Brasstown Bald

Image credit: David Seibert

Year Erected: 1958

Marker Text:  The high, rounded peak, Brasstown Bald or Mt. Enotah, is the highest mountain in Georgia, 4,748 ft. Its Indian name, Itseyi, means “a place of fresh green,” referring to its grassy, instead of timbered, summit. Early white settlers mistook the Indian name for a similar one meaning brass. According to Cherokee legend, there was once a great flood and all men died except a few Cherokee families who landed on top of Brasstown Bald in a giant canoe. The Great Spirit killed all the trees on top of the mountain so the survivors could plant crops and live until the floods subsided.

Tips for Finding This Marker: At the intersection of Unicoi Turnpike (Georgia Route 75) and Georgia Route 180, on the left when traveling south on Unicoi Turnpike near Hiawassee.