Blue Ridge Country July/August 2022 - 16

OUR BLUE RIDGE TOWNS
'THE SECRET IN THE SAUCE IS FULL BUY-IN'
Clayton, Georgia:
Trail Town Standing Tall
You may well drive a while to get to Clayton, seat of Rabun County,
in the northeast corner of Georgia. It's worth the trip.
Text and photos by JOAN VANNORSDALL
I
t's a small place, Clayton, at the intersection of historic
U.S. 441 running north/south and scenic U.S.
76 going east/west. On the map, Clayton lies heartcenter
in Rabun County, cradled by mountains and
public lands flowing with rivers and waterfalls.
And you know Rabun County-where much of
" Deliverance " was filmed, dueling banjos and roaring
rivers the soundtrack. The place where the Appalachian
oral history Foxfire books rose up to take the publishing
world by storm 50 years ago. Where Jessica Tandy
and Hume Cronin's 1987 Hallmark Hall of Fame movie
" Foxfire " was filmed.
But that was yesterday. Today, new things ask for your
attention. Walk Main Street and intersecting Savannah
Street in Clayton, and you'll see two large outdoor outfitter
stores, a brewery and holistic health market, a toy
store, home décor and design shops, upscale gift shops,
galleries, clothing boutiques, a florist shop and cowboy
boot store, a longstanding diner and a new upscale eatery,
a hometown pharmacy with the Soda Fountain Diner
attached. In short...there's not a single empty storefront
on Main Street.
How does a tiny city of just over 2,000 people, in
a county that's 75% public land and nearly two hours
from a city in any direction, build itself a destination
downtown?
Spend some time with Rick Story, sixth-generation
Clayton area native and development director of Forward
Rabun, and the answer becomes pretty clear pretty fast.
The word " synergy " comes up often talking with
Story, whose resume includes work in Washington for
a Georgia Congressman who was subsequently elected
governor.
" Those years, I was chasing rabbits in every direction, "
a smiling Story says.
A former University of Georgia Archway Partnership
professional, Story brought the model to Rabun Coun16
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SCOTT POSS
ty in 2019. The Archway model
brings localities together to work
together for the greater good.
" Facilitating conversation was my main priority-establishing
a dialogue of neutrality. The rising tide raises all
boats, " Story says.
" We've brought together three separate entities-the
Tourism Authority, the Chamber and the Development
Authority-under the name Forward Rabun. We do a
bimonthly intergovernmental roundtable-one representative
from each of the small Rabun cities and the
County Commission Chair. The secret in the sauce is
that you have to have full buy-in. We've had more successes
than failures. "
Put it in simpler terms, and what you've got headquartered
in Clayton is developing support for all the players,
and strong unity among them.
" Egos, turf protection and silos are the biggest detriments
to progress, " Story says.
One of the most exciting recent Clayton developments
is the designation of the city as an official Appalachian
Trail Town by the Appalachian Trail Conservancy.
Outdoor 76 store co-owner Cory McCall and manager Bill
Bennett worked cooperatively with Forward Rabun to literally
put Clayton on the AT map.
Outdoor 76 runs weekday AT shuttles to Dicks Creek
Gap 16 miles west of Clayton (and Saturday by appointment).
" This is a great trail town for hikers, " Bennett says.
" It's got a little bit of everything. " (Including the recently
opened Holistic Mountain Market, where owner Dana
McFarland serves up smoothies and herbal remedies with
genuine hospitality.)
Bennett has seen a lot of progress in Clayton since
Outdoor 76 opened in 2018. " On weekends, the traffic is
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Blue Ridge Country July/August 2022

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