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Young Harris GA - Towns County
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Young Harris...the Enchanted Valley in the North Georgia Mountains

Tucked away within the beautiful mountain valley setting of Brasstown Valley is the town of Young Harris, the second largest community in Towns County, Georgia. Quiet, charming, historical and educational are just a few words that epitomize the town of Young Harris.  It’s one of those mountain towns that rolls-up the streets early, and is more tranquil in nature than what most people would expect from a small college town.

Susan B. Harris Memorial ChapelThe town of Young Harris had its origins in the founding of Young Harris College established in 1886 as the McTyeire Institute, named after a Methodist Bishop Holland McTyeire.

The school got its start when a local circuit riding Methodist minister Artemas Lester, saw the need for residents of the mountains to receive access to a more formal education. Isolated from the outer world during its formative years the college was placed in the hands of a local wealthy resident named Judge Young L.G. Harris. The judge kept the school going during the hard times of its early development.

Today Young Harris College is an outstanding educational center within a stately college setting of both historic and more recent constructions. One historical campus structure cherished by the community is the 1892 Susan B. Harris Memorial Chapel.

A small local community of businesses providing services to the college and local residents began to develop along the roadway next to the school. Around 1894 people started to refer to the slow growing community as the town of Young Harris with the Young Harris College as the centerpiece of the community.

Young Harris College

O. Wayne Rollins Planetarium

Young Harris College is the home of the theatrical play and the official Georgia state historic drama, “The Reach of Song,” by poet Byron Reece. The play is performed at the college’s Clegg Fine Arts Center.

Another point of interest located on the campus is the O. Wayne Rollins Planetarium, a 109-seat capacity theater under a 40-foot-diameter dome. The planetarium features a GOTO Chronos Space Simulator star projector creating an immersive and engaging image over the entire dome surface. After the presentation at the planetarium ends and the night skies are clear, the Young Harris College Observatory located 1.5 miles from the campus will also be open to visitors.

The modest town of Young Harris offers visitors access to its wealth of history, culture, heritage, a premier resort with a championship golf course, excellent lodging, cultural expressions, fine dining and local eateries, as well as miles and miles of hiking trails and horseback riding. Towering above all those options are Brasstown Bald Wilderness Area, featuring the tallest mountain and highest view in Georgia, overlooking Lake Chatuge, distant mountain ranges and in the valley below the mysterious Track Rock Archaeological Area, a unique Native American archaeological site for history buffs and curiosity hounds.

Cupid Falls in Young HarrisLocated along the roadside behind the college is Cupid Falls at Corn Creek Preserves, an ideal setting and open to the public. Easy to access, Cupid Falls at Corn Creek Preserves is a quiet and tranquil picnic area next to the rushing waters of a waterfall. The preserve also has a native plant garden area, picnic tables and a short hiking trail.

Outside of young as well as seasoned minds being developed at the college, what draw the majority of visitors and new residents to the area is the mountain beauty and a sense of tranquility that the area has to offer.

 

 

Georgia Mountain Fairground Festivals and Super Star Concerts

North Georgia Mountain Campground

Gardens in Hiawassee Georgia

Real Estate North Georgia Mountains

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