Georgia Natural Wonder #125 - Mount Oglethorpe - Pickens County. 1,227

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Georgia Natural Wonder #125 - Mount Oglethorpe - Pickens County

Mount Oglethorpe is a mountain located in Pickens County, Georgia, USA. The southernmost peak in the Blue Ridge Mountains, the mountain has an elevation of 3,288 feet, making it the highest point in Pickens County.



Mount Oglethorpe served as the southern terminus of the Appalachian Trail from when the trail was completed in 1937 until 1958.



In 1958, as a result of over development around Mount Oglethorpe, the southern terminus of the Appalachian Trail was moved about 13 miles to the northeast to Springer Mountain.

Geography

Mount Oglethorpe is located in eastern Pickens County, near the border with Dawson County. The mountain is located about 6 miles east of Jasper, 13 miles west of Dawsonville and about 7 miles north of Nelson. There are marble quarries south of Mount Oglethorpe. The community of Bent Tree is located on the mountain's western slopes, while Big Canoe is located on the mountain's eastern slopes.



Springer Mountain, the current southern terminus of the Appalachian Trail, is located about 13 miles northeast of the mountain. Other nearby geographical features include Burnt Mountain, Sharptop Mountain and Sassafras Mountain. While Mount Oglethorpe's summit is not located on any state or federally protected lands, the mountain's northeastern slopes are located inside the Dawson Forest Wildlife Management Area. The mountain is considered to be the southern terminus of the Blue Ridge Mountains.

History

Mount Oglethorpe had been settled by the Cherokees since at least the 1700s. The Cherokees bent trees to mark their trails and shelters on the mountain.



White settlers began moving into the area after the Georgia Land Lotteries of the early 1800s.





Mount Oglethorpe was originally named Grassy Knob. In 1930, the mountain was renamed to Mount Oglethorpe in honor of James Oglethorpe, the founder of the Georgia Colony. That same year, a 38 feet tall marble obelisk named the Oglethorpe Monument was erected at the top of the mountain.



The Oglethorpe Monument is a 38 foot marble obelisk located on Main Street in the City of Jasper. It was constructed by Col. Sam Tate in 1930 to celebrate the 200th anniversary of Oglethorpe landing in Georgia.



In 1930 this monument to James Oglethorpe was built on Grassy Knob. Renamed Mount Oglethorpe in his honor by the State Legislature, the peak served as the Southern Terminus of the Appalachian Trail. Col. Tate originally presented the monument and five acres of land to the state hoping that it would be made into a State Park so that travelers on the Appalachian Trail would be able to enjoy it. Unfortunately that never happened.



Originally the monument had a large marble ball on the top, but it disappeared and was rumored to have been rolled down the mountain by either vandals or following a lightning strike which frequently hit the monument due to the iron rods which provide supports. Further damage occurred from rifle shots which seriously damaged the face of Oglethorpe, carved by the famous Georgia Marble sculptor J. K. Watt. The monument originally had on the North face a hand holding the Scales of Justice. The hand is a cast of the right hand of Abraham Lincoln that was made shortly after the assassination. The casting had been owned by Alexander Anderson, vice president of the Georgia Marble Company. A geodetic marker showing the official elevation has also been stolen.



In 1978, during Mrs. Anise Richardson's term of office as State Regent of Daughters of American Colonists, the State of Georgia was looking for a historical organization to give the monument to. The State has decided that it would give away monuments that couldn't be maintained. Mrs. Richardson agreed to accept the monument, but the land was sold to Mr. Dan Sewell. Mr. Sewell had the idea to cut all the timber off Mount Oglethorpe, but when the Pickens County Conservancy Committee found out his intention, they fought him. They were not going to look at a "bald" mountain in their county. So an ordinance was passed that forbade the cutting down of trees above a certain height - that height being what you could see above the town.



The Daughters of American Colonists continued to own the property until Mrs. Carolyn Quackenbush's tenure. At that time, the monument was leaning and had been extensively vandalized. The road getting up to the monument had many potholes. The State DAC was told that the road up to the monument would have to be repaired or the monument given away. She contacted City of Jasper and Pickens County. Mayor John Weaver was Mayor of Jasper then as he is today. He had to consider whether the monument could be brought down and repaired. Fortunately he had a sculptor on the city payroll, Eino Romppanen, along with city workers Jim Smith and Allen Johnson. Together they decided it could be done, so he accepted the offer of the monument.



Jim Smith, Allen Johnson, and other city crew put on harnesses, climbed the monument and cut it into sections to be brought to Eino's studio. It was found that the core of the monument was just plain concrete, so the City purchased marble from the Georgia Marble Company and proceeded to refurbish the monument. Oglethorpe's face had been facing forward, but there was so much damage done to the face, that Eino decided that the only way he could restore it would be to turn his face to the side.



Each section was restored and then in September, 1999, it was brought from Eino's studio to Main Street where it sits today.

Appalachian Trail

In 1930, Mount Oglethorpe was designated as the southern terminus of the Appalachian Trail. Mount Oglethorpe was not the first choice for the trail's southern end, as Benton MacKaye also proposed ending the Appalachian Trail at Mount Mitchell in North Carolina or Cohutta Mountain in northwest Georgia.



There were several reasons for choosing the Mountain Oglethorpe as the southern terminus. The mountain was considered to be the southern end of the Blue Ridge Mountains. The decision was also influenced by Sam Tate, an influential local businessman and president of the Georgia Marble Company. Tate was planning to build a resort on a nearby mountain and wanted the trail to pass by his resort. To convince the Georgia Appalachian Trail Club to choose Mount Oglethorpe, Tate donated money to build trail structures and allowed the trail pass through his privately owned lands.



In 1937, with the completion of the Appalachian Trail, Mount Oglethorpe officially became the southern terminus of the trail. Early thru-hikers of the Appalachian Trail such as Grandma Gatewood, Gene Espy and Earl Shaffer began their journeys at Mount Oglethorpe. In 1949, James E. Boyd conducted long-range line-of-sight experiments between the mountain and Georgia Tech to study the effects of weather on microwave propagation.



Because Mount Oglethorpe was located outside of United States National Forest lands, the mountain was not protected and was opened to development. In the 1950s, land on the mountain was purchased by logging companies and chicken ranchers. The construction of a gravel road on the mountain led to vandalism. With the increased development on Mount Oglethorpe, the Georgia Appalachian Trail Club decided to move the trailhead. Amicalola Lake and Frosty Mountain were considered for the new southern terminus, but trail leaders deemed those locations as being too accessible. In 1958, trail leaders decided to move the southern terminus to Springer Mountain, about a 20 miles hike north from Mount Oglethorpe. Springer Mountain was considered to be less dramatic than Mount Oglethorpe, but because of its remoteness, Springer Mountain was also considered to be less susceptible to development. The only remnant of the Appalachian Trail between Mount Oglethorpe and Springer Mountain is the Appalachian Approach Trail that runs between Amicalola Falls State Park and Springer Mountain.

After the Appalachian Trail

Communication and FAA towers were installed on the mountain's summit in the years after the southern terminus was moved. In the 1970s, the Big Canoe community started development on the eastern side of Mount Oglethorpe. Vandalism, harsh weather and lightning strikes caused heavy damage to the Oglethorpe Monument, leading to its relocation to downtown Jasper in 1999. Portions of the Appalachian Trail that used to run between Mount Oglethorpe and Springer Mountain were made inaccessible to the public. In addition, Mount Oglethorpe's summit was closed to the public.



In 1995, Ken Rice and his wife Billie Ann purchased about 107 acres of land around Mount Oglethorpe's summit. In 2014, the Rice’s opened the mountain to the public when they designated their property as a public park. This public park, named Eagle's Rest, contains hiking trails and observation decks.

Visiting

From the intersection of Burnt Mountain Road and Highway 53 in downtown Jasper, follow Burnt Mountain Road north for 3.6 miles. Then, continue straight onto GA Route 136 East for another 7.6 miles. At the Pickens/Dawson County Line at the top of the ascent on GA 136, turn right onto Monument Road. At 2.2 miles, Monument Road turns into a rather narrow (nearly one-lane) road, and at 4.5 miles, Monument Road turns unpaved and enters Eagle's Rest park at a gate. 4.8 miles from GA 136, turn left onto a side road at the sign "Main Parking Area". The shoulder (and pullouts along the way) of the 500-foot side road serves as the parking area. I would say that around ten cars can fit into the parking area.



Eagle's Rest Park is the fruit of one of Georgia's most successful recent land acquisitions, in terms of public lands. Approximately 107 acres of land surrounding the summit of Mount Oglethorpe were purchased by Ken Rice and his wife in 1995. Their property was gradually developed as a public park, and it opened in 2014 under the name Eagle's Rest Park. Since then, four observation platforms with views were constructed around the summit, and today, the Mountain Stewards maintain a trail system consisting of several short loop trails in the park. For my hike at Eagle's Rest Park, my goal was to hike the longest loop and also visit all four viewpoints.



The best point to begin a hike at Eagle's Rest Park is the main parking area. This mileage assumes that you started at the far end of the parking area, which is what I did. The Northern Deck is actually located in the middle of the parking area, about 150 feet below its end. From this deck, there is a panoramic view to the north but it is limited due to a handful of tall trees in the scene. Continue for 200 more feet to the beginning of the parking area (the beginning of the side road from Monument Road).



A large sign and a trailhead kiosk mark the trailhead. All three park trails - Eagle's Rest Trail, Oglethorpe Mountain Trail, and Grassy Knob Vista Trail - begin here. In a few feet, bear right on the white-blazed Eagle's Rest Trail/yellow-blazed Oglethorpe Mountain Trail while the blue-blazed Grassy Knob Vista Trail continues straight. The Oglethorpe Mountain Trail passes through a clearing below the Northern Deck and then slowly curves around the summit of the mountain. At 0.3 miles, a signed 100-foot side trail leaves to the right and leads to the Eastern Deck.



The eastward panorama from this deck is one of the better views on Mount Oglethorpe.



From the deck, much of the valley in the view is developed in the form of Big Canoe (a private residential community). In fact, the two lakes that are visible - the larger Lake Petit and the smaller Sconti Lake - are on the property of Big Canoe.



Continuing on the main trail, you will reach a signed junction at 0.4 miles. The Eagle's Rest Trail continues straight to close its half-mile loop, while this hike turns left onto the steeply descending Oglethorpe Mountain Trail. You will leave most people behind as the trail loses no time in descending south through a hardwood forest with good winter views. At 0.5 miles, Oglethorpe Mountain Trail crosses the Grassy Knob Vista Trail. Despite the name, I am not aware of any views on the Grassy Knob Vista Trail, and its highlight is supposed to be a sizable rock garden. Passing a few benches (benches are strategically positioned all throughout the trail system), the Oglethorpe Mountain Trail continues descending sharply before turning left and reaching a junction with the 150-foot side path to a picnic area at 0.9 miles. The picnic area does have a highlight: it is located in the middle of Double Spring. Double Spring consists of two small springs, one to the left and one to the right of the picnic table. These springs yield enough water to form a pleasantly cascading stream just below.



Returning to the main trail, you will reach the lowest point of the hike at 1.0 miles, where there is a signed intersection with an old CCC logging road. A beautiful flame azalea bush was blooming on this day at the intersection. To the left,  the logging road leads to private property on the south side of Mount Oglethorpe, so the trail turns right onto the road, beginning an easy ascent along the park boundary. At one point, the old road passes a piney area with some small rock outcrops. Stay on the main trail as an old road with a distinct path leaves to the left, acting as an access point for residents of the Bent Tree private community. At 1.55 miles, reach a gap in a east-west ridge from Mount Oglethorpe. Here, there is an intersection of old logging roads.



The road that you have been following continues straight to Monument Road, while the trail turns right and another logging road leads left to Bent Tree. The main trail steepens as it ascends back up Mount Oglethorpe, recrossing the Grassy Knob Vista Trail at 1.7 miles. You will pass the terminus of the Grassy Knob Vista Trail on the left at 1.85 miles, a few yards before the end of the Oglethorpe Mountain Trail itself, directly across from the main parking area. Don't conclude the hike just yet though! Continue onto the Eagle's Rest Trail, reaching at 1.95 miles the Western Deck below a set of stairs that provide access to Monument Road.  The Western Deck provides a very limited view into the Bent Tree area; I think that it is the worst of the four views on the hike.



The trail continues straight to the Southern Deck, an elevated deck that it reaches at 2.0 miles.



Even though there are a few trees in the way, the view from Southern Deck is panoramic and good enough thanks to the large clearing that was created below the deck. The Georgia Piedmont includes pretty much the entire view from the Southern Deck.



From the Southern Deck, leave the Eagle's Rest Trail and turn left onto the access trail up to the summit of Mount Oglethorpe. You will pass a large eagle sculpture made of stone at 2.05 miles before ascending the final set of steps to the Eagle's Rest Trailhead at 2.1 miles. Continue ahead on the broad path between the microwave towers that crown the summit of Mount Oglethorpe. The summit is covered with a fenced in area containing several communication towers. Just to the south of the summit is a wooden observation deck. This gives tremendous views to the south on a clear day. The Atlanta skyline was visible on the day of our visit, at a distance of at least 60 miles.



The fenced summit encloses communications towers and the original concrete pedestal of the Oglethorpe monument. Except for some stones piled against the pedestal, the ground inside the fence is no higher than the land outside the northwest side of the fence. It looks like the benchmark may be inside the fence near the western corner of the tower building, but there was no way for us to get close to it.



Now I have never been to Mount Oglethorpe so while some of these Jasper photo's are mine, all these mountain top images are from the Net.



Pickens County

That was short and sweet so let's take advantage and tangent on Pickens County, located at the foot of the Appalachian Mountains in north central Georgia, was formally created on December 5, 1853, from Gilmer and Cherokee counties. The county was named for Andrew Pickens, a South Carolinian who served as a general during the American Revolution (1775-83). In the first decades following its creation, the county gained small tracts from Gilmer County and Cherokee County, while giving land to Dawson, Gordon, and Cherokee counties.


Pickens.

The history of modern settlement in the area began when Georgia created the Federal Road, its first state highway, across the Cherokee Nation in 1805. (More of the remains of this unpaved route lie in Pickens than in any other county.) Native Americans, whites, and interracial families, some with slaves, maintained taverns for travelers along this route, which was traveled by U.S. presidents Andrew Jackson and James Monroe. We did a deep tangent on the Federal Road with Georgia Natural Wonder  #76 - Cartecay River - Gilmer County (Part 2).



American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions established the Taloney mission (later Carmel mission) for Cherokee children in the community of Taloney in 1819, and the missionary Isaac Proctor was later arrested there by the state of Georgia. (Historians differ on whether Taloney was in what would become Pickens County or Gilmer County.) Fort Newman, a stockade used during the removal of the Cherokees in 1838, also stood at the same site as Taloney.



The Taloney Mission (later Carmel Mission) was founded by the Georgia Presbyterians in Pickens County along Talking Rock Creek. The Presbyterians established and ran a number of mission schools throughout Georgia from 1817 to 1833.


The remains of the Taloney Mission were photographed between 1930 and 1960.

Although in 1832 new settlers obtained, through the Cherokee land lottery, lands in the area, it remained sparsely settled due to speculation schemes by distant property owners. The region did become a cultural intersection, however, as a place where natives of the Tennessee and North Carolina mountains lived in proximity with hill-country families from Georgia's Hall County. John M. Bozeman, the founder of a gold-rush trail in Montana called the Bozeman Trail, was born in 1835 in what would become Pickens County.



The Civil War (1861-65) divided the county's population for generations; Pickens County contributed men to both the Confederacy and the Union. A local committee protested the state's secession from the Union and raised a U.S. flag at the courthouse in Jasper. During the Civil War, Company D of the 1st Georgia Infantry Battalion of the Union Army was raised in Pickens County.


Company D.

The marble industry, which had begun in the late 1830s through the efforts of Henry Fitzsimmons, was modernized by the arrival of the railroad in 1883. Marble from Pickens County went into major public buildings across the country and, reportedly, in 60 percent of the monuments in Washington, D.C. Mica was quarried for electric switchboards during the early 1900s, and copper, graphite, gold, iron, silver, slate, and talc mines have also operated in Pickens County. We covered this extensively in GNW #1 - Longswamp Valley Marble Vien.


A train arrives at the Blue Ridge Marble Company about 1910. Later renamed Georgia Marble, the company was active in Cherokee and Pickens counties during the growth of the marble industry between the arrival of the railroads in the 1880s and the Great Depression of the 1930s.


Workers for the Georgia Marble Company sit for a portrait during the 1920s at the Marblehill Quarry in Pickens County. Marble from Pickens County is reported to have been used in around 60 percent of the monuments in Washington, D.C.


Marble Garden Jasper.

The county's first great era of progress, which began with the railroad, ended with the onset of the Great Depression in 1929. Marble, cotton, and tourism rose and fell as profitable industries. Between 1930 and 1940 the population in the area declined from 9,687 to 9,136. By 1950 Pickens experienced a further decline to 8,855. The county did not grow appreciably until the 1960s, and its fragile economy suffered once again as a result of national recessions in the 1980s. The completion of Georgia 515/Interstate 575 caused a rapid expansion in the county's population and business after 1990, making Pickens County one of the fastest-growing areas in Georgia.


Today a new burst of artistic life has come to Jasper in the expression of a large sculpture displaying a big white bear with children reading from the Old Testament. The sculpture was chiseled from white marble by artist Bill Sunderland and is located on the grounds in front of the library. “Learning is Fun,” a small boy reading to eleven animals, carved from a 22-ton block of Georgia Marble. This is Bill’s gift to the community where he works.

The population of Pickens County, according to the 2010 census, was 29,431, an increase from the 2000 population of 22,983. The county has one of Georgia's few remaining administrator governments. Jasper, the county seat, has seen three courthouses; one was destroyed by fire in 1947 (although no significant loss of records occurred).


The second Pickens County Courthouse, pictured circa 1890, was built in 1888. Located in Jasper, the courthouse was in use until 1947, when it was destroyed by a fire.


Courthouse Today.

Jasper was founded in 1853 as seat of the newly formed Pickens County. It was incorporated in 1857 as a town and in 1957 as a city. The community is named for William Jasper, a hero of the American Revolutionary War.


Jasper Monument Savannah.


Nicknamed "The First Mountain City," for Mount Oglethorpe, Jasper is located 50 miles north of Atlanta.



Standing on an old Cherokee place of worship, the historic Woodbridge Inn is a restaurant and inn.



Jasper is located near several large acreage mountain neighborhoods such as Big Canoe, Bent Tree, and the Preserve at Sharp Mountain.



TRD traveled around Jasper one day.



All around.



But I stayed out of jail.





Events

The Georgia Marble Festival is held on the first weekend in October every year. It is sponsored by the Pickens County Chamber of Commerce, and held at Lee Newton Park.The festivities start with the Marble Festival Road Race. There are booths with local vendors selling handmade crafts, among other things. Another highlight is the art show, with exhibits of carved marble, as well as paintings, photographs, and pottery.



Historic Tate Marble Quarry is open for tours only one time every year during the Marble Festival. Oh wow, we can visit GNW #1.



Besides Jasper, the county's other incorporated cities are Nelson and Talking Rock.

The town of Talking Rock, as well as a creek of the same name, is located in Pickens County in northwest Georgia. We covered  GNW #45 - Talking Rock Creek.   The area was originally part of the Cherokee Nation, and several explanations regarding the origin of the name Talking Rock exist. Historian James Mooney wrote that the Cherokees called the creek "Nunyu-gunwaniski," meaning "rock that talks." An Indian trader told Mooney that the creek was named for a rock where the Cherokees held council. Nearby is Ball Creek, probably named for Indian ball games played at the council ground. An 1820 map shows Talking Rock Creek as "Rolling Stone Creek." One theory suggests the name could have come from an "echo rock," a natural echo chamber.



In 1805 the state of Georgia surveyed the Federal Road, its first state highway, through the Cherokee Nation and across Talking Rock Ford at the site of the present-day Highway 136 bridge.The Sanders brothers, who were Cherokees, gave their name to the first community established there, Sanderstown. At the subsequent white settlement of Talking Rock, in the late 1840s, English-born brothers William C., James, and Thomas Atherton built a cotton factory, a cotton gin, a wool carder, a gristmill, a sawmill, and a blacksmith shop. The Lebanon Presbyterian Church stood at the "Y" fork in the road. During the Civil War (1861-65) the Third Kentucky Cavalry (Union) defeated the local Confederate Home Guard in 1864, putting a temporary halt to the depredations against local pro-Union families. The Atherton mills were destroyed during the war, and the Lebanon Church, except for its cemetery, was destroyed in a snowstorm in 1888.


This old hotel in Talking Rock is a remnant from the town's era of prosperity. Before the turn of the twentieth century, Talking Rock boomed with the arrival of the railroad, the growth of the marble industry, and the thriving commerce of a factory, mills, cotton gins, and stores.

Modern Talking Rock grew up and incorporated in 1883 around the newly arrived railroad, which facilitated the growth of the marble industry in the area. The original community, at the ford, became today's Blaine community. The new Talking Rock eventually became larger than Jasper, the seat of Pickens County. It had a factory, mills, cotton gins, stores, and hotels.After World War II (1941-45) the decline of marble and cotton caused Talking Rock to wither into hardly more than a few churches, scattered farms, and ruins. The incorporated town of Talking Rock today consists of antique stores, a schoolhouse museum, and according to the 2010 U.S. census, sixty-four residents.


Ludville Academy, pictured circa 1930, was built in the community of Ludville in 1877 and ten years later moved to Talking Rock, where it housed the first high school in Pickens County.

Nelson is a city in Pickens and Cherokee counties, Georgia, United States. At the 2010 census, the population was 1,314. It is part of the Atlanta metropolitan area.



History

The city is named for John Nelson, an early landowner, farmer, and rifle maker. The Georgia General Assembly incorporated Nelson as a town in 1891.The area possesses substantial deposits of marble. The construction of a railway in 1883 made the development of large-scale quarries possible. The quality of the marble has made it favored for federal monuments.



Notable People Pickens County

Weldon Henley (1880-1960) - former MLB pitcher. First Georgia Tech man in Pro Baseball.



Mathew Pitsch - Republican member of the Arkansas House of Representatives from Fort Smith since 2015; former resident of Jasper.


This guy has lived everywhere.

Today's GNW Gals started with an innocent Google search for Sexy Girls on marble. I'm just gonna say they all know.