American History 1783-1828

Between 1783, when the Cherokee and Creek first ceded land in North Georgia to the whites, and 1828, much of North Georgia remained under Native American control. The first cessions, made by the Cherokee at Long Swamp in 1782, were in northeast Georgia west of the South Carolina border and included parts of Habersham and Banks Counties. Fannin County, in the northcentral part of the state was among the first areas to be settled. Whites from western North Carolina and Tennessee had begun to drift south and by the late 1790's a significant community existed, tolerated by the local Cherokee.

In May 1794 General Elijah Clarke crossed the Oconee with the intention of establishing a Transoconee Republic. He began recruiting and erecting fortifications to the alarm of both Georgia and the United States. He also negotiated with the French to mount a joint attack on the Spanish. The Oconee War and Clarke's Transoconee Republic came to an end on September 28, 1794, when Clarke surrendered to a large force of Georgia and Federal troops even though his men voted to stand their ground and sell their lives dearly. The Federals then burnt Fort Defiance and the other fortifications of the short lived republic.

In the east, the Unicoi Turnpike brought settlers from the north to northeastern Georgia. Many of these settlers encroached on Indian lands causing much consternation to Cherokee in the area. Brutal attacks by whites on Native Americans and vice versa created an unfriendly atmosphere that lasted until whites completed the subjugation of the Indians of the area by 1820.

In 1803 the Cherokee agreed, in principal, to a Federal Highway(Map) to join Knoxville and Savannah meeting in the area of present day Ringgold, Georgia. Road construction started immediately and when the federal government ran out of money in 1804, Georgia contributed $5,000 to its completion. The Cherokee viewed the whites desire to build such a road as a curiosity at the time, but agreed in writing to the road in the Treaty of Tellico, 1805, the year it was finished. In spite of completion of this and other roads, river travel remained the chief form of transportation in Georgia until the advent of a major rail system in the state in the 1830's.

Vann's Tavern Today this tavern sits at New Echota, but during the reign of the Cherokee in Georgia it sat near Vann's Ferry on the Chattahoochee. Vann also had a second home and land near the tavern. Photo courtesy Ken Martin, History of the Cherokee

The Federal Highway ran from Ringgold southeast to Tate, then on a more easternly route to Athens. Portions of the road are still visible, and the keen eye can see the bed even through crops that now overgrow most of the path in northcentral Georgia. Along the road white and Cherokee establishments serviced the needs of the travelers as early as 1804. Chief James Vann, whose home sits near the path of the road, controlled many of these establishments including the ferry across the Chattahoochee River, the start of Indian Territory. As the state of Alabama began to grow after the Creek War of 1814, a second set of roads was developed running west. Although discrepancies exist as to the exact routes and numbers of these trails, three and possibly four routes heading west from the Chattahoochee were called the Alabama Road. The most famous of these followed the route of the Hightower Trail, running from near the present location of Gainesville, Ga. to Cartersville(built on the Cherokee town of Hightower, then west through Euharlee. Gravestones on this route date to 1808. The first United States Post Office was established on the Federal Highway in Rossville(1819) almost 15 years before the Cherokee were forced to surrender northwest Georgia.

Counties began to organize in North Georgia. Gwinnett, Habersham and Hall Counties were formed in 1818. With Rabun County, which formed the following year, Georgia stretched from the Atlantic Coast to North Carolina. Development was slow though, because there was little to attract settlers other than those who had won land during the lottery. That was about to change. The face of North Georgia would alter dramatically with the "discovery" of gold.

Historian and author Richard Irby contributed to this article

North Georgia gold rush
North Georgia History

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