ALLATOONA – A TOWN
THE LAKE The town of Allatoona was once a magnet for gold and agriculture. After enduring one of the bloodiest Civil War battles, the town lay peaceful. Find out why much of the old town is under the surface of our beautiful lake. by Cindy
Many folks may not be aware of the history of Allatoona,
Allatoona Pass in the early morning, but Union troops outnumbered the Confederates by more than a thousand. In an attempt to fend off the Yankees and secure the town of Allatoona, Confederate soldiers resorted to throwing rocks in addition to hand-to-hand combat. After receiving false information that more Yankee troops were arriving, Hood pulled his troops and ended up defeated. With more than 1,600 soldiers killed, wounded, or missing in action, that historic battle had a 30 percent casualty rate, one of the highest in U.S. history. The Battle of Allatoona Pass is considered one of the Civil War’s bloodiest, yet shortest, battles. It lasted somewhere between six and eight hours.
the town that lies partially submerged under the waters of Lake Allatoona today, but it experienced one of the most famous battles during the Civil War.
One of the first settlers, a rich plantation owner named John Clayton, built the Clayton House (now the Clayton-Mooney House) in Allatoona in 1836. The Mooney family still occupies the house. After Atlanta fell, Confederate Army Lieutenant General John Bell Hood of the Confederate Army of Tennessee moved north to Allatoona to destroy the railroad there in an attempt to obstruct Major General William Sherman’s supply line and thwart his progression. On October 5, 1864, Confederate troops approached
Photograph by Elizabeth Yandell & Acworth Ghost Tours
Originally an agricultural community and transportation crossroads along Allatoona Creek at the southern end of the Appalachian Mountains, Allatoona became an official town in 1838, when it established its first formal building, a small post office. The post office remained in operation for eighty years, until 1918. Before the Civil War, people came to the town in search of gold and silver. Allatoona boasted a blacksmith shop, train depot, and a dry goods store. As the town grew it located a new schoolhouse half a mile southeast of the Western and Atlantic Railroad that ran through town.
Pope, Woodstock Resident
When the smoke cleared, the Yankees had spared the Clayton-Mooney house, because they used it as a Union headquarters and a makeshift hospital during and after the battle of Allatoona Pass. The ClaytonMooney home still stands today, with bloodstains and bullet holes still visible. The town of Allatoona lay peacefully for several decades afterward, until the Flood Control Acts of 1941 and 1946 scheduled Allatoona to be flooded for the construction of Allatoona Dam. Parts of the town of Allatoona remain under Lake Allatoona to this day.
Clayton-Mooney House
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