Demorest, Georgia
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Lat34North
N 34° 33.930 W 083° 32.729
17S E 266471 N 3827804
Demorest, Georgia is a small southern town located in North, GA. Along the historic rout of US 441.
Waymark Code: WM7D90
Location: Georgia, United States
Date Posted: 10/08/2009
Views: 1
Demorest, Georgia is a small southern town located in North, GA. Along the historic rout of US 441.
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History
The land where Demorest is now located was given by the State of Georgia to W. Stripling in 1829. Stripling did little with the land aside from maintaining a family farm. In 1840, the land was transferred to Dr. Paul Rossignol who built a summer home on the west side of Lake Demorest. That house became significant to the history of Demorest. Among other things, it was one of the first buildings used by Piedmont College, which was established in 1897.
In the late 1880s, the because of the expansion of local railroads in Cornelia and Rabun Gap the lands within and around Lake Demorest were easily accessible.
In 1889 the present site of Demorest was known only as a sawmill camp. A sawmill operated by Henry Rossignol was located near the present dam site below the lake. The mill was run by water power from a low wooden dam. Besides the saw mill there was a small water-driven flour mill owned by Mr. Ripley near the present site of the saddle-tree factory.
In this same year a small band of people from Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Ohio and Indiana came to the present site of Demorest to establish a prohibition town, beauty spot, health resort, industrial and educational center.
Notable landmarks
Although Demorest is a small city, it has many notable landmarks. A few of these landmarks include Demorest Springs Park, Old Demorest Train Depot and Lake Demorest.
One of Demorest's most popular landmarks is the Johnny Mize Athletic Center and Museum. The Museum is owned by Piedmont College and is named for Baseball Hall of Famer Johnny Mize. Mize was born in Demorest, and played baseball at Piedmont. The museum houses Mize memorabilia from his time at Piedmont as well as from his professional baseball career with the St. Louis Cardinals, New York Giants and the New York Yankees.
The most recent landmark is the new addition of the pedestrian bridge over a span of Historic U.S. 441 in front of the Piedmont College campus. The new bridge was assembled off-site and lowered into place by crane. The bridge was modeled after the Vanderbilt University 21st Avenue Pedestrian Bridge. The installation of the bridge was a joint project of the Georgia Department of Transportation, Piedmont College and the city of Demorest.