Stephens County

Stephens County was created in 1905 from parts of Franklin and Habersham counties. The county is named for Alexander Stephens, who served as vice-president of the Confederacy (despite his having opposed secession) and governor of Georgia.

The county's first inhabitants were an Indian tribe known as the "Mound Builders." The tribe thrived in Toccoa, at the foothills of the Great Smoky Mountains. The Mound Builders were followed by the Cherokee tribe who, legend says, named the area "Toccoah," meaning "beautiful" in their language.

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