Page 6 - Blairsville

HISTORY out sacrificing modern technology like top-of-the-line UNION COUNTY TIMELINE

broadband services. The local Development Authority
welcomes businesses with extra assistance like mar-
1 820s White settlers are
ket research and ready-to-move-in facilities.
attracted to the area — currently
inhabited by Cherokee Indians —
THE RIGHT MIX FOR EVERYONE when gold is discovered.
Union County promises both adventure and solitude. 1 832 Union County is created during
the Georgia Land Lottery. It’s likely
You can hike up to Georgia’s highest peak, Brasstown 1 835 Blairsville, the County seat, named after the Union Party, a political
Bald, or take a relaxing stroll in Meeks Park, our com- is incorporated on December 26. It group that supports removing the
munity park gem. The crisp and clean mountain air is is named after Francis Preston Blair Native Americans.
enjoyable throughout the year, with just enough snow Sr., a journalist, editor and political
adviser to both Andrew Jackson
to be pretty, but not inconvenient. and Abraham Lincoln. 1 859 The courthouse, which is con-
When you’re ready to make the move to a place structed in the center of town, burns
where your family and your business can thrive, we’re 1 861 County delegates to the state down. In 1898, the replacement struc-
ture also burns down.
here to help. You’ll find everything you need in this convention vote against secession on
guide to answer the call to mountain living, from new- January 19. During the Civil War,
comer information to a complete list of Blairsville- which begins in April, the county is 1 899 The courthouse is rebuilt
split by residents supporting both
a third time and serves the county
Union County Chamber members who are ready to roll the Union and the Confederacy. until 1976, when a new structure is
out the welcome mat. If you’ve made it to Blairsville- built off the Square. Today, the orig-
inal courthouse is preserved and
Union County, welcome; you have arrived!  maintained by the Union County
~ S teve 1 926 The first paved road — running from Historical Society as a museum,
Cleveland, Ga., to the North Carolina border — is research and event space.
completed. Surveyed by Warren Rabun Neel, the
Photo: Brandon Montgomery new road follows the old Frogtown Indian trail.
Today, it’s known as GA Hwy. 19/129. 1 930 The Mountain Research
and Education Center, a University
of Georgia agricultural extension
1 930s The Civilian Conservation Corps station, is established to teach local
(CCC) builds several structures, many of farmers how to better grow and
which are still in use today: Vogel State diversify their crops.
Park, Lake Winfield Scott and the Walasi-Yi
Interpretive Center. The Appalachian Trail
is also completed. 1 937 The Chattahoochee National Forest
is created after the federal government pur-
chases several large tracts of land in the
1 942 Lake Nottely is created when area. Today, the forest comprises nearly
the Nottely River is dammed by the 867,000 acres across 26 counties.
Tennessee Valley Authority for flood
control and power generation. Nearly 1 991 Highway 515 (the Zell Miller Mountain
70% of the 106-mile shoreline is pre- Parkway) is completed, providing easier
served and undeveloped. access to and from metro Atlanta.

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