Athens and Northeast Georgia
The University of Georgia became the first state chartered university in American on January 27, 1785. The city of Athens grew up around the University campus and officially became a town in 1806.
1830s
Athens had become a mill town for the cotton industry and earned the nickname “Manchester” of the South.
1880s
As Athens became more densely populated, city services were established and improvements were undertaken. The Athens Police Department was founded in 1881 and public schools opened in the fall of 1886. Telephone service was introduced in 1882 by the Bell Telephone Company. Transportation improvements began with a street paving program in 1885 and streetcars, pulled by mules, in 1888.
1907
Ben Epps, an aviation pioneer, became Georgia’s first pilot on a hill outside town that would become the Athens-Ben Epps Airport.
1908
Athens’ first multi-story building, The Southern Mutual Insurance Company Building, was constructed.
1928
Construction began on Sanford Stadium, the home of the Georgia Bulldogs football team. Over the years it has grown to be one of the largest college stadiums in the nation.
UGA football has been a part of Athens culture since the turn of the century and continues to be a major attraction on fall Saturdays in Athens.
1950s
During World War II, Athens and UGA Served as a Flight Training Center for the US Navy. The Navy Supply Corps School began operations in the 1950s in the Normaltown district of Athens and was a fixture there until 2010, when it moved operations to Rhode Island. The campus now serves as UGA’s Health Sciences campus and home of the UGA School of Medicine.
2024
Akins Ford Arena opened at the Classic Center. The 8,500-person venue is home to the Rock Lobsters professional ice hockey team and hosts arena shows year-round. It also displays historic musical memorabilia and instruments throughout the main concourse from the Georgia Music Collections in homage to Georgia’s rich musical history.
In the early 1970s, The Athens music scene exploded with Ravenstone, a regionally popular band sometimes called “one of the godfathers of Athens rock,” along with the Normaltown Flyers. Bands R.E.M. and the B-52s scored breakout hits in the 1980s and established Athens as a hot spot for new music.
Other bands that made their mark include Mercyland, Dreams So Real, Indigo Girls, Matthew Sweet, Love Tractor, Pylon, Flat Duo Jets, Modern Skirts, and Widespread Panic. The Athens music scene remains a focal point of Athens, Georgia culture which are highlighted by the Athens Music Walk of Fame.
Athens Quick Facts
- Population: 128,000
- Athens-Clarke County is a consolidated city-county with a unified government. Clarke County is the smallest county in Georgia and includes the cities of Athens, Winterville, and Bogart.
- Athens has become a popular place for retirement in the South.
- The Twilight Criterium is a major professional cycling event that takes place each spring through the streets of downtown.
- Athens is home to the Georgia Museum of Art, the state’s official museum of art since 1982.
- Sandy Creek Park is a 782-acre park that offers a variety of sports and leisure activities. Facilities include a 27-hole disc golf course, multiple dog parks, a 7-mile hiking trail, and water activities such as fishing and boating on a 260-acre lake.
- Athens has become a popular festival destination, hosting events such as Athfest, a three-day music and arts festival, Porchfest, a neighborhood music festival, and Wild Rumpus, a Halloween-themed parade and celebration, to name a few.
Northeast Georgia Quick Facts
- Founded in 1818, Gainesville, Georgia is the county seat of Hall County with a population of 40,000. The city is proud of its large poultry industry and is widely considered the ‘Poultry Capital of the World’. Gainesville is also recognized as the Healthcare and Business hub for Northeast Georgia.
- Toccoa, Georgia is home to Toccoa Falls. The town is notable for the ‘Toccoa Falls Damn Break’ of 1977 which made national headlines.
- Cumming, Dawsonville and Dahlonega are growing areas north of Atlanta. Once small towns, these communities have added upscale shopping, restaurants and country clubs.
- Greensboro and Madison provide a mix of the Old and New South. Antebellum Homes mix with luxury resorts on Lake Oconee.
- Northeast Georgia has numerous lakes which provide great recreational opportunities. Major lakes include Burton, Hartwell, Lanier, Oconee, Rabun and Sinclair.
- Helen, Georgia is a famous ‘Alpine Village’ in the foothills of the Appalachian Mountains. City buildings are required to represent a Southern German architectural style. Helen’s ‘Oktoberfest’ celebration draws thousands of visitors every year.
