Allatoona, GA
County: Bartow
Zip Code:
Latitude / Longitude: 34° 6′ 29.35 N, 84° 42′ 40.77 W
Elevation:
Time Zone: Eastern (EST) (UTC-5)
Established:
Disestablished: Destroyed by flooding in the 1940s
Comments: Allatoona was a town located in extreme southeastern Bartow County, Georgia. The population is estimated to have been approximately 1,000.
Remains: Built along Allatoona Creek, it was a gold mining area later in the first U.S. gold rush, which took place in Georgia and North Carolina. Reaching its height in the 1840s, the Georgia Gold Rush continued into the 1850s even while the second gold rush was occurring in California. (Gold was also mined in nearby Woodstock.)
Current Status: The town was destroyed in the late 1940s when the new Lake Allatoona flooded it, making the creek into its major southern arm. Red Top Mountain State Park is immediately north of the old town, the city of Acworth in Cobb County is immediate to its south, further upstream on the former creek. The site is just south and east of Allatoona Pass.
Remarks: The Battle of Allatoona Pass took place here just after the fall of Atlanta in 1864.
Auraria, GA
County: Lumpkin
Zip Code:
Latitude / Longitude: 34° 28′ 30 N, 84° 1′ 24 W
Elevation: 1,401 ft (427 m)
Time Zone: Eastern (EST) (UTC-5)
Established: 1832
Disestablished:
Comments: Auraria is a ghost town in Lumpkin County, Georgia, United States, southwest of Dahlonega. Its name derives from aurum, the Latin word for gold. In its early days, it was also known variously as Dean, Deans, Nuckollsville, and Scuffle Town.
Remains: Thousands of settlers came to these former Cherokee lands in search of gold during the Georgia Gold Rush, and following the Gold Lottery of 1832. One of the first gold rush boom towns started here in June 1832, when William Dean built a cabin between the Chestatee River and Etowah River. The temporary seat of Lumpkin County in 1832, Nathaniel Nuckolls built a tavern, hotel, and several buildings to house the miners. Within six months of the lottery, “one hundred family dwellings, eighteen or twenty stores, twelve or fifteen law offices, and four or five taverns” were to be found in the town. The population was 1,000 by May 1833, and 10,000 were in the county.
Current Status: There are still a few old buildings standing: the collapsing Graham Hotel (in ruins; very unsafe to enter); Woody’s store at Castleberry Bridge Road, which remained open till the early 1980s; a red house that was once a bank; another house across the street; and a couple of foundations. They stand in lone testament to the 19th-century gold rush.
Remarks:
Constitution, GA
County:
Zip Code:
Latitude / Longitude: 33° 41′ 20 N, 84° 20′ 33 W
Elevation:
Time Zone: Eastern (EST) (UTC-5)
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Comments: Constitution was a pre-Civil War community, south of Atlanta.
Remains: A prison was located there.
Current Status: Currently, Metro State Prison is located near the old abandoned prison.
Remarks:
Ebenezer, GA
County: Effingham
Zip Code:
Latitude / Longitude: 32.376667°N 81.180833°W
Elevation:
Time Zone: Eastern (EST) (UTC-5)
Established: 1734
Disestablished:
Comments: Ebenezer, also known as New Ebenezer, is a ghost town in Effingham County, Georgia, United States, along the banks of Ebenezer Creek. It was listed on the U.S. National Register of Historic Places as Ebenezer Townsite and Jerusalem Lutheran Church in 1974.
Remains: The town was established in 1734 by about 150 Salzburger emigrants, Protestant refugees who had been expelled from the Catholic Archbishopric of Salzburg (in present-day Austria) by a 1731 edict of Prince-archbishop Count Leopold Anton von Firmian. With the consent of governor James Oglethorpe, New Ebenezer was moved closer to the Savannah River in 1736, and at its new location, many silk mills were opened. The Salzburgers’ pastor, the Reverend Johann Martin Boltzius, sought to build “a religious utopia on the Georgia frontier.” That idea was very successful for a time, and the economy thrived. Jerusalem Lutheran Church was completed in 1769 and is the fourth-oldest building in Georgia.
Current Status: The Ebenezer Townsite and Jerusalem Lutheran Church were listed on the National Register of Historic Places on December 4, 1974. The New Ebenezer Camp, established in 1977, is located in former Ebenezer. In 1987, the LAMAR Institute began an archaeological study of Ebenezer. Several reports from its researchers are available online at the institute’s website.
Remarks: But, after the British invasion of 1778 during the American Revolutionary War, the town was severely damaged. It never fully recovered, although it briefly served as the capital of Georgia in 1782. It was made the county seat of Effingham County in 1797, but two years later the seat was transferred to Springfield, taking much county business with it. By the time Ebenezer was abandoned in 1855, the town covered only 1/4 square mile. The Jerusalem Evangelical Lutheran Church is one of the few buildings that has survived in Ebenezer, and is believed to have the oldest continuing congregation in the state.
Fowltown, GA
County:
Zip Code:
Latitude / Longitude:
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Time Zone: Eastern (EST) (UTC-5)
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Comments: Fowltown was a Mikasuki village in southwestern Georgia, approximately 15 miles (24 km) east of Fort Scott.
Remains: Chief Neamathla of Fowltown became embroiled in a dispute with the commander of Fort Scott over the use of land on the eastern side of the Flint River, essentially claiming Mikasuki sovereignty over the area. The land in southern Georgia had been ceded by the Creeks in the Treaty of Fort Jackson, but the Mikasukis did not consider themselves Creek, did not feel bound by the treaty, and did not accept that the Creeks had any right to cede Mikasuki land.
Current Status: In November 1817, General Gaines sent a force of 250 men to seize Fowltown. The first attempt was beaten off by the Mikasukis. The next day, November 22, 1817, the Mikasukis were driven from their village. Some historians date the start of the war to this attack on Fowltown. David Brydie Mitchell, former governor of Georgia and Creek Indian agent at the time, stated in a report to Congress that the attack on Fowltown was the start of the First Seminole War.
Remarks:
Livingston, GA
County: Floyd
Zip Code:
Latitude / Longitude: 34° 12′ 46 N, 85° 20′ 55 W
Elevation:
Time Zone: Eastern (EST) (UTC-5)
Established:
Disestablished:
Comments: Livingston is the site of an old Indian village in Floyd County, Georgia, United States. The place was supposedly visited by Hernando de Soto, and evidence of his (or Tristán de Luna y Arellano’s) visit was found near McGee Bend on the Coosa River.
Remains: An early missionary station existed there, and the city retained the name “Missionary Station” on many maps. It was the first county seat of Floyd County in 1833. It was replaced by Rome as county seat the following year.
Current Status: The location of the town is near Coosa on Georgia Route 20. Some buildings remain in Livingston, but it is now a ghost town.
Remarks:
Mountain View, GA
County: Clayton
Zip Code: 30354
Latitude / Longitude: 33°38’30.4 N 84°23’24.7 W
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Time Zone: Eastern (EST) (UTC-5)
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Comments: Mountain View, also known as Rough and Ready, is an unincorporated community in northwest Clayton County, Georgia, United States. The community is bounded on the east and south by Forest Park, on the north by the Fulton County line, and on the west by the Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport.
Remains: Mountain View was originally named Rough and Ready for the Rough and Ready Tavern or Bagley House, a stagecoach stop on the line from Macon to upper Georgia. It was later the site of the first railroad station south of Atlanta on the Macon and Western Railroad, 13 miles from the terminus at East Point.
Current Status: Mountain View was a city from 1956 to January 1978, when the Georgia General Assembly voted to repeal the city charter. A five-member delegation of Clayton County legislators proposed a bill to abolish the city in order to clean up corruption in the city government. During his four terms in office (1972-1977) Mayor Ray King, though popular with his constituents, was charged with bribery, nepotism, conspiracy, assault, and violating the city charter by accepting an illegal salary. Rather than reform the city leadership, Clayton County sought to dissolve Mountain View entirely. State Representative Rudolph Johnson of Morrow, chair of the delegation said, “They’ve had controversy out there for 20 years. It’s an accumulation of things, really.”
Remarks: Its name was changed when it was incorporated as a city in 1956. The name “Mountain View” refers to the fact that, on a clear day, one can see Stone Mountain 20 miles to the east. The slogan, “Gateway to Clayton County,” was featured on the city seal. Plans are on the drawing board for economic redevelopment the community, but the plans call for no residential population due to the noise from the takeoffs and landings at one of the world’s busiest airports.
Oketeyeconne, GA
County: Clay
Zip Code:
Latitude / Longitude: 31°38’35 N 85°04’50 W
Elevation: 200 ft (60 m)
Time Zone: Eastern (EST) (UTC-5)
Established:
Disestablished:
Comments: Oketeyeconne was an unincorporated community in Clay County, Georgia, United States, which was located along the Chattahoochee River.
Remains: Following legislation of the late 1940s, the United States Army Corps of Engineers constructed major dam and reservoir projects on the river. The manmade, 46,000-acre Walter F. George Lake was developed north of the dam by the same name. Its construction and flooding required the evacuation of Oketeyeconne and its residents were forced to relocate elsewhere. The lake opened for use in 1963.
Current Status: The town remained unincorporated. During the mid-twentieth century, it was evacuated when the federal government took it over for the development of water control and navigation projects on the river. Following legislation of the late 1940s, the United States Army Corps of Engineers constructed major dam and reservoir projects on the river. The manmade, 46,000-acre Walter F. George Lake was developed north of the dam by the same name. Its construction and flooding required the evacuation of Oketeyeconne. The lake opened for use in 1963.
Remarks: Archeologists have found evidence that earlier cultures of indigenous peoples have lived along the river since 1000 BC. Oketeyeconne was known historically as a Hitchiti-speaking town of the Lower Creek Indians in the late 1700s. It was the most southern of major towns affiliated with the Lower Creek, who ranged to the north. To the south were the Sawokli, Tamathli, Apalachicola, Yamasee, Mikasuki, and Seminole peoples. In 1799 Benjamin Hawkins, the United States Superintendent for Indian Affairs south of the Ohio River, described the settlement as being “a nice town settled on good land with room for livestock”. He was encouraging Native Americans of the Southeast to adopt European-American farming techniques, and lived among the Creek.
Oothcaloga, GA
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Time Zone: Eastern (EST) (UTC-5)
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Petersburg, GA
County:
Zip Code:
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Time Zone: Eastern (EST) (UTC-5)
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Troupville, GA
County: Lowndes
Zip Code:
Latitude / Longitude: 30°50’57 N 83°20’15 W
Elevation:
Time Zone: Eastern (EST) (UTC-5)
Established:
Disestablished:
Comments: Troupville (occasionally recorded as Troupeville) is an unincorporated community in Lowndes County, Georgia, United States, near Valdosta.
Remains: Troupville was a riverboat landing at the confluence of the Withlacoochee River and the Little River (Withlacoochee River) at the uppermost navigable point. It was the third county seat of Lowndes County. Troupville was named after Governor George Troup. Railroads were superseding riverboats across the state. After a railroad station was established at Valdosta in 1859, many Troupville residents picked up their houses and moved to the railroad. They founded Valdosta, which the following year was designated by the legislature as the county seat.
Current Status: In early 1871, a toll bridge crossing the Little River from Troupville to Brooks County was completed. By 1874 Troupville was described by a Valdostan, as being “a deserted village or rather an old field with scarcely a vestige of the village remaining.”
Remarks: In 1833, Lowndesville, Georgia replaced Franklinville, located east of modern Hahira, as the county seat. In 1834, a group of citizens was appointed to select a new county seat to keep pace with settlement. In July 1836, a group of commissioners was advertising for merchants and mechanics to settle at Troupville. They believed that the Little River and Withlacoochee River could be made navigable to this point at a small expense. After the county seat was moved away from Franklinville and Lowndesville in turn, they declined. In October 1836, advertisements were put in newspapers for proposals to build a courthouse at Troupville. The city was incorporated on 14 December 1837 by an act of the Georgia legislature , and designated as the county seat (the third).
Scull Shoals, GA
County: Greene
Zip Code:
Latitude / Longitude: 33° 43′ 42 N, 83° 17′ 34 W
Elevation:
Time Zone: Eastern (EST) (UTC-5)
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Disestablished:
Comments: Scull Shoals is a ghost town in northwestern Greene County, Georgia, United States.
Remains: The Scull Shoals Mill ruins are located halfway between Athens and Greensboro on the Oconee River, just northeast of where Georgia State Route 15 crosses the river. Recent archaeological findings and historical documents point to prehistoric Indian occupation. Captain John C. Fielder was the commander of the fort that bore his name on the Oconee River in Greene County as early as 1788 or 1789 when it was attacked by Creek Indians. < Georgia Indian Depredation Claims, 1823> Later it was the site of Ft. Clarke, built in 1793 during the Oconee Indian War with the Creek Indians. It was settled by pioneers rewarded for military service with headright grants for land. A sawmill and grist mill was built and operated by Zachariah Sims and partner Thos. Ligon circa 1800. Soon they built and operated the first paper mill in Georgia from 1810-1814 when the end of the War of 1812 and drought stopped paper production. Scull Shoals was a thriving agri-industrial community with a regional presence by owner Thos. N. Poullain processing cotton into osnaburg cloth during the early to mid 19th century. After the Civil War, Scull Shoals suffered from outdated water-powered textile processing equipment, lack of funding to replace aging equipment, and fewer workers available. Naive cotton farming in the area caused massive soil erosion resulting in disastrous flooding in 1841 and 1887 that sent the town into further decline.
Current Status: In the 20th century, Scull Shoals had become part of the Oconee National Forest and is a ghost town of ruins, including the foundations and walls of several buildings. The Friends of Scull Shoals organization maintains the site in partnership with the U.S. Forest Service and conducts tours and festivals at the site.
Remarks: Additional information can be found in the book “Scull Shoals: The Mill Village That Vanished in Old Georgia”, by author and tour guide Robert Skarda.
Sixes, GA
County: Cherokee
Zip Code:
Latitude / Longitude: 34° 10′ 23.04 N, 84° 32′ 55.54 W
Elevation:
Time Zone: Eastern (EST) (UTC-5)
Established:
Disestablished:
Comments: Sixes, home to approximately 14,540, is an unincorporated community in western Cherokee County, Georgia, United States, located about three miles west of Holly Springs and near the eastern shore of current-day Lake Allatoona.
Remains: The community is located in the Georgia Gold Belt, which runs southwest to northeast along the southern edge of the Blue Ridge mountains. The Sixes Gold Mine, a now-defunct gold mine dating back to the early 19th century, was located just to the northwest. In addition, the community is home to the Sixes Mill, which was originally built around 1820 by early gold prospectors and later rebuilt circa 1880.
Current Status: The mill has been well preserved and is still located off Sixes Road. There are two theories on how Sixes derived its name. The first theory attributes the name to Fort Hinar Sixes, a Cherokee Indian removal fort that was located in the area along the Trail of Tears. The second holds that the name is derived from an old Cherokee village that was located near the Etowah River named “Sutali” — the Cherokee word for the number six.
Remarks: Sixes also lent its name to Fort Sixes, an 1830s US Army fort that served as a removal collection point for Cherokee prior to the Trail of Tears. Sutallee, a community that sits on the opposite side of the Etowah River (now Lake Allatoona) in western Cherokee County, also derives its name from this Native American village. Today, Sixes is a growing suburban community with many large, upscale residential neighborhoods, including BridgeMill. The area is served by two elementary schools (Sixes & Liberty); one middle school (Freedom); and two high schools (Woodstock & Cherokee).
