Brasstown Bald

Brasstown Bald is a Georgia historical marker in Towns County, dedicated 1958.

At the intersection of Unicoi Turnpike (Georgia Route 75) and Georgia Route 180, on the left when traveling south on Unicoi Turnpike near Hiawassee.

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The high, rounded peak, Brasstown Bald or Mt. Enotah, is the highest mountain in Georgia, 4,748 ft. Its Indian name, Itseyi, means "a place of fresh green," referring to its grassy, instead of timbered, summit. Early white settlers mistook the Indian name for a similar one meaning brass. According to Cherokee legend, there was once a great flood and all men died except a few Cherokee families who landed on top of Brasstown Bald in a giant canoe. The Great Spirit killed all the trees on top of the mountain so the survivors could plant crops and live until the floods subsided.

TodayHistorical map

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USGS Historical Topographic Map Collection

Historical maps covering this location

1901 · Map of South Carolina (David Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford Libraries)
1903 · Dahlonega, Georgia (USGS Historical Topographic Map Collection)
1927 · N. & S. Carolina. (David Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford Libraries)
1935 · Tray Mountain, Georgia (USGS Historical Topographic Map Collection)
1938 · Tray Mountain, Georgia (USGS Historical Topographic Map Collection)

Dahlonega, Georgia, 1903, covering the location of Brasstown Bald, with a pin at the marker's coordinates — Dahlonega, Georgia, 1903, covering this location. USGS Historical Topographic Map Collection. The pin is ours, placed from the marker's coordinates.

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This historical marker is part of the Georgia Historical Marker Program and was erected by the Georgia Historical Commission. Marker texts and locations come from the Society's own marker database.

More markers nearby

Brasstown Bald: The Highest Point in Georgia-4,784 ft.5 mi
The Unicoi Turnpike6 mi
Towns County8 mi
Track Rock Gap9 mi