Georgia's highest peak - Brasstown Bald
THROUGH
MOUNTAIN MISTS
Early Settlers of Union
County, Georgia
Their
Descendants...Their Stories...Their Achievements
Lifting the
Mists of History on Their Way of Life
By: Ethelene Dyer Jones
Georgia’s highest peak
– Brasstown Bald
Both Union and
Towns counties claim portions of Georgia's
highest mountain, Brasstown Bald. Before Towns County was
formed from Union in
1856, the mountain lay within the boundaries of Union.
After Union was
divided out to form Towns, the highest part of Brasstown Bald Mountain--also
known as Enotah Bald--lay in Towns.
The name of the
mountain was called Enotah by the Cherokee Indians who once inhabited
the area. After the gold rush of 1828 when white settlers rushed
pell-mell into the area seeking yellow riches around Nacoochee Valley and
Dahlonega, and even into Union County
later at the Coosa Gold Mines, they confused two names the Indians
called the highest peak: it-se-ye
meant "fresh green"; unt-sai-yi meant "brass".
The latter, for
brass, was attached to this highest mountain in the
Wolfpen Range. It
rises through the mists, fogs and clouds to 4,784 feet. A peak to the
southwest is Blood Mountain
which reaches a height of 4,458 feet. Legend holds that the Cherokee
considered Blood in greater reverence than Enotah Bald, unusual for the
Indians who normally named sacred the highest peak in their area.
Perhaps
their reverence for Blood goes back to the battle between the Cherokee
and the Creek nations for sovereignty of the mountain region when it is
said that Wolf Creek,
originating high on Blood Mountain, ran
red with the blood of brave warriors.
The Indians
also had a story for what happened on Enotah Bald. A great flood once
covered the earth. It killed all except those in a great canoe which
landed on top of Enotah. The land was cleared on top of this high
mountain by the Cherokee to make crops for sustenance. The "fresh
green" –it-se-ye--for
them meant renewed life after the trauma of the flood. It-se-ye could also have
referred to "cloud forest" on Brasstown Bald. Even to this day an area
of Georgia's
tallest peak has a portion on the northeast section watered by
moisture-laden clouds. There in this "mountain rain forest"
lichen-covered birch trees, wild flowers such as laurel and
rhododendron, various herbs, giant wood fern, allium
(the common ramp of "ramp tramp" fame), ash, oak, willow, beach and
even an occasional sugar maple (somehow imported from northeastern
sugar maple stands) grow and thrive in this “cloud forest.” If anyone tries to walk in this area he may be
hampered by lichen-covered damp rocks on which footing can be very
insecure.
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The
tower at Brasstown Bald.
|
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The first tower
on Brasstown Bald (Enotah) Mountain was built in the early 1920's by
the Pfister-Vogel Logging Company. It was
constructed of chestnut and locust wood,
and rose on the peak so that watchers could see smoke from any forest
fires within the areas where the lumber company was conducting logging
operations.
Brasstown Bald
now stands in the Chattahoochee-Oconee National
Forest.
Between 1911 and 1930, the government bought approximately 743,000
acres of forest land and set it aside as a preserve. The present
facilities of Brasstown Bald are open from May through October, with
weekends open in November.
Much credit is
due Ranger Arthur Woody for measures that led to preservation of
forests in the north Georgia
area. He wanted to see the forests that had been riddled from the
thirst for virgin timber restored to refuges for wildlife and tall
trees, deer in the forests, fish in the streams. He worked diligently
to encourage the government to buy lands for forest preserves.
The second
tower at Bald Mountain,
built in 1935 by the "CCC boys" (Civilian Conservation Corps) was the
dream of Ranger Woody. He sat at his kitchen table and drew plans for
the stone and wood tower that replaced the old wooden tower constructed
in the early 1920s. After World War II, the Woody Stone Tower was
replaced by a steel tower in 1947. The present structures, visitor's
center, and educational facilities with the thought-provoking "Man and
the Mountain" program, recount the history of the area through various
eras.
October is
normally a time of "bright blue weather." If you have not visited Bald Mountain
recently, perhaps you would like to choose a clear day in October to
take your family up this highest peak in Georgia. You
can ride a shuttle all the way from the parking area to the top. Or, if
you are physically agile and want the challenge, you can climb the
one-half mile trail to the top. Those who know about such statistics
say that it rises 500 feet in elevation in the one-half mile, and is
equivalent to walking 1,000 miles north. From the 360-degree
observation deck on a clear day, you can view some of the most
spectacular vistas in Georgia, and
even into other states. Every time I have visited Brasstown Bald
(several times in my lifetime) I have always been awed by the majesty
and beauty of the Wolfpen Ridges reaching
out in all directions, our beautiful Southern
Appalachians.
c2006 by Ethelene Dyer Jones; published Sept. 7, 2006 in The Union
Sentinel, Blairsville, GA. Reprinted by permission. All rights
reserved.
[Ethelene
Dyer Jones is a retired educator, freelance writer, poet, and historian.
She may be reached at e-mail edj0513@windstream.net;
phone 478-453-8751; or mail 1708
Cedarwood Road,
Milledgeville,
GA
31061-2411.]
Updated May 25, 2008
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