Blue Ridge Country Nov/Dec 2024 - 15

HIGH UP IN HABERSHAM:
Chenocetah Fire Tower and
Tallulah Gorge State Park
H
igh above Cornelia, on top of Chenocetah Mountain,
sits the only granite fire tower in America,
and one of only two fire towers left in Georgia. Built by
the Works Progress Administration in 1937, the 54-foot
tower affords stunning views of Lake Russell and the
Chattahoochee National Forest. It's open Saturdays April
through October and during festival weekends.
And 17 miles up the road, on the border of Habersham
and Rabun Counties, Tallulah Gorge State Park is a waterfall-hiker's
paradise, " The Niagara of the South " offers
spectacular views of the Tallulah River, the two-mile-long,
1,000-foot-deep gorge and five waterfalls. Trails run along
both rims of the canyon.
Both the Fire Tower and Tallulah Gorge are proof positive
that on a clear day, you can see forever in Habersham
County, Georgia. -JV
where restaurants and bakeries are blooming like flowers
after spring rain.
A town of fewer than 6,000 people...with a steakhouse
restaurant like the Community Brew & Tap in
the restored 1900 Community Bank and Trust building,
that draws diners from Atlanta with its wood-fired grill
and speakeasy décor. An outdoor bar area with a vintage
diner and soon-to-be-opened Italian restaurant in a
former downtown drugstore nearby. Three bakeries. A
coffee shop. The list goes on. " Cornelia is the restaurant
capital of Habersham County, " says Hamil.
How does this happen?
Jessie Owensby is the Community Development Director
of Cornelia. " When I started here in late 2015,
the downtown was completely empty, " she says. " One
of the city commissioners told me it was my job to fill it! "
Owensby reached out to the Carl Vinson Institute of
Government at the University of Georgia, and initiated
a 12-week Georgia Downtown Renaissance fellowship
project. The result was a stunning 70-page catalogue
filled with renderings of what downtown Cornelia could
do to restore business vitality.
Some of the proposed improvements are already underway.
Things like the Cornelia Rails to Trails project.
An amphitheater next door to the depot, where performances
and festivals will bring people downtown. An infill
housing development along a greenway, downtownwalkable.
(Cornelia's population swelled by 5% between
2020 and 2024, and housing is at a premium.) A sidewalk
extension to connect the downtown to the Cornelia
City Park.
" Our median age in Cornelia is 30-and more than
75% of our population is under 62, " Owensby says.
" We have a lot of young families here, and we're working
on ways to keep them grounded and happy here. "
" We're termed a 'microcity,' which means that we're
a rural city serving as a regional hub. We want the
growth in the city-and we want to keep the country
rural. Cornelia is the best of both worlds. We can be out
of civilization in five minutes-our goal is to keep it that
way, " she says.
Sitting in the center of the Northeast Georgia Mountain
Region, and with focused city staff working creatively
to celebrate its quirky past as it moves forward,
Cornelia has its stories to share.
" This is home, " says Jessie Owensby. " The kids come
back to live here. I absolutely love this city. "
NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2024 15
Blue Ridge Country Nov/Dec 2024

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Blue Ridge Country Nov/Dec 2024
