White County is quickly becoming a fun place for me to travel to, as it's a hodge-podge of tourism. First stop, Babyland General Hospital. Later, the little Alpine Town of Helen. In between, the Nacoochee Mound.
Everyone loves a good love story, and the Nacoochee Mound is no exception. The legend is Princess Nacoochee of the Cherokees fell in love with Sautee, a young braveheart in the rival Chickasaw tribe. After spending some romantic days on Yonah Mountain, Nacoochee's father, Chief Wahoo, captured Sautee when the pair attempted to reconcile the two tribes, and sentenced him to death.
Sautee was forced of the ledge of Yonah Mountain, and breaking free from her father's grasp, Nacoochee followed, jumping to her death. As the two hit the ground, they crawled together just before they died.
Realizing what he had done, Wahoo decided to bury the lovers, still tightly locked in embrace, on the banks of the upper Chattahoochee River.
Whether or not the legend it true, it makes for a good story. A sign at the site told a bit of different story - the mound was at the center of an ancient Cherokee city, called Guaxule, and DeSoto apparently visited it in 1540. The mound was where an unceasing sacred fire burned inside of a home on top of the mound, and the people of the village lived, danced and celebrated on the flat land around it.
Located on the Hardman Family Farm - which is one of the largest historically preserved sites in the state, by the way - the mound is fenced off in a pasture, topped with a gazebo.
The site was actually excavated in 1915, and was one of the first of its kind in the state. Researchers with Museum of the American Indians, the Heye Foundation, and the Bureau of American Ethnology learned there were at least two mounds (one on top of each other) and a total of 75 human burials, some indicating social status with copper, beads and pottery.
But me? I'm a sucker for a good story and I think there is still a possibility that the Nacoochee Mound could contain the remains of the two lovers. There's a similar story about Sautee and Nacoochee at the Lover's Leap waterfall at Rock City - possibly, they were inspired by our own little Georgia love story? (We'll talk more about Rock City later!)
I visited the burial mound on a Friday morning. I watched the sunrise over Yonah Mountain, shining on a dewy valley, with cows grazing longingly while I snapped my pictures.
It was stunning in that early morning sun. There was a little pull over space on the road for convenience and a sign that commemorates it as a historic site. You can get some wonderful shots from here if you're in it for the photos, but this is one you really have to see for yourself.
It was pretty easy to get there, too. Head towards Helen on Cleveland Highway, then turn on to Helen Highway. It's not too far down that road, and it's hard to miss. Please don't climb the fences though, it's private property, and a sacred burial ground. You've heard the saying - take only photos, leave only footprints. As a historic site, I think this rule applies.
Join me next week as I visit the Gainesville Midland, an engine and a caboose parked in the center of town, near Poultry Park. We'll talk railroads, trains, and the importance of the railway. We'll have a special guest voice, too - my brother, Bradford, who restores historic locomotives with the Georgia State Railway Museum down in Savannah.
Until then, stay curious.
This article scratches the surface of the Sautee and Nacoochee, and the burial mound, but the real love story behind it is up to you. 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.
