Labeled the “Heart of Northeast Georgia,” the little city of Toccoa knows what it means to be a big-hearted hometown.
Courtesy Main Street Toccoa
Toccoa native Paul Anderson, 1956 Olympic gold medalist, is honored in downtown Toccoa not only for “his outer strength, but his inner strength and faith in Christ.”
Just outside of Toccoa, Georgia, Currahee Mountain rises 800 feet above surrounding Stephens County, living up to its Cherokee name meaning “Stands Alone.” It’s the end of the geographic line for the Blue Ridge, and that fact alone makes the mountain worth visiting.
But neither Currahee Mountain nor Toccoa has an end-of-the-line feel. The words that come to mind are ones like strength, community, and creative problem-solving. From its singular World War II military history to its numerous famous citizens to its clear understanding of how to make a mountain town strong, Toccoa has a unique story with notable chapters.
The Currahee Military Museum in downtown Toccoa draws thousands of visitors each year as the home of the first (and only) World War II training camp for paratroopers. Made famous by the HBO series, “Band of Brothers” (based on Stephen Ambrose’s book by the same title), Camp Toccoa’s Parachute Infantry Training Center took in over 18,000 recruits—but only 6,000 made it through to see combat.
Courtesy Main Street Toccoa
Toccoa Falls, on the campus of Toccoa Falls College, is one of the tallest free-falling waterfalls east of the Mississippi River.
Today, Toccoa’s Currahee Military Museum draws thousands of visitors annually.
“It’s a unique place,” Director Brenda Carlan says. “We get a fair number of European visitors because of the paratroopers’ deployment there. And folks from all branches of the service. People stay a while here, looking at our memorabilia and photographs and reading the stories—and some leave with tears in their eyes.”
I’m guessing a fair number of those visitors arrive by train—the Military Museum (and the Chamber of Commerce Visitor Center and Historical Society) is located in the historic restored depot. Where, twice daily, the Amtrak Crescent arrives in Toccoa, traveling to and from New Orleans and New York.
A city of 8,300 people. Amtrak service twice a day. They’re doing something right.
In fact, it seems that Toccoa has done a lot right. Its downtown Historic District (on the National Register of Historic Places) is home to 160 small businesses and draws 860,000 visitors annually.
It wasn’t always so.
From Christian Hamilton, Main Street Manager: “In the 1960s, Toccoa was targeted for the federal Urban Renewal project, which would help small downtowns compete with the growing shopping malls across the country. So Toccoa’s Main Street was converted into a concrete-covered pedestrian mall.”
Despite a brief resurgence, the downtown began to deteriorate.
Enter a strong City Commission and Main Street Toccoa. Down came the concrete canopies, back came the cars, and today more than 80 storefronts have been restored to their original appearance.
In 2014, the City assumed operation of the Historic 1939 Art Deco Ritz Theatre, restoring the theatre façade and marquee as well as enlarging the stage and lobby. With the stated goal of bringing people downtown to experience art at an affordable price, many of the shows cost as little as $10. And while they’re there…they eat and shop. Toccoa has figured out a win-win entertainment scenario: some 15-20,000 attend Ritz shows each year.
Among other things you’ll see in Toccoa is a statue of “The Dixie Derrick”—Toccoa native Paul Anderson, 1956 Olympic Gold Medalist known as “The World’s Strongest Man.” In fact, Anderson has his own park, initiated by a group of fourth-grade students in the late 1990s.
They raise ‘em right and teach ‘em well in Toccoa.
And if you’re lucky enough to be in downtown Toccoa on a Saturday evening in the summer, you can listen to some fine music that’s part of the Ida Cox Music Series. It’s free, and you can sit in the closed-off downtown streets and hear regional talent as you eat your dinner. (Toccoa native Ida Cox (nee Prather), composer of “Wild Woman Don’t have the Blues,” is known as “The Uncrowned Queen of the Blues.”)
The list of Toccoa’s famous folks goes on. James Brown formed his first band—The Famous Flames—in Toccoa with Bobbie Byrd. DeForest Kelley, Star Trek’s Dr. Leonard McCoy, is a Toccoa native. Oral Roberts pastored a church in town. And the list goes on, including professional football players Pat Swilling and Evan Oglesby, country music performer Kimberly Schlapman and Rockabilly musician Tommy Scott.
More fame is sure to come its way, as Toccoa successfully courts major films to town. In the past five years, six movies have been filmed there. “Number seven is about to start,” says Chamber of Commerce President Julie Payson. “It’ll be the biggest yet. It’s very significant to us: 25 to 35 percent of a film’s budget is spent locally on location. We’ve added over a million dollars to local revenue from films alone.” (It’s worth noting that all of the films made in Stephens County premiered at the Historic Ritz Theatre.)
Payson is clear about the power of governmental agencies working together for the greater good.
“There’s a mutual respect among all levels of government here,” she says. “If you don’t have that—people focusing on the larger needs of the area rather than self-interest—it’s not going to work. It’s really important that community-minded people with a passion for their place run for office.
“There’s a real sense of community here,” she says. “Even in this high-tech world, it’s all about connection. This community rallies around needs—local needs, but those in other places, too. That kind of action is grassroots and organic here.”
The southern end of the Blue Ridge chain may be just outside Toccoa. But this Blue Ridge town understands first things first—and while the city wears its proud history like a comfortable coat, all eyes are looking forward.
Seems to me, that’s the best kind of community you can ask for.
The story above first appeared in our May/June 2021 issue. To get more like it, subscribe today or log in with your active BRC+ Membership. Thank you for your support!