With more than 692 miles of shoreline when full, Lake Lanier was completed by the Army Corp of Engineers in June of 1957. It's purpose is a "multi-purpose lake that provides for flood protection, power production, water supply, navigation, recreation and fish and wildlife management". For the most part it has lived up to it's purpose but in recent years it has become a hotly debated water source for Georgia, Alabama and Florida residents.
This year's drought has brought this to the forefront in a debate for drinking water. Since the lake was created with Federal money, it is managed as a resource for people living in the southeast part of the United States which touch the Chattahoochee river. Water flows out of Lake Lanier along the Chattahoochee river to it's final destination to the Gulf. During the current drought, it has served it purpose to maintain this waterway as it was intended.
New Echota is a State Historical Site dedicated to the Cherokee Indians lifestyle prior to The Trail of Tears in 1835. It was the Cherokee Nation Capitol beginning in 1819 when the Cherokee Council changed from their clan system to a town council government. For years they built a communal town encompassing several hundred acres with a variety of structures of the period.
Stephens County Georgia was created by Act of the Legislature August 18, 1903 and was named for Alexander Hamilton Stephens, the Vice President of the Confederacy. A state legislator and Senator, he was elected to Congress at 31, serving from 1843 to 1859. Elected to the Senate in 1866 he was refused his seat but again served in Congress from 1873 until 1882 when he became Governor. He died March 4, 1883.
Created from Wilkes County by Act of Dec. 10, 1790. Elbert County was settled in 1784 by Gen. George Mathews and a group from Virginia and Carolina. The site of Petersburg, the original settlement and third largest town in Georgia in it's day is covered by the Clark Hill Reservoir. Nancy Hart, celebrated Revolutionary patriot, lived in this county. Elbert County was named for Gen. Samual Elbert, Revolutionary soldier and Governor of Georgia (1785-1786). A native of South Carolina and resident of Savannah, he was a member of the Council of Safety and fought at Savannah (1778) and Briar Creek (1779).
