Tag Archives: Sautee Nacoochee

Cemeteries, Georgia, Historic Photos, National Register of Historic Places

Historic Photos of the Sautee Nacoochee Indian Mound-Helen, Georgia

Leave a comment

For people familiar with the Sautee Nacoochee Indian Mound, they may not have seen the numerous photos from the dig. While I was familiar with the survey conducted of the mound in the early 1900s, I never thought to look at it until recently when I was trying to find information about a church in White County and stumbled across a pdf of the report.

I didn’t read the document fully, but some interesting information was in it. Dr. L. G. Hardman granted the archeologists permission for the dig only on the condition that they turned over any gold discovered to Hardman. Additionally, they could not complete the dig in 1915 and asked to return. Hardman refused to grant access to the land again.

Additionally, at least three feet had been removed from the mound that did contain skeletal remains. These were gone before the arrival of the researchers. No one could tell the researchers where the remains went.

Seventy-five skeletal remains were identified in the dig. The first set of remains was found approximately three feet down. Some, like the top photo, were found with different objects. This one is believed to have a pendant at its neck. The bottom photo shows a copper armband around the top part of the arm.

This is a drawing of the material layers in the mound.

Below are images of different items found in the mound. I am particularly intrigued by the “effigies” and the heads.

There are more images in the report. I highly suggest taking a look if you want to see more.

Black History, Georgia, Houses, National Register of Historic Places

African American Heritage Site-Sautee Nacoochee, Georgia

Leave a comment

The Sautee Nacoochee Center is a cultural and heritage museum for the Sautee and Nacoochee Valleys in White County, Georgia. On-site, there is a restored slave cabin that used to sit on the land of Edwin Poore Williams, an early settler who benefitted from Native Americans being forced off their land.

He relocated to the area from North Carolina, bringing people he enslaved with him and his family. According to the 1860 slave census, Williams enslaved 18 people. It is believed that three cabins housed these men, women, and children. This particular cabin measured 16 x 28 feet.

The blacksmith shop

Beginning in 2002, the cabin was methodically dismantled at its original site and reassembled where it currently sits. The cabin was sympathetically restored using original materials or sourcing materials close to the original. A full detailed account of the restoration can be found here.

Cemeteries, Georgia, Vernacular Headstones

The Dollhouse Grave of Korry Gail Blackburn-Sautee Nacoochee, Georgia

1 Comment

Korry Gail Blackburn was born on February 17, 1976. Unfortunately, she passed away on July 13, 1976. Her dollhouse grave sits almost at the top of the Nacoochee United Methodist Church cemetery.

While not as famous as Little Nadine’s Playhouse, the grave is well-known in the area. Based on the few photos I’ve seen, the gravesite appears to be regularly decorated. Little trinkets are also left behind.

Cemeteries, Georgia, National Register of Historic Places

Sautee Nacoochee Indian Mound-Sautee Nacoochee, Georgia

1 Comment

The legend of the Sautee Nacoochee Indian Mound starts with a story of star-crossed Native Americans, Sautee, a warrior from the Chickasaw tribe, and Nacoochee, the daughter of a Cherokee chief. As with all dramatic stories of star-crossed lovers, Sautee and Nacoochee die. Sautee is tossed off the side of the Yonah Mountain by order of Nacoochee’s father. Nacoochee jumps to her death. The father, realizing his mistake, buries the lovers together in the Indian Mound.

In 1915, a team from the Smithsonian excavated the mound and found the remains of 75 people and a series of artifacts. In 2004, a team from the University of Georgia determined that the Cherokee never lived in this area of Georgia.

So, why the gazebo? In the late 1800s, Captain James Nichols owned the land and decided to shave two feet off it and build the gazebo, with Victorian detail, for a view of the area. It is unknown if he knew that he was building on top of it. A curious part of the story is that in New Park Cemetery in Fort Gaines, a gazebo was built on top a burial mound in the 1880s.

A full write-up about the history of the mound can be read on Wander North Georgia.

Churches, Georgia, National Register of Historic Places

Crescent Hill Baptist Church-White County, Georgia

Leave a comment

Built in 1870 and completed by 1882, the Crescent Hill Baptist Church was originally the Nacoochee Presbyterian Church built by Captain James H. Nichols, who relocated to the area from Milledgeville. In 1902, the Presbyterian Church moved its services to the Nacoochee Institute. In 1921, a group of Baptists took over the church and renamed the building Crescent Hill Baptist Church.