Historic Sites in Gilmer County

The history of Gilmer County

Gilmer County was organized in December 1832 from the vast Cherokee County that Georgia had laid out over Cherokee Nation lands in the north Georgia mountains. It carries the name of George R. Gilmer, the governor who pushed for the removal of the Cherokee from the state. Ellijay, which occupies the site of a Cherokee town with a similar name, has been the seat of county government since 1834. Centuries before statehood, Spanish expeditions led by Hernando de Soto and later Juan Pardo passed through the region. During the Cherokee era, leaders including Whitepath and Walking Stick tried without success to win fair treatment for their people, and by the end of the 1830s treaties, force and forced displacement had driven the Cherokee from their homeland. Gold discovered in the region in 1829 fueled a rush that lasted into the 1840s, while cotton gins, gristmills and sawmills supported early settlers. Old Cartecay United Methodist Church, established in 1834, is considered the oldest Methodist church in north Georgia. The railroad arrived in 1883, and apples eventually became the county's best-known crop. Much of the county lies within the Chattahoochee National Forest, and Carters Lake is a major feature of its landscape.

Sources: georgiaencyclopedia.orgen.wikipedia.org