Community Spotlight on Helen, GA
Long before the area was established, this was the center of Cherokee Indian culture with villages scattered throughout Nacoochee and what is now known as Helen valleys. As structures were built in 1813, the Cherokees approved construction of the Unicoi Turnpike, which is now is Hwy. 17 / 75 towards Hiawassee. Then as Cherokee’s left the area on the Trail of Tears, white settlers populated the area. The Great Georgia Gold Rush which started in Dahlonega, brought thousands of miners to Dukes Creek in Nacoochee Valley in 1828, the historic England Gold Mine and Hamby Mountain in Helen. Then timber [...]