Overview

History of Northwest Georgia through a Camera’s Eye
”Northwest Georgia. A Land of Ridge and Valley. A place rich in history, a past to be preserved.”
Donald E. Davis

Through the medium of photography, this online exhibition highlights major themes in the history of the Northwest Georgia mountains. It features some forty images that have been carefully culled from Donald E. Davis’s book The Land of Ridge and Valley: A Photographic History of the Northwest Georgia Mountains (Arcadia Press, 2001). Published in Arcadia’s Images of America series, this volume showcases more than two hundred photographs from a variety of public and private collections. It is a vivid photographic record of the unique geology, natural, and human history of the northwest Georgia. The book traces the environmental, social, and cultural changes that occurred in the region throughout the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, including the loss of the Native American community, the arrival or white farmers, and the advent of new industries.

This online exhibit contains pictures that range in subject from gorgeous vistas, pleasant picnic scenes, and picturesque homesteads to the busy mining sites and quarries. The images are supplemented by Dr. Davis’s original commentaries. These photographs document the development of the Northwest Georgia’s mountain communities and facilitate the dialog about the region’s past, its growing importance on the national stage, and its future.

Donald Edward Davis, Ph.D., was a professor of Sociology at Dalton State College. He holds master’s degrees in Social Ecology and Psychology. His personal and research interests include Environmental History, Appalachian Studies, and Community Development. Dr. Davis published numerous articles in Environmental Ethics, The Ecologist, The Trumpeter, and other journals. He is an author of the award-winning Where There Are Mountains: An Environmental History of the Southern Appalachians (UGA Press, 2000). His most recent books are Homeplace Geography: Essays for Appalachia (Mercer, 2006) and Southern United States: An Environmental History (ABC-CLO, 2006). As a North Georgia native, Dr. Davis is keenly interested in ecological, anthropological, and historic development of the region.

Part One: Setting The Landscape

From the mists of history to the present day, Northwest Georgia has been a region that nurtured a succession of societies and individuals.

The mysterious mound builders, the Cherokees, and white settlers all stamped the region with their imprint upon the land. Each group adapted to the land as well as changing it to suit their needs.

Part Two: Waters of Life

Whether for recreation, transportation, or commerce, the rivers and springs of Northwest Georgia were vital components of the region’s life.

The abundance of waters made it possible for communities and individuals to grow and prosper.

Part Three: Mining the Mountains

Agriculture produced modest incomes from the soil but real fortunes were made from under the ground. The mineral resources of Northwest Georgia provided the iron ore for local and distant foundries and coal to heat homes and power machinery. Mining interests were some of the first heralds of industrialization in the region.

Part Four: The Forest for the Trees

Local sawmills produced the finished lumber to house the region’s expanding population and supplied building materials to business and industry. The U.S. Forest Service, with help from the Civilian Conservation Corps balanced the health of the forests against the needs of the marketplace. 

During the Second World War Northwest Georgia produced vast amounts of lumber for the barracks, warehouses, and bridges required by the war effort.

Part Five: High Cotton

Although other regions of Georgia were more closely associated with “King Cotton” than Northwest Georgia, cotton was a major income source for the area. A family’s financial interests could rise or collapse based on a single year’s crop.

Cotton’s greatest contribution to the region’s economic growth was as the basic commodity used in the burgeoning machine tufted bedspread industry that would soon dominate and characterize the region.