Exploring Helen Georgia and Vicinity (#2)

…continuing with our visit to Helen Georgia as well as the nearby area.  Laurie and I were accompanied on this 3-day adventure by her sister Bonnie and Bonnie’s husband Bill.

In addition to the Bavarian Village atmosphere, Helen is further graced or enhanced by the presence of the Chattahoochee River.  Popular restaurants occupy both banks of the river on either side of the bridge in the middle of town.  The view above is looking downriver.

The Chattahoochee River flows 430 miles south from the mountains of North Georgia to its junction with the Flint River… Those 2 rivers form the relatively short Apalachicola River which empties into the Gulf of Mexico.  The lower portion of the Chattahoochee River is navigable by river barge as far north as Columbus Georgia.  Below the mountainous area in the north, the river has been greatly modified by dams, reservoirs and locks.

Like most tourist focused towns, Helen is clean and colorful.  These attractive plantings around the downtown area really add to the novelty created by local residents and merchants.

Speaking of merchants, not only do shopping opportunities line the main street through town, but they even take form in groups of stores like those shown above.  The photos above were taken in the Helen Central Plaza.  Among others, shops here include a rock shop, Dutch imports, a boutique and an artisan’s market.  Many other shops are scattered all over the center of town…

This is Helen’s Arts and Heritage Center.  It is located adjacent to the Helen Central Plaza.  It features an art gallery and gift shop, art classes and a work shop and a town history museum.  To learn more, you can visit their website at https://www.helenarts.org/.

Taking a step back in time…before Helen became a faux Bavarian village and a huge tourist attraction, this photo shows what Helen looked like back in 1969…only 53 years ago.

In January 1969, 3 local businessmen met at a local restaurant.  They were trying to figure out if there wasn’t some way to spruce up downtown Helen to help the economy by attracting more tourists.  They contacted an artist named John Kollock…and he drew up sketches based on the town’s location in a mountain valley and his time in the army in Germany…specifically in Bavaria.   His sketches were well received and by the fall of that year, many of the town’s buildings had Bavarian facades.  The plan worked and the town grew into what it is today. 

Note: The Bavarian design, mandated through zoning ordinances back in 1969, requires that all structures remain true to the Bavarian design, even chain store or restaurant operations.

I really liked these horse sculptures near the center of Helen.  They are very lively and creative…a pleasure for passersby to view.

After looking around Helen for a bit, we decided to drive over to nearby Nacoochee Village.

Nacoochee Village is only a half mile south of Helen.  Our first stop was at Nacoochee Village Antiques.  About 50 dealers occupy over 7,000 square feet of space in the 1876 Martin House.  The home was built by John Martin, the original owner of the Nora Mill…more on that shortly.   This massive home also served as a boarding house/hotel/inn and it was later owned by the Hardman and Ivie families.

Our challenge was that unfortunately, we had no idea what to expect in Nacoochee…and we arrived shortly before everything began to close up for the day.  Note the second photo above.  We would have loved to spend an hour or more wandering through the many rooms jammed full of antiques and collectables.  However, there was so much to cover in such a short time, that we just made a quick pass through the building and gave up.

Once again, I managed to stay out of a group photo… It helps in that I take most of the photos and our little group is used to me taking these photos.  Laurie, Bill and Bonnie were standing on the porch of the Nacoochee Antique Mall/Martin House.  For more about this Antique Mall, go to https://www.facebook.com/NACOOCHEEANTIQUES/.

Nacoochee comes from the Cherokee pronunciation of the Creek word “Nakose”, which means ‘bear’.  According to legend, adjoining valleys were named for ill-fated lovers, the ‘Romeo and Juliet’ of the two warring Native American tribes.

Right across the street from the side of the Antique Mall, visitors will find the Nora Mill Granary.  Established by John Martin in 1876, this operational gristmill is situated beside the Chattahoochee River.  They still use the original 1,500 lb. French Burr Stones to mill a variety of corn and wheat based products.  An old-fashioned country store and gift shop is right next door.

Unfortunately, we were running out of time and our little group chose to check out the winery right next door to the antique mall.  Maybe the next time we’ll visit the Nora Mill.  Learn more and order products at the mill’s website: http://www.noramill.com/.

Habersham Vineyards and Winery were founded in 1983.  According to their website, this winery has produced some of the finest award winning Georgia wines.  Laurie and Bill decided to partake in a wine tasting before the Winery closed for the day. ($12.00 each for a flight of 5 wines)

Habersham Winery is an attractive space and, in addition to the tasting room, they also feature a gift shop with gourmet foods and specialty items from around the world.  They also carry imported cheeses and other necessary items that you might need to put together a picnic.  To learn more about this winery, go to https://habershamwinery.com/.

Even though shopping hours were over, we didn’t want to eat dinner too early so we continued to explore the Nacoochee Valley and the nearby area.  Just a little further down the road, we noted this mound with a gazebo on top.  The Nacoochee Mound is an archaeological site on the banks of the Chattahoochee River.  It is part of the Sautee Valley Historic District…which is adjacent to the Nacoochee Valley Historic District.

This and other area mounds were built somewhere from 1350 to 1600 by peoples of the South Appalachian Mississippian culture.  Evidence of related villages were found both east and west of the mound.  An archeological excavation revealed a total of 75 human burials with artifacts that support the dates listed.  The gazebo was installed on top of the mound in 1890 by a European-American landowner.

As it turned out, the Nacoochee Mound is connected to and is part of the Hardman Farm State Historic Site.  This historic site includes the mound with its gazebo, this spectacular 1870 Italianate mansion, a separate kitchen, horse barn, manager’s home, dairy barn and spring house.

The home was originally built by Captain James Nichols.  He also built the gazebo on the Nacoochee Mound.  Calvin Hunnicutt was the next owner but in 1903, he sold the property to Lamartine Griffin Hardman.  Hardman was a physician and politician who served 2 terms as the 65^th Governor of Georgia.  The property remained in the family until it was donated to the state of Georgia in 1999. 

Of course, by the time we ran across this farm/state historic site, it was closed.  More to explore at another time… Check this historic site out at https://gastateparks.org/HardmanFarm.

We’d passed this pretty little church as we drove up and down the Sautee Valley.  I did some research on it and discovered that it has served members of both the Presbyterian Church and the Baptist Church.  After reading several versions of the history of this church building, I must admit I was confused.  The founding of churches and the building of church buildings do not necessarily coincide.

Despite the signing on the front of the church, I’ve accepted the historic version that states that the Crescent Hill Baptist Church was completed in 1872 by Captain James Nichols…who built the Hardman farm.  The church was first known as the Nacoochee Presbyterian Church but it changed owners several times before becoming the Crescent Hill Baptist Church.  For more information, go to https://www.hrcga.org/church/crescent-hill-baptist/.

Just click on any of the photos to enlarge them…

Thanks for stopping by for a visit!

Take Care, Big Daddy Dave