Page 5 - Dawson NCG 2014

History
Georgia’s 118th
county (and the town of
Dawsonville) was named
in honor of Judge William
C. Dawson, a father of
the laws of Georgia and a
commander of a brigade
in the 1836 Creek
Indian Wars.
Once the home of the
Cherokee and Lower
Creek Indian tribes,
Dawson County’s early
days saw the beginnings
of the proud Cherokee nation, the
exciting North Georgia Gold Rush, and
the tragic Trail of Tears.
Dawson County experienced a
population boom of white homesteaders
between 1790 and 1830 when the
number of residents grew more than
six-fold, growth that continued with the
Gold Rush fever beginning in 1829.
Peaceful cohabitation with the
Cherokee proved impossible for the
settlers and in 1830 the U.S. Congress
passed the Indian Removal Act, forcing
the removal of the Cherokee on the
infamous “Trail of Tears” into the
western wilderness. All that remains of
the Cherokee in Dawson County are the frowned at the disregard of the law that
names with which they christened the
many wonders of the area: Amicalola,
Etowah, Toto Creek, and others.
During the 1830s, mines and mining for Atlanta both during and after the
operations were established throughout Prohibition years. Bootleggers modified
what was to become Dawson County,
though it did retain its nature as a
primarily agricultural economy.
History
OF DAWSON
Dawson County was created by a
legislative act on December 3, 1857, from
portions of Lumpkin, Gilmer, Pickens,
and Forsyth counties.
Judge Dawson probably would have
criminalized alcohol production during
Prohibition. Dawson County was a
significant source of illegal corn whiskey the North Georgia Premium Outlets,
their automobiles to improve speed
and handling as they raced through the
mountainous area, eluding the police
4Dawson County Chamber of Commerce • 706-265-6278 • www.dawson.org
• Amicalola Falls
and “Revenuers.” When the Volstead Act
that made alcohol illegal was eventually
abolished, the moonshiners’ cars were
used for entertainment, a pastime that
would give birth to modern stock car
racing and NASCAR.
Dawson County is a veritable
playground for those who love the
outdoors. In 1957 the Appalachian Trail
was re-routed and included a new end-
point approximately eight miles north
of Amicalola Falls State Park, which
established Dawson County as a major
destination for hikers. Simultaneously,
the 39,000-acre Lake Lanier was formed
from the flooding of the Chattahoochee
River plain, drawing boaters, canoeists,
and anglers to its waters, and campers to
its Dawson County shores.
The Georgia 400 highway to Atlanta
made this area even more accessible. This,
combined with the beauty of Amicalola
Falls, Lake Lanier, and development of
transformed a corner of Dawson County
into one of Georgia’s fastest-growing
locales. Still, Dawsonville and Dawson
County retain the historic ambience,
charm, and astonishing natural beauty
that have long been hallmarks.