Abandoned buildings make me feel some kind of way. It's a bittersweet, stinging tears, the gentle aching kind-of feeling in your chest and face. Unlike most people, when I see an abandoned building I don't see a pile of trash. I see the outlines of people, going to and from. Kids playing in yards. Mothers sweeping porches, watering plants, an excuse to keep her eye on her children. Fathers leaving general stores with milk and eggs and a candy bar in his pocket.
"If walls could talk" is something I often think about upon abandoned buildings. What have you seen, little house? Who left you last? Who are you waiting for?
Auraria, Georgia, waits for people like me, now.
Auraria is a little town in Lumpkin County, but unlike the bustling Dahlonega, it's completely abandoned. It's a ghost town, with only a handful of buildings left. An old general store sits next to a house that looks like someone is trying to perk up, a community center that still looks active, and then someone's home across the street, with an old barn now used as a garage, that may or may not even be part of the little town.
According to GhostTowns.com, Auraria was where gold was first discovered in the 1540's by Spaniards and then re-discovered in 1819 by English settlers, on what apparently was a Cherokee reservation. Miners began setting up towns, a la Auraria, illegally on the reservation by 1829, and by the next year, 300 ounces of gold were found in the area.
The miners eventually moved to Dahlonega, the website reports, and the gold rush eventually ended in Georgia in 1849. (We'll talk more about Dahlonega later on in my series of blogs.)
There were a few things I looked for that I did not see: the abandoned hotel, and the signage designating the area as the first sight of gold. But the entry for Auraria was last updated who know when, and a lot can happen in just a year. The hotel, The Graham Hotel, was supposedly on a list of historic places, but in bad condition. I didn't see a speck of it. But judging from the photos someone sent in to GhostTowns.com, it looks like it's a field now.
But I did find the General Store, apparently named Woody's. It had a rusty Dr. Pepper sign, a few broken windows and clearly, still stuff inside! It was like they sold everything, stopped getting shipments and left the store as is. Other online reports (all of which are linked somewhere in this blog) say it was a tavern when miners lived in the area, and operated as a general store for quite some time afterwards.
I also saw the chimney that used to be the old bank (though there are conflicting reports if that was the bank or the red barn next door was.) It was covered in wooded nature things and a lot of trash. I honestly was too scared to dig through the kudzu, in fear of disturbing a little nest someone made for themselves in the shady pit.
There were also two homes, a more modern, mint colored one across the street, warning trespassers to keep out, and using an old red barn as a garage. Another tan one was right next to the general store. It looked like someone had recently been living in it, but not quite. There was a dump truck there as well, unoccupied, but new. It sort of looked like someone was trying to clean the place up, maybe restore it.
Personally, I'd be happiest to see the little town turn in to a tourist stop. Clean up the general store and reopen it, keep in the vintage charm. Tell people about the place where Georgia's gold rush began when they stop in for a Coke. I am saddened to think a hotel, on the register of historic places, no less, has disappeared into oblivion and green grass.
Really, there wasn't much to it. But, it was worth a stop, considering that I barely remember hearing about this place in my Georgia Studies classes. I recognized it when I saw it, and it looms gently on the side of the road, waiting for visitors. Cars zoom by with not even a nod. It was eerily quiet. I highly recommend going with a friend, in the daylight. And I certainly don't encourage you to try and enter any of the buildings - though some bloggers are braver than I am.
It wasn't hard to get there, by the way. From Gainesville, I took Highway 60 and then hopped on to Georgia 400, took a right on Burnt Stand Road, then took another right on Georgia 9E, and there I was.
Join me next week as I take a detour off the path of Unusual North Georgia and let y'all have a peek in the scary, strange depths of my thoughts. Not for small children or those with weak hearts. I think I'm going to start taking a detour every few weeks or so, because 1) I gotta keep you guys on your toes and 2) I'd like to prolong the fun as long as I can.
Until then, stay curious.
This article scratches the surface of the little ghost town North Georgia forgot. The comments made in this feature article, by myself and by those who have been mentioned or quoted, do not necessarily reflect the opinions of Jacobs Media Corporation. Read, enjoy and explore at your own risk.
