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Went on a road trip today down south into Georgia with Grant, Nadine, Steve and Dave. First stop off was Helen.
Formerly a logging town that was in decline, the city resurrected itself by becoming a replica of a Bavarian alpine town, in the Appalachians instead of the Alps. This design is mandated through zoning first adopted in 1969, so that the classic south-German style is present on every building, even the small number of national franchisees present (such as Huddle House and Wendy's). Because of this, tourism is the main industry in Helen, catering mostly to weekend visitors from the Atlanta area and also, motorcyclists, who enjoy riding the beautiful roads of the Helen and its surrounding areas during all seasons. Helen is extremely crowded in late October, when autumn leaves typically peak. It also hosts its own Oktoberfest during September, October and November.
Only a small place but really pretty and very unexpected to see a whole town looking like its come straight out of Bavarian Germany. Had a walk around, looking in the different shops then stopped for a drink by the river and watched the people tubing down the water. It started to rain then so we decided to head to Athens, GA.
In the late 18th century, a trading settlement on the banks of the Oconee River called Cedar Shoals stood where Athens is located today. On January 27, 1785, the Georgia General Assembly granted a charter by Abraham Baldwin for the University of Georgia as the first state-supported university. Sixteen years later, in 1801, a committee from the university's board of trustees selected a site for the university on a hill above Cedar Shoals in what was then Jackson County. On July 25, John Milledge, one of the trustees and later governor of Georgia, bought 633 acres (256 ha) from Daniel Easley and donated it to the university. Milledge named the surrounding area Athens after the city that was home to the academy of Plato and Aristotle in Greece.[6]
Downtown Athens, looking down College Avenue towards Broad Street
The first buildings on the University of Georgia campus were made from logs. The town grew as lots adjacent to the college were sold to raise money for the additional construction of the school. By the time the first class graduated from the University in 1804, Athens consisted of three homes, three stores and a few other buildings facing Front Street, now known as Broad Street. Completed in 1806 and named in honor of Benjamin Franklin, Franklin College was the University of Georgia's and the City of Athens' first permanent structure. This brick building is now known as Old College.
Athens officially became a town in December 1806 with a government made up of a three-member commission.[7] The university continued to grow, as did the town, with cotton mills fueling the industrial and commercial development. Athens became known as the "Manchester of the South" after the city in England known for its mills. In 1833 a group of Athens businessmen led by James Camak, tired of their wagons getting stuck in the mud, built one of Georgia's first railroads, the Georgia, connecting Athens to Augusta by 1841, and to Marthasville (now Atlanta) by 1845.
During the American Civil War, Athens became a significant supply center when the New Orleans armory was relocated to what is now called the Chicopee building. Fortifications can still be found along parts of the North Oconee River between College and Oconee St. In addition, Athens played a small part in the ill-fated Stoneman Raid when a skirmish was fought on a site overlooking the Middle Oconee River near what is now the old Macon Highway. As in many southern towns, there is a Confederate memorial. It is located on Broad Street, near the University of Georgia Arch.
During Reconstruction, Athens continued to grow. The form of government changed to a mayor-council government with a new city charter on August 24, 1872, and Captain Henry Beusse became the first mayor of Athens.[8] Henry Beusse was instrumental in the rapid growth of the city after the Civil War. After holding the position of mayor he worked in the railroad industry and helped to bring railroads to the region creating growth in many of the surrounding communities. Freed slaves moved to the city. Many were attracted by the new centers for education such as the Freedmen's Bureau. This new population was served by three black newspapers: the Athens Blade, the Athens Clipper, and the Progressive Era.[9]
In the 1880s, as Athens became more densely populated, city services and improvements were undertaken. The Athens Police Department was founded in 1881 and public schools opened in fall of 1886. Telephone service was introduced in 1882 by the Bell Telephone Company. Transportation improvements were also introduced with a street paving program beginning in 1885 and streetcars, pulled by mules, in 1888.
Broad Street in Downtown Athens near North Campus of the University of Georgia
By its centennial in 1901, Athens was a much-changed city. A new city hall was completed in 1904. An African-American middle class and professional class grew around the corner of Washington and Hull Streets, known as the "Hot Corner", where the Morton Building was constructed in 1910.[10] The theater at the Morton Building hosted movies and performances by black musicians such as Louis Armstrong, Cab Calloway, and Duke Ellington. In 1907 aviation pioneer Ben T. Epps became Georgia's first pilot on a hill outside town that would become the Athens-Ben Epps Airport. Athens got its first tall building in 1908 with the seven-story Southern Mutual Insurance Company building.[citation needed]
During World War II, the U.S. Navy built new buildings and paved runways to serve as a training facility for naval pilots. In 1954, the U.S. Navy chose Athens as the site for the Navy Supply Corps school. The school was located in Normal Town in the buildings of the old Normal School. The school closed in 2011 under the Base Realignment and Closure process. The 56 acres (23 ha) site is now home to the GHSU/UGA Medical Partnership, the UGA College of Public Health, and other health-related programs
In 1961, Athens witnessed part of the civil rights movement when Charlayne Hunter and Hamilton Holmes became the first two black students to enter the University of Georgia.[11] Three years later, a gas station attendant and member of the KKK followed black Army reserve officer Lemuel Penn out of town and murdered him in Madison County near Colbert, Georgia. This received national attention. Despite the Brown vs. Board of Education Supreme Court ruling in 1954, the Athens–Clarke County school district remained segregated until 1964, when Athens High School admitted two African-American students.
Now the University of Georgia is a popular campus in the south of the U.S and has students from all over the world attending.
We had a walk around the campus as the weather was lovely again and the grounds were beautiful, very well maintained, in fact there was even a wedding taking place within the grounds.
Later on we went for dinner at a Thai restaurant, lovely food but very old fashioned attitude to women. Nadine and I were practically ignored, they asked to see all 3 of the guys I.D, including Dave's who's 60 but weren't bothered about seeing ours. It seemed that as long as the men were old enough they could give their permission or not as to whether we were allowed a drink. As you can imagine Grant loved this!
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Heather Gosh! Was so impressed by all the information you had gathered - until I read those revealing words [Citation needed]! Haha. Sounds a place worth visiting!