable.
There is abundance of granite and serpentine gneiss for building and
other uses. Gold is mined to some extent. Iron, chrome and magnetite,,
manganese, asbestos, talc, ochre, yellow and red plumbago, buhr, some
gems and plenty of corundum are found. A very large plant is now being
constructed at a cost of $100,000 at Tate City, in the eastern part of
the county for mining corundum.
Hiawassee, the county site, has several successful mercantile
establishments. A new court-house is being built at a cost of $8,000.
Other post-offices are Mountain Scene, Osborn, Visage, Welch and Young
Harris. At this latter place is a fine school endowed by Young L. G.
Harris, of Athens, Georgia, and under the control of the North Georgia
Conference of the Methodist Episcopal Church, South. Here young men and
young ladies of limited means can obtain an education at the least
possible expense. There is also at Hiawassee a good school under the
patronage of the Baptists. Methodists and Baptists are the leading
Christian sects. Their churches are scattered at convenient distances
throughout the county. There are some 26 schools of the public school
system, with an enrollment of 1,350 pupils. Of these 23 are for whites
and one for colored. The average attendance is 790 white pupils and 14
colored.
Murphy, North Carolina, is the nearest railroad town. In this and
several Georgia towns the products of the county are marketed.
The area of Towns county is 168 square miles, or 107,520 acres.
Population in 1900, 4,748, a gain of 684 since 1890; school fund,
$3,210.80.
By the Comptroller-General's report for 1900 there are: acres of
improved land, 91,712; of wild land, 23,241; average value of improved
lands to the acre, $1.91; of wild lands, $0.45; city property, $20,095;
money, etc., $40,815; merchandise, $16,450; capital invested in mining,
$210; household and kitchen furniture, $19,140; farm and other animals,
$61, 099; plantation and mechanical tools, $9,641; watches, jewelry,
etc., $716; value of all other property, $4,716; real estate, $219,339;
persona] estate, $163,754. Aggregate value of whole property, $383,093.
Property returned by colored taxpayers: number of acres of land, 360;
value, $125.00; money, $60.00; household furniture, $55.00; farm and
other animals, $169.00; plantation and mechanical tools, $5.00; value
of all other property, $4.00. Aggregate value of whole property,
$424.00.
The tax returns for 1901 show a decrease of $23,379 in the value of all
property since 1900.
Population of Towns county by sex and color, according to the census of
1900: white males, 2,341; white females, 2,336; total white, 4,677;
colored males, 38; colored females, 33; total colored, 71.
Domestic animals in barns and inclosures, not on farms or ranges, June
1, 1900: 1 dairy cow, 14 horses, 11 mules.
Source: Georgia, Historical
and Industrial By Obediah B. Stevens, Robert F. Wright
Submitted by a Friend of Free Genealogy
Towns,
Hamlets
and Villages
Hunt, a
post-hamlet of Towns county, is about half-way between Hiawassee and
the North Carolina line. Murphy, N.C. 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 Kim
Mohler)
Hiawassee,
the county seat of Towns county, beautifully located on the Hiawassee
river in the mountains of North Georgia and close to the North Carolina
line, was incorporated by act of the legistlature in 1870. According to
the census of 1900 it had a population of 230. Murphy, N. C., about
twenty miles distant, is the nearest railroad town. The climate is cold
in the winter and delightful in the summer. Hiawassee has a money order
post office with rural free delivery, several stores, a court house
that cost $8,000, schools and churches. There is here a high school for
boys and girls under the patronage of the Baptist church, which has a
fine reputation through all that section. In the neighborhood of the
town are many valuable hardwoods and minerals of various kinds.
(Georgia: Comprising Sketches of Counties, Towns, Events, Institutions,
and Persons, Arranged in Cyclopedic Form. VOL III Publ. 1906.
Transcribed by Angelia Carpenter)
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