The town of Helen Georgia has a unique and charming history among the many mountain towns set among the Appalachian foothills. Helen has deep Native American roots, a rich history as a logging town, and is now known for its Bavarian style and culture. Exploring the town and the surrounding area gives you a first-hand glimpse into this town’s rich history.
The town of Helen was the center of Cherokee culture and heritage before the 1800s. Several sites around Helen are named after historic Cherokee figures. By the 1820s, the area around Helen was more well-known for its gold mines and the northern town saw a brief but profitable gold rush. Prospectors worked the hills around Georgia for nearly a century in the pursuit of this precious metal.After the miners moved on, logging was the next industry to keep Helen at the center of commerce in Georgia with the Matthews Lumber Company sawmill leading the boom. At the same time, a railroad found its way up the Chattahoochee River to the town of Helen, which was named after the daughter of a railroad surveyor.But by the 1930s, the timber company and the sawmill abandoned the town of Helen and residents left for other opportunities. With economic ruin on the horizon, town leaders got together in 1968 and proposed turning their town into a recreation of a Bavarian alpine village complete with gingerbread trim, cobblestone alleyways, and old-world towers.The Helen of today harkens back to a much earlier time and celebrates its new Bavarian heritage with several German and alpine-inspired festivals each year. Helen Georgia Oktoberfest celebration, which runs from September through October, is known far and wide as the place to celebrate this rite of fall in the North Georgia Mountains.Visitors today can find activities and events to mark each portion of Helen Georgia History including visiting Native American landmarks, panning for gold in the streams, and enjoying authentic German fare.
