DeSoto Falls Recreation Area - Chattahoochee National Forest, Georgia

DeSoto Falls in Summer

The mountains of North Georgia are known for their scenic vistas, mountain streams and beautiful waterfalls. You can find all three at DeSoto Falls Recreation area in the Chattahoochee National Forest.
Actually a series of waterfalls along small streams that feed Frogtown Creek, DeSoto Falls gained their name after what was said to be a piece of Spanish armor was found there during the 1880s. The waterfalls were on the traditional route of the Hernando de Soto expedition of 1540 and it was logically assumed that the iron had been left behind by the Spanish conquistador.

While modern archaeologists don't put much stock in the claim, they also have never discredited it. In fact, no one really knows where the expedition crossed the mountains. A theory advanced during the 1980s by an anthropologist from the University of Georgia holds that the crossing took place far to the north in North Carolina. Recent archaeological discoveries in South Georgia, however, raise serious questions about his proposed route. Those discoveries have included 16th century Spanish artifacts like those found along known sections of the De Soto route, but far away from the path suggested in the 1980s.

In other words, Hernando de Soto might well have crossed west through Georgia and not hundreds of miles to the north. Or perhaps the crossing was somewhere in between.  No one knows.

The story of the armor aside, DeSoto Falls is an absolutely beautiful place.  Anglers fish for both native and stocked trout in Frogtown Creek as it flows through the recreation area and short hiking trails lead to observation platforms at two of the most picturesque falls.

To learn more about DeSoto Falls, please visit www.exploresouthernhistory.com/gadesotofalls.

Amicalola Falls State Park - Dawsonville, Georgia

Amicalola Falls

One of the most spectacular sights in the nation, the tallest waterfall in the eastern United States plunges down a mountainside at Amicalola Falls State Park near Dawsonville, Georgia.

From top to bottom, the waterfall measures 729 feet and is more than four times the height of Niagra Falls. The name "Amicalola" is thought to be a corruption of the Cherokee word for "tumbling waters." This is appropriate as the fall on Little Amicalola Creek was known to the Cherokee and their ancestors for hundreds if not thousands of years before the first European explorers pushed into their lands.

Amicalola Falls

The earliest known written description of the waterfall was penned by a Georgia surveyor in 1832 who wrote of its stunning beauty, but also noted - as have many modern visitors - that he was "completely exhausted by the time I reached half-way." He saw it before the Cherokee were forcefully removed from the area and marched west at bayonet point on the Trail of Tears in 1838. Their departure opened the area around Amicalola Falls to settlement and by the Civil War there was a small settlement there that included a water-powered mill and a Methodist campground.

The Crane family, owners of the mill, held the land surrounding the waterfall until 1940 when they sold it to the State of Georgia. It is now the centerpiece of Amicalola Falls State Park, a stunning park area that features hiking trails, overlooks, cabins, campgrounds a 56-room lodge and the southern jumping-off point for the Appalachian Trail.

To learn more, please visit www.exploresouthernhistory.com/amicalolafalls.

Coheelee Creek Covered Bridge - Southernmost in the United States

Just outside of Blakely in Early County stands the Coheelee Creek Covered Bridge, the southernmost original covered bridge in the United States.

Built in 1891 at the old McDonald Ford over Coheelee Creek, the bridge is 96 feet long and was constructed at a cost of only $490.41. That was actually a substantial sum in that day and time, but it was the work of builder John William Baughman that really stood the test of time.

The classic old bridge, weathered and charming, no longer carries car traffic but still feels solid to the feet as you walk across it. Like many such structures, it does suffer from vandalism and is not as well-kept as it could be, but to see a covered bridge standing so far down in the Deep South is truly remarkable.

The Coheelee Creek bridge is even more unique because it spans one of the few waterfalls to be found this far down in Georgia. The rushing water of the creek tumbles over rocks create a small cascade or fall that can be heard as you approach the bridge.

To learn more, please visit www.exploresouthernhistory.com/coheelee1.