Pickens County Health Department

Photo: Pickens County Health Department

Pickens County 

Health Department

Pickens County Health Department offers public health services for the community, including affordable immunizations and free COVID-19 vaccinations. Many services are provided on a sliding-fee scale based on family size and income, including:

Family Planning Services

Provides exams and birth control methods

Presumptive Eligibility

Provides Medicaid coverage to income-eligible pregnant women during the Medicaid application processing period

Babies Can’t Wait Child Tracking Program

Identifies and follows high-risk infants and children to provide coordinated healthcare

Well Baby Checks

Provides complete physical examinations to children from infancy to age six

Health Checks

Provides screening of medical and/or developmental problems for Medicaid-eligible children from infancy to age twenty

Breast and Cervical Cancer Screenings

Provides screening and follow-up services to low-income, uninsured, or under-insured women throughout Georgia who meet eligibility requirements

Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) Program

Provides nutrition education, food supplements, and referrals to healthcare providers for eligible infants and children up to age five, as well as pregnant, breastfeeding, or postpartum women

Children’s Medical Services

Serves children from birth to age twenty-one by providing various medical needs

Reproductive Wellness

Provides access to physical examinations, lab tests, treatment of sexually transmitted diseases, AIDS testing, counseling services, and follow-up for identified cases

The Tate House is listed as the Pink Palace in the National Register of Historic Places. Built as a private home by Colonel Sam Tate in 1926, it is now known and loved as a wedding venue.

Long before Pickens County formed, it was a small portion of what people called the Land of the Cherokees. The Land of the Cherokees included all land west of the Chattahoochee River and north of Carroll County.

1829+

Gold Rush Begins in Georgia Mountains

1830

Marble Discovered by H. Fitzsimmons

1853

Pickens County Established

In 1805 the federal government paid the Cherokee nation $500 when Native Americans and the federal government signed the Treaty of Tellico, which allowed the construction of an “open and free road for the use of the citizens of the United States.” The federal road followed and included a trail called the Middle Cherokee Trading path. This road connected trading posts between Augusta, Georgia and Nashville, Tennessee, and served as a direct link to the navigable Tennessee River. The road was a critical link for trade. General Andrew Jackson, “Old Hickory” himself, gets credit for building much of the road. Taverns served as rest stops along the federal road and Native Americans, white people, and interracial families staffed them. In 1817 Georgia Presbyterians came to the area to build mission schools. In 1819 they established the Taloney Mission along Talking Rock Creek to reach Cherokee children. The Presbyterians continued to build mission schools throughout this area and the state for more than fifteen years.

In 1829 word spread that there was gold in the mountains of Georgia, including Pickens County. A year later Henry Fitzsimmons, an itinerant Scotsman, stumbled upon an outcrop of a different type of valuable natural commodity—marble. More than fifty years would pass, however, before the marble industry felt a surge of growth. Until then, gold was king.

In 1831 the Land of the Cherokees was officially named Cherokee County by the Georgia legislature. Although Pickens County was not yet formed from that territory, what is now Pickens County became rooted on a little more than thirty miles of that critical trade route. Discovery of gold in the late 1820s led to

Stephen Kirby, from Spartanburg, South Carolina, moved to Pickens County in 1862 and purchased this cabin from a Cherokee man by the name of Dunbean. Kirby established the first school in Jasper—Kirby Academy.

speculation and demand for land in the Cherokee nation. In 1832 Georgia instituted a land lottery in which the Cherokee lands were distributed to white men. This act led to Congress passing the Indian Removal Act, which President Jackson signed into law because he knew he could not protect the Cherokee people from expansion of the new nation of America. The removal of the Cherokee people westward later became known as the 1838 Trail of Tears. That same year, the state split Cherokee into multiple counties: Forsyth, Lumpkin, Union, Cobb, Gilmer, Murray, Cass (now Bartow), Floyd, and Paulding. The legislators carved out pieces of Gilmer to the north and Cherokee to the south to form Pickens County in 1853. It took about eighteen years for the dust to settle between Cherokee, Gilmer, and Pickens counties as land was peacefully transferred back and forth. The final county borders were established in 1870. Pickens County was named after Andrew Pickens, a brigadier general during the American Revolution who also served in the South Carolina legislature and Congress. War divides people. Pickens County is no exception. Prior to the start of the American Civil War in 1861, community leaders voted against secession from the Union. Protest of Georgia’s secession was strong in the county, and citizens voluntarily guarded the U.S. flag flying over the courthouse as long as possible until a thunderstorm shredded the flag and it was lowered, causing citizens from Pickens County to become divided. Some of the men joined the Confederate army and others the Union. Brothers fought against brothers. During the war Jasper was occupied by both armies at different times, often ending in gruesome battles. As the war came to a close, Pickens County once again raised the Stars and Stripes above the courthouse where it still waves today. The fortunes of Pickens County changed with the coming of the Marietta & Georgia Railroad in 1883. On May 1, 1884, Yankee investors formed the Georgia Marble Company. With a total of a $1.5 million investment, the Georgia Marble Company built a rail line to meet the Marietta & Georgia. The Tate estate leased much of the quarry land to other companies. Colonel Sam Tate became president and general manager of the Georgia Marble Company in 1905. From this beginning, Pickens County marble made its mark in local schools and in sixty percent of the monuments in Washington, D.C. Marble buyers the world over still favor quarries in Pickens County for countertops, monuments, and other building uses.

The Old Pickens County Jail (1906-1982) was once considered “escape proof.”

In the early 1970s, luxury mountain community developments began emerging in Pickens County. Bent Tree and Big Canoe became places for summer homes and retreats for wealthy

Atlantans. Today these areas have grown to include affordable full-time residences, multiple golf courses, and countless other amenities while preserving the natural beauty of the land. In 1979 Georgia State Route 515 began construction and later became the lifeline of Pickens County. This major corridor was completed in 1987 and continues to serve as a direct connector to Atlanta. No longer isolated in the mountains of North Georgia, Pickens County is a pleasant, small-town community with all the conveniences of a big city just a few miles down the road. Pickens County is a wonderful place to call home. Our heritage runs deep, and our foundation is solid. We’re well positioned to continue to thrive in both business and industry, and most of all, we are happy to be living where business meets the great outdoors.

A special Thank You to Bill Cagle for writing this article. Cagle is the author of the popular book The Road to Georgia Marble. His book is available for purchase at local retailers and on Amazon.com.

Pickens County Veterans Memorial Park is located adjacent to the Chamber of Commerce and Visitor Center. The memorial is a perfect place to explore while reflecting on the sacrifices made by those that came before us.

Pickens County Veterans Memorial Park

The city of Jasper, Pickens County, and local veterans joined together to honor those that fought the fight of freedom for us all.

The City of Jasper, Pickens County, and local veterans dedicated the Pickens County Veterans Memorial Park in August 2018. Veterans Memorial Park recognizes and honors veterans, particularly those from Pickens County. The park is donned with flags, statues, memorial items, and bricks of honor and remembrance, providing a place for residents and visitors to honor our veterans. Veterans Memorial Park promotes educational opportunities, patriotism, and a glimpse into our history. The park is also home to many annual community events, including Memorial and Veterans Days, Wreaths Across America ceremony, National Vietnam Veterans Day, Fourth of July, and a September 11 Remembrance. The mission of Veterans Memorial Park is to inspire a greater sense of patriotism in those that visit and develop a deep appreciation of our Veterans—heroes we remember through the engraved bricks of honor donated by loved ones. Designed to be implemented in stages, Phase I of the park is complete. The vision to build Phase II includes a plan to relocate the monument of the fifty-five Pickens County veterans who gave their lives for freedom (currently located at the Pickens County Courthouse) to Veterans Memorial Park. Phase II will also include etchings in finished black granite of uniformed veterans of various wars, including World War I, World War II, the Korean War, the Vietnam War, the Gulf War, and the War on Terror. When complete, Veterans Memorial Park will represent all our veterans and provide a single location to honor our servicemembers. For more information, contact:

(706) 253-0501

PickensVetMemorial@gmail.com PickensVetMemorial.com

Veterans Memorial Park is handicapped-accessible.

A special Thank You to Frank Leist for providing this article. Leist is a resident of Pickens County, holds the positions of treasurer and project manager for Phase II of the Pickens County Veterans Memorial Park, and is a retired sergeant-major from the United States Army.