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NGE >> Cities and Counties >> Counties >> Fannin County |
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Fannin County Fannin County, in the Blue Ridge Mountains of north Georgia, was formed January 21, 1854, when Located on former Cherokee land, the new county was named for Georgia native James Walker Fannin Jr., a soldier in the Texas Revolution. He and his 342 Brazos volunteers were captured and massacred at Fort Goliad, Texas, on March 27, 1836. Because 141 of Fannin's men were Georgians, state representative Elijah W. Chastain suggested the name Fannin to honor the "Hero of Goliad." The
Fannin's representatives were divided during the 1861 Secession Convention, held at Georgia's capital in Milledgeville. Elijah W. Chastain, a strong states' rights proponent, voted for secession, while W. C. Fain voted to remain in the Union. Loyalties were likewise divided throughout the county. About two-thirds of Fannin's citizens remained loyal to the Union while one-third supported the Confederacy during the Civil War (1861-65). Six Confederate companies were formed from volunteers in the county. Those joining the Union army went to Tennessee to enlist. No Civil War battles
The Marietta and North Georgia Railroad arrived in Fannin County in summer 1886. The town of Blue Ridge was incorporated on October 24, 1887, at the terminus of the rail line. Because it was difficult for judges and lawyers to get from the train station in Blue Ridge to the courthouse in Morganton, a referendum was proposed to change the county seat to Blue Ridge. A two-thirds majority favored the change, and the legislature approved the change on December 13, 1895. Blue Ridge
The railroad no longer brings passengers or freight to the Blue Ridge depot, but the Blue Ridge Scenic Railway provides a twenty-six-mile round trip from Blue Ridge to McCaysville and back and attracts many tourists for the ride through the mountains and over the Toccoa River. Another boon came in the 1980s, when Georgia Highway 515 opened, making the trip from Blue Ridge to Atlanta accessible on a four-lane road. Sales of mountain land escalated and log-cabin builders proliferated. Fannin was named the tenth-fastest-growing county in the United States in 2003-4 because of the influx of second-home owners and retirees. Once an agricultural county, Fannin is now noted both for development of mountain land and for tourism.
According to the 2000 U.S. census, the population of Fannin County was 19,798 (98 percent white, 0.1 percent black, and 0.7 percent Hispanic). Incorporated towns are Blue Ridge, McCaysville, and Morganton. Suggested Reading Susan R. Boatright and Douglas C. Bachtel, eds., Georgia County Guide (Athens: Center for Agribusiness and Economic Development, University of Georgia, annual). Ethelene Dyer Jones and Dale Dyer, eds., Facets of Fannin: A History of Fannin County, Georgia, vol. 1 (Dallas, Tex.: Curtis Media, 1989). Kathleen Thompson, ed., In Touch with the Past: A Guide to Historic Places and Homes in Fannin County, Georgia, and Polk County, Tennessee (Blue Ridge, Ga.: privately printed, 1982). Kathleen Thompson, ed., Touching Home: A Collection of History and Folklore from the Copper Basin, Fannin County Area (Blue Ridge, Ga.: privately printed, 1976). Ethelene Dyer Jones, Milledgeville Published 4/7/2006 |
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