Editing Rabun County, Georgia (section)

==History==
As early as 1760, explorers came to the area now known as Rabun County. In the 18th century, the population of [[Cherokee Indians|Cherokee]] in the area was so heavy that this portion of the [[Appalachian Mountains]] was sometimes called the "Cherokee Mountains."  The early explorers and [[settlers]] divided the Cherokee people into three divisions depending on location and dialect, the Lower, Middle, and Over-the-Hill. At least four Cherokee settlements once were in what would later become Rabun County. A Middle settlement called Stikayi (''Stiyaki, Sticoa, Stekoa'') was located on [[Stekoa Creek]], probably southeast of the present-day Clayton. An Over-the-Hill settlement called Tallulah was located on the upper portion of the [[Tallulah River]]. Another two Cherokee settlements of unknown division also existed: Chicherohe (Chechero), which was destroyed during the [[American Revolutionary War]], located along Warwoman Creek, east of Clayton, and Eastertoy (''Eastatowth, Estatowee'') which was located near the present-day [[Dillard, Georgia|Dillard]].

Despite the prominence of the Cherokee, evidence exists that other [[Native Americans in the United States|Native Americans]] were in the region before them. A mound similar to others across North Georgia (including the famous [[Etowah Indian Mounds]]) is located about {{convert|1|mi|km|spell=in}} east of [[Dillard, Georgia|Dillard]], [[Georgia (U.S. state)|Georgia]] and is likely a remnant of an earlier [[Mound builder (people)|mound-building]] Native American culture known as the [[Mississippian culture]].<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://roadsidegeorgia.com/county/rabun.html |title=Roadside Georgia's Archives of Rabun County |access-date=August 28, 2006 |archive-date=June 14, 2006 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060614155747/http://roadsidegeorgia.com/county/rabun.html |url-status=usurped }}</ref> The mound location is listed on the [[National Register of Historic Places]] as the [[Hoojah Branch Site]].

[[Image:WilliamBartram.jpeg|left|thumb|150 px|Portrait of William Bartram by Peale]]

Explorer and naturalist [[William Bartram]] was one of the early visitors to Rabun County. According to his journal entries for May 1775, Bartram crossed the [[Chattooga River]] into Georgia near its [[confluence]] with Warwoman Creek. He later went through a junction of Cherokee trails called Dividings (which would later become Clayton), and then traveled north to an area called Passover (which would later become [[Mountain City, Georgia|Mountain City]]). During his visit to the area, he also climbed [[Rabun Bald]]. His travels in Rabun County are memorialized today by the Georgia portion of the hiking trail known as the [[Bartram Trail]].

[[John Dillard]] and his family were among the first documented [[settlers]] in the area in 1794 as a result of a land grant for his service in the American Revolution. The settlers were initially tolerated, but tensions increased as displaced Cherokees moved in from other areas. Eventually, the white settlers were viewed as invaders who did not respect nature and killed the game and, as a result, raids between the clashing cultures became commonplace. For the most part, the hostilities ended a few years before the Cherokee ceded the land to Georgia in 1817.

The [[Georgia General Assembly]] passed an act to create the county on December 21, 1819, becoming Georgia's forty-seventh county. The northern border of the county was established as [[35th parallel north|latitude 35°N]], which is the boundary between Georgia and [[North Carolina]]. Due to irregularities in an early survey mission, the Georgia-North Carolina border at Rabun County's northeast corner was erroneously set several hundred yards north of the 35th parallel, giving this location at Ellicott's Rock the distinction of being the State of Georgia's northernmost point. The county is named for [[William Rabun]], who served as the 11th [[Governor]] of Georgia from his election in 1817 until his death in 1819. In 1828, the Georgia General Assembly transferred a portion of [[Habersham County, Georgia|Habersham County]] to Rabun County. In 1838, the legislature redefined the Rabun-Habersham county line. In 1856, the legislature used portions of Rabun and [[Union County, Georgia|Union]] Counties to create [[Towns County, Georgia|Towns County]].<ref>[http://www.cviog.uga.edu/Projects/gainfo/countypop/rabunpop.htm Rabun County Historical Population Profile] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060916110137/http://www.cviog.uga.edu/Projects/gainfo/countypop/rabunpop.htm |date=September 16, 2006 }}</ref>

[[File:Tallulah-ranger-station-ga1.jpg|upright|220px|thumb|Tallulah Ranger Station near [[Clayton, Georgia|Clayton]] in 1935]]

During the [[American Civil War|U.S. Civil War]], Rabun County was one of only five Georgia counties that did not declare secession from the Union.<ref>[http://www.gmrdc.org/docs/planning/rabun_county_plan/Chapter%207%20-%20Historic%20Cultural.pdf Rabun County Comprehensive Plan - Chapter 7 - Historical Cultural] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060724050759/http://www.gmrdc.org/docs/planning/rabun_county_plan/Chapter%207%20-%20Historic%20Cultural.pdf |date=July 24, 2006 }}</ref> Although the county was largely untouched by the Civil War, the area did border on anarchy during that time. The county was described by some as being "almost a unit against secession." One of the county's residents recalled in 1865 that "You cannot find a people who were more averse to secession than were the people of our county." He stated that "I canvassed the county in 1860–61 myself and I know that there were not exceeding twenty men in this county who were in favor of secession."<ref>{{Cite magazine|url=http://www.americanheritage.com/content/south%E2%80%99s-inner-civil-war-0 |title=The South's Inner Civil War: The more fiercely the Confederacy fought for its independence, the more bitterly divided it became. To fully understand the vast changes the war unleashed on the country, you must first understand the plight of the Southerners who didn't want secession |date=March 1989 |volume=40 |issue=2 |access-date=December 18, 2013 |publisher=American Heritage Publishing Company |first=Eric |last=Foner |author-link=Eric Foner |page=2 |magazine=American Heritage |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150103082059/http://www.americanheritage.com/content/south%E2%80%99s-inner-civil-war-0 |archive-date=January 3, 2015 }}</ref> Despite its overall loyalty to the Union, Rabun County did field two regiments for the Confederate cause: Rabun 24th Regiment, Georgia Infantry, Company E, Rabun Gap Riflemen; and Rabun 52nd Regiment, Georgia Infantry, Company F, Beauregard Braves.

In 1898, the [[Tallulah Falls Railway]] was constructed on a north–south track through the county. One of the most popular stops along the railway was [[Tallulah Gorge]]. The Railway was in operation for more than 60 years and was featured in the [[Disney]] [[movie]], ''[[The Great Locomotive Chase (film)|The Great Locomotive Chase]]''.

Starting in the 1920s, many of the improvements in the county can be attributed to the establishment, growth and expansion of the [[Chattahoochee National Forest]] in the county. One of the key figures in the establishment and growth of the Chattahoochee National Forest was [[Roscoe Nicholson|"Ranger Nick" Nicholson]], Georgia's first [[forest ranger]]. Among other things, Ranger Nick was responsible for arranging for telephone lines to be run from [[Clayton, Georgia|Clayton]], [[Georgia (U.S. state)|Georgia]] to the [[Pine Mountain, Rabun County, Georgia|Pine Mountain]] community in the eastern part of the county.

''[[Deliverance]]'' (1972), a highly popular film about a group of city men taking a canoe trip in north Georgia, was filmed largely in Rabun County. After the film's release, Rabun County experienced an increase in tourism, with the number of visitors going from hundred to tens of thousands. By 2012, 40 years later, tourism was the largest source of revenue in the county.<ref name="welles"/> According to the US Census, the population has doubled since 1970.

By 2012, rafting had developed as a $20 million industry in the region.<ref name="welles"/>

Because of the scenery, people with money have built vacation and second homes around the area's lakes.<ref name="welles"/> In June 2012, Rabun County held a Chattooga River Festival to encourage preservation of the river and its environment. It also noted the 40th anniversary of the filming of ''Deliverance'' in the area, an aspect which aroused controversy in planning for the festival.<ref name="welles"/>