High Falls State Park is a

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 ...

state park located near the city of

Jackson Jackson may refer to: People and fictional characters * Jackson (name), including a list of people and fictional characters with the surname or given name Places Australia * Jackson, Queensland, a town in the Maranoa Region * Jackson North, Qu ...

in Monroe County, Georgia, part of the Macon metropolitan area. It is the site of a prosperous 19th-century industrial center, which became a

ghost town Ghost Town(s) or Ghosttown may refer to: * Ghost town, a town that has been abandoned Film and television * ''Ghost Town'' (1936 film), an American Western film by Harry L. Fraser * ''Ghost Town'' (1956 film), an American Western film by All ...

when it was bypassed by the railroad. The park contains the largest waterfall in middle Georgia and a lake. High Falls State Park in Georgia

History

In the early 19th century, the park's land was a prosperous industrial town with several stores, a

grist mill A gristmill (also: grist mill, corn mill, flour mill, feed mill or feedmill) grinds cereal grain into flour and Wheat middlings, middlings. The term can refer to either the Mill (grinding), grinding mechanism or the building that holds it. Grist i ...

, cotton gin,

blacksmith A blacksmith is a metalsmith who creates objects primarily from wrought iron or steel, but sometimes from other metals, by forging the metal, using tools to hammer, bend, and cut (cf. tinsmith). Blacksmiths produce objects such as gates, gr ...

shop, and shoe factory. However, the town, called High Falls, became a

in the 1880s when it was bypassed by a major

railroad Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport that transfers passengers and goods on wheeled vehicles running on rails, which are incorporated in tracks. In contrast to road transport, where the vehicles run on a pre ...

. The remains of the bridge on Old Alabama Road still partially stand to offer views of the shoals below the dam. The bridge, constructed in 1890, was mostly destroyed in the flood of 1994. The park's trails offer visitors scenic views of the largest

waterfall A waterfall is a point in a river or stream where water flows over a vertical drop or a series of steep drops. Waterfalls also occur where meltwater drops over the edge of a tabular iceberg or ice shelf. Waterfalls can be formed in severa ...

in middle Georgia on the

Towaliga River The Towaliga River is a U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map accessed April 21, 2011 tributary of the Ocmulgee River in central Georgia. The Towaliga begins in Henry County and passes ...

, cascading over to the base. Historic hikes lead to the foundation of the old grist mill and ruins of the old powerhouse. The park contains a lake.

Facilities

*97 tent/trailer/ RV Campsites *5 picnic shelters *1 Paddle-In Primitive Campsite *1 Group shelter *1 Pioneer Campground * Miniature golf course * Swimming pool

Annual events

*Canoe trips *Forsythia Festival Crappie Tournament (March)

Popular culture

Dickey Betts Forrest Richard Betts (born December 12, 1943) is an American guitarist, singer, songwriter, and composer best known as a founding member of The Allman Brothers Band. Early in his career, he collaborated with Duane Allman, introducing melodic tw ...

The Allman Brothers Band The Allman Brothers Band was an American rock band formed in Jacksonville, Florida in 1969 by brothers Duane Allman (founder, slide guitar and lead guitar) and Gregg Allman (vocals, keyboards, songwriting), as well as Dickey Betts (lead guita ...

wrote an instrumental titled "High Falls", named after the park, that came out in 1975.Freeman, Scott. ''Midnight Riders: The Story of the Allman Brothers Band'', Little, Brown & Co., 1995, p. 200. The recording is 14½ minutes long.

Park information

The park is open from 7:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m. and the office is open from 8 p.m. until 5 p.m. The park is free for the community, parking is $5 and there are annual passes that can be purchased. The address to easily get to the park using your GPS is 76 High Falls Park Drive,

Jackson, Georgia Jackson is a city in and the county seat of Butts County, Georgia, United States. The population was 5,045 in 2010, up from 3,934 at the 2000 census. The community was named after governor James Jackson. History Founded in 1826, Jackson began ...

, 30233.

Images

Image:High Falls on the Towaliga River, High Falls State Park, Georgia.jpg, High Falls Image:High falls ga.jpg, High Falls Image:Highfallslake.JPG, Lake at High Falls Image:High falls dam.jpg, High Falls Dam Image:High falls powerhouse.jpg, Remains of powerhouse Image:16 11 209 high falls.jpg, Picnic tables overlooking High Falls Lake

References

External links

High Falls State ParkHigh Falls State Park Hiking
{{Coord, 33.18123, -84.01602, type:landmark_region:US-GA, display=title State parks of Georgia (U.S. state) Protected areas of Monroe County, Georgia