Toccoa is a city in Stephens County, Georgia, United States located approximately 50 miles (80 km) from Athens and approximately 90 miles (140 km) northeast of Atlanta. The population was 9,323 at the 2000 census. The city is the seat of Stephens County.
History
Mississippian Indians (Mound Builders) and Cherokee Indians were the
original inhabitants in the vicinity of what is now Toccoa and the
surrounding area. The first residents of European descent were American
Revolutionary War veterans who settled the area when the war ended. The
Georgia General Assembly created Stephens County in 1905, and Toccoa was
established as the county seat.
The name "Toccoa" is derived from the Cherokee word for "beautiful" or "where the Catawbas lived." The city was established in 1873 around an area formerly called Dry Pond, named for a pond that was waterless most of the time.
Camp Toccoa, a World War II paratrooper training base, was located nearby. It was the first training base for the 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment of the Army's 101st Airborne Division, whose Easy Company was subject of the non-fiction book and subsequent HBO miniseries Band of Brothers.
Toccoa is also home to the Travelers Rest Inn, known locally as Jarrett Manor, and Toccoa Falls College. On November 6, 1977, the Kelly Barnes Dam, located above the college, failed. The resulting flood killed 39. Toccoa Falls is located on the campus of Toccoa Falls College.
Toccoa is the birthplace of singer Ida Cox, philanthropist Paul Edward Anderson, former 100 Black Men of America President Thomas W.Dortch Jr., former Clemson and NBA basketball player Dale Davis, former Georgia Tech and NFL football player Pat Swilling,
and All-American (Georgia Tech) football player Ken Swilling. James
Brown, nicknamed the "King of Soul," lived in Toccoa a short time before
his big break as a singer, and worked as a janitor at Toccoa High
School. Bobby Byrd was a gospel musician and songwriter, and a sideman to James Brown. Paul Anderson, Olympic gold medalist in weightlifting
known as "the world's strongest man," was born in Toccoa. His world
record for the heaviest weight ever lifted by a human (6,270 lbs. in the
back lift) still stands. A 16-ton granite marker is located at his
birthplace. Ramblin' "Doc" Tommy Scott, composer of "Rollin' in My Sweet Baby's Arms", was born and lives here,
Internationally noted civil rights and social justice activist The
Reverend Douglas Demetrius Prather, a native of Atlanta, also has family
ties to the city of Toccoa. Rev. Prather is a direct descendant of the
original Prather family for which Prather Bridge Road is named.
According to historical accounts, The Johns House, a Victorian cottage
near Prather Bridge Road, was built in 1898. Further down on the right,
on a hill overlooking the valley of the upper Tugalo River, is
Riverside, a Greek revival antebellum home that was built in 1850 by
James D. Prather with slave labor and timber from his plantation. The
Prather family cemetery is at the right of the house, about fifteen
yards from the porch. During the Civil War, General Robert Tombs, a
close friend of Mr. Prather, used the house as a refuge from northern
troops. The soldiers pursued him to Riverside, where he was able to hide
in a double closet and escape capture.
The first Prather’s Bridge was a swinging bridge built in 1804 by
James Jeremiah Prather. Until then, travelers crossed the Tugalo River
at fords and later by ferries. The first bridge was washed away during a
freshet (an overflow caused by heavy rain). A more substantial bridge
was built in 1850, but was burned in 1863 during the Civil War to keep
the enemy from crossing. James Jeremiah and his son, James Devereaux,
rebuilt the bridge in 1868. This bridge was also washed away in 1918 and
was rebuilt in 1920 by James D. Prather. It was afterwards replaced by a
concrete bridge, but was kept as a landmark until burned by vandals in
1978. The pillars still stand, made from rock quarried by Mr. Prather
from a nearby hillside.
Economy
Stephens County Development Authority (SCDA) was established in 1965 to continue and sustain the growth of Northeast Georgia.
SCDA is responsible for the recruitment of new businesses such as
industrial, manufacturing, distribution, corporate and regional
headquarters and customer service centers. SCDA serves the following cities: Toccoa, Eastanollee, Martin, and Avalon.
Major industrial parks in the area are: Toccoa Industrial Park,
Meadowbrook Industrial Park, and Hayestone Brady Business Park.
Top employers in descending order: Patterson Pump, ITR (GEM
Industries), Standard Register, Sage Automotive Interiors, Habersham
Plantation, Toccoa Falls College, Coats & Clark, Eaton Corporation.
Arts and cultureAnnual events
Currahee Military Weekend, Taste of Toccoa, Cinema on Sage, Costume
Parade, Harvest Festival, ChristmasFest, Christmas Parade, Roots Rhythm
And Rails Music Fest, and many others.
Music
Toccoa is the center of a thriving music scene and the home of a regional orchestra. The Toccoa Symphony Orchestra is made up of volunteer musicians from the surrounding community, South Carolina, and Atlanta.
The symphony exists to provide quality symphonic music to the region
and to bring together musicians from throughout northeast Georgia.
The symphony was founded in 1977 by Pinkie Craft Ware and Archie
Sharretts, both music educators. Since its founding, the symphony has
performed at least three concerts every season. The symphony is
supported by a board of directors and an extensive network of patrons.
The orchestra collaborates with many musicians and provides a wide
range of concert experiences. The ensemble has premiered works by young
composers, presents a yearly Christmas concert with a one hundred voice
choir, and incorporates budding performers from nearby Toccoa Falls College.
Museums and other points of interest
The Currahee Military Museum, located in downtown Toccoa at the original train station where arriving GIs would disembark, is dedicated to the paratroopers of World War II who trained at Camp Toccoa. Camp Toccoa was located just outside the city proper, at the foot of Currahee Mountain, and was formerly known as Camp Toombs. The museum houses the original Aldbourne stables where paratroopers of the 101st Airborne Division were housed temporarily in England
in 1944. Only one building remains of the original Camp Toccoa (the
building is believed to be a former food supply storage facility, based
on its position near the former camp's gates and the foundation's
construction), and it was donated to the museum in 2011 by the Milliken
company who was using it as a machine shop. The museum intends to
restore the building, along with the surrounding grounds.
On the first Saturday of every October, a six-mile race is held along
the Colonel Sink Trail, the same trail used by the paratroopers as part
of their training for combat. The common refrain is "Three Miles Up And
Three Miles Back". The race is part of the larger Currahee Military
Weekend, which features World War II military reenactments
in a staged military camp, weapons demonstrations, book signings by
veterans, a parade through the downtown historic district, a hangar
dance at the airport, and a special banquet featuring key note speakers and veterans.
Local lore includes the Hanging Tree, located on the western side of the Stephens County Courthouse.
The actual tree used for the executions is now just a stump on the
courthouse lawn, the tree having been removed in 2011. Facing the
courthouse, the Hanging Tree was just to the viewer's left.
The clock at the spire of the courthouse was restored to operational
condition in 2010 as part of an overall renovation of the building, and
is the highlight of the historic district which features several
buildings from the American Civil War period.
The Toccoa Casket Company, now out of business, was the largest
supplier of caskets to the military until Vietnam. Its building is
located on the main road leading into Toccoa from the south, on the
route from Toccoa to Currahee Mountain.
EducationStephens County School District
The Stephens County School District serves students in pre-school through grade twelve, and has four elementary schools, a middle school, and a high school. The district has 304 full-time teachers and over 4,405 students.
Schools
Stephens County High School finished building their new facility in
Spring of 2012. It includes a four-sided gymnasium "arena", better fine
arts facilities, and a larger media center. Crossroads Juvenile Academy
is an alternative school in Stephens County, that gives behaviorally
impaired students a second chance. Mountain Education Center is an
online night school that gives full Georgia High School Diplomas. This
course is designed not only for full-time students but also part-time
students that are working to recover lost credits.
Higher educationToccoa Falls CollegeInfrastructureTransportation
Amtrak's Crescent connects Toccoa with the cities of New York, Philadelphia, Baltimore, Washington, Charlotte, Atlanta, Birmingham, and New Orleans. The Amtrak station
is situated at 47 North Alexander St. The picture to the left is how
the station appeared prior to the extension of the Currahee Military
Museum, which was built to house the Aldebourne Stables and a growing
collection of artifacts. That extension was subsequently enlarged in
2009 to include a community room and gift shop.
Toccoa is also home to the Toccoa Airport, a small executive airport to the northeast of town.
The nearest interstate highway is Interstate 85.
Historic Town Mall
Located near the train depot (connecting to Atlanta, etc.), is where
the downtown area of Toccoa, is located. Also located nearby is the
Toccoa courthouse. Around the 1950s leading up towards the 1980's,
business was bustling in this "mall" as they called it. Each day people
would flood to downtown Toccoa and shop. Back then there were several
national retail outlets located in downtown Toccoa, one of those being
the Belk Gallant department store.
In the early 1960's around the country large shopping malls began to
compete with local downtown businesses and many began to fail. As an
answer to the depressed conditions in downtowns, not only in Toccoa but
in other towns as well, concrete canopies were erected and streets were
closed to create a pedestrian mall. In less than ten years it was
evident that instead of enhancing businesses and creating a positive
downtown image, these canopies actually accelerated the downtown’s
decline.
When the Belk Gallant department store announced it was going to move
along a four lane road called Big A, community leaders organized Toccoa
Main Street in 1990. In 1991, the Georgia Department of Community
Affairs (DCA) Resource Team recommended that the canopies be removed and
that the street be opened once again to vehicular traffic. However, for
many years the project was not supported.
During that time, Toccoa Main Street implemented many changes and
improvements to the downtown mall area. Brick pavers were installed and
trees were planted. However, the canopies themselves began to
deteriorate, and no support was found to repair them. During this time,
businesses continued to flounder and many of the buildings were empty
and in disrepair.
Over time, however, with growing support, approval was given to start
the canopy removal project. Efforts that helped contribute community
support for the project include: county-wide public surveys, University
of Georgia (UGA) Market Study, a UGA design charrette, and renderings of
individual buildings without the canopies provided by the GA Trust for
Historic Preservation and UGA Community Design Planning and
Preservation. To gather the necessary funds for the project, Toccoa
partnered with six state agencies (Appalachian Regional Commission,
Georgia Department of Community Affairs (DCA), One Georgia Authority,
United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), and Georgia Department
of Transportation (GDOT) that provided $1.3 million, with additional
local funding of $552,000.
During the canopy removal and street re-opening project, private
interest in downtown increased. In 2008, downtown saw 33 storefronts
renovated (under the guidance of the Georgia Mountains Regional
Development Center (RDC) Historic Preservation Planner), 11 new
business, 17 new jobs, 28 part-time jobs and 68 full-time equivalent
jobs retained, and private investment of $3.5 million. Toccoa’s Main
Street was re-opened to vehicular traffic. “The change in downtown is
stunning,” said (then) Mayor Ron Seib. “Tourists and locals alike are
visiting downtown, and parking is now at a premium, especially at
lunch.”
The Currahee Military Museum, featured recently in the PBS Series, GA
Traveler, and named as one of the best museums along the East Coast by
Blue Ridge Mountain Magazine, is another attraction that continues
downtown’s resurgence. Located in the restored historic train depot, the
museum features a massive exhibit of 506’s Easy Company memorabilia.
This World War II paratrooper company was popularized by the HBO
Miniseries Band of Brothers.
The depot housing this museum was recently restored to its pre-1940’s
appearance. The depot building had previously been used as a maintenance
and storage area for Norfolk Southern. Now it has been transformed to a
publicly owned building that is home to the Chamber, Welcome Center,
Stephens County Historical Society Museum, the Currahee Military Museum,
and Amtrak. Funding for the million dollar project was received through
Transportation Enhancement Activity (TEA) and GDOT funds of $400,000;
local funding of $100,000 and private investment funds of over $500,000
were contributed. The museum just completed its second addition, funded
by SPLOST.
Enhancing Toccoa “as a Northeast Georgia destination” is the newly
restored Courthouse which anchors the downtown district. The renovation
project was overseen by a governmental appointed citizen authority.
Funded entirely by SPLOST dollars, the $2 million renovation project
brought a historic 1907 building back to life while adding green space
to the historic district and retained government offices and downtown
customers in the city’s square.
Notable people
The following list includes notable people who were born or have lived in Toccoa, Georgia.
In literature and film
The novel "Fireworks Over Toccoa" by author Jeffrey Stepakoff, was
published by St. Martin's Press and released nation-wide on March 30,
2010. A day-long celebration was held in Toccoa culminating in a
fireworks display at Boyd Field in the evening.
The documentary Southern Comfort was filmed in Toccoa about resident transman Robert Eads.
In media
On May 7, 2000, Mary Ann Stephens of Toccoa was shot to death outside a Ramada Inn in Jacksonville, Florida
while on vacation with her husband. The incident received national
attention and resulted in an Academy Award–winning French documentary, Murder on a Sunday Morning, on the arrest and acquittal of the original suspect.
Kelly Barnes Dam failure
On November 6, 1977, the Kelly Barnes Dam
failed and released over 170 million gallons of water above the Toccoa
Falls College campus. The failure killed 20 children and 19 adults.
External links
Source: Internet
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