Georgia Natural Wonder #105 - Little Rock Creek & Fall Branch Falls - Fannin Co. 1627

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Georgia Natural Wonder #105 - Little Rock Creek Falls – Fall Branch Falls - Fannin County

I have had my waterfall book by Mark Morrison for years. It really opened up my explorations and weekend adventures of the North Georgia Mountains. This was one of the first waterfall hikes me and my wife took back in the late 1980’s. For today’s post I explore two relatively close to each other waterfalls and glorious Fannin County as a side tangent.



Directions:

From Blue Ridge follow old US 76 east 5 miles to the intersection with GA 60 and go south at Lakewood Junction. Continue south on GA 60, 11.3 miles through the small town of Morganton. There is an old but still-operational mill on the northeast side of the highway. A commercial campground is also located on this site. After crossing Skeenah Creek, continue south on GA 60 another 3.1 miles to the intersection with FS 69, Fish Hatchery Road, on the right.  If you get to Shady Grove Church, you’ve just missed it. It may also be called Rock Creek Rd. but you go right like you are going to the Fish Hatchery,  about 3 miles to where the road crosses Little Rock Creek.



There is a small bridge going over the creek in a tight hair pin curve - park at the bridge and the trail is on the left.



The trail leading to the falls is on the bank on the East side of the road. Enter the woods on the left side of the bridge, looking up stream. Take the upper trail that slants away from/above the creek.


My wife at the Falls years ago.

There are several small falls before the main one. Due to storm damage, the trail is a difficult footpath that follows the left side of the creek and goes only part way to the falls.



The trail is not marked but it is easy to follow. It is a "trail by consensus" in that it meanders up and down the mountain side at the least obstacle. In some cases. it goes over or through.



Don't go farther than this unless you are careful because there are dangerous, slippery rocks.


Wife from downstream.

The pathway has crude white blazes but is very hard to keep track of in places. At .15 of a mile cross a small wet weather branch as you trace a hollow. At .35 of a mile cross another small branch while passing through a second hollow. At .45 of a mile arrive at the fall's viewing area.

Three reviews on Trip Advisor:

The hike is fairy technical. The hike took us about 50 minutes round trip. It was so worth it! There were several fallen trees that you have to go under, over, or around and there are slippery rocks. I highly recommend good trail shoes. You can see the falls before you get there. You can feel the mist from the water - it’s great! It’s quite a hidden treasure! If you are nearby, it’s totally worth it.


TRD 100 pounds ago.

Even though it is only a 1.1 mile in/out hike to Little Rock Creek Falls it is well worth the hike. It is at the end of an undeveloped trail with lots of fallen trees you must go over, under or around. This is, however, what makes the short hike worth the trip. We looked hard and found only one very old white diamond blaze. If you stay next to the creek you can get there and back without a problem. I would strongly suggest long pants for this walk. If you should have a balance problem then skip this one. When you leave the hike take a short ride further down the road to the fish hatchery, it’s a good side trip especially if you have children. But…I would not suggest children under 4 for the hike.


TRD 10 years later with the kids in the rain.

Worth the Hike, Please be careful with kids, Its slippery around the Hiking and hold on to the Roots of Trees. Very steep but the picture is worth a million words.



Waterfall Info: This is the only significant waterfall on Little Rock Creek, but it's a stunning one! A small 10-foot waterfall/cascade is located a short distance downstream from the main falls.
Landowner: Chattahoochee National Forest (Blue Ridge Wildlife Management Area)
Height: 35 Feet
Type: Cascade and Near Free-Fall (Double-Tier)
County: Fannin
Access Info: Little Rock Creek Falls is accessed via a moderate unofficial trail (mostly flat but some downed trees) from FS 69 (Rock Creek Road).
Waterfall Location: 34.713854, -84.146041


Little Rock Creek Falls is nice and is in a scenic area, but can be difficult and dangerous to get to. Underbrush can be very thick getting to the trail.

While we are in the area of Hwy. 60 in Fannin County, we want to document one other fall west of Hwy. 60. We refer to the Fall Branch Falls.



Directions From Blue Ridge: Take old Highway 76 through Blue Ridge. Turn right on Aska Road, the first road after the three-way stop sign. Go 8.0 miles and turn right on Stanley Creek Road. Go 3.1 miles to the "parking lot" on the right just past the bridge over Falls Branch, just past the game warden's house (marked). Our suggestion is to turn your car around before you park here; parking is frequently a problem.

Fall Branch Falls: the hike

The hike departs a trailhead off the gravel-paved Stanley Creek Road (view maps and driving directions). The trailhead is well-marked with a sign that’s nestled between two lichen-covered boulders. To begin the hike, look for the sign, and the Benton MacKaye Trail’s signature white diamond-shaped trail blazes.


My photo of Falls from 30 years ago.

The hike follows the Benton MacKaye Trail uphill, climbing alongside Fall Branch Creek. Beyond the trailhead, Fall Branch flows into Stanley Creek, a tributary of the Toccoa River (the same river famous for the Toccoa River swinging bridge, another short, popular and scenic hike on the Benton MacKaye Trail near Blue Ridge). The hike follows the creek upstream, catching sight of several small waterfalls as it tumbles over its rocky creek bed. Leathery-leafed rhododendron line the creek’s banks, their blue-green leaves contrasting with the rich, reddish-brown forest soil.



The hike continues its climb, following the Benton MacKaye Trail’s white diamond blazes uphill. Several large-trunked trees flank the trail’s sides, climbing tall into the forest canopy and shading the forest floor. Soft green moss thrives in this shady, cool, damp environment.



The waterfall’s roar becomes increasingly louder as the trail crests near Fall Branch Falls. A short side trail leads downhill to the falls, where a wooden observation deck offers great views of this multi-tiered waterfall.



Moss, fern and rhododendron cling to the steep-sided cliff, basking in the waterfall’s cool mist.



The area below the falls makes a great place for a mid-hike picnic or water break, with the ultra-scenic backdrop of the tumbling waterfall and the wonderfully tranquil sound of falling water.


Another TRD image from years ago.

After soaking in the beauty, this hike retraces its outbound steps on the Benton MacKaye Trail, descending to the trailhead and finishing the adventure at just over .5 mile. That was pretty easy those two hikes, so let's do a history tangent on Fannin County and the town of Blue Ridge.

Fannin County.

Fannin County, in the Blue Ridge Mountains of north Georgia, was formed January 21, 1854, when Governor Herschel Johnson signed into law an act proposed by state senator Benjamin F. Chastain of Old Gilmer. The law divided portions of Union and Gilmer counties to create Georgia's 107th county.


Benjamin Chastain

Benjamin Chastain was an early settler in North Georgia, and he and his sons were quite involved in Georgia politics. Benjamin was a son of the Rev. John Chastain and was born July 6, 1780 in a section of western North Carolina that later became the state of Tennessee. This coincided with Rev. John's pioneering work of spreading the Baptist faith in that area. Rev. John moved his family to Pendleton District in South Carolina before 1790, and the young Benjamin went with him. Benjamin married Rebeckah Denton on January 30, 1798, and most of their children were born in South Carolina. Benjamin moved his family into Cherokee territory in North Georgia by 1820. He served in the Georgia House of Representatives, representing Habersham County, in 1826, 1827, and 1831-1834. Habersham County was created in 1818. He moved to the Toccoa River as an Indian agent and opened the first post office in that area. His public service was the first of considerable political involvement by his family.



Of Benjamin's five sons, four served in the Georgia state legislature. Jeremiah S. Chastain served in the House of Representatives from Lumpkin County in 1839. He was also sheriff of Lumpkin County in 1842-46. John Bunyan Chastain served in the Georgia Senate from Union County in 1835, in the House of Representatives from Union County in 1851-1852, and possibly the Georgia Senate again from Fannin County in 1875-76, and 1877. Benjamin Franklin Chastain served in the Georgia Senate from Gilmer County in 1853-54 and from Fannin County in 1855-56. Elijah Webb Chastain was the only Chastain to serve in the national congress. He first represented Gilmer County in the Georgia Senate in 1840-43 and 1845-46. Then he served in the U. S. House of Representatives in 1851-55. The fifth son Jonathan Davis Chastain was Clerk of the Superior Court in Lumpkin County in 1834 and represented Gilmer County at the 1839 convention. However, his son Joseph Pearson Chastain seems to have been the representative from Gilmer County in the 1871-72 Georgia House of Representatives. These brothers were all first cousins to Alabama's Edward Chastain.


Men gather on the steps of the post office (far right) on Main Street in Mineral Bluff, a community in Fannin County, circa 1910.

Three of Benjamin's sons and a son-in-law also followed him in Indian affairs by participating in the Florida Seminole War. Elijah Webb Formed a company to fight the Seminoles and was elected Captain. He later became Colonel of a Regiment. Benjamin Franklin was Adjutant Major in General Nelson's Brigade. John Bunyan was a Captain in General Nelson's Brigade. James Kincaid, husband of Martha Chastain, also volunteered.The Benjamin Chastain home on the Toccoa River is now under water. In 1930, a dam was built across the Toccoa River to create Lake Blue Ridge, which covers the site.



Located on former Cherokee land, the new county was named for Georgia native James Walker Fannin Jr., a soldier in the Texas Revolution. He and his 342 Brazos volunteers were captured and massacred at Fort Goliad, Texas, on March 27, 1836. Because 141 of Fannin's men were Georgians, state representative Elijah W. Chastain suggested the name Fannin to honor the "Hero of Goliad."


Fannin.

At the age of fourteen Fannin briefly attended the University of Georgia, but in 1819, as James F. Walker, he entered the U.S. Military Academy at West Point in New York. At that time a female cousin described him as "gallant, handsome, and sensitive." He was not very studious; academically he stood sixtieth in a class of eighty-six. He resigned in November 1821 after dueling with a fellow cadet. In 1828 he moved to Columbus Georgia. There he was a master of the local Masonic lodge and pursued a judgeship but was disqualified for dueling. While in Columbus he also served as secretary of a temperance society and was division inspector for the Georgia militia. In the autumn of 1834 Fannin and his family moved to Velasco, Texas, where he became a planter and managing partner in a slave-trading syndicate.



Fannin was appointed by the Committee of Public Safety and Correspondence, an assembly of prominent Texans seeking independence from Mexico, to solicit funds and supplies from sympathizers in Georgia, as well as to influence former colleagues at West Point to join him in Texas and lead volunteer and regular armies. As a member of the Texas volunteer army, Captain Fannin fought alongside the Brazos Guards in the first battle of the revolution against Mexico, held at Gonzales on October 2, 1835. On October 28, he led Texas forces in the Battle of Concepcion. On December 7 he was commissioned a colonel in the Texas regular army.



Fannin's appeal for aid drew strong attention. In Macon about thirty men stepped forward to assist "our fellow countrymen of Texas," and more than $3,000 was raised to defray the cost of the trip to Texas. On November 18 the Macon volunteers left for Texas, traveling by way of Columbus, where they were joined by another group of volunteers. Fannin welcomed the Georgia Battalion to Texas on December 20, 1835. He was later elected to command a regiment consisting of the Georgia Battalion and the Lafayette Battalion (composed of men from Alabama, Kentucky, Louisiana, and Tennessee). By February 12, 1836, Fannin had marched his regiment to Goliad, an old Spanish fort on the southwest bank of the San Antonio River about thirty miles from where it empties into the Gulf of Mexico.



On March 14, 1836, Fannin was ordered by Texas president Sam Houston to withdraw to Victoria, but he delayed until the 19th. As Fannin's regiment withdrew, it was surrounded by a Mexican force under General Jose de Urrea. Fannin unsuccessfully engaged the Mexican army at the Battle of Coleto Creek and was forced to surrender his entire command. Wounded, Fannin capitulated on the condition that his men be well treated because they had given up their arms peacefully. The agreement was countermanded by General Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna, and on Palm Sunday, March 27, 1836, more than 330 Georgians, Texans, and others imprisoned at Goliad were marched out into the woods and shot.



While some prisoners escaped the massacre, Fannin was kept inside the fort. He was taken to the courtyard, where he was blindfolded, seated, and shot through the head. His body was burned. During the Battle of San Jacinto, on April 21, 1836, Fannin's watch was discovered in the possession of a Mexican officer. The officials who found it assumed the Mexican was responsible for Fannin's murder; he thus met death in a like manner as Fannin.



The first county officials met at Joab Addington's store at Toccoa, once called Tuckahoe, where the first post office was established in 1837 by Benjamin Chastain. (The present-day seat of Stephens County, also called Toccoa, is a different town.) The first county seat was Morganton, where the courthouse was built in 1855.



Fannin's representatives were divided during the 1861 Secession Convention, held at Georgia's capital in Milledgeville. Elijah W. Chastain, a strong states' rights proponent, voted for secession, while W. C. Fain voted to remain in the Union. Loyalties were likewise divided throughout the county. About two-thirds of Fannin's citizens remained loyal to the Union while one-third supported the Confederacy during the Civil War (1861-65). Six Confederate companies were formed from volunteers in the county. Those joining the Union army went to Tennessee to enlist. No Civil War battles were fought on Fannin soil, but because of general lawlessness and home guard persecutions, the land was ravished and the people left destitute. Following the war many citizens moved west seeking a better way of life.  Oh man we found this side tangent on John P. Gatewood, a Confederate soldier who apparently went off the rails after sneaking away from his army camp to visit his family, only to discover that both his mother and sister had been killed by Federal soldiers.  Gatewood subsequently made it his mission to search for and slaughter anyone he perceived as a Yankee supporter.  Known as the "Red Headed Beast of Georgia, " he carries out a bloody rampage of strikes against Union sympathizers, both military and civilian alike. And the killings were merciless and vicious
.


The notorious Rebel bushwhacker John P. Gatewood intercepted and executed a group of Georgia youths in the Ocoee River Gorge during the Civil War. The group was on its way to join Union forces at Cleveland.  A historical marker headlined Madden Branch Massacre was erected four years ago at McCaysville, Ga. It was done by Georgia because the victims were all from Georgia. But no historical marker exists in Tennessee, on U.S-64 where Madden Branch joins the Ocoee. This is where it actually happened.



John P. Gatewood and his murderous gang comprised probably the best-known guerrilla force operating in north Georgia. Gatewood never received official state sanction, but he might have operated periodically under General Joe Wheeler's authority. Although most of Gatewood's numerous victims were U.S. soldiers or Unionist civilians, his men sometimes brutalized even Confederate sympathizers.



William Clayton Fain was shot and killed by Gatewood's Confederate Guerillas, at Pittman's Ferry on Ocoee River. Site at present L&N RR Station, Copperhill, April 6, 1864. His Widow got a Pension by Special Act of Congress.



W. T. Wofford surrendered all Confederate forces in north Georgia at Kingston, in Bartow County, on May 12, 1865. In the preceding weeks, Wofford had attempted to meet with roughly 500 guerrillas who had refused to obey his orders to surrender. Union general Henry M. Judah, who had negotiated with Wofford, announced that anyone who did not surrender would be considered an outlaw.



Judah believed that his ultimatum resulted in the capitulation of most guerrillas in north Georgia. The decision made in May 1865 by thousands of home guard soldiers to travel to Kingston to surrender and receive parole suggests some degree of continued affiliation with the Confederate army.Guerrillas knew that their paroles would protect them from punishment at the hands of military authorities but not from local civil prosecution, leading Wofford to predict that most irregulars would move abroad. It is impossible to determine how many guerrillas actually migrated, but the notorious Gatewood and his gang were among those who departed the state, heading for Texas.

The Marietta and North Georgia Railroad arrived in Fannin County in summer 1886. The town of Blue Ridge was incorporated on October 24, 1887, at the terminus of the rail line.



Because it was difficult for judges and lawyers to get from the train station in Blue Ridge to the courthouse in Morganton, a referendum was proposed to change the county seat to Blue Ridge. A two-thirds majority favored the change, and the legislature approved the change on December 13, 1895.



Blue Ridge has remained the county seat. The present courthouse, erected in 2004, is the fourth to be constructed in the county.



The railroad no longer brings passengers or freight to the Blue Ridge depot, but the Blue Ridge Scenic Railway provides a twenty-six-mile round trip from Blue Ridge to McCaysville and back and attracts many tourists for the ride through the mountains and over the Toccoa River.


A sprinkling of TRD images in Blue Ridge.

Another boon came in the 1980s, when Georgia Highway 515 opened, making the trip from Blue Ridge to Atlanta accessible on a four-lane road. Sales of mountain land escalated and log-cabin builders proliferated. Fannin was named the tenth-fastest-growing county in the United States in 2003-4 because of the influx of second-home owners and retirees.


All about the Railroad in Blue Ridge.

Once an agricultural county, Fannin is now noted both for development of mountain land and for tourism. Mercier Orchard is a profitable business as well as a tourist attraction. Within the total land area of 386 square miles lie large portions of the Chattahoochee National Forest and the Cohutta Wilderness Area.



Apples Apples Apples Elijay and Blue Ridge.



Lake Blue Ridge, a part of the Tennessee Valley Authority power dams, is popular for water sports, fishing, and camping.



Empty when I visited.



The Appalachian Trail and Benton MacKaye Trail start at Springer Mountain and run northward across Fannin.



According to the 2010 U.S. census, the population of Fannin County is 23,682, an increase from the 2000 population of 19,798. Incorporated towns are Blue Ridge, McCaysville, and Morganton.



McCaysville is located along the northern border of Fannin County and the state of Georgia. It is bordered to the north by its twin city of Copperhill, Tennessee. The two are situated as a single town along a river, known as the Toccoa River in Georgia and the Ocoee River in Tennessee. The change takes place in the middle of town at the state line, which runs diagonally relative to the street grid, which is aligned with the river rather than the border. The boundary also means that the McCaysville side is in area code 706, while the Copperhill side is in area code 423.



The main street through town is Georgia 60 (Toccoa Avenue) and Tennessee 68 (Ocoee Street). SR 60 leads southeast 8 miles to Mineral Bluff, Georgia, while SR 68 leads north 4 miles to Ducktown, Tennessee. Georgia State Route 5 crosses the Toccoa River and leads south 11 miles to Blue Ridge, the Fannin County seat.

Notable persons

Joe Tipton, Major League Baseball catcher born here.



Dr. Thomas Hicks, Medical Doctor, Black Market Adoption Ring of 1950-1960.



Blue Ridge is a city in Fannin County, Georgia, United States. As of the 2010 census, the city had a population of 1,290. The city is the county seat of Fannin County.



History

Blue Ridge was laid out in 1886 when the Marietta and North Georgia Railroad was extended to that point. It was incorporated in 1887. In 1895, the seat of Fannin County was transferred to Blue Ridge from Morganton.



In the late 2000s and continuing through the 2010s, the city has seen a surge in new business, particularly from the LGBT community which constitutes a larger percentage of the population than is typical for a rural community.



Trip Advisor tells us to visit

Grumpy Old Men Brewery.



Fannin Brewing Company.



Blue Ridge Antique Mall & Consignment, Inc.



Lord help Blue Ridge has grown. Here are the top seven restaurants as per Trip Adviser.

Carroll's Barbeque

Cantaberry Restaurant

Southern Charm

Harvest on Main

The Black Sheep

Chester Brunnenmeyer's Bar & Grill

Mike's Trackside BBQ


North side of tracks downtown Blue Ridge.

South of the tracks a whole vibrant street has exploded.



Both sides of street.



New business everywhere, folks milling about waiting for train. Couple TRD images in here.



Cinema



The town has one of the state's few drive-in theaters, the Swan Theater located at 651 Summit St, Blue Ridge. The theater opened in 1955 and has mostly weekend showings and is CASH ONLY, they take no credit/debit cards. Call 706-632-5235 or 706-632-6690 The website for showing times and information is www.swan-drive-in.com



Lake Blue Ridge





Notable people

Lake Underwood, entrepreneur, inventor, and racecar owner and driver



Mark Wills, country singer



I am sure we will be back to Fannin County many more times. Springer Mountain is in Fannin County. Today's GNW gals eating bananas on Lake Blue Ridge.