Category Archives: Fannin County

Incident on the Toccoa

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This story is part of an upcoming “History Around Every Bend” episode to be titled “1864: Chaos in the Mountains” which will explore a series of events that started at the beginning of that year and proceeded through November 1864, each of which was a cause-and-effect incident related to the next.

Friday, September 2nd, 1864 dawned as another humid, hot day – the last vestiges of summer held its grip on the peaks and hollows of the North Georgia mountains. Just 100 miles to the south, as September 2nd progressed, the last vestiges of the confederacy released its grasp in the fall of Atlanta, and the critical hub of the south fell to Sherman’s army.

Senses fully engaged, carefully, with stealth, twenty-seven-year-old Edward Callahan O’Kelley, a Union private in Company C of the 10th Tennessee Cavalry[1]Compiled Service Records, Company G, 10th Tennessee Cavalry (Union), Edward Callahan O’Kelley. Age 26, Enlisted 1/18/1864 for a period of 3 years in Nashville, TN. Mustered into service 2/27/1864. … Continue reading and his brother thirty-three-year-old John Pendleton O’Kelley plodded through the maze of mountain laurels near the Toccoa River. John was a rebel private AWOL from Company H of the 42nd Georgia Infantry CSA[2]Compiled Service Records, 42nd Georgia Infantry (Confederate), John Pendleton O’Kelley. Muster Date 3/4/1862;’ 5/15/1862 Disabled/Rheumatism; 10/2/1863 Absent, Unfit for Service.

Copied from
Aska Road – Toccoa Rapids Roadside Marker,
original image owned by
Bob Barton, descendant of Edward O’Kelley

 

Edward Callahan O’Kelley himself had at one time fought for the rebel cause as a private in Company G of the 24th Georgia Infantry[3]Compiled Service Records, 24th Georgia Infantry (Confederate), Edward Callahan O’Kelley. Enlisted 8/24/1862 in Whit Co., GA by Capt. Leonard. Left sick in Winchester, VA. 10/19/1862; Admitted to … Continue reading. He was wounded at 2nd Manassas in August 1862 and in the aftermath had switched sides, joining Federal forces in Nashville in January 1864. “We were always told as was passed down through my aunts and uncles that he was not happy with how his rebel company treated the civilians–pillaging and raping”, said Bob Barton, of Marble, North Carolina, O’Kelley’s 3X grand nephew, “they weren’t raised that way.[4]Bob Barton interview by Steve Procko; June 2018“

Since he was a former soldier in the confederate army, Edward O’Kelley signed a loyalty oath to the United States. There were several variations of this oath, but they all carried the same message–this would have likely been what Edward C. O’Kelley signed when he enlisted in Nashville at the Provost Marshall’s office:

Continue Reading: Incident On The Toccoa

References

References
↑1 Compiled Service Records, Company G, 10th Tennessee Cavalry (Union), Edward Callahan O’Kelley. Age 26, Enlisted 1/18/1864 for a period of 3 years in Nashville, TN. Mustered into service 2/27/1864. Present on muster rolls Mar-Apr, May-June, July-Aug/1864. Last paid April 20, 1864. He is reported as Killed in Action (KIA)A in September 15, 1864 though the place he was killed is incorrectly reported as Lumpkin County. Adjutant General’s Office, Washington, DC. 10/10/1864 officially reports him as Killed in Action.
↑2 Compiled Service Records, 42nd Georgia Infantry (Confederate), John Pendleton O’Kelley. Muster Date 3/4/1862;’ 5/15/1862 Disabled/Rheumatism; 10/2/1863 Absent, Unfit for Service
↑3 Compiled Service Records, 24th Georgia Infantry (Confederate), Edward Callahan O’Kelley. Enlisted 8/24/1862 in Whit Co., GA by Capt. Leonard. Left sick in Winchester, VA. 10/19/1862; Admitted to Richmond Hospital  No. 20 10/31/1862; Appears on receipt roll for clothing 2d Division Hospital; Camp Winder; Richmond, VA 1/15/1863. No further records after that date.
↑4 Bob Barton interview by Steve Procko; June 2018

We’ve been nominated for an Emmy Award

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There’s History Around Every Bend nominated for an Emmy Award.

I am pleased to announce that There’s History Around Every Bend has been nominated for an Emmy Award in the Historical/Cultural category for the episode titled “The Hook & Eye Line and Blue Ridge Scenic Railway”.

If you have not seen the documentary – it tells the story of how the railroad came to Blue Ridge, Georgia in the 1800s through the founding of today’s Blue Ridge Scenic Railway. The rails this scenic line runs on have a history going back over 160 years. It all starts in 1854 with the first fifty years being a tale full of big ideas, engineering schemes, mergers, bankruptcies and acquisitions. They nicknamed the railroad the ‘Hook and Eye Line’ because of the unique engineering necessary to overcome the steep mountainous terrain through some of the most picturesque landscape in the Smoky Mountains.

You can watch the documentary and follow our YouTube Channel at:

The Hook & Eye Line and Blue Ridge Scenic Railway

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As you ride the rails on the Blue Ridge Scenic Railway, it’s important to aways be on the lookout as the whistle sounds…because There’s History Around Every Bend.  

The rails this scenic line runs on on have a history going back over 160 years. It all starts in 1854 with the first fifty years being a tale full of big ideas, engineering schemes, mergers, bankruptcies and acquisitions.

The railroad was nicknamed the ‘Hook and Eye Line’ because of the unique engineering necessary to overcome the steep mountainous terrain through some of the most picturesque landscape in the Smoky Mountains.

Eventually in the late 1980’s it was the end of the line. Until the rails were was brought back by Wilds L. Pierce II in the founding of the Blue Ridge Scenic Railway.

Please subscribe to our YouTube channel for more interesting history videos.

The Heritage Bridges of Fannin County

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We are happy to announce that our article ‘The Heritage Bridges of Fannin County’ has now been published in the Spring, 2020 issue of Georgia Backroads magazine. Visit Georgia Backroads magazine to purchase the issue or even better subscribe to this wonderful publication.

http://www.georgiabackroads.com/index.htm

‘The Heritage Bridges of Fannin County’ is the companion article to a micro-documentary we did last year for the YouTube series There’s History Around Every Bend titled ‘The McCaysville Magical Mystery Steel Bridge’.

It tells the story of sleuthing the facts as to what really happened to an old 150 foot long steel bridge in the North Georgia Mountains that local folk tales had claimed was left in place and would now be under more than 120 feet of Blue Ridge Lake’s waters

Stanley Creek Snowfall

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We experienced over six inches of snow on February 8, 2020 in the North Georgia mountains. The snow fell during the mourning and was quite beautiful. I shot this with my Nikon DSLR in 4K from one single place on my porch deck where I could keep the snow off the camera.

I also flew my drone for the first time in light snow towards the end of the weather event. Taking off and landing on a cardboard box.

Within 24 hours the snow was all gone.

This is a short 3 1/2 minute video – a ‘Moment of Zen’ piece of eye candy. Enjoy.

Merchant’s Hope; North Georgia’s Colonial Curiosity

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Here’s the new ‘There’s History Around Every Bend’ video just in time for the holidays. 

There’s been lots of discussion about this interesting colonial curiosity since it was renamed ‘Inola’ at the beginning of 2019. This video tells the history of how it came to be starting in the mid-1980’s. It also gives insight into the meanings of the different buildings by telling the history of their Williamsburg counterparts. 

In the North Georgia mountains, near the town of Blue Ridge, Georgia; a man who was obsessed with all things colonial set about to create a twin of Colonial Williamsburg in the mid-1980’s.

He named his village ‘Merchant’s Hope’ and it was inspired by Colonial Williamsburg and Merchant’s Hope in Hopewell, Virginia. Meticulously recreated using 17th century building techniques it was constructed in the late 1980’s and early 1990’s. 

Because even though you’re in the North Georgia mountains, you might do a double take and swear you stepped back to 1776 proving once more that “There’s History Around Every Bend”. 

Produced, written, directed and edited by Steve Procko.

Postscript: For the last 20 years the property has been closed to the public. 

In 2019 this amazing colonial property was reopened to the public when it was acquired by developers Rick Skelton and Susie Council. Now you can once again visit the Georgia versions of the Wythe House, Wetherburn Tavern and more.

Merchant’s Hope has been renamed ‘INOLA Blue Ridge’, an indigenous Cherokee name meaning ‘black fox’. 

The McCaysville ‘Magical Mystery’ Steel Bridge

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There’s a cool-looking, old steel bridge in McCaysville, Georgia that a lot of people take selfies in front of. For years, local folks have talked about it, posted comments about it, heard the different stories, admired it, laughed at the tall tales, listened to the rumors, speculated about the truth, read about in the newspaper, and some have obsessed about it – wondering how the heck it came to be there. 

People have sworn it was sunk under Blue Ridge Lake 12 miles to the south – nope, that mystery is all wet. People have claimed it as a fact that it was floated downstream to McCaysville a long time ago – boy that story is just magical, except it didn’t happen. Some think it was built in 1911, others in 1936. Well here’s a proven fact – it actually will be a hundred years old in 2021.

Because when you’re in McCaysville and you make the turn onto ‘Bridge Street’ you’ll find the old steel bridge straight ahead, proving once again ‘There’s History Around Every Bend’.

The Cochran Davenport Farmstead

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There’s History Around Every Bend Episode #2 – The Cochran Davenport Farmstead

The road literally bends around the land this iconic farmstead sits on, and the history that’s there. Today, it is one of the few remaining farmsteads that retains all of it’s 1880‘s era out buildings. The original house was built by George Cochran in 1885 who lived in the house with his family until around 1918. His nephew Press Davenport and his family moved into the home soon after and occupied the home until 1980. This is a story on the history of this historic farmstead rising like a phoenix to what is seen today, more than 125 years after it was first built.

The Heritage Bridges of Fannin County

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There are many old bridges in Fannin County, each of whose history bears witness to the the distant past. Some of these bridges are no longer used, yet they still stand as sentinels to what once was. You can find them if you pay close attention.

In fact, a road trip through Fannin County in search of these old bridges makes for a pleasant drive on a Sunday afternoon.

Some of the bridges have gone, having been demolished, yet we still feel their presence. The loss of their history a blemish on the record of preservation. In Fannin county, there are many blemishes.

These bridges were built in the early 20th century, and at the time they were modern innovations, replacing older wooden covered bridges, which were then torn down. As a result, there are no longer any covered bridges remaining in Fannin county.

Now a century later, the older metal bridges are being taken out of service, replaced by modern innovations of the twenty-first century. As history repeats itself, will we allow these curiosities to disappear? Or should we find a way for these old workhorses to be preserved and embraced as part of the heritage of this county.