Georgia Natural Wonder #101 - Cochran Falls - Dawson County. 825

[Top Row Dawg]

Georgia Natural Wonder #101 – Cochran Falls - Dawson County

Here we are with a Full Forum so ya’ll can surf all the top 100 Georgia Natural Wonders to plan for a weekend excursion at one near you. Post some photos on here or PM me with them and I will add addendums to the Forum post.  Would really be cool to have actual photos of the highest mountains or a current image of High Shoals. Hell any photo any Forum Post is welcomed.



I have come up with about 275 more Natural Wonders. I had 100 off the top of my head, but I added 175 more today through research of tallest Mountains, biggest Swamps, reviewing my Waterfall books, etc. My research shows ………..

There are 468 Swamps in Georgia.
There are 109 Wildlife Management Areas
Speleology has so far revealed 513 Caves in Georgia
There are over 200 Waterfalls
There are 160 significant Rivers and Creeks
There are 70 State Parks and State Historic Sites
There are over 1000 Mountains
There are 11 National Parks
There are 3 National Heritage Areas
There are 2 National Trails Managed by NPS
There are 2,141 National Register of Historic Places Listings
There are 49 National Historic Landmarks
There are 11 National Natural Landmarks


Ain't nothin more Natural or Wonderful as a GNW Gal.

Now we did all the barrier Islands. We did the ten tallest mountains. We did the main Fall Line rapids and city tangents. We did the National Natural Landmarks and National Heritage Areas. We have gone Whitewater Rafting 16 times so far. We have plenty of State Parks still to explore but we have come up short on swamps and caves. So we will focus on the top ten swamps in Georgia. This will get us near some nice towns to tangent. I also have a lingering list of the best waterfalls in my personal adventures so I am going to do a back and forth Swamp to Waterfall stretch for the next twenty.





I am sure we will have covered the top ten caves, several more Whitewater spots, and all the State parks before we get to 200. Albany, Americus, Madison, Washington, Griffin, Newnan, Manchester, Tifton, Westpoint, Gainesville, Jefferson, Canton, Calhoun, Alpharetta, Bainbridge, Barnesville, Breman, Buford, Camilla, Claxton, Hawkinsville, Roswell, Carrolton, Decatur, Marietta, Douglasville, Conyers, Atlanta, Savannah, so many history tangents to go.


Sparta

But for 101 -  I am going to get personal. I made two failed expeditions to the second highest waterfall in Georgia last summer.  It was too much. I am talking about the Cochran Falls in Dawson County. I did a tangent on this when I posted about the Amicalola falls with GNW #9.


Amicalola Falls.

With a total vertical drop of 600 feet, Cochrans Falls is the second tallest waterfall in Georgia. This cascading waterfall is located in Dawson County, northwest of Dawsonville, Georgia and is in the vicinity of the tallest waterfall in the state, Amicalola Falls. The largest drop is near the top of Cochrans Falls and is accessible by a treacherous trail that ascends the right side of the falls.



Go east on GA 52 from the entrance to Amicalola State Aprk to the first entrance to Wesley Chapel Rd just inside Dawson County. Turn left on Wesley Chapel Rd. go 1.2 miles and Turn left on Dan Fowler Road. Turn left on Blackhawk Road and ford the creek within a few yards. The road parallels a field for the first 100 yards or so before reaching a fork. Take the left fork and ford Cochrans creek twice in the next 0.6 miles. Continue on this road until you decide to park and walk. There is a majestic primitive campground right there. You'll need a truck or SUV to get past the two creeks before the trail. There's another creek right at the beginning of the hike so you will start off with wet shoes!



Cochran Creek Falls is a 3.8 mile lightly trafficked out and back trail located near Amicalola, Georgia that features a waterfall and is only recommended for very experienced adventurers. The first two miles you're going to wonder why it's classified as "hard." This hike will take you to the base of the falls. The hardest part is climbing over the huge trees that have fallen across the trail. From the base to the very top of the waterfall is where it gets the most tricky. You really are climbing/scrambling and the trail can be pretty wet and muddy adding to the difficulty. We hadn't realized it at first, but the trail is marked with ORANGE THUMBTACKS. These little suckers will be your best friend. Great hike, but pictures will not do it justice.



I got to admit I failed on this hike to reach the objective. Even my dog gave up. I got no where near these main pictures of the main falls but look what I did get. It was a magical isolated cove with this raging creek gushing down the extreme slop. The Campground was primitive and huge. There was a cable stretched between trees I was able to hang my tarp. Good thing cause it did rain a bit that night. The Cochran Creek by the camp spot had some play spots.



You keep on climbing the Creek until you reach the base of the Falls, then it gets hard. There are actually several falls starting at the bottom.



You have to go right then start looking for the Thumbtacks.



You want to keep next to the falls but the Thumbtacks take you away to the right.



The cliffs got too steep to the right but there were some ropes there so I am sure that is where we should go if I go back.



I just came back to the Falls.



We made it up four falls then got to this 5th one the first time and could not get past.



The second time we went I made it above those 5th set of falls but then came to this big 6th falls.



I could see the main fall that is featured in the Internet photos way off in the distance.



Like I said this 6th fall was huge and could not be passed.




Attempted panoramic.

Lot of photos of the falls we could get near.



That was short and sweet for being so complex. If you want to take the Wilderness challenge try to conquer this fall the next time you visit Amicalola Falls.

Dammit, this couple just posted on Facebook how they made it. Here are some of their images.



Tangent Dawson County and Dawsonville.

Dawson County, in northeast Georgia, is the state's 119th county. It was carved from parts of Gilmer and Lumpkin counties in 1857 and named for Judge William Crosby Dawson, a native Georgian who served in the state legislature and in the U.S. Senate.


Dawson and Grave in Greensboro.

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 214 square miles, of which 211 square miles is land and 3.6 square miles (1.7%) is water. Part of Lake Lanier is in the southeastern part of the county and the boundary line with neighboring counties pass through the lake.



The 729-foot Amicalola Falls, are located in the county. The Amicalola Falls are the highest in Georgia, the tallest cascading waterfall east of the Mississippi River, and one of the Seven Natural Wonders of Georgia.



The highest point in the county is Black Mountain, with an elevation of 3,600 feet. 6,760 acres, which is located in the Chattahoochee National Forest.



The Chestatee and Etowah rivers flow through Dawson County. The vast majority of Dawson County is located in the Etowah River sub-basin of the ACT River Basin (Coosa-Tallapoosa River Basin). The southeastern tip of the county is located in the Upper Chattahoochee River sub-basin of the ACF River Basin (Apalachicola-Chattahoochee-Flint River Basin), and a very small northern section of Dawson County is located in the Coosawattee River Basin.



Dawsonville, the county seat, was incorporated on December 10, 1859. The current courthouse opened in 1980, replacing one that was constructed around 1858 and has since been restored.



Both courthouses are used for official business, with the older one also functioning as a community center and venue for art shows and other exhibitions.



Dawson County is included in the Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GA Metropolitan Statistical Area.



History

The area was inhabited by Cherokee Indians until gold was discovered in north Georgia in 1829. The gold rush brought numerous white prospectors into the region, which Georgia claimed as state territory in 1832. The sad result for the Cherokees was their forcible removal from the land, which was divided among the white settlers through the Georgia land lotteries. Gold was mined on a commercial scale over the next several decades.



Civil War

The 1860s brought war and hardships to the people of Dawson County. Many men of Dawson County answered the call and went to fight in the Civil War. The following Confederate units were raised in Dawson County:

21st Regiment, Georgia Infantry, Company E Concord Rangers
22nd Regiment, Georgia Infantry, Company I, Dawson County Independents
38th Regiment, Georgia Infantry, Company I (Wright's Legion), Dawson Farmers
38th Regiment, Georgia Infantry, Company L (Wright's Legion)
52nd Regiment, Georgia Volunteer Infantry, Company I



The area was a Unionist stronghold during the Civil War (1861-65). Men from Dawson, Pickens, and Union counties created the First Georgia State Troops Volunteers, a full Union regiment. The following Union units were raised in Dawson County:

1st Georgia Infantry Battalion (Union), Companies B and C



Some of these soldiers were later murdered by Confederate guerrillas.

Post Civil War to present

Despite the allure of gold mining, the primary economic focus of the county for most of its existence, especially in the north, was farming. During and after the prohibition era of the 1920s and early 1930s, Dawson County was also an active site for the manufacture and transportation of moonshine.



The county is known in auto racing circles for its long tradition of involvement in the sport, which was established in the 20th century; many of the original NASCAR racers came from this area. Local racing skills are said to have been developed by men who ran moonshine down Highway 9, also known as Thunder Road, to Atlanta. Celebrations of Dawson County's history and of its "likker" involvement occur every October with the Moonshine Festival.



Locals have referred to Dawson County as the Moonshine Capital of the World. This title is claimed by many other areas but is fiercely defended by residents of this area. They took advantage of its relative isolation and the ability to move so much moonshine to the larger cities, especially Atlanta, during the Prohibition era.



With the incursion of the boll weevil and the rising cost of mining operations, both cotton agriculture and gold mining suffered during the 1930s. County citizens, seeing more opportunity in Atlanta, began to leave the area, and whole communities disappeared. The population continued to decline until the 1970s, when several factors combined to reverse the trend. Chief among these was the development of the northwestern shore of Lake Lanier (created in the late 1950s) by people building weekend houses. Others, many of them retirees, settled more permanently in the new lake community.



During this time, northern Dawson County also began to draw visitors to its mountains and forests, including the Amicalola Falls State Park. In 1911 the government purchased 31,000 acres from the owners of a lumber company. This property, along with other land, became the Chattahoochee National Forest in 1936.



The purchase of 10,000 acres of land from Lockheed-Georgia (later Lockheed Martin) in 1971 allowed the county to establish the Dawson Forest Wildlife Management Area. This state-managed game preserve, located just south of Amicalola Falls State Park, brought in more tourists.



Finally, the building of Georgia 400, a toll road extending northward from Midtown Atlanta through Dawson County and ending in neighboring Lumpkin County, played a major role in the county's growth.



In the twenty-first century Dawson County has become one of the top poultry-producing areas in the state.



Additional places of interest include the old county jail, which has been restored and is now the county's welcome center;



The old Lumpkin Campground, which was established in 1830 as a Methodist camp-meeting site and is still in use for Methodist and Baptist camp meetings;



And Steele's Covered Bridge.



Since 1966 the county has hosted an annual Moonshine Festival in celebration of its history.



In 2000 the Kangaroo Conservation Center, established originally in Alpharetta, opened on eighty-seven acres in Dawsonville. The center is home to approximately 300 kangaroos, as well as to Australian birds, reptiles, and plants.



Education

Dawson County currently serves grades K-12. It has a total of 7 schools: one for Pre-K, four for grades K-5, one for grades 6-7, one for grades 8-9, and a high school for grades 10-12. According to the 2010 U.S. census, the population is 22,330, an increase from the 2000 population of 15,999.

Incorporated Cities

Dawsonville

History

Dawsonville was founded in 1857 as seat of the newly formed Dawson County. It was incorporated as a town in 1859 and as a city in 1952. The community and the county are named for state senator William Crosby Dawson. (See above)

Auto racing

The city's community is known in auto racing circles for its long tradition of involvement in the sport; many racing skills originally developed as a consequence of moonshine activity in the area. Dawsonville celebrates this every October with the yearly "Mountain Moonshine Festival".



Dawsonville is the home of retired NASCAR driver Bill Elliott, who won the Winston Cup championship in 1988 and was inducted into the NASCAR Hall of Fame in 2015, and his son Chase Elliott, who currently races in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series. Bill Elliott's nickname is "Awesome Bill from Dawsonville". The city hall has a racing theme as well. After a significant racing accomplishment happened from Bill or happens from Chase, such as a win, the Dawsonville siren goes off to let the town know.



Unincorporated Communities

Juno & Afton


Old Grocery Store Juno.

Private Communities

There are large, gated private communities that function similar to a municipality providing many municipal-type services that operate independently of county government.

Paradise Valley Resort (a private residential/recreational community)



Big Canoe





Notable people

• Bill Elliott, "Awesome Bill from Dawsonville", former stock car driver, 1988 NASCAR Winston Cup Series Champion, winner of the Winston Million in 1985. These two main Dawsonville fellows linked and photographed above.

• Chase Elliott, stock car driver and son of Bill Elliott, currently driving the No. 9 Chevrolet for Hendrick Motorsports

• Jerry Glanville, National Football League head coach, NASCAR driver



• Bill Goldberg, professional wrestler and actor; once resided in Dawsonville



• Roy Hall, moonshine runner and early stock car racing driver, cousin of Lloyd Seay



• Corey Johnson, professional male runway model, actor, producer.



• Raymond Parks, moonshine runner and NASCAR pioneer regarded as the first "team" owner in stock car racing, a relative of Seay and Hall.



• Lloyd Seay, moonshine runner and early stock car racing driver, cousin of Roy Hall.



• Gober Sosebee, race car driver.



Today's GNW gals love their Shine!