Paddlers come from all over for Tugaloo River History Paddle

    The annual Tugaloo River History Paddle was held Saturday, June 12.         Forty paddlers left Walker Creek around 8:30 a.m.  and paddled down the river stopping at varous historical spots.
    Local historian, Kelly Vickers, led the group, which is sponsored by the Tugaloo River Water Trail.  
    More than half of the paddlers were from outside Stephens County.
     One paddler came from North Carolina to experience the beauty of the Tugaloo River. Others came from Alpharetta, Athens, Atlanta, Dahlonega, Cumming, Gainesville, and other Georgia cities. Participants also came from neighboring South Carolina.
    Each year, Kelly Vickers leads this paddle and talks about the Native American and early pioneer history along the Tugaloo River Corridor.
    Stories and historical accounts are told at various stops along the river, including Walker Creek, Estatoe (current site of Tugaloo Bend/Stephens County Foundation), Rocky Branch, Prather Bridge, and the Tugaloo Indian Mound.
    Vickers encourages participants to imagine what life was like along the river for the Cherokee of the Lower Towns during the trading period.
    “I want people to visualize the history of these places in their mind’s eye. Once they do, they will come to appreciate what this area of northeast Georgia has,” Vickers said.
    At Prather Bridge, Vickers read Civil War era selections from some of the correspondence of Lizzie Jarrett of Jarrett Manor (Travelers Rest) and from a diary of a local resident.
    Both provided a moving snapshot of what life was like during the war years.
    The story of Gen. Robert Toombs’ narrow escape at Riverside, the Prather Mansion on the river is always fun to hear. Was the closet really there? Or was it entry into another room?
    The group then paddled up to Longnose Creek waterfall (a crowd favorite) for a picnic lunch.
    From there, they visited the Tugaloo Mound where stories were told of the Cherokee Drippin’ Rock, Deveraux Jarrett’s General Store in 1807, Jarrett’s Bridge, and the final demise of the Tugaloo Indian chiefs.  
    Angie Ramage, co-chair of the Tugaloo River Water Trail says, “The Tugaloo River is an established Water Trail in the State of Georgia. We are seeing paddlers come from, of course, Stephens County but from across the southeast to paddle this historic river. It’s pristine in many ways and such a value to the state of Georgia and especially the residents of Stephens County.”
    Since 2010, Georgia River Network (GRN) has assisted the development of Water Trails on the: Etowah, Yellow, Broad, North and Middle Oconee, Oconee, Ochlockonee, Alapaha, Satilla, South, South/West Chickamauga, Flint, Little (Clarks Hill Lake), and Tugaloo rivers.
    GRN is currently providing intensive technical assistance for the development of the Coosawattee Watershed Water Trail and the Upper Oconee Water Trail.
    The Tugaloo River Water Trail is a project of the 501(c)(3) Stephens County Foundation.
    The foundation’s mission is to enhance the quality of life for residents of Stephens County, through fostering and providing learning opportunities about our heritage and natural environment. It is 10 miles in length.
    GRN is a statewide 501(c)(3) organization with the mission of helping everyone enjoy, connect with and advocate for economically vital and clean flowing rivers.