Toccoa, Georgia | |
|---|---|
 Aerial view of Toccoa | |
 Logo | |
| Nickname: Toccoa the Beautiful[1] | |
| Motto: "The Heart of Northeast Georgia"[2] | |
 Location inStephens County and the state ofGeorgia | |
| Coordinates:34°34′29″N83°19′12″W / 34.57472°N 83.32000°W /34.57472; -83.32000 | |
| Country | United States |
| State | Georgia |
| County | Stephens |
| Government | |
| • Mayor | Gail Fry |
| Area | |
• Total | 9.23 sq mi (23.90 km2) |
| • Land | 9.16 sq mi (23.72 km2) |
| • Water | 0.066 sq mi (0.17 km2) |
| Elevation | 994 ft (303 m) |
| Population (2020) | |
• Total | 9,133 |
| • Density | 997.1/sq mi (384.97/km2) |
| Time zone | UTC−5 (Eastern (EST)) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC−4 (EDT) |
| ZIP code | 30577 |
| Area code | 706 |
| FIPS code | 13-76756[4] |
| GNIS feature ID | 0333240[5] |
| Website | cityoftoccoa.com |
Toccoa is a city in and thecounty seat ofStephens County,Georgia,United States.[6] It lies in the state's far northeast near the border withSouth Carolina, about 50 miles (80 km) fromAthens and about 90 miles (140 km) northeast ofAtlanta. The population was 9,133 as of the 2020 census.
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Mississippian andYuchi Indians, linked to theMuscogee Creek confederacy and later allies of theCherokee, occupied Tugaloo and the area of Toccoa for over 1,000 years prior to colonization.
Salvage archeological studies were conducted by Dr. Joseph Caldwell of theUniversity of Georgia in 1957, prior to flooding of this area after construction of a dam downriver. He determined the first settlement existed from about 800 to 1700, when the village was burned. By that time, it was occupied by proto-Creek who were descendants of the Mississippians. Colonial maps until the American Revolution identified this village as one of the Hogeloge people, now known asYuchi. While they later became allies of the Cherokee, they were of a different ethnicity and language group.
"Saturday the 25th day of September 1725. About four of the Clock in the Afternoon came in the War hoop from Ouconey with a piece of a Scalp of one of the Enemies Scouts, giving an Accot that Scouts being in Number Twenty four that went out from old Estotoe, and Toxsoah having come upon the tracts of three of the Enemy found they were made downwards towards the other Towns (on wch) they Concluded to waylay the Path thinking by that means to Catch the Enemy being three in Number returning back to their old tracts near Estotoe from Town to Town."
Indian agent Col. George Chicken was one of the first English colonists to mention Toccoa in his journal from 1725, calling it Toxsoah.[7]
As early as 1740, theUnicoi Turnpike, an importantNative American trading path, connectedTennessee toSavannah by way of Toccoa.[8][9] The route began on theSavannah River, just below the entrance ofToccoa Creek.[10] In 1830, it was converted to a toll road.[11]
Americans first settled Toccoa after theAmerican Revolutionary War, when the government gave land grants in lieu of pay owed to veterans. A group led by Col. William H. Wofford moved to the area when the war ended. It became known as Wofford's Tract, or Wofford's Settlement. Col. Wofford is buried nearToccoa Falls. His son,William T. Wofford, was born near Toccoa, then part ofHabersham County. Travelers had to rely on using fords, and later ferries, to cross the Tugaloo River. James Jeremiah Prather built the swinging Prather's Bridge in 1804, but it was washed away during a freshet, an overflow caused by heavy rain.
Georgia conducted aLand Lottery of 1820, although the Cherokee had not yet ceded this area to the United States. Scots-Irish who acquired land in the lottery moved to this area from the backcountry of North Carolina and the Georgia coast. TheGeorgia Gold Rush, starting in 1828, also attracted many new settlers to North Georgia.[12]
Americans pressed the government to take over the land of the Five Civilized Tribes, seeking cheaper land to develop for cotton plantations. Short-staple cotton, which could be grown in the uplands through this area, had become profitable since the invention of thecotton gin for processing it. At the urging of PresidentAndrew Jackson, Congress passed theIndian Removal Act of 1830, authorizing the government to force cessions of land by Southeast tribes in exchange for lands west of theMississippi River, in what became known asIndian Territory, now Oklahoma. The 1838removal of the Cherokee on the infamous "Trail of Tears" extinguished most of their land claims to this area. The US government released former Cherokee and Creek (Muscogee) lands for sale and American settlement.[13]
A more substantial bridge was built across the Tugaloo River in 1850. That year James D. Prather supervised the construction of his plantation house known as Riverside, on a hill overlooking the upperTugalo River. The Greek revivalantebellum house was built by his African-American slaves, and the timber for the house was harvested from his plantation. The Prather family cemetery was developed to the right of the house.
During the Civil War, GeneralRobert Toombs, a close friend of Prather, used this house as a refuge from Union troops.[14] The soldiers pursued him to Riverside,[15] but he hid and escaped capture.
The Prather Bridge was burned in 1863 by Confederate troops during the Civil War to keep the Union enemy from crossing. James Jeremiah Prather and his son, James Devereaux Prather, rebuilt the bridge in 1868. This bridge lasted until 1918, when it was washed away. It was rebuilt in 1920 by James D. Prather. It was afterward replaced by a concrete bridge, but the wooden bridge was kept as a landmark. Vandals burned it down in 1978.
According to historical accounts, the Johns House, a Victorian cottage near Prather Bridge Road, was built in 1898. When the Georgia General Assembly created Stephens County in 1905, Toccoa was established as the county seat.[16]
President Franklin Delano Roosevelt visited Toccoa on March 23, 1938, during theGreat Depression. Roosevelt's train made a brief stop there, and he made remarks from the rear platform of the presidential train. He traveled toGainesville to deliver a major speech, and finished atWarm Springs for a vacation.[17]
Camp Toccoa was developed nearby as aWorld War IIparatrooper training base. It was the first training base for the506th Parachute Infantry Regiment of the Army's101st Airborne Division. ItsEasy Company was subject of the non-fiction book and an HBO miniseries adaptation of the same name:Band of Brothers.[18]
Traveler's Rest, an antebellum 19th-century inn, known locally as Jarrett Manor, is located outside Toccoa. It stands nearLake Hartwell, which was created by flooding an area of theTugaloo River after completion of theHartwell Dam in 1962. The inn has been designated as aNational Historic Landmark.
Toccoa Falls is located on the campus ofToccoa Falls College. The short 100-yard path to the base of the 186-foot (57 m) high natural waterfall is gravel-paved and easily walkable.
Toccoa is located at34°34′29″N83°19′12″W / 34.57472°N 83.32000°W /34.57472; -83.32000 (34.574725, −83.319865).[19]
According to theUnited States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 8.4 square miles (22 km2), of which 8.3 square miles (21 km2) is land and 0.1 square miles (0.26 km2) (0.60%) is water.
Altitude is 313 m (1,027 ft).
Toccoa has ahumid subtropical climate similar to much of the rest of the state of Georgia.
| Climate data for Toccoa, Georgia, 1991–2020 normals, extremes 1891–present | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Record high °F (°C) | 82 (28) | 83 (28) | 93 (34) | 95 (35) | 99 (37) | 104 (40) | 107 (42) | 104 (40) | 104 (40) | 99 (37) | 89 (32) | 80 (27) | 107 (42) |
| Mean maximum °F (°C) | 70.0 (21.1) | 73.1 (22.8) | 81.0 (27.2) | 86.2 (30.1) | 89.4 (31.9) | 94.2 (34.6) | 96.1 (35.6) | 95.3 (35.2) | 92.5 (33.6) | 85.9 (29.9) | 78.7 (25.9) | 71.1 (21.7) | 97.1 (36.2) |
| Mean daily maximum °F (°C) | 52.7 (11.5) | 56.5 (13.6) | 64.2 (17.9) | 72.9 (22.7) | 79.8 (26.6) | 86.2 (30.1) | 89.3 (31.8) | 88.0 (31.1) | 83.1 (28.4) | 73.7 (23.2) | 63.7 (17.6) | 55.4 (13.0) | 72.1 (22.3) |
| Daily mean °F (°C) | 42.9 (6.1) | 46.0 (7.8) | 52.8 (11.6) | 60.8 (16.0) | 68.7 (20.4) | 76.0 (24.4) | 79.2 (26.2) | 78.2 (25.7) | 73.0 (22.8) | 62.6 (17.0) | 52.3 (11.3) | 45.5 (7.5) | 61.5 (16.4) |
| Mean daily minimum °F (°C) | 33.1 (0.6) | 35.5 (1.9) | 41.4 (5.2) | 48.8 (9.3) | 57.6 (14.2) | 65.7 (18.7) | 69.1 (20.6) | 68.4 (20.2) | 62.9 (17.2) | 51.4 (10.8) | 40.9 (4.9) | 35.6 (2.0) | 50.9 (10.5) |
| Mean minimum °F (°C) | 16.6 (−8.6) | 20.4 (−6.4) | 26.8 (−2.9) | 35.8 (2.1) | 43.8 (6.6) | 57.8 (14.3) | 62.8 (17.1) | 63.5 (17.5) | 52.3 (11.3) | 37.4 (3.0) | 27.7 (−2.4) | 23.6 (−4.7) | 14.2 (−9.9) |
| Record low °F (°C) | −5 (−21) | −1 (−18) | 9 (−13) | 25 (−4) | 33 (1) | 39 (4) | 51 (11) | 50 (10) | 34 (1) | 25 (−4) | 9 (−13) | 1 (−17) | −5 (−21) |
| Averageprecipitation inches (mm) | 5.52 (140) | 5.01 (127) | 5.37 (136) | 4.64 (118) | 4.07 (103) | 5.05 (128) | 4.17 (106) | 5.70 (145) | 4.56 (116) | 4.81 (122) | 4.38 (111) | 5.76 (146) | 59.04 (1,498) |
| Average snowfall inches (cm) | 0.5 (1.3) | 0.4 (1.0) | 0.0 (0.0) | 0.0 (0.0) | 0.0 (0.0) | 0.0 (0.0) | 0.0 (0.0) | 0.0 (0.0) | 0.0 (0.0) | 0.0 (0.0) | 0.0 (0.0) | 0.5 (1.3) | 1.4 (3.6) |
| Average precipitation days(≥ 0.01 in) | 10.8 | 10.5 | 10.9 | 10.1 | 10.0 | 11.8 | 11.9 | 11.4 | 8.4 | 7.9 | 8.8 | 11.0 | 123.5 |
| Average snowy days(≥ 0.1 in) | 0.2 | 0.2 | 0.1 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.2 | 0.7 |
| Source 1: NOAA[20] | |||||||||||||
| Source 2: National Weather Service[21] | |||||||||||||
| Census | Pop. | Note | %± |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1880 | 679 | — | |
| 1890 | 1,120 | 64.9% | |
| 1900 | 2,176 | 94.3% | |
| 1910 | 3,120 | 43.4% | |
| 1920 | 3,567 | 14.3% | |
| 1930 | 4,602 | 29.0% | |
| 1940 | 5,494 | 19.4% | |
| 1950 | 6,781 | 23.4% | |
| 1960 | 7,303 | 7.7% | |
| 1970 | 6,971 | −4.5% | |
| 1980 | 8,869 | 27.2% | |
| 1990 | 8,266 | −6.8% | |
| 2000 | 9,323 | 12.8% | |
| 2010 | 8,491 | −8.9% | |
| 2020 | 9,133 | 7.6% | |
| 2022 (est.) | 9,146 | [22] | 0.1% |
| U.S. Decennial Census[23] | |||
 | This article needs to beupdated. Please help update this article to reflect recent events or newly available information.(April 2016) |
| Race | Num. | Perc. |
|---|---|---|
| White | 6,316 | 69.16% |
| Black or African American | 1,856 | 20.32% |
| Native American | 29 | 0.32% |
| Asian | 93 | 1.02% |
| Pacific Islander | 3 | 0.03% |
| Other/Mixed | 502 | 5.5% |
| Hispanic orLatino | 334 | 3.66% |
As of the2020 United States census, there were 9,133 people, 3,359 households, and 2,135 families residing in the city.
As of the census of 2010, Toccoa had a population of 8,491. The July 2014 population estimate was 8,257. The median age of a Toccoa resident is 35.4. The number of companies in Toccoa is 1,135. In educational attainment, high school graduate or higher percentage was 84.1%. The total housing units in Toccoa is 4,009. The median household income was $34,047. The foreign-born population was 213. The percentage of individuals below the poverty level was 24.4%.[25]
Stephens County Development Authority (SCDA) was established in 1965 to continue and sustain the growth ofNortheast Georgia.[26] SCDA is responsible for the recruitment of new businesses such as industrial, manufacturing, distribution, corporate and regional headquarters and customer service centers.[27] SCDA serves the following cities: Toccoa,Eastanollee,Martin, andAvalon.Major industrial parks in the area are Toccoa Industrial Park, Meadowbrook Industrial Park, and Hayestone Brady Business Park.[28]
The top Stephens County employers in descending order are the Stephens County School System, Caterpillar, Patterson Pump, ASI (GEM Industries), American Woodmark Corp., Standard Register, Sage Automotive Interiors, Habersham Plantation, Toccoa Falls College, Coats & Clark, Eaton Corporation, and PTL Company (an elevator fixtures and parts manufacturer).[29] Founded and headquartered in Toccoa, 1st Franklin Financial Corporation is a regional financial services company with more than 1,300 employees.[30]
Annual events include the Currahee Military Weekend, the Ida Cox Music Series, Toast of Toccoa, Summer Movies at the Ritz, Costume Parade, Harvest Festival, ChristmasFest, and Christmas Parade.
Toccoa is the home of a regional orchestra. The Toccoa Symphony Orchestra[31] is made up of volunteer musicians from the surrounding community, inSouth Carolina, andGeorgia. The symphony exists to provide quality symphonic music to the region and to bring together musicians from throughout northeast Georgia.
The symphony was founded in 1977 by Pinkie Craft Ware and Archie Sharretts, both music educators. Since its founding, the symphony has performed at least three concerts every season. It is supported by a board of directors and an extensive network of patrons.
The orchestra collaborates with many musicians and provides a wide range of concert experiences. The ensemble has premiered works by young composers, presents a yearly Christmas concert with a one hundred voice choir,[32] and incorporates budding performers from nearby Toccoa Falls College.
The rock bandLuxury originated in Toccoa, at Toccoa Falls College, in the early 1990s.
The Miles Through Time Automotive Museum was a co-op style automotive museum in a restored 1939 dealership but has moved to Clarkesville, GA in Habersham County.[33] There are over 100 years of automotive history on display. Vehicles can be stored, listed on consignment, for sale by owner or donated and everything is displayed as museum exhibits.
The Currahee Military Museum, located in downtown Toccoa at the original train station where arrivingGIs would disembark, is dedicated to theparatroopers ofWorld War II who trained atCamp Toccoa. Camp Toccoa was located just outside the city, at the foot ofCurrahee Mountain, and was formerly known as Camp Toombs. The museum houses the originalAldbourne stables whereparatroopers of the101st Airborne Division were housed temporarily in England in 1944.
Only one building remains of the original Camp Toccoa. The building is believed to be a former food supply storage facility, based on its position near the former camp's gates and the foundation's construction. It was donated to the museum in 2011 by the Milliken company, which was using it as a machine shop. The museum intends to restore the building, along with the surrounding grounds.
On the first Saturday of every October, a six-mile race is held along the Colonel Sink Trail, the same trail used by the paratroopers as part of their training for combat. Known as one of the most daunting races in America. The common refrain is "Three Miles Up And Three Miles Down." The race is part of the Currahee Military Weekend, which features World War IImilitary reenactments in a staged military camp, weapons demonstrations, book signings by veterans, a parade through the downtown historic district, a hangar dance at the airport, and a specialbanquet featuring keynote speakers and veterans.
The Ritz Theatre is a restored 1939 Art Deco movie theater, located in the Downtown Toccoa Historic District at 139 Doyle Street. It is an active venue for a variety of entertainment.
"Born from fire, and twice rebuilt from ashes, Downtown Toccoa's Albemarle Hotel has witnessed Toccoa's growth, and its struggles, for more than 100 years." The current building, dating from the 1930s, retains some of the previous structure.[34] For many years, it was known as the Alexander Apartments. The hotel is located in the Downtown Toccoa Historic District, and is on the National Register of Historic Places.[35]
Stephens County Schools[36] serves students in preschool through grade twelve. There are four elementary schools, a middle school, and a high school.[37] The district has 304 full-time teachers and over 4,405 students.[38]
Stephens County High School finished building its new facility in the spring of 2012. It includes a four-sided gymnasium arena, better fine arts facilities, and a larger media center.
Toccoa is the home ofToccoa Falls College, a private Christian college.North Georgia Technical College has the Currahee campus just south of Toccoa.
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Amtrak'sCrescent connects Toccoa with the cities ofNew York,Philadelphia,Baltimore,Washington,Charlotte,Atlanta,Birmingham, andNew Orleans. TheAmtrak station is at 47 North Alexander Street. The Amtrak line is shared with theNorfolk Southern Railway. Before Amtrak, Toccoa was a stop on theAirline Belle, a regional train of theSouthern Railway from 1879 to 1931.
Toccoa is also home to theToccoa Airport, a small executive airport to the northeast of town. The airport was built byR.G. LeTourneau and is sometimes referred to as R.G. LeTourneau Field.
The nearest interstate highway isInterstate 85.State Route 17 bypasses Toccoa, with an alternate route through the city.U.S. Route 123/State Route 365 runs through Toccoa as well.
The Toccoa Record newspaper was founded in 1873.
TheWNEG (AM) and 93.1 FM radio station broadcasts from Toccoa. It first went on the air in 1956.
Downtown Toccoa is located nearthe courthouse and the train depot, which connects to Atlanta. From the 1950s through the 1980s, business bustled in this "mall." Each day, people would flood to shop in downtown Toccoa. Several national retail outlets were then located in downtown Toccoa, including theBelk Gallant department store.
In the early 1960s, around the country, local downtown businesses faced competition with large shopping malls, and many began to fail. As an answer to the depressed conditions in downtowns, Toccoa and many other towns erected concrete canopies and closed streets to create a pedestrian mall. In less than ten years, it was evident that instead of enhancing businesses and creating a positive downtown image, these canopies actually accelerated the downtown's decline.
When the Belk Gallant department store announced it was going to move along a four lane road called Big A, community leaders organized Main Street Toccoa in 1990. In 1991, the Georgia Department of Community Affairs Resource Team recommended that the canopies be removed and that the street be opened once again to vehicular traffic. However, for many years, the project was not supported.
During that time, Main Street Toccoa implemented many changes and improvements to the downtown mall area. Brick pavers were installed and trees were planted. However, the canopies themselves began to deteriorate, and no support was found to repair them. During this time, businesses continued to flounder and many of the buildings were empty and in disrepair.
Over time, however, with growing support, approval was given to start the canopy removal project. Efforts that helped contribute community support for the project included county-wide public surveys, a University of Georgia market study, a UGA design charrette, and renderings of individual buildings without the canopies provided by the GA Trust for Historic Preservation and UGA Community Design Planning and Preservation. To gather the necessary funds for the project, Toccoa partnered with six state agencies (Appalachian Regional Commission, Georgia Department of Community Affairs, One Georgia Authority, United States Department of Agriculture, and Georgia Department of Transportation) that provided $1.3 million, with additional local funding of $552,000.
During the canopy removal and street re-opening project, private interest in downtown increased. In 2008, downtown saw 33 storefronts renovated, under the guidance of the Georgia Mountains Regional Development Center Historic Preservation Planner, 11 new business, 17 new jobs, 28 part-time jobs and 68 full-time equivalent jobs retained, and private investment of $3.5 million. Main Street was re-opened to vehicular traffic.
The Currahee Military Museum, featured in the PBS seriesGA Traveler, and named one of the best museums along the East Coast by the magazineBlue Ridge Mountain, is another attraction that continues downtown's resurgence. Located in the restored historictrain depot, the museum features a massive exhibit of506's Easy Company memorabilia. This World War II paratrooper company was popularized by the HBO miniseriesBand of Brothers. The depot housing this museum was recently restored to its pre-1940s appearance.
Previously used as a maintenance and storage area for Norfolk Southern, the depot was transformed into a publicly owned building that is home to the Chamber, Welcome Center, Stephens County Historical Society Museum, the Currahee Military Museum, and Amtrak. Project funding was received through Transportation Enhancement Activity and GDOT funds of $400,000; local funding of $100,000, and private investment funds of over $500,000.
Enhancing Toccoa as a Northeast Georgia destination is the courthouse, which anchors the downtown district.
Toccoa has no activesister city program. In the 1970s, a sister city relationship was established withMeßstetten,Germany, but the relationship has not been renewed.[39]
The following list includes notable people who were born or have lived in Toccoa.
The novelFireworks Over Toccoa by Jeffrey Stepakoff was published by St. Martin's Press and released nationwide on March 30, 2010. A day-long celebration was held in Toccoa culminating in a fireworks display at Boyd Field in the evening.
Several films have been shot in Toccoa:[47]
The Weather Channel remembered the 1977Toccoa Falls dam break and flood.[48]
On May 7, 2000, Mary Ann Stephens of Toccoa was shot to death outside aRamada Inn inJacksonville, Florida while on vacation with her husband. The incident received national attention and resulted in an Academy Award-winning French documentary,Murder on a Sunday Morning, on the arrest and acquittal of the original suspect.[49]
On November 6, 1977, the earthenKelly Barnes Dam failed and released over 170 million gallons of water above theToccoa Falls College campus. The failure killed 20 children and 19 adults.[50]First LadyRosalynn Carter visited Toccoa the next day.[51]
toxsoah .
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Municipalities and communities ofStephens County, Georgia,United States | ||
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| Unincorporated communities | ||
| Footnotes | ‡This populated place also has portions in an adjacent county or counties | |
| International | |
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| National | |
| Geographic | |
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