A Thousand Country Roads

A Circle Completed: Toccoa Falls

January 26, 2015 in Attraction, Nature, Road Trip, Travel

My last time here, I shared our family experience of going to Toccoa, Georgia, following the footsteps of the Band of Brothers to the place where they began their journey of becoming the famous paratroopers portrayed in the fabulous miniseries. I did, however, have a more personal reason for visiting this area.

As I spoke of in the first installment of my long winded tale (6 Parts!) about our earlier vacation trip to Atlanta, Georgia, I have had a link with Atlanta and Georgia that went back to before I was even born seeing that Atlanta was where my parents went on their honeymoon and then returned on their tenth anniversary dragging along two little boys with them. On their return trip from their honeymoon, they made one additional stop, one of which I’d heard my mom speak of many times as well as of her regret of not having made that stop again with her two sons when we went back home after our trip to Atlanta. Therefore, I had no intention of being in the area and not making the stop myself to see Toccoa Falls on the campus of Toccoa Falls College.

Initially, the institution founded in 1911 was called Toccoa Falls Institute, focusing on theological studies as well as adding secondary courses. In 1937, it was chartered as a four-year college,  becoming Toccoa Falls College, allowing it to grant a Bachelor of Arts degree in Biblical Education. But the campus also has a tourist attraction, a 186-foot high waterfall called Toccoa Falls, thus the name of the college.

The falls are the tallest free falling waterfalls in the Eastern United States and are a magnificent sight. Though Lynndee had seen one waterfall when she lived in the Philippines, it was not as high as Toccoa Falls.

Fittingly, Toccoa is the Cherokee word for beautiful.

As beautiful as they are, they do have a dark story in their history. On November 6, 1977, the Kelly Barnes Dam, used for electrical power since the early days of the Toccoa Falls Institute, collapsed, creating a flash flood that drowned the lower part of the campus, destroying and damaging many structures but even worse, killing 39. A marker stands on-site today giving tribute to the community’s support after the disaster.

But discovering that history did not take away from the joy of our visit on a beautiful spring day. As you can see by the photos, it was a stunning visual experience. I so wish I had taken the time to download some of the photos mom took while there so I could have shared them. In them you would see the stark difference between that time and now. Those old black-and-white photos were taken with one of those Brownie box cameras, what I guess was state of the art 60-some years ago. But from them, came her memories of that day in her life that she shared with me so many times.

And on our day there, I experienced a certain sense of closure, making come true what mom had always wished she had done back in the day, taking me and my brother to see the falls. And in a sense, I truly did feel that a circle was completed. Mom and dad came here on their honeymoon, and seeing that Lynndee and I did not have the opportunity to take a real honeymoon, I’ve considered all the road trips we taken to be mini honeymoons.

I couldn’t help but feel that this one was a continuation and closing of the legacy left to me by mom and dad. Words cannot describe what I felt while standing there, knowing that mom and dad had done the same and saw the same sight we were looking upon. The thing is, on this, our day at the falls, we created our own special memories, documenting them with our state of the art photos, and life can get no better than that.

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About Harry

There's really nothing special to share about me. I'm a simple man who leads a simple life, still in search of knowledge and the enlightenment it gives to my still-growing mind. And I do believe in magic, for it is out there, waiting to be discovered by those whose hearts and minds are open to the possibility, and whose eyes are willing to look past the obvious and seek the realm of the mystical. As I once read in a description of my traits based on my birthdate, I'm a dreamer of dreams, a teller of tales whose mystic mind knows that truth prevails. And as the great poet Robert Frost said:
"...I have promises to keep,
And miles to go before I sleep,
And miles to go before I sleep."

Reader Interactions

Comments

  2. Dawn says

    That looks beautiful! I always love seeing the beauty of nature first hand. Now that I’ve moved to Florida, I can’t wait to get out and explore.

  3. Krystal says

    How gorgeous. There’s not really a lot of waterfall action going on in Florida, but I love going out and enjoying our natural scenery as well. The swamps are particularly cool.

  6. Olivia Schwab says

    I love seeing pictures of waterfalls! For some reason they make me so happy and peaceful! I’m glad you guys had a great trip there! Gorgeous pictures!

  11. Michelle de Guzman says

    Waht an amazing sight. I would have liked to see the college campus marker too. Too bad you didn’t include that. I am glad you made the time to go to the falls. It is beautiful. Thanks for sharing them/.

  17. April Mims says

    I didn’t realize there were such beautiful waterfalls in Georgia. I spent many summers in Atlanta but will have to go back sometime and visit the waterfalls.

  20. MikiHope says

    I am happy that you were able to see the same site that your parents did so many years ago. Waterfalls are beautiful – I have seen many in various parts of the US-I even stood under and behind a few of them! That definitely is falling from a height higher then any I have seen!

  23. Kori says

    I love visiting waterfalls, I think that they’re absolutely gorgeous and inspiring. I’d love to see this one in person someday.

  29. Ann B says

    I love to sit by a waterfall and close my eyes and listen to the water. I would love to see this in person. Fantastic photos.

  30. Chelle W says

    I have heard such great things about Toccoa Falls. I always wanted to visit when I thought we would be stationed in GA, but we didn’t and I haven’t been. Gorgeous scenery!

  32. Rebecca Swenor says

    This is such a gorgeous what fall indeed. Just beautiful and I love the circle being complete concept. It is so sweet. Thanks for sharing these gorgeous photos.

    • Harry says

      You’re welcome, Rebecca. I’m happy you enjoyed the photos. And it was sweet to me to complete that circle. I know mom would have been happy to know of it.