Tag Archives: White County

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

African American Heritage Site-Sautee Nacoochee, Georgia

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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.

-Georgia, Cemeteries, Vernacular Headstones

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

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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.

-Georgia, Churches and Temples

Union Grove Chapel-White County, Georgia

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The Union Grove Chapel was built in 1895. It sits in a grove of trees not too far from Helen, Georgia.

-Tennessee, Cemeteries, Vernacular Headstones

Mount Gilead Cemetery-Sparta, Tennessee

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Mount Gilead Cemetery outside of Sparta, Tennessee, is one of several cemeteries found in mostly Southern states and the Appalachian Mountains containing tent graves. This cemetery has some of the oldest graves featuring this style.

The graves of Mary Brogdon (1837-1868), Owing Gentry (1806-1875), and William Davis (1864-1873)

Also known as comb graves, it was initially assumed that they were built to protect graves, but it is now believed that these were likely aesthetic choices. I support this idea. Vernacular headstones often appear in clusters in several cemeteries. For instance, there are a series of cemeteries along the coast that feature what I’ve called “Black Madonnas” since they are only in Black cemeteries. Additionally, many cemeteries along the coast feature a single-star motif on headstones. An example can be seen on the Mary Lemon grave at Behavior Cemetery.

The grave of Susannah Keathley (1788-1854)
The grave of Jinsey Aust (1813-1875)
-Georgia, Churches and Temples

Old Nacoochee Missionary Baptist Church-Sautee Valley, Georgia

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The Old Nacoochee Missionary Baptist Church sits on top of a hill in White County, Georgia. Founded in 1822, the congregation moved to its current location in 1851.

-Georgia, Cemeteries, National Register of Historic Places

Sautee Nacoochee Indian Mound-Sautee Nacoochee, Georgia

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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.

You can find old photos of the mound here.