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Bent Tree Community, a private gated community located four miles east of Jasper, Georgia, had its first houses built in 1970. Today, there are over 1,100 homes. When I moved into the community in late 2018, I was told a murder had never happened within Bent Tree's gates throughout its entire history. Forever a skeptic, I set out to determine the truthfulness of that statement. In 2022, as we approached the 50th Anniversary of the Bent Tree Golf Course, I reached out to two

Amicalola Electrical Membership Co-operative began in 1940 as one of the last electrical membership co-ops. Rather than benefiting from...

The home guards remain one of the most confusing aspects of the history of the Civil War in Georgia. Family tales and reminiscences...

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. Yet, many of the residents fought on each side. Many of the Darnell family fought for the North, while those from the Fields side predominantly fought for the South. And while many neighboring counties were far more aligned with the Confederacy, as with Pickens's history with race and slavery, Pickens was more of a mixed bag. There we

The Keith Plantation of Cherokee County The overgrown entrance to the Keith Plantation. Note the main house in the background According to local sources, the Keith Plantation near Canton, GA, in present-day Keithsburg* during the Civil War. The property held over 3,300 acres along the Etowah River two miles north of Etowah. (Note: At one point in the past, Canton was named Etowah) The plantation had a large brick house made from a kiln with red clay from the Etowah River.

In 1890, a small hamlet in south-central Pickens County named Jockey arose near the Cagle Mills on Sharp Mountain Creek. A post office was created in the same building as the local merchandise store, thereby designating Jockey as a ‘post-hamlet.’ An October 11, 1890, Pickens County Herald article detailed the creation. The Postmaster of the newly appointed post office was John Wesley Cagle. He was appointed under the term of President Harrison. According to Alonzo Cagle

Convict Camp laborers were held in iron cages between 1923-1938 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 war, 12 southern states had adopted what became known as the Convict Lease System. This article will primarily focus on the camps in Georgia, with an emphasis on those in Pickens County. Of the few existing prisons at the time, many had suffered damage from arson during the Civ

According to Dr. Kathleen Thompson, in her October 5th, 2011, Pickens Progress article about Black Communities in Tate and Jasper: “Lonesome City was located off of Highway 53, across the road from the Tate House, and deep in the woods. Families living here predominately carried the last name Patrick. Reverend Bill Patrick was raised here. In the 1910s into the 1930s this was a Black settlement. By the 1950s this had become a White farming area. Due to job losses in the marbl

https://www.northgeorgiahistory.com/copy-of-p harr-map

In searching through the archives of deeds at the county, I came across this map of the town of Jasper dated March 5th, 1883. The chief engineer of the Marietta and North Georgia Railroad Company, F.S. Wallace, drew this map up to demonstrate the lands that were conveyed to help facilitate the passage of the railroad through the town of Jasper. The map is below along with what I could make of the penmanship of the document. {Georgia, {Pickens County: For the purpose of e

The Great Depression of 1929 caused massive hardships across the United States of America. In response to the dire economic situation, President Franklin Delano Roosevelt created a series of public works programs designed to employ thousands of Americans in different areas of infrastructure, agriculture, and forestry-related jobs. For nine years, the Civilian Conservation Corps changed the American landscape by building fire towers, fire brakes, roads, and planting trees.

Before Grandview Lake, or the Salvation Army Camp existed, for a brief time Grandview Summer Colony was a burgeoning place to relax during the warmer months. In 1927, H.E. “Cy” Hawkins, a former minor league baseball pitcher in Carrolton, Georgia bought a bunch of land near where present-day Grandview Lake is. Cy was the salesman and brains of the operation and his brother (Ira) Tanner was the builder. Cy and his brother Tanner became land developers. They bought up much of

The Georgia Forestry Commission keeps a list of all of the champion trees of different species within our state. A champion tree is the...

Did you know that Frank Spratlin, father of Bent Tree's developer H. Dean Spratlin, helped build a radio tower for Georgia Tech on Burnt...