Georgia Natural Wonder #156 - Etowah River Gorge. 1,218

[Top Row Dawg]

Georgia Natural Wonder #156 - Etowah River Gorge

We continue our exploration of Bartow County in our search for Natural Wonders of Georgia. We will revisit the Etowah River in future GNW post, much like we have touched on the Chattahoochee River multiple times already, and we have at least one more in reserve. There is a spot where the upper Etowah river diverts into a mine for 100 yards. But today we focus on the Etowah River Gorge and Valley below Allatoona Dam. There is a reason the dam was placed there. The towering cliffs and rock formations made this an advantageous spot for the dam structure. Placing the dam here allowed for the maximum reservoir size. So the natural gorge feature along with the history of the area make this worthy of a separate Georgia Natural Wonder designation. 



The Etowah River is a 164-mile-long waterway that rises northwest of Dahlonega, Georgia, north of Atlanta. On Matthew Carey's 1795 map the river was labeled "High Town River". On later maps, such as the 1839 Cass County map (Cass being the original name for Bartow County), it was referred to as "Hightower River", a name that was used in most early Cherokee records.


The Etowah cliffs just after the Amicalola has merged. This is before the take out on the Amicalola Creek float.

The large Amicalola Creek (GNW #38), which flows over Amicalola Falls (GNW #9) is a primary tributary near the beginning of the river. The Etowah then flows west-southwest through Canton, Georgia, and soon forms Lake Allatoona. From the dam at the lake, it passes Cartersville and the Etowah Indian Mounds archaeological site. It then flows to Rome, Georgia, where it meets the Oostanaula River and forms the Coosa River at their confluence. We covered this in our post on Marshall Forest and Rome (GNW #54). The river is the northernmost portion of the Etowah-Coosa-Alabama-Mobile Waterway, stretching from the mountains of north Georgia to Mobile Bay in Alabama.


End of Etowah in Rome. View from Point Park.

The Little River is the largest tributary of the Etowah, their confluence now flooded by Lake Allatoona. Allatoona Creek is another major tributary, flowing north from Cobb County and forming the other major arm of the lake.



The U.S. Board on Geographic Names officially named the river in 1897. Etowah is a Muskogee (Creek) word (Muscogee spelling: italwa) for 'town'/'people'/'tribe', and may also refer to these places in the United States.

    Etowah River in Georgia
    Etowah, Arkansas
    Etowah, North Carolina
    Etowah, Oklahoma
    Etowah, Tennessee
    Etowah County, Alabama
    Etowah Indian Mounds in Bartow County, Georgia


The main Indian Town along the Etowah River was where the Mounds are today. An upcoming Wonder and tangent on Cartersville.

Western and Atlantic Railroad Bridge

Completed in the mid-1840's, the Western and Atlantic Railroad Bridge over the Etowah River was burned six times by the end of the War Between the States.



This bridge was a major target of Andrew's Raiders, during the Great Locomotive Chase (GNW # 136) in 1862. An engine, the Yonah, sat on tracks near the bridge waiting to pick up a shipment from the Cooper Iron Works nearby. Andrews decided not to destroy the bridge because of the proximity of the engine, and recent heavy rains would have made it difficult for the wooden structure to burn. This decision was costly for the raiders. Unaware that the crew of the General was already in pursuit, they left the Yonah, which Fuller, Murphy and Cain used to continue the chase.

Great Locomotive Chase

Those familiar with the April 12, 1862, Great Locomotive Chase know that the first of the three locomotives used to chase the General was the Yonah, a native American name assigned to the ninth engine put into service on the W&A Railroad.


Only known image of Yonah.

Following the Great Locomotive Chase all four locomotives were put back in service on the Western and Atlantic Railroad. However, only two survive today, The General and The Texas.


The General now is on display at the Southern Museum of Locomotive and Civil War History in Kennesaw.


The Texas has been moved to the Atlanta History Museum.

People often ask what happened to the two other engines that chased the General: the Yonah and the William R. Smith? According to records by Wilbur Kurtz, Civil War historian and artist, these two engines continued to operate in different roles, but eventually became obsolete and retired. The William R. Smith was the property of the Rome Railroad and eventually sold to Samuel Noble for use in his blast furnace operation at the Woodstock Iron Company in Anniston, Alabama.


What is left of the William R. Smith today.

Tangent on the Yonah

The Yonah was a type 4-4-0 steam locomotive that participated in the Great Locomotive Chase of the American Civil War. The small yard engine was leased to Coopers Iron Works to ferry castings from the furnace spur to the Etowah River bridge junction.

Before the Civil War

Built in 1848 by Rogers, Ketchum & Grosvenor in Paterson, New Jersey, the Yonah was the third 4-4-0 locomotive purchased by the Western and Atlantic Railroad. The Yonah was purchased for $7,500 by the W&A RR in 1849 and put into service on the Georgia Road.


You can see where the Yonah tracks led to the town of Etowah and the Cooper Iron Furnace.

The engine was likely used for both freight and passenger service for the Western and Atlantic. The Yonah featured a Haycock firebox design and had its pilot wheels closely spaced with the cylinder placed above at an angle. Thus, the engine was likely relegated to yard service as early as the late 1850s, as the railroad had acquired larger, more powerful locomotives such as the General and the Texas.

Civil War

During the Civil War, the Western and Atlantic had leased the Yonah to the Cooper Iron Works, which operated a short spur to their foundry from a junction at Etowah, Georgia. On April 12, 1862, The General was commandeered by Northerners led by James J. Andrews at Big Shanty (now Kennesaw, Georgia), and passed the Yonah at Etowah as it traveled north towards Chattanooga. Noticing that the Yonah was under full steam and ready for service, the group of raiders aboard the General suggested destroying the engine. However, Andrews declined as he felt doing so would have little impact on the railroad and might draw attention to the raiders and their intentions. Thus, Andrews and his train passed through Etowah without stopping and continued north.



The Yonah was about to make its morning run to the Cooper Works when William Allen Fuller, the conductor whose train had been stolen at Big Shanty, arrived at Etowah. Fuller assumed control of the Yonah, and drove the engine in full steam northward for fifteen miles, arriving in Kingston. Here, Fuller left the Yonah and continued north aboard the Rome Railroad's locomotive, the William R. Smith.

Later career

By 1870, the Yonah was listed on a W&A RR roster as “stationary” and condemned with a value of $350.00. Serving its final days the Yonah was assigned as a switch engine between Cartersville and Atlanta.Very little is known about the engine's service life, but it is assumed to have served as a construction train as the railroad was being built from Atlanta, Georgia to Chattanooga, Tennessee, and was believed to have been the first engine to arrive in the latter city. After the war, the Yonah is believed to have returned to Atlanta, where it was converted into a stationary boiler for the railroad's shop facilities. The W&A's engine roster of January, 1873 listed the engine as "condemned" and "not to appear again on engine roster", and is presumed to have been converted to a stationary engine used to power shop machinery later that year, likely serving in this position until it was eventually scrapped. When America entered WWII the two engines were dismantled and sold for metal to support the war effort.


Can see bed of Cooper Furnace railroad tracks right by the present paved road.

However, it has recently been learned in an interview on April 20, 2012 with Mr. Jimmy Dellinger that the Yonah was not entirely sold off as scrap metal. In fact, a legacy of the Yonah is still with Bartow County today thanks to the New River Side Ochre Company and the Dellinger family. Mr. Dellinger recalls seeing the boiler and describes it as about the same size as the General’s boiler. According to Mr. Dellinger, in the 1930’s New Riverside Ocher acquired the Yonah boiler and used it in the Ochre production process. It was installed in a concrete support cradle low to the ground and used to fire the drum dryers. The boiler came with the whistle, which served as a pressure relief valve. By the late 1960’s it was decided that the boiler had to be replaced. Mr. Alec Cook, plumber was asked to replace the boiler as he had installed the original Yonah boiler.


When Mr. Cook was in the process of changing out the boilers he recognized that the Yonah’s brass whistle was a historic artifact and needed to be salvaged. He called Mr. Dellinger and told him about the whistle and brought it to him for safekeeping.

Upon close inspection of the whistle we find it is eleven inches in length with the upper body (lever, acron, flue, finial and yoke) being six inches of the total length. A maker’s mark is engraved on the base of the whistle around the circumference of the bulb. The engraving is that of “Detroit Lubricator Company, Detroit, USA.” The upper brass works has yet another maker’s mark stamped, “LONERGAN > PENNA”  (J.E. Lonergan founder and made in Pennsylvania.) Also, the level bar bears a faint “Philadelphia” stamp that reinforces the upper body was manufactured in Pennsylvania. These two markings actually help date the whistle as the Detroit Lubricator Company did not exist until 1879 and Lonergan until 1872. It appears these two devices were perhaps fit as hybrids and installed on the Yonah as an aftermarket repair, therefore it is unlikely the whistle was mounted on the boiler during the Great Chase.


Last image of Yonah Railroad bed leading to Cooper Furnace.

This evidence does place the historic Yonah clearly in Bartow County after the great chase. It points to documentation that the chase engines were used in other roles and were eventually dismantled for scrap metal or other uses. However, this discovery is a testimony to the Yonah’s second life in the Bartow mining industry thanks to New Riverside Ochre. Thanks to the keen eye of Mr. Alec Cook and the spirit of preservation by Mr. Jimmy Dellinger we in Bartow County can claim yet another piece of the Great Chase story and enjoy an exclusive artifact that points to Bartow as being the Heart of the Chase.

Civil War action Western and Atlantic Railroad Bridge

In late May, 1864, Sherman arrived in Bartow County on his Atlanta Campaign. He was content to let his forces rest for a few days, May 20-23, while he planned his next advance. He knew the defensive strength of Allatoona Pass, and was not going to test it with infantry assault. Instead he planned to cross the Etowah River downstream.



He would march his columns south toward Dallas, a crossroads village southwest of Johnston’s position, flanking it and threatening his rear. He avoided the Confederate Fort at the bridge. When the Union troops took over, they built the Federal Fort.



Gen. Joseph E. Johnston's line southeast of Cassville contained a flaw: a section of it near the bridge, held by Lt. Gen. Leonidas Polk's corps, was exposed to enemy artillery enfilade fire. That night Polk and Lt. Gen. John B. Hood explained it to Johnston, saying that if the enemy attacked in the morning, they could not hold their position more than an hour.



Johnston reluctantly agreed to order another nighttime retreat, this one across the Etowah River to high ground around Allatoona Pass, four miles south of the river. The bridge was destroyed by retreating Confederate forces as Sherman's troops advanced to the western end of the Allatoona Mountains during the Atlanta Campaign. This was the first time the bridge was burned, when the Confederates retreated.


The Union forces rebuilt the bridge practically the next day.

Defenses of the Etowah Bridge.


As the Federals took possession of the bridge, we see they built Federal earthworks overlooking the Etowah River and bridge. From Negatives taken in the field, by George N. Barnard, Official Photographer of the Military Div. of the Miss.


You know I searched hard for this Federal Fort.


But there was just too much kudzu and overgrowth to venture into this snake infested jungle.


No way, best viewed from air conditioning of truck.

While the pillars were in use they would have had about twelve feet of wood or steel on top of the stone to "cushion" the tracks, visible in the photo below.



When John B. Hood began moving north on the Nashville Campaign (October, 1864) after the loss of Atlanta he burned the bridge again.


I bushwhacked through the kudzu to take these images of the train pillars still there across the Etowah River.



As Sherman left Cartersville on November 12, 1864 to start his "March to the Sea," the bridge was burned by his troops to prevent its use after he left.



After the war the bridge was rebuilt and remained in use until the railroad bed was moved and a modern trestle was built west of the old bridge.



Directions: North on Ga. 293 from Emerson, turn Right on River Road. Go under the Highway 41 Bridge. The remains are on the right, next to Riverside Park.



Town of Etowah - Cooper Furnace

The only remains of the bustling industrial town of Etowah is the furnace at Cooper Iron Works. Built by Jacob Stroup in the 1830's, this foundry was the first in the area. A politician named Mark Cooper purchased the foundry from Stroup in 1844 after losing the election for governor to George Crawford in 1843.



Tangent Mark Anthony Cooper (April 20, 1800 – March 17, 1885) was a United States Representative, businessman and lawyer from Georgia. His cousin was U.S. Representative Eugenius Aristides Nisbet.Cooper was born near Powellton, Georgia, in Hancock County in 1800. Raised on the family plantation,  Cooper was educated in the local schools, attended Franklin College briefly (UGA) and went on to graduate from Columbia College, South Carolina (USC) in 1919, graduating third in his class.


Cooper.

His desire to study law took him to Eatonton, Georgia where he studied under Judge Strong, being admitted to practice law in 1821. In August of that same year he married Evaline Flournoy of Eatonton, but sadly she died four months later. Not until four years later in 1826 did Cooper remarry Sophronia A. R. Randle of Hancock County, Georgia. The two of them would have eleven children, however only seven would live to maturity. In 1828 Cooper would win election as solicitor general of the Ocmulgee Circuit. 


Furnace in 1932.

Cooper earned the military rank of Major for his service in the Georgia Militia between 1826 and 1829. The first 30 days of his enlistment came about as a call to arms by the Georgia Governor to stop raids by the Seminole Indians along the Georgia-Florida border. Major Cooper was reactivated in 1836 when he commanded a battalion of Georgia volunteers during the Seminole Indian Wars in Florida. He served courageously and earned the admiration of the commanding general, Winfield T. Scott. Fort Cooper State Park near Inverness is a tribute to Cooper’s military legacy.  In 1931, Cooper was involved in the first railroad convention in Georgia leading to its first chartered railroad. His later initiatives in the Georgia Legislature had resulted in the construction of the state owned Western & Atlantic Railroad between Atlanta and Chattanooga.


Furnace back in 1990's.

During his time as an attorney, Cooper was a lender essentially functioning as the local bank in Eatonton. Always looking for new challenges, Cooper in 1833 organized a company for the purpose of building a cotton mill near Eatonton. A year later, Cooper sold his stock in the mill and moved to Columbus, Georgia to enter the banking business, acquiring the Western Insurance and Trust Company.He then invested in a bank in Columbus, Georgia and after a few years, sold out for $300,000 which he used to build his Iron works nearby Etowah, Georgia. This ironworks is remembered today by many names: Cooper's Furnace, Cooper's Ironworks, and Etowah Ironworks.


Furnace today.

During this time, Cooper was extremely interested in politics. He served in the State and U.S. Congress for 9 years. 


Inside the Furnace

In 1833, Cooper served in the Georgia House of Representatives as a Georgia legislator from Putnam County. In 1838, he was elected as a Whig Representative from Georgia to the 26th United States Congress and served one term in that seat from March 4, 1839 until March 3, 1841.


All that is left of man's main legacy in life.

He returned to the U.S. Congress in 1842 after winning election as a Democrat to fill the remainder of the term of William Crosby Dawson, who had resigned in 1841 to run for the Governor of Georgia. Cooper was reelected to that congressional seat in the general election in 1842; however, he resigned in 1843 to run an unsuccessful candidacy for Governor. Cooper's second stint in Congress lasted from January 3, 1842, to June 26, 1843.

Iron Man of Georgia

After his political service in 1842, Cooper moved to Cass County,now Bartow County, Georgia in order to buy into the iron production operation of Jacob and Moses Stroup. In 1845, Cooper founded the city of Etowah and established the Etowah Manufacturing and Mining Company on the banks of the Etowah River near Cartersville, Georgia. 



The operation soon became a massive industrial complex consisting of a rolling mill, rail factory, blast furnaces, foundry, flour mill, grist mill, saw mill, shops, warehouses, hotels, stores and a bank. Etowah’s four mile rail line along the banks of the Etowah connected this industrial complex to the main line of the Western & Atlantic Railroad.Cooper became president of the Etowah Manufacturing and Mining Company in Etowah, Georgia, in 1859.



Financial difficulties arose during a change in partnership in 1857, and Cooper was forced to secure a $200,000 debt. By 1860, Cooper was again financially stable, and in appreciation of those who had aided him in his crisis, erected a monument of friendship.



Known as the Friendship Monument, it is said to be the only one of its kind in the world – a monument erected by a debtor to his creditors.


Front of Marker.


Back of Marker.

Cooper later sold half of this business and used the money to build the Etowah Railroad, a short run spur that passed his furnace. The Yonah, the first engine used by the crew of the General during the Great Locomotive Chase was his engine. That same year, Cooper sold all his holdings in Etowah. The next year the Confederate government began to operate the furnace.



The iron works included large facilities for making nails and another plant for making pots and pans out of iron. But the most famous plant was one for making cannon during the Civil War. These cannon were highly regarded for their higher quality (not exploding as others did). Cooper sold his iron works to another company in 1862 for $400,000 in Confederate currency. The iron works were soon taken over by the Confederacy. In 1864, during the Atlanta Campaign, General Joseph Johnston stationed men on the hills surrounding the plant, who fought a skirmish before retreating.



Most of the town of Etowah was destroyed during Sherman's March on Atlanta; however, the iron furnaces themselves were left standing. Almost totally destroyed by Sherman's troops on May 22, 1864, the town was flooded when the Corps of Engineers created Lake Allatoona. All that remains today is this furnace and a chimney. A railroad cut leading from Etowah Station on the old Western and Atlantic Railroad to the furnace is still visible on River Road.



Cooper's investments in Confederate notes and bonds became worthless with the defeat of the Confederacy. Shortly after the war, in 1866, the Cartersville Van Wert railroad was chartered by the Georgia State Assembly. Cooper helped raise the money and was appointed its first president.


Cooper Grave in Cartersville.

Mark Cooper, at 84, passed away at his Glen Holly home near the ruins of the town of Etowah on March 17, 1885.



This National Historic Register site, known as Cooper's Iron Works, is the only remnant of the 1830's town of Etowah, and Georgia's Iron Empire run by Mark A. Cooper until Sherman destroyed it in 1864 during the Civil War. A Blue & Gray Trail site, the Iron Works site offers picnic facilities, hiking trails, and a playground at the base of the Allatoona Dam. Coopers Furnace Day Use Park is open seasonally and is situated along the north bank of the Etowah River.  The park has lots of single car parking, no trailers allowed.  No fee is required and the park has picnic facilities. This park also allows a great view of the dam from downstream. Managed by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.


Hard to read so here is script.

MARK ANTHONY COOPER’S IRON WORKS

These ruins of an old iron furnace built by Moses Stroup are all that remain of Cooper’s Iron Works, developed by Mark Anthony Cooper, pioneer industrialist, politician, and farmer. Cooper was born in 1800 near Powelton, Ga. Graduating from S.C. College (now the University of S.C.) in 1819, he was admitted to the bar in 1821 and opened a law office in Eatonton. A member of the Ga. Legislature in 1855, he later served in the 26th Congress, filled a vacancy in the 27th, and was reelected to the 28th. Resigning to run for Governor in 1843, Cooper was defeated by George W. Crawford and retired from politics. Cooper bought an interest in the furnace then owned by Stroup, and in 1847 he and Leroy M. Wiley bought Stroup out. Cooper’s plants, including a nail factory, rolling-mill, and flour mill, were destroyed by Sherman’s army. Cooper and Strop were incorporators of the Etowah Railroad, completed to the rolling-mill in 1858. A yard engine of this road, the “Yonah”, was involved in the famous chase of the “General” in April, 1862. Cooper, the first president of the Ga. Agricultural Society, a trustee of Mercer University, the University of Ga., and the Cherokee Baptist College, died in 1885 at his home, “Glen Holly”.

008-50 GEORGIA HISTORICAL COMMISSION 1962

Etowah River Trail

The Etowah River flows for 163 miles from Lumpkin to Floyd Counties - passing through Bartow for approximately 36 miles. The river runs through Lake Allatoona and enters the county at the inlet on which Bartow's George Washington Carver park is located. Together, the City of Cartersville and Bartow County Governments have successfully installed four Canoe/Kayak input/output sites making 17 miles of river more easily acessable and navigable.


Fun on both sides of the Etowah, as will be seen soon.

At Mile 114.4 of the Etowah River - ( 34° 9'47.66"N  84°43'44.56"W) - We find the Allatoona Dam & Town Of Etowah. At the deepest portion of the lake near the dam sit the remains of the town of Etowah. Founded around the Cooper Iron Works. Etowah was a thriving, backwoods industrial complex from the early 1840s until the 1864 when the town was destroyed by Union forces during the Civil War. Etowah’s founders utilized water power from the Etowah and the locally abundant iron ore deposits to create a mining and manufacturing center.


Can see the ghost of Top Row Dawg in this image.

At its heyday in the late 1850s, the town had a workforce of 600 which was serviced by a school, church, boarding house, bordello, bank, post office and brewery. The town produced railroad tracks from the iron ore extracted from nearby hills and the flour mill produced up to 300 barrels of flour a day. After the Civil War, the town was never rebuilt. Mark Anthony Cooper, the primary driving force behind the town, sold it to investors in 1862 and turned a tidy profit which he then invested in the Confederacy, ultimately losing his entire fortune by the War’s end. Today, the town’s remains, with the exception of the furnace located near the base of the dam, rests beneath the water of Lake Allatoona.

The Lost City of Etowah, Georgia

I am sure you have heard of the lost city of Atlantis according to Plato, that had disappeared due to some vast cataclysm swallowing the island with water. The city of Pompeii was destroyed by a volcanic eruption. The town of Etowah however fell victim to war. Many Georgians have not heard of Etowah but may have visited the Coopers Furnace Day Use area at the base of Allatoona Dam in Cartersville, Georgia.



Etowah is recorded as being founded in 1845, established by Mark Anthony Cooper which started out as the Etowah Manufacturing and Mining Company. Mark Anthony Cooper, was an Elberton businessman who recognized the importance of water  power. Cooper came into business with Moses Stroup and family that built the original furnace. Soon Stroup would build more furnaces eventually selling out to Cooper over a period of time. Cooper was very influential and made improvements to the Etowah River with Stroup and Wiley as business partners.  The company had a blast furnace, foundry, rolling mill, nail factory, a flour mills, 2 saw mills, 2 corn mills and a bank. Not to mentions other shops, warehouses and a hotel. Etowah was about five to six miles away from the W & A Railroad completed October 19th, 1858 with L. Kendric was the contractor for the road and Eugene LeHardy was the chief engineer. Etowah manufactured nails, bolts, hollow ware, railroad iron, pots and pans. The flour mill produced two to three hundred barrels of flour daily. Iron was shipped to England to be converted to steel. Coal was sent from Coopers Coal mines in Dade County for the bloomery furnace. The city of Etowah was growing into an industrial center for Cass County.



Bartow County, Georgia (Stroup Furnace, unidentified houses near Allatoona, Georgia, ruins of Cooper Iron Works, and old Clayton house near Allatoona, Georgia)



Etowah grew to a population of around 2,000 and among this population included slaves. Mark Anthony Cooper employed as much as five or six hundred operators and laborer’s with about one hundred being black. Cooper personally owned 22 slaves and the Etowah Manufacturing and Mining Company owned 11 bondsmen. Cooper sought to hire even more help and he sought to hire more black labor for the the company. Among those listed was Davy Cobb ,who was employed as a puddler,which involved the stirring of molten pig iron. William Kuhn, another slave/bondsman, served as a rolling mill heater, who later went to work at the Naval Iron Works in Columbus, Georgia. One of the managers of the Iron Works was William Austin Leyden, who among other things created a postal lock for Yale, brought the first sewing machine to Atlanta of his own design and became major for the 9th Georgia Battalion Artillery. He also lived in a famous house as per his link.



Among the stories about Etowah , were not all success. It was in 1849 that a small pox out break occurred. “Deaths from small pox, none; new cases , 2 and sick 15. All the cases heretofore reported are now recovered or convalescent, except the 15 now reported sick. – The disease is confined to its localities, and its very probable that it can go no further, but will exhaust itself within its present limits. No contagion at or near the Flour Mill or Rolling Mill, or the route to either, except passing the Furnace,”  In 1857, Mark Anthony Coopers home was devastated by fire.  “Major Coopers elegant residence near his iron Works, we are sorry to hear, was destroyed by fire on the 8th inst. Every piece of timber in this unique and tasteful building was native growth of Cass County, so we hear. ” We also need to mention accidents that occurred at the iron works as in 1858, “The moulder, Joseph Costner, was casting a large roll for the Rolling Mill. A large ladle with 5000 Lbs of melted iron, suspended by a Crane, was passing by the bands round to the mould. Before pouring it became top heavy, turned, and was emptied into a puddle of water. This produced an explosion which threw the metal through the roof of the shed, and in every direction, burning five or six, more or less. Only three were seriously burned, to wit: Costner, a white man, Bill, a negro, the founder, and John, a moulder, (a negro) These are doing well and are not dangerous. and the others are at work again. ” Most of which is to be expected in a growing thriving town.



In 1859, a new building was mentioned in Etowah was a chapel, with a school room below and divine room above. This was located near the residence of Mr. Cooper and Mr. A. Hicks. It was commented that the town was not only using the products of nature but improving intellectual and moral attributes. The homes in the area were neat in appearance along the steep hillsides. It is mentioned in 1859, that the number living here was around one thousand souls. Currently there are about three hundred employed at the iron Works. The Blast Furnace is run day and night not to mention the Rolling Mill and Merchant mills runs six days a week day and night. This facility started with 1,500 acres growing to 12,000 acres with an annual product of twelve to fifteen tons of iron per day. The cost of this immense operation began to become difficult for Cooper who sought a loan from the State of Georgia for a fourth a million dollars. When the State denied his request possibly due to being misrepresented by the Know Nothing Party, Cooper proposed to sell the property in 1861. It was in February that Cooper presented the Etowah Iron Works as being a suitable foundry for the Confederacy. The iron works had already manufactured a cannon fired at the opening of Tunnel Hill and other commemorative events including the opening of the railroad to the town of Etowah. Cooper also designed a pistol using the high quality iron and offered it to Samuel Colt and arranged to purchase $75,000 to prepare making arms for the Confederacy.



It was also noted that Cooper flew the first disunion flag which was hoisted atop what he called Mount Anthony (Pine Mountain, our next GNW) which could be seen from the bridge and many directions.  As we can see from the map and the bridge view above from Barnard, there was a ford designed to protect the Etowah Bridge and the Iron Works. The Confederate unit guarding the ford would be FAYS COMPANY, 17th BATTALION STATE GUARDS-ETOWAH ARTILLERY. In 1863,  General Gustavus Smith was chosen president of the Etowah iron Works.Some of Hoods corps was stationed on the South Side of the river. It was in May 22nd, 1864 General Wheeler reports of the burning of the Etowah Iron Works and the town of Cartersville. The DAILY CONSTITUTIONALIST [AUGUSTA, GA], May 27, 1864, p. 1, c. 1 Etowah Iron Works.—A dispatch was received in this city yesterday says the Savannah Republican of the 25th, stating that the Yankees had made a complete destruction of these works which were situated a few miles above Cartersville. Most of the valuable machinery had been removed to a place of safety. Where the equipment was moved is not known. From July 12  to November 10, 1864, the 6th Independent Battery, Wisconsin Light Artillery was stationed here.


No diaries exist to explain the damage here. but some of the remnants are seen.

Top Row Dawg Addendum

OK, I have a rather large addendum as you can go down by the dam now, and there is a trail behind the furnace that takes you to the ruins of the structures all around it. You can see the rock formations back up in the woods on the Furnace side of the river. Lastly there is the (Hand's Down) best Frisbee Golf Course in the Atlanta area, just across the River. Playing that course really accents the Gorge Nature of this Natural Wonder of Georgia.

Allatoona Dam

We already discussed in Post #154 how Allatoona Dam is a concrete gravity dam on the Etowah River, authorized by the Flood Control Acts of 1941 and 1944. Delayed due to World War II, construction on the dam began in 1946.


Cliff of Etowah Gorge exposed.


Found these images dam under construction.



The reservoir began to fill in during December 1949 and the dam and power station were in operation in January 1950.


On way to Korea.

The power station has an installed capacity of 85 MW and the dam facility is owned and operated by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.
Allatoona is the oldest multipurpose project in the South Atlantic Division.


The barricade is gone, you can view the dam.

Allatoona was authorized for flood control, hydroelectric power generation, water supply and water quality, recreation and fish and wildlife management.


Headwaters of Lower Etowah River.

The Allatoona project has an 1,110 square mile drainage area.


Cliff on way to dam.

This is the first impoundment for water as it flows from the Blue Ridge Mountain region, and additional water for the project depends on rainfall. 


Deep in mountainous gorge.

Ruins of Etowah

Now the town of Etowah may be underwater, but there are ruins of the Cooper Iron Works all behind the Furnace.


You can see this rock wall from the road.


Better view this first rock wall from the road.


Trail behind furnace.



There are these different levels with rock pile foundations.



The rock piles and walls show a much larger facility other than the furnace.



Stacked rocks, Sherman did good job ransacking.



Now Why In The Hell Is This A Georgia Natural Wonder?

This rock formation and upsurge is the same line found much further north in the Smokey Mountains in places like the Chimney Tops or Mt. LeConte.

On the way out I was taking railroad photos and I stumbled upon the jagged rock formation running North.






Up on the ridge trough the trees with all those leaves, you can see some significant boulders.


There are boulders I tell you.


Too tired and lazy to explore. Looked snaky.


The rock formations go for at least 1/4 mile if you look close along River Road.



Riverside Park Frisbee Golf

Now on the south side of the river, there is Riverside Park Day Use Area. It is located downstream from the Allatoona Dam on the Etowah River.


The rock formations are plainly visible as you play disc golf around them.

Address - 513 Allatoona Dam Road SE, Cartersville, GA, 30121
GPS Coordinates - 34°9’39″N, 84°44’30″W
Directions - From I-75 take Exit 285/Red Top Mountain Road exit. Go west onto Red Top Mountain Road. Turn right at the first traffic light onto the connector which will come to Hwy 41. Turn right onto Hwy 41 and travel 1 mile to Allatoona Dam Road. Turn right onto Allatoona Dam Road and travel 1.7 miles to Riverside Park.



$5 per car for day pass or $40 annual pass to get into Corps of Engineers park.





Panoramic stitch.



Riverside Park Disc Golf - Established 2017
Designed by Etowah Disc Golf



Course itself is free for unlimited play.



Features a predominantly wooded layout with a varied mix of shots required.



Lots of elevation changes bringing in both up and downhill fairways.



Bigfoot sighting.



I played this last winter and had it pegged for a Natural Wonder way back then.




Cave hole.

Setting up for my cover shot.










TRD's son and his dog Layla.


Panoramic of Cover Shot.

Right by the Etowah River.



Whew that ended up being huge with history first and Natural Wonder toward end of post. Our GNW Gals are plunging off rock formations somewhere.