Lake Hartwell... Great Lake of the South

Lake Hartwell Shoreline Tour (Section 3)

Tugaloo Baptist Church, established before 1789 by the Rev. John Cleveland is the oldest church in what was then Franklin County, Georgia. The county covered an area in Georgia and South Carolina about the size of Rhode Island. The church has been called "The Mother Church" of Baptist churches in the area. Cleveland was to become known as "The Father of Baptist Principles." He and the Rev. Thomas Gilbert represented what was then known as Tugaloo River Church when the Tugaloo Baptist Association was formed in 1818. Several interesting headstones are found in the adjacent graveyard including Civil War soldiers and that of Henry Fricks who lived his life in three centuries (1799-1901).

Many of the area boat ramps were built at the site of old roads and carry the names of these roads, bridges or ferries that once crossed the Tugaloo River. JENKINS FERRY: HOLCOMBE FERRY: SPRING BRANCH:

The Gumlog area was once known for its beverages is now better known for bar-b-que served Thursday - Sunday at a local restaurant called "Gum Log Bar-B-Que"

Parkertown was founded in 1832 in what was then Franklin County, now Hart County, by Joseph A. Parker who was born in Virginia in 1774 and moved to Elbert County, GA in 1796. He later moved to Big Shoal Creek where Jacob Parker & Co. built what is said to be the first woolen mill in Georgia on the upper shoal. At the lower shoal they constructed a dam and a flour and grist mill together with a cotton gin and a thresher.