Flashback Photos: More From the North Georgia Mountains, 1923-1973

Flashback Photos

Flashback Photos: More From the North Georgia Mountains, 1923-1973

It's always been a beautiful place, but there was a time when the North Georgia mountains seemed much more remote and rural. The cities have grown since these photos were taken, but there are still vast areas of wilderness and quiet rural hamlets that make it a welcome respite from busy city life. Take a look back at how the area looked through the middle years of the 20th century.

Horse-drawn mill grinds sorghum, Blairsville, Georgia, October 26, 1973.

Behind the scenes on the set of "Deliverance," 1971.

Bill McKinney on the set of "Deliverance" preparing for death scene, 1971.

Mrs. Connice Holden is carding wool, Georgia, ca. 1930s; 1940s.

American novelist Lillian Smith at a general store, 1945, probably near her summer residence in Clayton, Ga.

Children sitting on bundles of Sorghum cane, Hughes Sorghum Syrup Mill, Blairsville, Georgia, October 1954.

Ranger and conservationist Roscoe Nicholson crouches in a century-old railroad tunnel near Clayton, Rabun County, Georgia, March 15, 1953.

Author Lillian Smith lounging with her cat in her Clayton home, 1945

Nurse visits a family living in a mountain home. Two siblings watch as mother and nurse care for the infant, Georgia, December 25, 1938.

Visiting nurse speaking with a rural family seated on thier front, Georgia, January 7, 1945.

Tallulah Dam, built by the Georgia Railway and Power Company, Tallulah Falls, Habersham County, Georgia, after 1923.

Dan McDowell's family, a farm family, look at Wynona's report card, Georgia mountains, ca. 1930s; 1940s..

L. P. Ellers grows gourds to use as martin houses, in the Blue Ridge, Georgia, ca. 1930s.

Behind the scenes on the set of "Deliverance," 1971

Lant J. Ellers, Ed Watkins' grandson, drinks from a long-handled gourd, Mountain City, Georgia, ca. 1930s; 1940s.

Man uses horse-drawn carriage over distances to get the mail, Georgia, April 7, 1940.

Miss Essie Standridge was bitten by a rabid fox, Wilcox County, Georgia, January 28, 1945. That somehow led to this photo being taken, though there’s no other information.

Cane grinder in operation at Hughes Sorghum Syrup Mill, Blairsville, Georgia, October 1954.

Aunt Fanny Smith spins wool by hand, Georgia mountains, ca. 1930s; 1940s.

Clay Padgett's family lives in this old home at the foot of Sharp Top Mountain near Jasper, Georgia, ca. 1930s

Mountain home of Ferron Howard, in the settlement of Persimmon, Rabun County, Georgia, 1973?

Jon Voight and Ronny Cox on the set of "Deliverance," 1971

Waiting for the Rolling Store, a little boy hopes to trade an egg for jawbreakers, Georgia, ca. 1930s, 1940s.

Farmers harvesting hay near Hiawasee before Thanksgiving, 1956.

Burt Reynolds and crew on the set of "Deliverance," June 1971, on the banks of the Chattooga River near Clayton, Ga.

Hughes Sorghum Syrup Mill worker bottling syrup, Blairsville, Georgia, October 1954.

W. C. Neal bought 72 acres of land to farm in Wolf Fork Valley, Georgia, ca. 1930s; 1940s.

Martin gourds hang thick in Garnett Simmons' yard on Soapstone Mountain, Stephens County, Georgia, 1930s?

Man on pony opening mailbox, Georgia, April 7, 1940.

David Hobson, son of James Hobson who introduced the Chinese chestnut tree to Jasper, Georgia, sitting in the tree planted in 1917, Jasper, Georgia, sometime after 1930.

Christopher Dickey (center) on the set of "Deliverance," 1971. The movie was based on his father James Dickey’s novel of the same name. Filming took place in and around the Chattooga River near Clayton, Ga.

Barefoot young boy (Paul Wooten) outside log cabin, holding a toy he has whittled, Georgia, December 25, 1938.

The original caption, which accompanied a story about a new school sometime in the 1930s, reads: "Part of the Zeb Bryson family at the door of the shack they lived in before entering the school."

A family stands next to a log cabin, situated near a stream, located in the Georgia mountains circa the 1930s.

Christopher Dickey on the set of "Deliverance," 1971. The movie was based on his father James Dickey’s novel of the same name. Filming took place in and around the Chattooga River near Clayton, Ga.

In this July 18, 1970 file photo, high wire artist Karl Wallenda nears the end of his walk on a high wire across the gorge, 750-feet high, at Tallulah Falls, Ga. (AP Photo/Charles Kelly, File)

"As Wallenda stepped off the catwalk, dust rose behind him," the 1970 AJC article states. "The car taking his wife to the destination tower was leaving. Helen [Wallenda] had avoided watching her husband perform after near tragedy in a Hartford, Conn., circus fire in 1966. She wanted to see as little of [the] walk as possible."

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Horse-drawn mill grinds sorghum, Blairsville, Georgia, October 26, 1973.

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