Our Newsletter

The newsletter of the Alpharetta Historical Society is a monthly publication. It highlights Society activities, related community events, member updates, and Georgia historical notes. Our newsletter has always been an important part of the Society's life, serving as a chronicle of the Society's events for more than 20 years.

The following is an excerpt from a recent issue.

Around Georgia

"Out of the hills of Habersham,
Down the valleys of Hall,
I hurry amain to reach the plain.
Run the rapid and leap the fall."

So begins the classic, Song of the Chattahoochee, by Sidney Lanier, describing its 436-mile journey from the mountains of north Georgia to the Gulf of Mexico.

The 20,000 miles of rivers and streams have had a significant part in the development of our state. Its twelve major waterways served as major routes of transportation for the early settlers. As Georgia's population grew, new lands were opened to settlement in the interior of the state. Pioneers found that a source of water power was available along the Fall Line, giving rise to towns and cities at sites where the rivers dropped off the lower Piedmont onto the coastal plain. Prominent among these are Columbus on the Chattahoochee, Macon on the Ocmulgee, Milledgeville on the Oconee, and Augusta on the Savannah.

Not only did rivers affect the early location of settlements, they also determined the original boundaries of the state. On the west, the Chattahoochee defines much of the boundary between Georgia and Alabama. Traveling east, one crosses the Savannah into South Carolina. To the southeast a smaller boundary, but no less significant, is the St. Marys, marking the state boundary with Florida. Locally, the Chattahoochee was accepted as part of the boundary between the Cherokees and the Creeks.

Today we look to our rivers as a source of water for an increasing population. With the development of electricity Georgia built dams to harness the rivers as a power source. The 28 major lakes and reservoirs created since 1910 also provide a source of recreation. It is estimated that four out of every five Georgians live within 40 miles of a major freshwater lake.

With the major demands on our river systems comes the challenge of maintaining the quality of the water. Locally the challenge of keeping the Chattahoochee a quality stream is met by the Upper Chattahoochee Riverkeeper organization with its base in Atlanta. If successful, the "river of the painted rock" can continue its mission of flowing free and clear to the sea.

"And flee from folly on every side,
With a lover's pain to attain the plain,
Far from the hills of Habersham
Far from the valleys of Hall."

Lanier would certainly approve.