Mount Oglethorpe is a mountain located in

Pickens County, Georgia Pickens County is a County (United States), county in the Northwest Georgia, Northwest region of the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 33,216. The county seat is Ja ...

, United States. The southernmost peak in the

Blue Ridge Mountains The Blue Ridge Mountains are a Physiographic regions of the United States, physiographic province of the larger Appalachian Highlands range. The mountain range is located in the Eastern United States and extends 550 miles southwest from southern ...

, the mountain has an elevation of , making it the highest point in Pickens County. Mount Oglethorpe served as the southern terminus of the

Appalachian Trail The Appalachian Trail, also called the A.T., is a hiking trail in the Eastern United States, extending almost between Springer Mountain in Georgia and Mount Katahdin in Maine, and passing through 14 states.Gailey, Chris (2006)"Appalachian Tra ...

from when the trail was completed in 1937 until 1958. In 1958, as a result of over-development around Mount Oglethorpe, the southern terminus of the Appalachian Trail was moved about to the northeast to

Springer Mountain Springer Mountain is a mountain located in the Chattahoochee National Forest on the border of Fannin and Gilmer counties. Located in the Blue Ridge Mountains in northern Georgia, the mountain has an elevation of about . Springer Mountain serv ...

Geography

Mount Oglethorpe is located in eastern Pickens County, near the border with Dawson County. The mountain is located about east of

Jasper Jasper, an aggregate of microgranular quartz and/or cryptocrystalline chalcedony and other mineral phases, is an opaque, impure variety of silica, usually red, yellow, brown or green in color; and rarely blue. The common red color is due to ...

, west of Dawsonville and about north of

Nelson Nelson may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Nelson'' (1918 film), a historical film directed by Maurice Elvey * ''Nelson'' (1926 film), a historical film directed by Walter Summers * ''Nelson'' (opera), an opera by Lennox Berkeley to a lib ...

. There are

marble Marble is a metamorphic rock consisting of carbonate minerals (most commonly calcite (CaCO3) or Dolomite (mineral), dolomite (CaMg(CO3)2) that have recrystallized under the influence of heat and pressure. It has a crystalline texture, and is ty ...

quarries A quarry is a type of open-pit mine in which dimension stone, rock, construction aggregate, riprap, sand, gravel, or slate is excavated from the ground. The operation of quarries is regulated in some jurisdictions to manage their safet ...

south of Mount Oglethorpe. The community of Bent Tree is located on the mountain's western slopes, while

Big Canoe ''Big Canoe'' is the second studio album released by former Split Enz frontman Tim Finn in April 1986. The album peaked at number 3 in New Zealand and number 31 in Australia. Track listing LP Listing CD Listing The CD included the ...

is located on the mountain's eastern slopes.Bent Tree Map
bent-tree.com. Retrieved 2 June 2016.Interactive Map
bigcanoe.com. Retrieved 2 June 2016.

, the current southern terminus of the

, is located about northeast of the mountain. Other nearby geographical features include Burnt Mountain, Sharptop Mountain and Sassafras Mountain. While Mount Oglethorpe's summit is not located on any state or federally protected lands, the mountain's northeastern slopes are located inside the Dawson Forest

Wildlife Management Area A wildlife management area (WMA) is a protected area set aside for the conservation of wildlife and for recreational activities involving wildlife. New Zealand There are 11 wildlife management areas in New Zealand: * Horsham Downs Wildlife Ma ...

.Dawson Forest Wildlife Management Area - Wildcat Creek Tract
georgiawildlife.com. Retrieved 5 June 2016. With an elevation of , Mount Oglethorpe is the tallest mountain in Pickens County. The mountain is also considered to be the southern terminus of the

.Spencer, Marci (2013)
Clingmans Dome: Highest Mountain in the Great Smokies
The History Press. .

History

Early history

Mount Oglethorpe had been settled by 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 ...

s since at least the 1700s. The Cherokees bent trees to mark their trails and shelters on the mountain. White settlers began moving into the area after the Georgia Land Lotteries of the early 1800s. Mount Oglethorpe was originally named Grassy Knob.Wells, Diane and Don
The Early Days before Bent Tree
mountainstewards.org Retrieved 2 June 2016. In 1930, the mountain was renamed to Mount Oglethorpe in honor of

James Oglethorpe Lieutenant-General James Edward Oglethorpe (22 December 1696 – 30 June 1785) was a British Army officer, Tory politician and colonial administrator best known for founding the Province of Georgia in British North America. As a social refo ...

, the founder of the

Georgia Colony The Province of Georgia (also Georgia Colony) was one of the Southern Colonies in colonial-era British America. In 1775 it was the last of the Thirteen Colonies to support the American Revolution. The original land grant of the Province of Ge ...

.Georgia State Daughters of American Colonists
Oglethorpe Monument Dedication
8 September 2012. Retrieved 2 June 2016. That same year, a tall marble

obelisk An obelisk (; , diminutive of (') ' spit, nail, pointed pillar') is a tall, slender, tapered monument with four sides and a pyramidal or pyramidion top. Originally constructed by Ancient Egyptians and called ''tekhenu'', the Greeks used th ...

named the Oglethorpe Monument was erected at the top of the mountain.

Appalachian Trail

In 1930, Mount Oglethorpe was designated as the southern terminus of the

. Mount Oglethorpe was not the first choice for the trail's southern end, as Benton MacKaye also proposed ending the Appalachian Trail at

Mount Mitchell Mount Mitchell (''Attakulla'' in Cherokee) is the highest peak of the Appalachian Mountains and the highest peak in mainland North America east of the Mississippi River. It is located near Burnsville in Yancey County, North Carolina in the B ...

in North Carolina or Cohutta Mountain in northwest Georgia. There were several reasons for choosing the Mountain Oglethorpe as the southern terminus. The mountain was considered to be the southern end of the

. The decision was also influenced by Sam Tate, an influential local businessman and president of the Georgia Marble Company.Butler, Mimi
Marble
1 June 2007. Retrieved 2 June 2016. Tate was planning to build a resort on a nearby mountain and wanted the trail to pass by his resort. To convince the

Georgia Appalachian Trail Club The Georgia Appalachian Trail Club (GATC) is a non-profit organization that was organized in 1930 in Dahlonega, Georgia. Its membership consists of individual volunteers who share a love for the Appalachian Trail. The GATC is responsible for the ...

to choose Mount Oglethorpe, Tate donated money to build trail structures and allowed the trail to pass through his privately owned lands. In 1937, with the completion of the Appalachian Trail, Mount Oglethorpe officially became the southern terminus of the trail. Early thru-hikers of the Appalachian Trail such as Grandma Gatewood, Gene Espy and

Earl Shaffer Earl V. Shaffer (November 8, 1918 – May 5, 2002), was an American outdoorsman and author known from 1948 as The Crazy One (and eventually as The Original Crazy One) for attempting what became the first publicized claimed hiking trip in a single ...

began their journeys at Mount Oglethorpe. In 1949, James E. Boyd conducted long-range line-of-sight experiments between the mountain and

Georgia Tech The Georgia Institute of Technology (commonly referred to as Georgia Tech, GT, and simply Tech or the Institute) is a public research university and institute of technology in Atlanta, Georgia, United States. Established in 1885, it has the lar ...

to study the effects of weather on

microwave Microwave is a form of electromagnetic radiation with wavelengths shorter than other radio waves but longer than infrared waves. Its wavelength ranges from about one meter to one millimeter, corresponding to frequency, frequencies between 300&n ...

propagation Propagation can refer to: *Chain propagation in a chemical reaction mechanism *Crack propagation, the growth of a crack during the fracture of materials *Propaganda, non-objective information used to further an agenda *Reproduction, and other forms ...

.Technical Information Pilot, Issue 9461; Issue 11953. pp. 1770. Because Mount Oglethorpe was located outside of

United States National Forest In the United States, national forest is a classification of protected and managed federal lands that are largely forest and woodland areas. They are owned collectively by the American people through the federal government and managed by the ...

lands, the mountain was not protected and was opened to

development Development or developing may refer to: Arts *Development (music), the process by which thematic material is reshaped * Photographic development *Filmmaking, development phase, including finance and budgeting * Development hell, when a proje ...

. In the 1950s, land on the mountain was purchased by

logging Logging is the process of cutting, processing, and moving trees to a location for transport. It may include skidder, skidding, on-site processing, and loading of trees or trunk (botany), logs onto logging truck, trucksSpringer Mountain Springer Mountain is a mountain located in the Chattahoochee National Forest on the border of Fannin and Gilmer counties. Located in the Blue Ridge Mountains in northern Georgia, the mountain has an elevation of about . Springer Mountain serv ...

, about a hike north from Mount Oglethorpe."Government Continues Appalachian Trail Buys." ''Associated Press.'' 27 June 1993. Springer Mountain was considered to be less dramatic than Mount Oglethorpe, but because of its remoteness, Springer Mountain was also considered to be less susceptible to development. The only remnant of the Appalachian Trail between Mount Oglethorpe and Springer Mountain is the Appalachian Approach Trail that runs between

Amicalola Falls State Park Amicalola Falls State Park & Lodge is an Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia state park located between Ellijay, Georgia, Ellijay and Dahlonega, Georgia, Dahlonega in Dawsonville, Georgia. The park's name is derived from a Cherokee language word mea ...

and Springer Mountain.

After the Appalachian Trail

Communication and FAA towers were installed on the mountain's summit in the years after the southern terminus was moved. In the 1970s, the

community started development on the eastern side of Mount Oglethorpe. Vandalism, harsh weather and lightning strikes caused heavy damage to the Oglethorpe Monument, leading to its relocation to downtown Jasper in 1999. Portions of the Appalachian Trail that used to run between Mount Oglethorpe and Springer Mountain were made inaccessible to the public. In addition, Mount Oglethorpe's summit was closed to the public.Mount Oglethorpe
summitpost.org. 14 May 2014. Retrieved 4 June 2016. In 1995, Billie Ann Rice purchased at auction about of land around Mount Oglethorpe's summit. In 2014, Billie Ann, and her husband Ken, began fulfilling her vision for the land and created a park on the mountain and designated their property as a public park.
prweb.com. 2 April 2014. Retrieved 4 June 2016. This public park, named Eagle's Rest, contains hiking trails and

observation deck An observation deck, observation platform, or viewing platform is an elevated sightseeing platform usually situated upon a tall architectural structure, such as a skyscraper or observation tower. Observation decks are sometimes enclosed from we ...

s. Their daughters Annette Hall and Kathleen Ingram are still on the board for the park, which continues to improve.Tidwell, Wayne
Eagle’s Rest Park atop Mt. Oglethorpe marks its second year
Big Canoe News. 30 November 2015. Retrieved 4 June 2016.

Visiting

Before 2014, visitors were unable to access the summit without

trespassing Trespass to land, also called trespass to realty or trespass to real property, or sometimes simply trespass, is a common law tort or a crime that is committed when an individual or the object of an individual intentionally (or, in Australia, ...

. After the summit was opened to the public, Mount Oglethorpe's summit can be reached by driving south from

Georgia State Route 136 State Route 136 (SR 136) is a State highway (US), state highway that travels west-to-east through portions of Dade County, Georgia, Dade, Walker County, Georgia, Walker, Gordon County, Georgia, Gordon, Murray County, Georgia, Murray, ...

on Monument Road for about .Eagle's Rest on Mt. Oglethorpe
knowpickens.com. Retrieved 5 June 2016. The summit can also be accessed from the south through Big Canoe.

Gallery

Image:Mount Oglethorpe covered in snow (24268287839).jpg, Mount Oglethorpe with a dusting of snow. Mount Oglethorpe communication towers.jpg, Communication towers on the summit Image:Oglethorpe Monument, Jasper, Georgia.JPG, The Oglethorpe Monument. Formerly on Mount Oglethorpe's summit, the monument is now located in Jasper

Notes

References

Bibliography

* * * * *

External links

TopoQuest Map for Mount Oglethorpe
*
Eagle's Rest website
{{coord, 34, 29, 10, N, 84, 19, 49, W, display=title Oglethorpe Landforms of Pickens County, Georgia Oglethorpe