This Fire Watchtower was in use from 1937 to 1971

Chenocetah Fire Tower, Cornelia Georgia

Date added: February 01, 2024 Categories:

View from south showing tower in grassed landscape

The Chenocetah Fire Tower was constructed in 1937-1938 as part of the Northeast Georgia Upland Game Conservation Project, also referred to as the Northeast Georgia Game Conservation Project. This project was initiated in 1935 and proposed the acquisition of 50,000 acres in Habersham, Banks, Stephens, and Franklin Counties for public use. The concept of the project was for the government to purchase worn-out farmland on a voluntary basis from 250 families, relocate these former residents to more fertile acreage near their original homes, and improve the acquired land through reforestation, the restoration of game, and the development of public recreation opportunities. The former residents were also guaranteed work in the development of the property.

The project was carried out by the Division of Land Utilization of the Resettlement Administration. The Resettlement Administration was created on April 30^th, 1935 to combine and coordinate efforts of four former government agencies: the Rural Rehabilitation Division of the Federal Emergency Relief Administration, the Land Policy Section of the Agricultural Adjustment Administration, the Subsistence Homesteads Division of the Department of the Interior, and the Farm Debt Adjustment Section of the Farm Credit Administration. These four agencies were created by the federal government in an attempt to address the problems of rural areas which had reached a high point in 1933 when one million farmers applied for aid. The Resettlement Administration was renamed the Farm Security Administration in September 1937, but its basic philosophy continued in its purpose to relieve the rural need, rural rehabilitation, rural and suburban resettlement, and land utilization.

The Northeast Georgia Upland Game Conservation Project was designed to attack the problems of rural areas through methods developed by the federal government. According to local newspaper accounts, the completed project included 40,000 acres and 62 families who had once resided on the property were relocated to more suitable farmland. The paper noted that most of these families were tenants, who had encountered extreme difficulty in making a living from land susceptible to erosion. The project created more jobs than expected. An article, dated March 19^th, 1936 from the Tri-County Advertiser, stated that the project was employing 986 men, 200 more than originally estimated.

The major work resulting from this project included the construction of truck trails; the reduction of fire hazards; the building of three fire towers on Curahee Mountain, Black Mountain, and Chenocetah Mountain; the development of recreation areas at Fern Spring, Cool Spring, Panther Creek, Chenocetah, and Nancytown; and the preparation of wildlife preserves. An article from the Tri-County Advertiser, dated May 27^th, 1937, documents that the fire towers, which were constructed of steel, had been completed on Curahee and Black Mountains, and the recreation areas of Fern Spring, Cool Spring, Panther Creek, and Nancytown has also been completed or were underway. The article stated that the stone tower on Chenocetah was under construction.

The Chenocetah Tower at the summit of Chenocetah Mountains was located within a 472-acre tract offered for sale on May 18^th, 1935 for the project from the owner, Colonel Sandy Beaver, an important figure in the development of the Riverside Academy in Gainesville, Georgia. The deed record notes that "the seller reserved the right to harvest the present apple crop and other field crops and to remove pipelines and other equipment from the orchard." A report by Jack Wynn, Archaeologist with the U.S. Forest Service, states that the mountain had been formerly known as Griffin Mountain, named after Caleb Griffin, who owned the property around 1820. The archaeology survey also notes that the mountain was later known as Tower Mountain, due to a wooden tower that predated the present stone tower. The name, Tower Mountain, was also used in a 1936 article from the Tri-County Advertiser. It is unknown how long the wooden tower stood on the mountain or the party responsible for its construction.

On June 7^th, 1938, the Chenocetah Fire Tower was dedicated. Governor E.D. Rivers was the special guest at a ceremony sponsored by the Cornelia Kiwanis Club. By the time of the dedication the former Resettlement Administration had become the Farm Security Administration and the newspaper accounts at that time refer to the project as the Northeast Georgia Land Utilization Project. By this date, the other recreational areas had been completed, including a rustic picnic shelter with outdoor ovens and tables on Chenocetah Mountain. (This picnic area at Chenocetah Mountain is now owned by a private individual.)

The tower was used for fire observation purposes on a seasonal basis until 1971. At that time the Forest Service began to use airplanes, a more cost-effective means of surveying the public lands. Around this time a radio antenna was placed on the outside of the tower on the grounds and a radio repeater was installed on the interior. The tower is located on an approximate 4.5-acre tract encircled by a road. The area around the tower is presently used as a passive park.

Site Description

The Chenocetah Fire Tower is a granite tower with raised mortar, measuring 54 feet in height and 14 feet at the base, situated on a square stone platform with a granite balustrade. The tower is constructed at an elevation of 1,830 feet above sea level and is located at the summit of Chenocetah Mountain. The top of the tower contains a wooden observation room with a hipped roof of slate. The observation room is accessible on the interior by a metal spiral staircase and contains three windows with two vertical lights on each side of the tower. Details in the granite include dentil molding at the top of the granite portion of the structure; windows with narrow proportions on the sides of the tower which reflect the ascent of the interior stairway; and a segmental-arched entrance with a wooden door. A stone plaque which states: "Chenocetah Mountain, Elevation 1930 Feet, Tower Erected 1937," is located on one side of the entrance door.

A second plaque, with the inscription "Chenocetah Memorial Tower Dedicated To The Memory Of These Forest Service Men In Georgia Who Gave Their Lives In Defense Of Their Country In World War II, William A. Crossland, Robert C. Fuller, Edward W. Simpson," is located on the other side of the entrance door. (The Forest Service has no record of when this latter plaque was added or the group responsible for its erection.)

The Chenocetah Fire Tower is located on approximately 4.5 acres of wooded and open land encircled by a road. The tower is reached from the road by granite entrance steps and a stone walkway. A grassed area of one to two acres surrounds the base of the tower, with woods between the grassed area and the surrounding loop road. Three low concrete symbols are set into the lawn on the north side of the tower, 6" in width and 4'6" high: "G 26" oriented so as to be readable from the tower or the air above it. A 40-foot antenna is located on the southwest side of the tower and was added around 1970 when radio equipment was installed on the interior.