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Tugaloo
Corridor Project moving forward
By
Patrick Neal
 After
nearly 10 years of dreaming, brainstorming, negotiating and just
plain work, the Tugaloo Corridor Project is taking shape on the
Georgia/South Carolina border of Lake Hartwell.
The project, which is today spearheaded by the Toccoa-based
Stephens County Foundation (SCF), began in the late 1990s as an
effort to preserve and restore the historic heritage of the Tugaloo
River area of Lake Hartwell. It is centered on an 87-acre tract on
Yonah Dam Road which formerly belonged to C.P. “Billy” Hayes and his
wife Carol.
The Hayes property, which the SCF refers to today as
the “heritage site,” was originally known as Tugaloo Bend Farm
before it became a casualty of the Hartwell Reservoir project in
1961. The SCF acquired it from the Hayes family in 2002.
Those who knew the property were keenly aware of just
what a jewel in the rough it was on several fronts.
First of all, it is ideal habitat for an array of
wildlife and plants. As just one example, the Tugaloo River area was
one of the first known places in the Southeast where American bald
eagles began to nest and flourish after a near brush with extinction
in the late 20th century.
Second, it is incredibly rich with Native American
history. The word “Tugaloo” was derived from “Dugilu-yi,” the name
of a thriving Cherokee settlement in the area; a Cherokee council
house was excavated in the mid-1950s through a joint project of the
Smithsonian Institute and the University of Georgia. The area also
encompasses Estatoe, which UGA anthropologist Mark Williams
described in a 2002 report on the site as a “large and vibrant
Cherokee town during the first third of the 18th century. It also
likely was occupied by earlier peoples for perhaps a few hundred
years earlier.”
Finally, it is dense with historical significance in
the post-Cherokee era, having been a working farm located in what
was once an active corridor of trading and commerce. Indeed, one of
the area’s strongest points, in terms of regional history, is its
proximity to Traveler’s Rest, a stagecoach inn that is now a
state-run historic site in Georgia.
According to SCF chairman Joe Ferguson, the project
has taken shape slowly – which is as it should be. “Projects like
this will probably consume two or three lifetimes,” he said. “This
is a project we cannot rush. This is too significant and too
beautiful a piece of property. We must be very careful how we
proceed.”
Having accomplished its first and most important goal
– acquiring the Hayes property – Ferguson said the SCF turned its
attention to exploring all of the possibilities the tract
represents.
Thanks to an $89,000 Recreational Trails Grant from
the Georgia Department of Natural Resources, the foundation soon
will start building an outdoor classroom and restrooms. The
foundation also will make part of the existing hiking trail
handicapped-accessible through the installation of platforms and
other improvements overlooking the tract’s wetlands. Finally, the
foundation will soon begin construction of a caretakers’ house for
the site.
In the future, foundation members foresee a
museum/visitor’s center highlighting all three aspects of the
corridor property – its natural history, its Native American history
and its European settlement history. The Estatoe area is also slated
for revival, though Ferguson noted that that phase of the project
would focus on archaeological study and preservation rather than
development.
To raise awareness of the Tugaloo Corridor Project,
SCF trustees and volunteers have established two big annual events,
and both of them have become incredibly successful in a very short
time.
The first is the “Twilight on Tugaloo,” which was
held earlier this year. The event is essentially a big
silver-and-china dinner party held under tents on the property. “We
can handle a maximum of 250 guests (for the Twilight) and it’s sold
out for the past two years in a row,” Ferguson said.
The second is the “Tour De Tugaloo,” an event for
bicyclists held each fall. It encompasses three loops of
approximately 20 miles each. “It’s just a beautiful ride,” Ferguson
said, adding that last year’s Tour drew 125 riders.
“(The Tour) really isn’t a moneymaker so much as an
opportunity for people to get out and see the area and build
awareness of what the foundation is trying to accomplish,” Ferguson
said.
For more information on the Tugaloo Corridor –
including a wealth of information about the area’s Native
American-era history – visit
www.tugaloocorridor.org.
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