In 1804, the Cherokee Indians had negotiated the terms of the creation of a Federal Road that ran between Tennessee to Augusta, Georgia. In exchange for settlers' passage through the Cherokee Territory, the Indians were allowed to operate taverns along their old Cherokee highway.
In less than 30 years, in 1832, the Cherokee Territory was mapped out at the request of the government with the purpose of dividing the land into lots, giving away lots by a lottery system creating counties of governance under the control of the state of Georgia.
There were three taverns located in the land that now comprises Pickens County. The Daniel's Tavern - (formerly located east of Long Swamp Creek on the north side of Hwy 53) and Harnage's, located where the Tate Mansion presently is. The third tavern was the Nelson-Simmons Tavern located just northwest of Jasper, just east of the Volkswagen repair shop on Talking Rock Road.
By 1832, the infamous Colonel Haney Nelson was operating a tavern about four miles southeast of the Carmel Mission site. He also was listed as a Postmaster of Talking Rock for about a year and a half (although he wasn't living in Talking Rock)
NOTE: In 1830, Colonel Nelson was involved with the fort near the Frogtown/Hightower area. (Matt Hwy - Forsyth County) The State of Georgia had established Camp Eaton/later Camp Gilmer to protect the newly discovered gold mines in Cherokee County.
Nelson was Postmaster from 18 January 1832 -15 July 1833
Nelson's as seen on the 1832 map of Cherokee County (LL 237)
In 1835-1836, Nelson was one of the last Indian Agents (a non-native agent tasked with assimilation) who was keeping Georgia Governor Lumpkin appraised of the lands that had been evacuated by the Cherokee. (He also was involved with the harassment and arrest of missionaries at New Echota and he had previously tried arresting Reverend Isaac Proctor at Carmel Mission in 1831.) Colonel Nelson also was the second in command under General Winfred Scott for the Indian Removal that took place in 1838. Col. Nelson sold his tavern to James Simmons, an Indian trader, who was shown on the 1840 census of Gilmer County. Nelson later relocated to Gordon County.
Unlike the former tavern owner, James Simmons was a kind man and operated a thriving trading post out of the Tavern. A microfiche of his trading ledger is located at the Pickens County Library. Eventually, he even used the tavern location as the post office named Marble Head.
Marble Head as seen on Mitchell's 1860 map of Georgia
He did this for four years, between 1850 and 1854. (It should be noted that many Post Offices in Georgia in the 19th Century were located in Dogtrot-style homes as the Tavern because having an open breezeway left a dry place to leave postage.
James Simmons was postmaster from 5 July of 1850 - 3 June 1854
Simmons frequently interacted positively with the Cherokee before they had been forced to leave. A story recounting an Indian Ball Game (Anetsa) he witnessed on the neighboring property of Hood's Field, was published in Belle K. Abbott's book The Cherokee Indians in Georgia.
Later, during the Civil War, James became a member of Georgia's Secession Delegation and was one of eight members who voted against Georgia leaving the Union. He was quoted as saying "I thought secession would involve us in war and was too hasty."
In his old age, James sold the land for the Jasper City Cemetery in 1887 and 1891. He passed away at the age of 91 in 1894.
In 1903, the tavern location is shown as Simmons Place (LL 237) on the J.W. Henley map of Pickens County.
Simmons Place as shown on the 1903 map (LL 237)
Eventually, the land passed into the hands of the Trippe family (heirs of the Simmons family) around 1898 before moving to the Stanfield family (also Trippe relatives) sometime after Miss Susie Trippe died in 1977.
In 1997, the Marble Valley Historical Society attempted to salvage the site. Sadly, although they had the impetus, they were never able to salvage the property which by that time had been recently hit by a tornado and fallen into disrepair.
In 2004, the final owner of the tavern property, who had grown tired of paying taxes, agreed to privately sell the wood and fieldstone from the tavern to a private owner named Clyde Smith. Clyde had previously restored and built other historic cabins across North Georgia. He placed a small ad in the Atlanta Journal and Constitution for a cabin for sale. And fortunately for all of us, Phyllis Clark, a woman from Atlanta who loved history, decided to do what the Historical Society could not. She would save the Nelson-Simmons Tavern, even if it had to be moved and rebuilt.
In fact, according to famed historian Robert Scott Davis, Jr., “The original Pickens County Historical Society, with J.B. Hill (1903-1991, former monument designer and friend of Colonel Sam Tate and Luke Tate) among its members, specifically was formed to save the Simmons House….This group preceded the creation of the Marble Valley Historical Society (1980) by a few years.”
With the purchase from Mrs. Clark, for around $20,000, she had Clyde rebuild it at an undisclosed location in a remote wilderness section of Pickens County. Clyde had labeled all of the pieces from the cabin that was salvageable and diagrammed a plan.
The Tavern was reconstructed in 2004.
The current front of the rebuilt tavern with a door that converts the former dogtrot breezeway into an enclosed foyer
The tavern as seen in the 1970s with the open breezeway
Imagine my excitement learning of the tavern's continued existence! Upon reaching out to the owner, they expressed willingness to have me share in their history by teaching the readers of the Pickens Progress that a lost part of our legacy wasn't lost after all.
This last weekend I had the honor and privilege of meeting the owners. Out of respect for the current occupants, I'll only share a few of the photos I took while at the site. However, I will include many photos from the building project that were provided to me.
The original tavern as seen from the rear, looking through the dogtrot breezeway
A close-up of the salvaged door from a Civil War period piece from Social Circle, GA.
The inside of the foyer area (first-floor interior of the tavern)
The first-floor living room.
The first-floor dining room.
The upstairs bedroom.
The loft section above the main room. This is a departure from the original closed-floor design.
The yellow portion of the plan represents the section of the dogtrot that was salvaged.
The portions behind are of the expansion to make the property more spacious.
After Clyde Smith rebuilt the first and second floors of the tavern, an architect was called to build an expansion. Most of the expansion would be located off the back of the original tavern. The entire house is a work of art and won a prestigious AIA (American Institute of Architects) award.
It should be a point of interest, that the first forefather of the Clark family who arrived here was an Irish Stonemason who directly worked for Governor Wilson Lumpkin in the construction of his brick mansion that currently resides on UGA property. The irony is that the first occupant of the tavern, Charles Haney Nelson, also routinely reported to Governor Lumpkin.
Mrs. Clark's dream came true. Sadly, not long after the property was completed, she tragically passed away. Today, the property remains in her family, as a lasting reminder to her vision, history, and of the beauty of the human spirit.