Nacoochee Valley

Georgia Gold Rush

Chattahoochee River in the Nacoochee Valley

The Nacoochee Valley experienced a gold rush beginning in 1824, attracting thousands of miners, despite being Cherokee territory. State officials manipulated boundaries to facilitate this influx, leading to the displacement of the Cherokee people. Wealthy planters and corporations dominated the mining industry, often employing Cherokees who lived outside their nation. The gold rush later inspired further migrations during the California and Colorado gold rushes. In the post-Civil War era, northern capitalists transformed the valley into a tourist destination, significantly altering its landscape and accessibility.

Valley of Nacoochee, Georgia, April, 1848

I now write from the most charming valley of this southern wilderness. The river Nacoochee is a tributary of the Chattahoochee, and, for this country, is a remarkably clear, cold, and picturesque stream. From the moment that it doffs the title of brook and receives the more dignified one of river, it begins to wind itself in a most wayward manner through a valley which is some eight or ten miles long, when it wanders from the vision of the ordinary traveler and loses itself among unexplored hills. The valley is perhaps a mile wide, and, as the surrounding hills … Read more