The Gordon-Lee Mansion. James Gordon began building it in 1840 and finished in 1847.
This will be the first post in an on-and-off series about Georgia small towns I've visited.
The term "small town," of course, is relative. Compared to Atlanta, every town in Georgia is a small town. But some are smaller than others, and I doubt many of the towns I'll write about exceed 20,000 in population. Most will be much smaller.
I'm beginning with Chickamauga in Walker County, in the northwest corner of the state because I know the place well -- we had a Chickamauga address for 33 years, even though we lived 14 miles south of town in McLemore Cove -- and like it. We attended Elizabeth Lee Methodist Church there for a number of years, and Louise was Music Director there twice: 2003-04, and 2013-16.
Chickamauga is a friendly place, and we have, to this day, many friends there, including some who read this blog. In fact, we always thought we would retire to a small house in Chickamauga after we sold the farm. But life is full of surprises.
The Lee and Gordon mill was built by James Gordon. James Lee was his son-in-law.
Chickamauga was settled by whites during and after the removal of the Cherokee Indians in the late 1830s. (The Cherokees were often more civilized than those who replaced them.) Until 1888 the local post office was known as Crawfish Springs, after the large spring near the center of town that puts out 14 millions of water daily.
The population was listed as 2917 in the 2020 census.
Crawfish Springs is located in a natural amphitheater across Cove Road from the Gordon-Lee Mansion. The water comes out from under this rock.
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Photography and text copyright 2024 David B.Jenkins.
I post Monday, Wednesday, and Friday unless life gets in the way.
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