Sautee Nacoochee, Georgia

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Sautee Nacoochee, in White County, is located in foothills of northeast Georgia approximately 95 miles north of Atlanta. The small unincorporated town sits at the intersection of the Sautee Valley and the Nacoochee Valley near the Sautee Creek. The closest incorporated town is the tourist destination of Helen, Georgia (a replica of a Bavarian alpine town).

1 Geography
2 Origin of names
3 Sautee Nacoochee Center
4 See also
5 Near by towns:
6 Resources
7 External links

[edit] Geography

Sautee Nacoochee is located at longitude -83.68094,latitude 34.67994.

[edit] Origin of names

The word "Sautee" comes from the name of a former Hitchiti-speaking Creek Indian village named Sawa-tee at the juncture of Sautee Creek and the Soque River. The name means "Racoon People." Soque comes from the Muskogee language version of "Racoon People" - Sawa-kee. The word "Nacoochee" comes from the Cherokee pronunciation of a large Hitchiti-speaking town's name on the Chattahoochee River named Nokose (pronounced no-ko-she.) Nokose means "bear" in both the Hitchiti and Muskogee languages (branches of the Creek Indians.)

Early boosters of the Nacoochee Valley spread a fanciful Romeo-and-Juliet-like tale that Nacoochee was a beautiful Cherokee "princess," who fell in love with a Chickasaw warrior named Saute. When their love was forbidden by the Cherokee elders, Nacoochee supposedly jumped to her death on the cliffs of nearby Yonah Mountain. Actually, the Chickasaw Indians lived over 300 miles west of the Nacoochee Valley. The tale has no historical merit even though it is presented as fact on a state historical marker.

[edit] Sautee Nacoochee Center

Sautee Nacoochee is most noted for the Sautee Nacoochee Center, a cultural and community center housed in the restored Nacoochee schoolhouse. The center was founded by the Sautee-Nacoochee Community Association (SNCA), which was also responsible for getting both Sautee and Nacoochee Valleys placed on the National Register of Historic Places.

In September 2006, the Folk Pottery Museum of Northeast Georgia opened on the grounds of the Sautee Nacoochee Center. The Pottery Museum’s new facility, designed by Atlanta architect Robert M. Cain, features a 3,200-square-foot main exhibit floor that houses more than 150 vessels on permanent display and has space for additional temporary exhibits.

The numerous cultural programs at the Sautee Nacoochee Center led to Sautee Nacoochee being designated as one of "The 100 Best Small Arts Towns in America" in a book by the same name written by John Villani.