Keith Jones

Fannin County (Images of America) Keith Jones

When Fannin County was created on January 21, 1854, less than 20 years had passed since the Cherokee removal and the Texas Revolution. The forced removal of the native Cherokee opened north Georgia to increased settlement by people of European background. War hero James Walker Fannin was born, if legend is correct, near where Tennessee and North Carolina border Georgia. After dropping out of West Point, Fannin was a successful broker in Columbus, Georgia, and then immigrated to Texas. Following several military adventures, including a failed attempt to relieve the Alamo, Colonel Fannin was defeated at the Battle of Coleto Creek, and his command was massacred near Goliad. Shortly after the Mexican-American War joined Texas to the Union, Georgia honored Fannin's memory by naming Fannin County for him. From an isolated region of mountain farms, gristmills, and wilderness, Fannin County has developed alongside the arrival of the railroad and the inauguration of logging, hydroelectric power, mining, and manufacturing and is currently one of the premier tourist destinations and arts-and-crafts regions in the Southeast.