A history of Helen,
then and now
Postcards, papers and photographs of Helen from public archives, woven together by decade. Neighbors fill in the gaps.
The story
from WikipediaRead it all ↗Helen was laid out by John E. Mitchell of St. Louis during the years 1912 and 1913. When a name for the small settlement was being sought, a lumber official suggested the name of his daughter and there was little opposition. Called the "Star of the North," Helen was incorporated on August 18, 1913. Helen was built along the former route of the Unicoi Turnpike, a 1,000-year-old Native American trail connecting Tennessee, North Carolina, and Georgia.
Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
Timeline
built from the dates on the items belowFinish Helen’s story
Most archives stop around 1920. The photos from after that are in family albums, not libraries.
1 of 10 decades since 1900 have photos 🔁Retake an old viewA CONSTRUCTION WORKER DRILLS THRO…, 1975: stand where they stood+15 📦Share a family photoSign in to add one+10Helen, decade by decade
MapMAYOR BOB FOWLER OF HELEN, GEORGIA, NEAR ROBERTSTOWN DISPLA…1975
DocumentOFFICE OF THE HELEN MOUNTAIN EAGLE, A MONTHLY NEWSPAPER PUB…1975
CommonsA CONSTRUCTION WORKER DRILLS THROUGH SOLID ROCK ALONG ESCOW…1975
CommonsA GERMAN SKI INSTRUCTOR ON LEAVE FROM HIS DUTIES AT A NEARB…1975
CommonsA GROUP OF "UNICOI CLOGGERS" FROM WHITE COUNTY, GEORGIA PER…1975
CommonsAERIAL VIEW OF HELEN, GEORGIA, NEAR ROBERTSTOWN, SHOWING GE…19751990s
Nothing in Helen is on the National Register yet
That’s true of most small towns. It doesn’t mean Helen has no history, only that no one has written up a nomination. The closest listed place is Nacoochee Valley in Sautee-Nacoochee, 2.7 miles away.
Helen and the nearest listed places
How a place gets listed
Then & now
No then-and-now pairs yet. Take a photo from the same spot as A CONSTRUCTION WORKER DRILLS THROUGH SOLID ROCK ALONG ESCOWEE STREET ON THE BANK OF THE CHATTAHOOCHEE RIVER PRIOR TO...… (1975) and it appears here side by side.
🔁 Retake this view · +15Stories next door
nearby towns’ historyFrom Wikimedia Commons (6). Images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.