HISTORIC Ellijay - OUR PAST

Ellijay was originally a village of the Cherokee Indian Nation. In the Cherokee language, the name of the village was Elatseyi, meaning "new ground"(1) or "green place".(2)

Gilmer county was carved out of Cherokee county in 1832 and Ellijay was designated its county seat in 1834.(3) Gilmer County was named after George Gilmer who , as governor, was a leading figure in the forceful removal of the Cherokee.  

Gold was discovered in North Georgia in the late 1820’s(5), and the early settlers wanted the Cherokee Nation land. The Indian Removal Act was signed into law by President Andrew Jackson on May 28, 1830(6) In 1838, the Cherokee in Gilmer County were gathered together and put into Fort Hetzel until the forced removal to Oklahoma along the Trail of Tears. Today, there is a marker at the corner of Hwy. 515 and First Avenue commemorating Fort Hetzel.(7) 

 In 1837, most of the buildings in Ellijay were of log construction. By the mid 1800’s, wood-framed buildings were being constructed. By 1900, all of the buildings on the town square were brick. In 1912, a fire destroyed 23 buildings. After the fire, new buildings were constructed using new, stricter fire and safety guidelines.(9)

Ellijay was a remote mountain community until the Marietta and Northern Georgia Railroad (later the L and N) arrived in 1884.(3)  In 1923, the railroad trip from Atlanta cost $3.16 and a room at a mountain area hotel cost $1 per night, Breakfast - 75¢, Lunch - 75¢, and Dinner $1.(4) Regular train service ended in 1949. 

The Shippen Lumber Company was next to the depot and is now Garland Lumber. In it's heyday, Shippen lumber employed 1000 people and shipped lumber across the United States, and even to England.

In the 1870's, the Jarrett Hotel was one of the first two hotels in Ellijay. It was located next to the depot where there is a parking lot today.

 The old historic train depot, built in 1910, is located on Depot Street, ½ mile southeast of downtown, down River Street. It currently houses Century 21 Results. Across the tracks from the Depot was the Jarrett Hotel (1870’s) which was one of the first two hotels in Ellijay. The Cajun Depot Restaurant is in a building that was built in 1946.  This may have been the general store run by Hiram Wright. There was also a building construction supply store run by Jim Waters.  

 The main road to town was on the east side of the depot and came around to the Teem Wholesale Building, built in 1940, which now houses Dan Peterson Heating and Air. Heading to town down River Street, the old road curved to the left and crossed the river downstream from the current bridge. The “Ellijay Creamery” (a Cheese factory) was on the left just before crossing  the river. A wooden truss bridge across the Ellijay River was built in 18778 and was replaced in 1948 by the current cement bridge over the Ellijay River; B.C. Logan Memorial Bridge. 

Map  Year 

No.   Built   Street Number    Current Business            Historical Businesses     _________                 

  -     1930   193 River Street    Private Home                 Home with apartment upstairs/flower shop

  -     1955   146 River Street   Brett Jones’ Law              Site of First Baptist Church and then

                                                                                              Billy Bernhardt’s first funeral home

  -     1974   163 River Street   Bernhardt Funeral Home

 11   1915   128 River Street   Ellijay River House B&B  Private Home

  -     1936   127 River Street   Private Home                   Private Home

  -     1926   111 River Street   Private Home                   Private Home

  -     1956     99 River Street   Private Home                   Private Home

  -     1963   104 River Street   Apartments                      Site of Tankersley’s Hotel and

                                                                                              Restaurant

  -     1920    98 River Street    Jeb Chatham Attorney   Private Home

  -     1921    84 River Street    Clark & Clark Attorneys  Private Home

  -     1898    85 River Street    Private Home                   Private Home

 53   1934    71 River Street    The Gumdrop Shop        Private Home

  -       - -        Gumdrop parking lot                                   Ellijay Bedspread Company /

                                                                                              Apple Valley Antiques

Note that what is now North Avenue used to be called Blue Ridge Avenue. It was also referred to as “Dodge Street” because it led to the Chrysler/Dodger dealership / Many homes on this street were built in 1930’s and 1940’s’.

  -    1938    29 North Avenue     29 North Wine & Art   Private Home

  -    1890    75 North Avenue    Private Home                Private Home

 45  1930    51 River Street       The Cow Pelt                  Bailey’s (Maggie’s) Toggery / Western Auto /

 63  1930    53 River Street       Mountain Hounds         Good-To-Go-Cafe / old site of Cantaberry

                                                                                               Restaurant / Post Office was in the rear of 

                                                                                               the building / Upstairs was Powell’s

                                                                                               Rooming House

  -   1950    47 River Street        Times Courier Newspaper

The Public Parking lot next to The Times Courier         Anderson Holt 5 & 10 / Lay’s 5 & 10 /

                                                                                               Cagel Dentist / Leon’s Beauty Salon

 50  1914   56 River Street         Hometown Florist &     Penland’s Dry Goods & Grocery Store

                                                       Yesterday’s Decor                                       “

 72  1914   56 River Street         WhimZ Boutique                                          “

 56  1914   58 River Street         Linda’s Outback             Penland’s Farm Supplies

                                                      Antiques  

 31  1940   40 River Street         River Street Tavern       Reece’s Dry Goods & Groceries

 21  1940   36 River Street         Chill Out Ice Cream                               "

                                                       & Eatery

  -    1909    ?? River Street          Kristina Lee’s Boutique  J. L. Hipp Mercantile

 26  1909   24 River Street         The Butcher and Bottle  Ray’s Billiards & Eats / Blue Door

                                                                                                  Restaurant /  J & J Restaurant / Emily’s 

                                                                                                  Restaurant

 41   1940   16 River Street         Blue Ridge Mtn.              Grocery store owned and operated

                                                        Outfitters                         by Civil Whitaker and Hollis Bradford /

 27   1940   10 River Street         Kasel Sushi & Saki           Andy’s Jewelry

 32   1940   16 River Street         The Roof Ellijay    

  71  1940   14 S. Church St        Unique Ellijay                   Whitaker & Bradford Grocery store

   7   1927   55 S. Church St       Good Samaritan               Watkins Memorial Methodist Church

                                                      Catholic Church 

 60  1940      6 River Street         The Loving Bull                The West Building housed a Park’s , 

 25  1940      2 River Street         Ellijay Wood Fired Pizza  Restaurant and Hotel / Bus Station /

                                                                                                   and One Location of Eller’s Shoe Shop

                                                                                                   facing South Main Street 

Under Construction

Under Construction

Under Construction

Under Construction

Under Construction

Under Construction

Under Construction

References

1. Gannett, Henry (1905). The Origin of Certain Place Names in the United States. Govt. Print. Off. pp. 117.
2. "The Names Stayed". Calhoun Times and Gordon County News. August 29, 1990. p. 64. Retrieved 29 April 2015.
3. “New Georgia Encyclopedia”. Wilber W. Caldwell, Atlanta
4. “Diary and Expense Notebook, March - April 1923”, W. H. Gudge, U.S. Marshall, Ellijay, Georgia.
5. Williams, David. "Gold Rush." New Georgia Encyclopedia, last modified Sep 12, 2018. https://www.georgiaencyclopedia.org/articles/history-archaeology/gold-rush/
6. Library of Congress Research Guides, “Indian Removal Act: Primary Documents in American History”, https://guides.loc.gov/indian-removal-act/digital-collections
7. The Historical Marker Database, “Fort Hetzel 1838 — 1868”, https://www.hmdb.org/m.asp?m=98987
8. George Gordon Ward (1965), The Annals of Upper Georgia, Centered in Gilmer County“
9. Historic City of Ellijay”, https://ellijay-ga.gov/historic-ellijay/

Most of the information in the tables came from “The Annals of Upper Georgia Centered in Gilmer County” by G. Ward, 1994., Ernest Parker’s book “Days Gone By” and Lawrence Stanley’s book “A Little History of Gilmer County”, and Barbara Dover’s book titled ”The Evolution of Ellijay, Georgia 1921-2021 A Century of Change” (2022). Additional information was contributed by several of the older residents of Ellijay. The “Year Built” dates are from the Gilmer County Tax Assessor’s website. (https://qpublic.schneidercorp.com/Application.aspx?AppID=672&LayerID=11357&PageTypeID=1&KeyValue=1081%20%20%20075)