Hiawassee is the

county seat A county seat is an administrative center, seat of government, or capital city of a county or parish (administrative division), civil parish. The term is in use in five countries: Canada, China, Hungary, Romania, and the United States. An equiva ...

of Towns County,

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the South Caucasus * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the southeastern United States Georgia may also refer to: People and fictional characters * Georgia (name), a list of pe ...

, United States. The population was 981 at the 2020 census. Its name is derived from the

Cherokee The Cherokee (; , or ) people are one of the Indigenous peoples of the Southeastern Woodlands of the United States. Prior to the 18th century, they were concentrated in their homelands, in towns along river valleys of what is now southwestern ...

—or perhaps Creek—word ''Ayuhwasi'', which means

meadow A meadow ( ) is an open habitat or field, vegetated by grasses, herbs, and other non- woody plants. Trees or shrubs may sparsely populate meadows, as long as they maintain an open character. Meadows can occur naturally under favourable con ...

, (A variant spelling, "Hiwassee," is used for the local river and some other Appalachian place names.) Hiawassee is also known in the novel "Restart" by

Gordon Korman Gordon Korman (born October 23, 1963) is a Canadian author of children's and young adult fiction books. Korman's books have sold more than 30 million copies worldwide over a career spanning four decades and have appeared at number one on ''The N ...

History

Hiawassee was established along the route of the

Unicoi Turnpike The Unicoi Turnpike was a 150-mile (240km) trail through north Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia, western North Carolina, and eastern Tennessee used by Native Americans in the United States, Native Americans before the footpath was converted into a t ...

, a 1,000-year-old Native American trail. In the early 18th century, deerskins and furs were transported along the route from Tennessee to

Savannah A savanna or savannah is a mixed woodland-grassland (i.e. grassy woodland) biome and ecosystem characterised by the trees being sufficiently widely spaced so that the canopy does not close. The open canopy allows sufficient light to reach th ...

and Charleston for shipping to Europe. Hiawassee was originally inhabited by predominantly Cherokee peoples. The name of Hiawassee was originally derived from the Native American word ayuhwasi, meaning river and/or valley. A United States fur trade factory was built in present-day Hiawassee between 1807 and 1811. Settled by whites ''circa'' 1820 after settlers violently removed the Cherokee communities living there in a night of massacre in 1776, Hiawassee was designated seat of the newly formed Towns County in 1856. It was incorporated as a town in 1870 and as a city in 1916, . The historic Towns County Jail was built in downtown Hiawassee around 1935. The two-story rock building is listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...

. President

Jimmy Carter James Earl Carter Jr. (October 1, 1924December 29, 2024) was an American politician and humanitarian who served as the 39th president of the United States from 1977 to 1981. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party ...

visited Hiawassee in July 1980, landing by helicopter to go trout fishing with friends.

Geography

Hiawassee is located on the

Hiwassee River The Hiwassee River is a river in the states of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia, North Carolina, and Tennessee. It originates from a spring on the north slope of Rocky Mountain (Georgia), Rocky Mountain in Towns County, Georgia, Towns County in n ...

at (34.949428, -83.755078). According to the

United States Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau, officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the Federal statistical system, U.S. federal statistical system, responsible for producing data about the American people and American economy, econ ...

, the city has a total area of , of which, is land and is water. Hiawassee is approximately 1969 feet (600 meter) above sea level.

Demographics

2020 census

As of the 2020 census, there were 981 people, 497 households, and 215 families residing in the city. There were 754 housing units. The racial makeup of the city was 94.2%

White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no chroma). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully (or almost fully) reflect and scatter all the visible wa ...

, 0.4%

African American African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from an ...

, 0.3% Native American, 0.4% Asian, 0.0%

Pacific Islander Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, Pacificans, or rarely Pacificers are the peoples of the list of islands in the Pacific Ocean, Pacific Islands. As an ethnic group, ethnic/race (human categorization), racial term, it is used to describe th ...

, 1.7% from some other races and 3.0% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 4.0% of the population.

2010 census

As of the 2010 census, there were 880 people, 456 households, and _ families residing in the city. The racial makeup of the city was 96.8% White, 0.3% Black, 0.1% Native American, 1.2% Asian, 0.0% Pacific Islander, 0.9% Other Races, and 0.6% from two or more races. 2.7% were Hispanic or Latino of any race.

2000 census

As of the 2000 census, there were 808 people, 355 households, and 203 families living in the city. The

population density Population density (in agriculture: Standing stock (disambiguation), standing stock or plant density) is a measurement of population per unit land area. It is mostly applied to humans, but sometimes to other living organisms too. It is a key geog ...

was . There were 527 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the town was 97.40%

, 0.25%

, 0.12% Native American, 1.73% Asian, 0.37% from other races, and 0.12% from two or more races.

Hispanic The term Hispanic () are people, Spanish culture, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or broadly. In some contexts, Hispanic and Latino Americans, especially within the United States, "Hispanic" is used as an Ethnici ...

or Latino of any race were 1.61% of the population. There were 355 households, out of which 14.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 45.6% were

married couples Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognised union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children (if any), and b ...

living together, 10.1% had a female householder with no husband present, and 42.8% were non-families. 40.3% of all households were made up of individuals, and 24.2% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 1.86 and the average family size was 2.39. In the town, the population was spread out, with 10.0% under the age of 18, 5.4% from 18 to 24, 13.1% from 25 to 44, 25.1% from 45 to 64, and 46.3% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 62 years. For every 100 females, there were 70.5 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 65.6 males. The median income for a household in the town was $26,615, and the median income for a family was $31,458. Males had a median income of $28,929 versus $22,917 for females. The

per capita income Per capita income (PCI) or average income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. In many countries, per capita income is determined using regular population surveys, such ...

for the town was $19,957. About 12.6% of families and 16.0% of the population were below the

poverty line The poverty threshold, poverty limit, poverty line, or breadline is the minimum level of income deemed adequate in a particular country. The poverty line is usually calculated by estimating the total cost of one year's worth of necessities for ...

, including 28.3% of those under age 18 and 10.2% of those age 65 or over.

Government

Hiawassee has a mayor and city council in a strong mayor form of government. The current mayor, Liz Ordiales, is the first female mayor of Cuban descent in the State of Georgia. The city council consists of five elected officials.

Education

Towns County School District

The Towns County School District holds grades pre-school to grade twelve, and consists of one elementary school, a middle school and a high school. The district has 144 full-time teachers and over 2,408 students. * Towns County Elementary School * Towns County Middle School * Towns County High School

Media

The '' Towns County Herald'' newspaper has been published weekly in Hiawassee since 1928.

Healthcare

Hiawassee and Towns County are served by Chatuge Regional Hospital, which is located on Highway 76 North in downtown Hiawassee. The 13-bed facility opened in 1951 as Lee M. Happ Jr. Memorial Hospital. It was renamed Towns County Hospital in 1960 and the Johnson wing was built. In 1967, the attic caught fire and 40 percent of the hospital was destroyed. The neighboring 112-bed nursing home opened in 1971. The hospital received its current name in 1994. The facility was acquired by Union General Hospital in 1999.

Points of interest

* Fred Hamilton Rhododendron Garden * Georgia Mountain Fairgrounds * Lake Chatuge

References

{{authority control Towns in Towns County, Georgia Towns in Georgia (U.S. state) County seats in Georgia (U.S. state) Populated places on the Hiwassee River Georgia (U.S. state) placenames of Native American origin