The town of Burton,
Georgia
Georgia most commonly refers to:
* Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia
* Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States
Georgia may also refer to:
Places
Historical states and entities
* Related to the ...
now lies underwater, covered by
Lake Burton Lake Burton may refer to:
*Lake Burton (Georgia), a lake in Rabun County, Georgia
* Lake Burton (Quebec), a lake near Long Island, Quebec
*Lake Burton (Antarctica)
Lake Burton, also known as Burton Lagoon, is a meromictic and saline lake in th ...
. The town was located at the
confluence of
Dicks Creek and the
Tallulah River :''This article refers to the river. For the town, see Tallulah Falls, Georgia, for the lake, see Tallulah Falls Lake and for the waterfalls and gorge, see Tallulah Gorge.''
The Tallulah River () is a U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography ...
in
Rabun County, Georgia
Rabun County () is the north-easternmost county in the U.S. state of Georgia. As of the 2020 census, the population was 16,883, up from 16,276 in 2010. The county seat is Clayton. With an average annual rainfall of over , Rabun County has the ...
and was established in the first half of the 19th century as a result of the
Georgia Gold Rush
The Georgia Gold Rush was the second significant gold rush in the United States and the first in Georgia, and overshadowed the previous rush in North Carolina. It started in 1829 in present-day Lumpkin County near the county seat, Dahlonega, an ...
. The first discovery of gold in Rabun County was just north of Burton, at the confluence of Moccasin Creek and the Tallulah River. The town was named after
Jeremiah Burton, who owned the post office and general store there. The Burton Post Office was established in 1875 and discontinued in 1916.
[Helbock, Richard W. (2007) ''United States Post Offices, Volume VIII - The Southeast'', p. 48 Scappoose, Oregon: La Posta Publications]
Burton was located along the road from
Clayton, Georgia
Clayton is a city in Rabun County, Georgia, United States. Its population was 2,003 at the 2020 census. The county seat of Rabun County, it is in the Blue Ridge Mountains.
History
The area that eventually became Clayton was called the Dividings ...
to the
Nacoochee Valley and became more than just a gold rush town – it served the
corundum mines of Tate City. Eventually, the logging industry built a railway to the town so that lumber from the mountains could be transported to the mill in
Helen, Georgia
Helen is a city in White County, Georgia, United States, located along the Chattahoochee River. The population was 531 at the 2020 census.
History
Helen was platted in 1912, and named after the daughter of a lumber official. The town was incorp ...
. By the early 20th century, the town of Burton had a population of approximately 200, making it the second largest town in Rabun County. In 1917, the Georgia Railway and Electric Company (predecessor of the
Georgia Power Company
Georgia Power is an electric utility headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, United States. It was established as the Georgia Railway and Power Company and began operations in 1902 running streetcars in Atlanta as a successor to the Atlanta Consolida ...
) purchased the town of Burton and the surrounding homesteads. The dam for Lake Burton was closed on December 22, 1919, and before long the town was submerged.
References
Sources
Burton, Georgia on Roadside Georgia
{{coord, 34.83452, -83.55326, display=title
Ghost towns in Georgia (U.S. state)
Geography of Rabun County, Georgia