Fernweh, An Ache for Distant Places

RABUN COUNTY
Rabun County, Georgia is located in the smallest northeastern corner of North Georgia, wedged into where the North Carolina, Georgia, and South Carolina state borders meet. You can find it about halfway between Blue Ridge, GA and Greenville, SC, and an hour or so from Helen, GA. 

A collection of mountains along the Eastern Continental Divide form the landscape of Rabun County, providing lots of waterfalls and unique hiking trails all throughout. 

Like most major lakes in North Georgia, its plentiful and famous Lake Burton, Lake Rabun, and Lake Seed were all manmade for hydroelectric power.

Well over half of Rabun County is situated in State Parks like Black Rock Mountain, Moccasin Creek, and Tallulah Gorge, and in National Forests like Nantahala and Chattahoochee-Oconee.

The land, sometimes called Cherokee Mountain, was inhabited by the Cherokee people until white folk started elbowing their way in.

It is the rainiest county in the state of Georgia, essentially making it a tiny rain forest.

You may know this region from scenes of the film Deliverance or the documentary about the after effects that it had on the county, titled The Deliverance of Rabun County. 

There is a play called Foxfire about the famous Foxfire books and magazines published in Rabun County that was adapted into a Broadway production starring Jessica Tandy in 1982, and later turned into a Hallmark movie starring Tandy and John Denver.

There is also a novel called The Illuminati by Larry Burkett that is set in Rabun County. 

Visit the Rabun County Historical Society for more information. 

FOXFIRE VILLAGE MUSEUM
I drove down to the Foxfire Village Museum in Mountain City in delirious anticipation of a scene straight off Walton’s Mountain.

After gaining admission, I browsed the gift shop and library, mentally checking off each magazine and book that I already own and coveting a few that I did not. The book Aunt Arie: A Foxfire Portrait is now in my collection.

Foxfire publications started in 1966 when an English teacher at the local Rabun Gap-Nacoochee School created a project to encourage his students to write.

They began publishing a magazine full of interviews with their family and community members, the rural Appalachian culture and lifestyle, and various craft methods, recipes, food and farming preparations, planting guides, and skilled instructions. 

For decades, Foxfire has been considered the largest collection of first-hand, primary sourced documentation of the southern Appalachian way of life.

Southern Appalachian is so fascinating, especially as someone who was transplanted into it as a kid, because it is a creole of Native American, African American, and European culture, especially Scottish and Irish immigrants who brought folk music, fiddles, and whiskey distilling technology that was eventually adapted to make the moonshine this region is famous for. 

There are various signs around the museum property and an exhibit about the Foxfire Press in the village.

The Foxfire Trail is a loop trail that takes you through the open air museum, and it is between 0.5-1 mile long depending on how closely you follow it and if you go all the way through each of the nearly two dozen sites. 

Staff advises that it can take between half an hour to an hour to complete the tour, but I recommend taking extra time to explore each building and sit with the artisans that work onsite and invite you to watch and learn. 

Here is a link to their map. 

One of the first exhibits along the trail is the Wagon shed which houses an original “Zuraw” wagon.

This is the one and only known surviving wagon of the Cherokee Trail of Tears also known as the Cherokee Removal, and lists the names of all who were known to have been forcefully exiled.  

Across the holler, you will see Gott Cabin where you can meet Les Barnett, one of the many artists and educators in the village. 

He invited me to sit with him and listen to a few tunes on different instruments he made.

Tin cans, cigar boxes, baking pans, buckets, you name it and Les can turn into a playable stringed instrument. 

He gave me a personal lesson about diatonic versus chromatic fret boards and the basics of building a “canjo.” I really enjoyed my time with him, and the soundtrack he provided as I wandered around the rest of the village. 

Next door to his Gott Cabin is Tiger Weaving Studio, and the Blacksmith’s shop is next to the Zuraw wagon. 

There are several historic cabins on the property like the Savannah Cabin, the Warwoman Cabin, and the Foxfire Archive Building which is also known as the Carnesville House. 

Warwoman Cabin is popular for its old-time Philco radio and model of a typical 1930s-1970s kitchen in Appalachia. Most homes had a wood stove, and most did not have indoor plumbing or electricity until the late 1940s. 

The Foxfire Archive Building is where hundreds of subjects have been interviewed by Foxfire students and many of these artifacts are stored. 

Depending on the day or season, there are a variety of classes, events, and guided tours available to guests. 

There is a kid-sized model village for play that includes a schoolhouse and other outbuildings. 

When you reach the chapel at the top of the trail, around the halfway point, staff encourages you to pull on the rope outside to ring the bell. 

I don’t always do what I am told, but this was fun and LOUD.

Following the trail back down the mountain will lead you through past the old grist mill and gardens.

Depending on the season, you will also see an unbelievable amount of wildflowers on smaller side trails

Trillium, ferns, mayapples, mullein, and what I believe is wild geranium are most prominent and abundant during the early Spring. 

If I am wrong about this being wild geranium, I would like to hear about it. 

BLACK ROCK MOUNTAIN STATE PARK
After spending a few hours at Foxfire Village Museum, the next stop was Black Rock Mountain State Park.

The entrance is actually the next major driveway nearest the Foxfire Village Museum entrance off the highway, though each have a second one. Maybe more that the locals know about.

Black Rock Mountain State Park has the highest altitude of any state park in Georgia. The park sits on nearly 18,000 acres and has its own 17-acre lake.

Black Rock is known for its beautiful overlooks and four unique hiking trails that lead through a variety of wildflowers and lush green foliage and flowing streams.

CLAYTON
Clayton, Georgia is the seat of Rabun County and was incorporated in 1821.

Clayton used to be called Dividings because of its location at the crossing of several important Cherokee trails, and a famous explorer and naturalist in the 1770s named William Bartram wrote about it. As Clayton was developed, three of the ancient trails became US 23/441, US 76, and Warwoman Road.

Clayton takes up just a little over three square miles and all of it is land.

Old Yeller and Grizzly were both filmed in Clayton, and several others nearby.

The town is the fictional setting for the novel The Peripheral by William Gibson which Amazon turned into a television series in 2022. Part of it was filmed in Marshall, NC and features a friend of mine.

 

Clayton is proud to be known as the Farm-to-Table Capital of Georgia and has some really fantastic restaurants. 

We really loved White Birch Provisions in the middle of downtown. 

They have some fascinating hanging lanterns and lighting fixtures that held us in awe. 

You can eat in at the café and buy their goods to go. 

Fortify, Rabun Social, The Hush Cuban Bar & Kitchen, Universal Joint, and Moonrise Distillery are all equally worthy options. 

Save a little room for a treat at Main Street Chocolates.  

The Main Street Folk Art Gallery was a super fun stop, with everything from local crafts to children’s art and every weird thing in between. 

My favourite pieces were by this artist who I believe is John “Cornbread” Anderson, who seems to share my love of raccoons and Appalachian critters. 

Ghost Apothecary is your place to find “Restorative Remedies for Curious Spirits.” We found lots of little presents for ourselves there. 

Reeves Hardware opened in 1928 and is still boasting everything from caulk to Carhartt and fly-fishing equipment.

Countless other boutiques and shops downtown carry an impressive line of local and (inter)national brands, but the overall vibe is locally owned.

OTHER PLACES TO KNOW ABOUT
Tiger is the next town over, and is home to the Tiger Drive-In, Tiger Mountain Vineyards, and Stonewall Creek Vineyards. 

In the area for a while? Follow me to Anna Ruby Falls, Helen, and other rad North Georgia towns like Blue Ridge, Ellijay, Blairsville, and Dahlonega. 

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