Built by the Civilian Conservation Corps and the Cornelia Kiwanis Club with Tudor influences, the Cornelia Community House is one of the largest such gathering places I’ve encountered in Georgia.
David S. Cuttino, Jr., was the architect. It is the centerpiece of a 33-acre public park and was formally dedicated in May 1937.
It’s unusual in that the rear of the building holds much more architectural interest than the front.
National Register of Historic Places
This fire tower was built atop Chenocetah Mountain (1830′) by the WPA Resettlement Administration for use by rangers in the Chattahoochee National Forest. The 54′ granite tower was dedicated on 7 June 1938. Later, a plaque was added to the tower in memory of three forest workers who died in World War II: William A. Crossland, Robert C. Fuller, and Edward W. Simpson. Use of the tower was discontinued in 1975 and its fate was unsure, but the Georgia Forest Service began restaffing it during fire season in 1989. It is a favorite landmark of travelers to Habersham County.
National Register of Historic Places
Once the largest apple market in the South, Cornelia is still a large producer. In 1926, the Southern Railway gave the Big Red Apple to the city. It has become a statewide icon.
Cornelia Commercial Historic District, National Register of Historic Places
This Southern Railway passenger depot is now home to the Cornelia Historic Train Depot Museum.
Cornelia Commercial Historic District, National Register of Historic Places
This nicely restored wooden caboose is located in the plaza near the Southern Railway Depot and is a tangible link to one of Georgia’s most historic lines, the Tallulah Falls Railroad. It operated from 1854 to 1961 under various incarnations, running from Cornelia to Franklin, North Carolina. The line was used by Walt Disney in 1955 as a set location for The Great Locomotive Chase.
This is located on the side of Arnold Drugs.
Cornelia Commercial Historic District, National Register of Historic Places
The brick structure with three awnings is the old Irvin General Merchandise Store, which is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Built by G. B. Irvin around 1904, it was the retail center of Cornelia in its heyday. It had frontage on Irvin and Hodges Streets. The Belk Company bought the building in 1940 and added a new facade, which was rehabilitated to its earlier appearance in the early 1980s.
Cornelia Commercial Historic District, National Register of Historic Places
May God Continue to Bless Our Community with the Love, Patriotism and Unity Shown During the Visit to Our Great County by President George Bush on October 20, 1992.
Vanishing Georgia: Photographs by Brian Brown 