Towns County, the 117th county formed in Georgia, was created in 1856 from parts of Union and Rabun counties. It was named for George Washington Bonaparte Towns, who was governor of Georgia from 1847 to 1851. Towns County is nestled in the scenic mountains of Northern Georgia. Chatuge Lake is located in the northern part of the county and reaches into North Carolina. It is a storage facility for the Tennessee Valley Authority and is also a public preserve. Hiawassee, the county seat, and the lake area have long been popular tourist areas. In the 1800s through the 1930s, wealthy families from the lowlands would