Chattooga River

The Chattooga River originates in Lafayette in Walker County, Georgia, flows through Chattooga County, Georgia, and then enters Cherokee County before emptying into Weiss Lake. Before the lake was built, the Chattooga River joined the Coosa River near Cedar Bluff. During the Civil War, U.S. General William Tecumseh Sherman ordered the grist mill at Gaylesville and the bridge across the river to be burned. Farther downstream, the river powered the blast for Cornwall Furnace during the Civil War. The mill at Gaylesville was rebuilt after the war. Although the mill building no longer stands, the rock pillars can still be seen on the west bank below the bend in the river, and the dam is still noticeable a few inches under the water's surface during low water levels.

Gaylesville, Alabama · United States