The other day I commented about Gainesville finding its future through the 50 year lease of the Georgia Mountain Center to Brenau University, and in that Chronicle I mentioned that the new future is not unlike Gainesville in the 1880's when it was known as "The Great Health Resort of the South." Well, the comments and questions I received would indicate a lot of you have no idea what I was talking about. It is Gainesville's history, and let's start this way: From about 1880 through the early 1920's this town was a mountain resort where people came from the Southern coastal areas for the summer season. It was mountain cool, did not have trouble with the "bilious fever" (malaria), had first class hotels, a classic Opera House, and Brenau brought visitors from far and wide to attend week-long Chautaquas. A trolley ran from the Air-Line railroad station up Main Street to the square, thence out Green Street and Riverside Drive to the picnic and playground area at Lake Warner, near Riverside Military Academy. Visitors could choose from a variety of restaurants, bars, and the Arlington Hotel (where Hunt Tower now stands) brought in a different dance band weekly from New York. Our city was a favorite destination for honeymooners. In addition, Gainesville was the judicial, banking and trading center for all Northeast Georgia. With the new role for Brenau University in downtown Gainesville, and with the growth of the Northeast Georgia Medical Center, it seems to me this new vision for Gainesville's future can actually be a return to our roots as "The Great Health Resort of the South." <br />
This is Gordon Sawyer from a window on historic Green Street. <br />
