Towns

Formed March 6, 1856 (117^th county)

Towns County (12,487), Hiawassee (985), Young Harris (1,102)

The Modern Towns County courthouse was built in 1964 to replace the 1905 building.  The current tan brick structure is on River Street between Lee and Berong streets.  United States Highway 76 is one block south of the location.  Henry M. Whitehead, Jr., provided the columned courthouse designs.  Towns County was established on March 6, 1856 from Rabun and Union counties as the 117^th county.  The only county seat is Hiawassee.  Congressman George W. Towns is the namesake for the county.  The county seat is named for the Native American word for “meadow.”  Towns County was the birthplace of 1 Georgia Governor, Zell B. Miller.  The county center is 4.3 miles Southeast of Hiawassee. 

Towns County government consists of a sheriff, an administrator, a coroner, a clerk, and a tax commissioner (executive).  It has 1 Commissioner (legislative.)  Twenty-eight Superior Court Judges serve Towns, Cherokee, Dawson, Fannin, Forsyth, Gilmer, Gwinnett, Habersham, Hall, Lumpkin, Pickens, Rabun, Stephens, Union, and White counties and Three County Judges, court clerk, and county attorney serve Towns County (judicial.) The county is located in far north Georgia on the border with North Carolina.  The county is surrounded clockwise by North Carolina and Rabun, Habersham, White, and Union counties. 

The area of the county is 166 square miles.  It is 151 out of 159 counties in the state.  It ranks 113 out of 159 in population in the state.  It has a density of 75.2 persons per square mile making it 72 out of 159 in the state.  Towns County has 16.7% of its population in its incorporated areas.  United States Highway 76 crosses the county east to west from Rabun County to Union County.  The highest point in Georgia, Brasstown Bald, is on its western border.  The county looks like a capital letter T.  Hiawassee is located in the northern quarter of the county.  Young Harris is in the northwest part of the county.  Hiawassee is the county seat and Young Harris is the largest city.  Hiawassee is 7.9% of the county population while Young Harris is 8.8% of the county population.  The county seat is pronounced HIE-A-WA-SEE.