North Georgia's Oldest Tourist Attraction
As previously noted by the site, "northgeorgia.com", Tallulah Gorge is the first tourist attraction of North Georgia, describing the state park themselves by saying, "During the 1800s, Tallulah Gorge was North Georgia’s first tourist attraction and Tallulah Gorge State Park contains an 80 ft. high suspension bridge with spectacular views of Tallulah Gorge, and the 63 acre Tallulah Lake with a white sand beach." Although this quote covers a few of the basics of Tallulah Gorge, it leaves a lot to be desired, so today, I hope to share some of the site's unforgettable overlooks and breathtaking natural features.
The Geography:
Tallulah Gorge State Park is one of the newer state parks in the state of Georgia, only being officially created in the year 1992. We'll touch a bit more on the human history of the park in our next section, but for now, I want to talk a little bit more about what natural features make Tallulah Gorge so incredible.
To start, let's talk about Tallulah Gorge's formation, whose story actually begins some 500-million years ago during the creation of the supercontinent Pangea. The Tallulah Gorge we know and love today is actually the carved out remnants of a much larger, and much taller Tallulah Dome, which was originally made of sandstone. After millions of years of heat and pressure, this sandstone became condensed and transformed into quartzite, a smooth and incredibly tough rock. However strong this dome was though, it couldn't hold back the raging waters of Tallulah River and later was carved out via erosion. To this day, Tallulah River still chips away at our beloved park, creating beautiful waterfalls all around, and carrying its sediment all the way down the state and towards Savannah.
To start, let's talk about Tallulah Gorge's formation, whose story actually begins some 500-million years ago during the creation of the supercontinent Pangea. The Tallulah Gorge we know and love today is actually the carved out remnants of a much larger, and much taller Tallulah Dome, which was originally made of sandstone. After millions of years of heat and pressure, this sandstone became condensed and transformed into quartzite, a smooth and incredibly tough rock. However strong this dome was though, it couldn't hold back the raging waters of Tallulah River and later was carved out via erosion. To this day, Tallulah River still chips away at our beloved park, creating beautiful waterfalls all around, and carrying its sediment all the way down the state and towards Savannah.
The History:
As I mentioned previously in the geography section of this article, Tallulah Gorge's true history began 500 million years ago, but for sake of time and lack of written history, I want to start off this section around the year 1820, when European fur trappers first discovered the falls. Unlike many cases in Georgia's history with Native American's, the white settlers and native Cherokee of Tallulah Gorge lived peacefully, engaging in trade, sharing in education, and appreciating the incredible environment that surrounded them. This peaceful relationship and welcoming environment bolstered the area's potential for tourism, and began to see it's first boom in visitors around the 1840's. During this decade, it was visited by many famous artists and writers including George Cooke, a prominent painter of the time, and a fellow artist and writer, Mr. Thomas Addison Richards, who featured Tallulah Falls in his 1842 book, Georgia Illustrated. This book and following publicity surrounding the site created more and more interest in the falls, peaking in 1882, when the first railway brought travelers from Atlanta to Tallulah Falls in mere hours.
This new ease of access brought another great surge in visitors to the site, prompting another massive growth in the then unincorporated town of Tallulah Falls. Nearly twenty hotels were created to accommodate this influx of travelers, and later prompted the incorporation of the town of Tallulah Falls in the year 1885. Following this, more and more attractions were created to capitalize on tourism in the area, and local businesses began offering things like horseback riding, fishing, bowling, and some early development of nightlife in the area.
Crossing into the twentieth century however, the fight to control Tallulah Gorge began. Several power companies and politicians interested in capitalizing on the parks hydroelectric potential began buying up land, and constructing a massive dam that many feared could dry up the beauty of Tallulah Falls. These fears prompted one widowed confederate wife, a Ms. Helen Dortch Longstreet to create the Tallulah Falls Conservation Association in 1911, which through lobbying and persistence, later went on to successfully halt the dam's construction in the following year. This was a wonderful success for the patrons of the falls, but it didn't last long. The power companies brought their appeal to the supreme court and won. In that same year, the dam project began and carried on without fault.
Despite what a great loss for early conservation this was, this was only the beginning of tragedy for the town of Tallulah Falls. In the winter of 1921, the Great Fire began, and it continued burning in a devilish rampage for days on end. By the time the fire had calmed and went, it had burned nearly every wooden structure in town, and destroyed much of the woods surrounding this once booming town. For decades, this crippled tourism in the region, and the town of Tallulah Falls wouldn't reach it's old heights again until more modern history. At the turn of the twenty-first century in 1992, Tallulah Gorge State Park was established, and the final boom in the chapter of the now Tallulah Gorge State Park began.
This new ease of access brought another great surge in visitors to the site, prompting another massive growth in the then unincorporated town of Tallulah Falls. Nearly twenty hotels were created to accommodate this influx of travelers, and later prompted the incorporation of the town of Tallulah Falls in the year 1885. Following this, more and more attractions were created to capitalize on tourism in the area, and local businesses began offering things like horseback riding, fishing, bowling, and some early development of nightlife in the area.
Crossing into the twentieth century however, the fight to control Tallulah Gorge began. Several power companies and politicians interested in capitalizing on the parks hydroelectric potential began buying up land, and constructing a massive dam that many feared could dry up the beauty of Tallulah Falls. These fears prompted one widowed confederate wife, a Ms. Helen Dortch Longstreet to create the Tallulah Falls Conservation Association in 1911, which through lobbying and persistence, later went on to successfully halt the dam's construction in the following year. This was a wonderful success for the patrons of the falls, but it didn't last long. The power companies brought their appeal to the supreme court and won. In that same year, the dam project began and carried on without fault.
Despite what a great loss for early conservation this was, this was only the beginning of tragedy for the town of Tallulah Falls. In the winter of 1921, the Great Fire began, and it continued burning in a devilish rampage for days on end. By the time the fire had calmed and went, it had burned nearly every wooden structure in town, and destroyed much of the woods surrounding this once booming town. For decades, this crippled tourism in the region, and the town of Tallulah Falls wouldn't reach it's old heights again until more modern history. At the turn of the twenty-first century in 1992, Tallulah Gorge State Park was established, and the final boom in the chapter of the now Tallulah Gorge State Park began.
Summary:
Today, there isn't a time you could visit Tallulah Gorge State Park without a slew of other cars in the parking lot. With very well maintained trails, environmentalist support, a visually impressive and very informative visitor center, and last but certainly not least, the stunning views of Tallulah Falls, this state park is truly one of the best. If you're already in North Georgia, Western North Carolina, or eager to see the some gorgeous fall colors, it is worth your time and gas money. I hope you learned something from this article and make the drive out to Tallulah Gorge soon!
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