The short walk from the bookstore at Toccoa Falls College to the falls makes it one of the most accessible natural wonders in the state.
If follows Toccoa Creek, the upstream source of the falls.
At 186 feet, the falls are about the same height as Niagara Falls (Horseshoe Falls, on the Canadian side). A sacred and mythological place to the indigenous Yuchi, and later, Cherokee people, the falls were first occupied/owned by White settlers in the late 18th century.
The first two owners are believed to have been Col. James Irwin, and Joshua Catcher. The early owner with whom it was most associated was Col. William Wofford (1728-1823), but like the falls themselves, ownership changed constantly, with at least 23 different owners until 1911.
In 1911, Dr. Richard A. Forrest (1881-1958) established Toccoa Falls Institute and Bible School, after purchasing a hundred acres and the Haddock Inn, a popular tourist destination built in 1873, from E. P. Simpson.
The Inn burned circa 1913 but other structures soon sprang up to take its place and the college remains today.
The falls attract thousands of visitors each year, including artists who draw inspiration from their natural beauty.
The only way to access the falls is to stop by the Toccoa Falls College bookstore and pay a small fee. At $2 ($1 for seniors), it’s one of the best bargains in Georgia. You won’t be disappointed.
Fascinating and tragic story of Toccoa Falls and the flood. I visited the falls not too many years after the disaster, and all seemed quiet and peaceful. The falls are majestic and a great natural wonder to visit, but one is always aware of the tragic circumstances of 1977 and the victims of that flood.
One of the worst tragedies in the state occurred some ~20+ years ago, when heavy rains caused the earthen dam at the top if the falls to crumble — at 2 AM, when no one was awake to know. Water quickly flooded the college campus below, and many people drowned. Sad.