In February of 1884, a tornado visited Pickens County and cut a 15-mile path, leaving several residents dead (including the Cagle and other families) A vivid description of the tornado is in the Feb 21, 1884 cover of the Atlanta Constitution. Cagletown began in 1869 and today is known merely as Cagle. Historically it was mostly an agricultural town started by the Cagle family that had first migrated from North Carolina to the Hickory log section of Cherokee County until they moved into Pickens County. They traditionally attended church at Bethany and Refuge Baptist Church, had a post office in a place called Jockey, and operated several mills. The Cagle House off Hwy 108 is one of the few places in our county on the National Historic Register of Places.
The storm system killed over 300 people across Alabama, Georgia, North Carolina, and South Carolina.
In Pickens County, twenty people died. They are listed below:
Mrs. Levi Cagle and her two children
Alonzo Wright
William Grover
William Herren
Mrs. James Dowda and her two children
Mrs. Wily
Mrs. Lewis King and her two children
John Nicholson
Mrs. John Nicholson
Mrs. Nations
Mrs. Watkins
Child of Perry Pettitt
Child of Hiram Walker
Child of W.H. Collier
In addition to the lives lost, three Baptist churches were destroyed: Refuge Baptist Church, Long Swamp Baptist, and Cool Springs Baptist Church.
Other severe tornado storms hit the county in 1974 and 1994.
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