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A Murder in Bent Tree
Bent Tree Community, a private gated community located four miles east of Jasper, Georgia, had its first houses built in 1970. Today,...
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Mar 272 min read


Death Comes to Corpsewood Manor
Corpsewood Manor 1981 The tragic tale of Dr. Charles Scudder and Joseph Odom began...
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Nov 5, 202410 min read


The Tragedies of Steele's Bridge: Both of them.
Steele's Bridge 1964 baptism Most people from Pickens and Dawson County are familiar with the metal span bridge over the Amicalola River. ...
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Feb 16, 20243 min read


The Other Fugitive of Lee Cape's Murder
As with Lindsey Williams Evans, Carter Lee Smith, C.L. “Seal” (a pronunciation of the C and L together) Smith, was determined not to...
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Feb 6, 20242 min read


The Night Riders of Pickens County. (Part 3) The Life and Death of Policeman Lee Cape
Policeman Lee Cape had always suspected his enemies would eventually get him. But he would tell his friends, “but when they do, I’ll be...
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Feb 3, 20245 min read


The Night Riders of Pickens County: Part 2 - McCollum's Raiders, A.J. Glenn, and the Covington Hang
During the heart of the Civil War, Pickens County was torn between sides. The flag that flew over the courthouse yard was a Union flag. ...
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Jan 31, 20246 min read


A Moonshine Still in North Georgia
A few years ago, I ran across a reference for a reported moonshine still in a North Georgia gated community. Initially, I had doubts...
Webmaster
Oct 17, 20233 min read


The Convict Lease System of Georgia
The system was born of the southern states' emergent need for free labor at the end of the Civil War. Within a decade of the end of the...
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Oct 3, 20233 min read


Staged Death at the Cove
Juan Contreras, Sr.'s grave marker - Pleasant Union Baptist Cemetery, Waleska This is the tragic story of the Contreras family of...
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Feb 16, 20233 min read


The National Forest Serial Killer, Huddle House, and the Dawsonville Wildlife Management Area
61-year-old Gary Michael Hilton, a.k.a. The National Forest Serial Killer, finally got caught in 2008 after committing a grizzly series...
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Feb 6, 20233 min read


The Murder and Exhumation of Chief James Vann
Chief Vann was a controversial figure. Born in the 1760s, the half Scotsman/half Cherokee, grew to become a wealthy businessman,...
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Feb 2, 20232 min read


The Griffeth Pendley Dogtrot Ax Murder
In 1877, a one-story dogtrot-style home was built off of the old Dawsonville-Jasper Road (present-day Cove Road). Over the hill and...
Webmaster
Jan 31, 20233 min read


Crime, Luck and Redemption: The Life and Times of Wallace Hughes, Jr.
Pickens County has a history replete with convicts who escaped local authorities. This particular story took place near Sharptop Church...

Christopher
Mar 6, 20223 min read
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