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©
2002-2005 Hart County Board of Commissioners
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County is located in the I-85 corridor in northeast Georgia. Exit
177 in Hart County is only an hour-and-a-half from Atlanta and a
little over an hour from the Greenville/Spartanburg area. With a
population of approximately 23,000 it is noted for its exceptional
livability and beautiful residential areas which include 222 miles
of shoreline on Lake Hartwell, the town of Hartwell with its lovely
historic homes and downtown shopping area, and scenic rural districts
with gently rolling hills. It has an ideal climate with an average
annual temperature of 74°. The average summer temperature is
89°, and the winter average is 57°, with an average rainfall
of about 49 inches a year.
Education in Hart County is good with 8 public
schools with 244 teachers and 3,497 students. Evening classes
for adults is offered at Hart County High School, North Georgia
Technical College, and Truett-McConnell College at Cleveland,
Colleges and Universities are in commuting distance at: Clemson
University at Clemson, SC (43 miles) with 16,876 students, Emmanuel
College at Franklin Springs (20 miles) with 850 students, and
University of Georgia at Athens (41 miles) with 32,941 students.
Medical facilities in Hart County include:1 hospital
(74 beds) with a 24-hour emergency room and intensive care unit,
6 dentists, 17 MDs, 2 nursing homes (209 beds), Public health
department, 28 Emergency Medical Technicians, 4 ambulances, 1
quick response vehicle (QVR), 1 mental health/substance abuse
center, and 1 personal care home.
Nearby shopping is exceptional. In addition to
Downtown Hartwell, a large discount shopping complex in Commerce,
Georgia, is only thirty minutes away, and many shopping centers
and malls can be reached in less than a half-hour in Anderson,
SC. Community theaters are nearby; Hartwell has it own, and there
are others nearby in Toccoa, Georgia, and Abbeville and Seneca
in South Carolina.
The recreational opportunities in Hart County
are outstanding. Lake Hartwell with its many parks, camp sites,
marinas and boat ramps can be reached in minutes from virtually
any home in Hart County and offers swimming, fishing, camping,
cabins, water skiing, and motor boating. Annual events include:
Hartwell Antique Boat Festival. Challenge of the Centuries Bicycle
Ride. Pre-4th of July Extravaganza. Lake Hartwell Dam Run. Corps
of Engineers Interpretive Programs. Hart County Theatrical Productions.
Cateechee Golf Course, located on Highway 77 south of Hartwell,
is an Audubon Signature Course: only 2 in Georgia; only 15 in
U.S and offers gourmet dining at their Waterfall Grille.
Industrial sites are available in Hart County
and include Gateway Hi-tech Industrial Park at Exit 177 on I-85.
TI Automotive has recently constructed a large facility in Gateway
offering 100 employment opportunities to County residents and
a thirty million dollars investment. Gateway has eight excellent
industrial sites immediately across the Interstate from the Georgia
Welcome Center.
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History
of Hart County
Beautiful Lake Hartwell
In 1853,
Hart County was formed by an act of the Georgia Legislature.
The next year, it was laid out from territory that formerly
was Elbert and Franklin counties. See
detail. The Cherokee Indians originally lived on the land
in northeast Georgia, including Hart County. Arrowheads, pottery
and other relics remain from the days when the Native Americans
roamed the virgin forest along the Savannah River. The remnants
of villages, burial mounds and artifacts left today show some
of the details of their existence here.In an area along Little
Coldwater Creek, an old mound was used by the Cherokee for a
variety of dances. The Native Americans pleaded with the Great
Spirits for blessings to their many endeavors.
One
reminder of the Cherokee Indians is an area designated the Center
of the World, marked by a historical monument on U.S. 29 about
three miles south of Hartwell.The site was a Native American
assembly ground where they met for various councils and with
traders from Augusta and other southern locations. The Native
Americans bartered hides, furs and blankets with the traders.
It was reported that their trails radiated from the site to
many locations throughout the Cherokee Nation as well as to
early settlements.
Cherokee Center of the World
Ah-ye-li a-lo-hee
Early settlements
in Hart County began during or shortly after the Revolutionary
War and were predominately English.
The early
settlers of Hart County were mostly farmers or plantation owners.
These plantations were developed along the Tugaloo and Savannah
rivers and other major creeks in the area not only for irrigation
purposes, but also for supply purposes until the railroad reached
the county. The growth and development of these farms was supplemented
by the advances in the technology of ginning and threshing.The
Civil War and abolition of slavery changed the farming operations
in the South. Though many slaves remained on farms as hired
help, the farms moved away from the rivers. The traditional
Southern crop, cotton, reached its peak in 1919, but from the
Great Depression on, the crops of the South became more diverse.
Published
by the Anderson Independent on July 21, 2002 and edited for
this site.
Hart
County Facts
County Seat: Hartwell
Population: 22,997 (2000)
Population rank: 70 (out of 159)
Area: 257 sq.mi.
120th in size
Public road mileage: 675
47th State Senatorial District
23rd State House District
11th U.S. Congressional District
Downtown
Development
Hart
County's Representatives
Click the image below to view
a map of the Colony of Georgia developed by the British about
1770. The Savannah River is shown in great detail, but it
is not entirely accurate.
The above map may take up to
120 seconds to load depending on your Internet connection
speed. It is a large file with fine detail.
The
County provides emergency ambulance service, rural fire protection
with volunteer firefighters, waste transfer stations, recycling,
private waste collection, recreation program, parks, senior
center, library, transit system, county water system. There
is a joint city-county development authority, and a joint
airport and animal shelter with Franklin County. there is
one public hospital and one private landfill.
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Nancy
Hart's Cabin
The Story of Nancy Hart
Hart
County was named after Nancy Hart, a local Revolutionary War heroine.
It is the only county in Georgia named for a woman. She was born
around 1747 Nancy Ann Morgan and later married Benjamin Hart.
They obtained a 400-acre grant 25 miles southeast of Hartwell
in 1771 and built a log cabin home.
Painting of Nancy Morgan Hart
by Louis S. Glanzman.
National Geographic, October 1975.
A
Spy for the Revolution
Legend has it that she served as a spy for General Elijah Clarke,
occasionally disguised as a man. The neighboring Indians had great
respect for Nancy Hart, calling her "War Woman,"("Wahatchee"
in the Cherokee language) and gave that name to a creek adjacent
to her cabin, now memorialized as a State Park on State Highway
Route 17. Nancy Hart was related to Daniel Boone, and to Colonel
John Dooley.
One
woman against seven soldiers
While there are many stories about Nancy Hart fighting and killing
enemies (called Tories at the time), the most famous story about
Nancy Hart occurred during the Revolutionary War when seven British
soldiers arrived at her cabin near Wahatchie Creek. Her normal
hostility toward the British was replaced that day by a cordial
manner, and she offered the soldiers a meal. Meanwhile she sent
her daughter to the spring for water, but slipping her a conch
shell to blow, a signal summoning help. The British soldiers began
to drink, while Nancy kept an eye on them and their muskets that
were carelessly stacked in the corner.
Nancy managed to sneak two of the muskets into a space in the
wall before she was noticed trying to sneak the remainder. One
of the soldiers rushed at her but she was an expert marksman and
dropped him to the floor. Another soldier followed and was injured
by Nancy's excellent shot. The rest of the soldiers pulled back.
Nancy stood over six feet tall and had flaming red hair; she must
have been an intimidating sight to the soldiers. When Benjamin
and his friends arrived at the cabin, Nancy had the five enemy
soldiers and the situation under control.
The
soldiers were hanged from an old oak tree and buried on the Harts'
farm. The grave was unearthed by a work crew when building the
railroad, verifying the history which had been considered by many
to be mere legend.
Other
stories which cannot be verified with documents but are believed
to be true include the following:
The
Georgia Whigs used Nancy as a spy several times. One time she
dressed as a man and entered the British camp, pretending to be
crazy, and was able to come away with vital information on the
British troop movements.
Another
time the Georgia Whigs badly needed information about what was
going on the Carolina side of the Savannah River. As there were
no volunteers for the mission, Nancy tied a few logs together
with grapevines, crossed the river and obtained the needed information.
A representation of Nancy Hart may be seen on the Hart County
Seal. The Seal was designed by Robert W.Knowles and adopted as
the official seal on May 8, 1990.
Nancy
Hart Links:
http://smithdray.tripod.com/history/nancyhart.htm
http://www.gawomen.org/honorees/long/hartn_long.htm
http://www.geocities.com/Heartland/Meadows/6651/
The
Hart County Courthouse burned in 1967.
Click
here to view enlarged version.
The Hart County Courthouse was built in 1967 after the former
Courthouse burned
The old Hart County jail was built in 1989. It is now used as
the District Attorney's Office.
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Facts
about Hart County