Hickory Flat is an

unincorporated community An unincorporated area is a parcel of land that is not governed by a local general-purpose municipal corporation. (At p. 178.) They may be governed or serviced by an encompassing unit (such as a county) or another branch of the state (such as th ...

in southeastern Cherokee 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. This community is part of

Metro Atlanta Metro Atlanta, designated by the United States Office of Management and Budget as the Atlanta–Sandy Springs–Roswell metropolitan statistical area, is the most populous metropolitan statistical area in the U.S. state of Georgia and the sixt ...

. Its geographic center is now a triangle formed by GA 140 on the north and east, Hickory Rd on the south, and East Cherokee Drive on the west. This triangle is now the business hub of the community with two shopping centers anchored by grocery stores. It also contains the Hickory Flat Public Library and the Sequoyah High School educational complex which includes feeder schools; Hickory Flat Elementary and Dean Rusk Middle School.

History

The community of Hickory Flat has a long history, dating to the period of frontier settlement of former

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 ...

lands, associated with westward expansion and gold exploration in Georgia. The community is located along an old Native American trading route. To its north along the old Indian trail is a geographic feature known to locals as "Indian Knoll". This feature in the middle of rolling farm land is a small but prominent mound where it is believed that tribes would meet, during the time of the Cherokee A map of Georgia, from 1839, clearly indicates the community situated along what would eventually become Georgia State Route 140, between the city of Canton and the community of Social Hill. Begun in 1838, Hickory Flat Academy (now Hickory Flat Elementary) was the second school to be established in Cherokee County. Another nearby school can date its history to the later half of the 19th century. Nonetheless, the community remained small and rural well into the 21st century, when

urban sprawl Urban sprawl (also known as suburban sprawl or urban encroachment) is defined as "the spreading of urban developments (such as houses and shopping centers) on undeveloped land near a city". Urban sprawl has been described as the unrestricted ...

from the Atlanta MSA stimulated economic growth and the movement of large numbers of new residents to the area. The center of the community was for many years, and is still regarded today, as the four-way stoplight at the intersection of

Georgia State Route 140 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 peo ...

and East Cherokee Drive. A store and gas station, built there in the 1950s was, for generations of local residents, the focal point and meeting place for the community. The second floor of the store was originally used as a

Masonic hall A Masonic Temple or Masonic Hall is, within Freemasonry, the room or edifice where a Masonic Lodge meets. Masonic Temple may also refer to an abstract spiritual goal and the conceptual ritualistic space of a meeting. Development and history I ...

. The structure took on other functions in the late 20th century, and fell into disrepair by the early 21st century. When plans were announced to demolish the structure, and build a modern fast food outlet, The Cherokee County Historical Society sought to rally support for preservation and restoration of the dilapidated structure. However, the effort failed to gain sufficient traction, and the building was demolished to make way for a Chick-fil-A. Seeking to acknowledge the history and importance of the store's location, as a local gathering spot, the new Chick-fil-A included a "vintage-inspired" interior design, which features a large "gathering table" made from reclaimed wood.

Suburban sprawl

Once a sparsely populated community, with many acres of open land and few people per square mile, Hickory Flat has begun to embrace modern fast food outlets and retail stores. All new homes have a minimum of . Since 2007 new home and commercial builders have taken to the area. Today retail space continues to be constructed to keep up with the fast-growing population. Within a radius of the town is the county seat of Canton, to the north, and

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, to the south. Access to I-575 and

GA 400 State Route 400 (SR 400; commonly known as Georgia 400) is a controlled-access highway, freeway and state highway (US), state highway in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia serving parts of Atlanta metropolitan area, ...

are also within a span. It is approximately north of downtown

Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Georgia (U.S. state), most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. It is the county seat, seat of Fulton County, Georg ...

Zip codes

*30115, Canton residences and businesses *30188, Woodstock residences and businesses

Schools

The town has three main public schools, located side-by-side on Hickory Road: Hickory Flat Elementary, Dean Rusk Middle School, and Sequoyah High School. Hickory Flat Elementary was built in 1903, marking the location of the town center. The Messiah Montessori School, which moved to a newly constructed campus on Highway 140 in 2008, provided the first private school in the area upon its 2005 founding, but operations ceased.
Hickory Flat Elementary SchoolDean Rusk Middle SchoolSequoyah High School

References

External links

{{Coord, 34, 10, 12, N, 84, 25, 22, W, type:city_region:US-GA, display=title Unincorporated communities in Cherokee County, Georgia Unincorporated communities in Georgia (U.S. state)