Cohutta () is a town in Whitfield County, Georgia, United States. It is part of the Dalton Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 764 at the 2020 census.
History
The town emerged as a stop on the railroad from Cleveland, Tennessee, to Dalton, Georgia, and served as a transportation and commercial center for the surrounding farming areas. According to local lore, the town was originally known as "Shakerag," from the rag would-be passengers would wave to stop trains passing through.
In the 1920s, the town had a bank and a hotel, as well a high school, and was frequented especially in summer by inhabitants of Chattanooga seeking cooler temperatures. The high school burned down in 1952 and was not rebuilt.
As recently as the late 1960s, Cohutta had a small supermarket, three smaller "sundry" stores, a feed and seed, and a hair salon. The improvement of roads and the ease of access to larger cities (in this case, Dalton) drew shoppers away, so that by the 1990s, Cohutta had no large businesses at all with the exception of a downtown hardware store, a general store near the main road leading downtown from SR-71, and two convenience stores located at each end of town on the state highway route. Over the last decade, the surrounding area has become something of a bedroom community for Dalton, with housing developments taking over many of the farms in the area. Regardless, Cohutta maintained all town services during this time as required by the charter to include town police, fire, and sanitation services to incorporated properties.
Town services are still fully maintained in 2022 with two town clerks, a staffed public works department, municipal court staff with judge and solicitor, an environmental court, and a full-service town police department which is available 24–7–365. In 2021-2022 the town has approximately 20+ employees in various roles and positions.
In May 2026, the mayor, Ron Shinnick, fired the town's entire police force after six officers filed formal complaints about the mayor's wife, whose employment with the town had been terminated, but still had access to personal information. The police force was reinstated by the town council after two days with back pay allocated, as the firing did not follow the town's charter which require a 30-day notice before any firing or suspension of any town employees. Shinnick was also prevented from firing the officers in the next 30 days, with the council deciding on a possible removal of Shinnick as mayor in a future meeting. Shinnick later resigned as mayor on May 15, and was replaced in the interem by councilwoman Sandy Clayborne.
Geography
According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of , of which is land and (1.59%) is water. Cohutta also has 4.2 miles of state highway (SR-71 also known as Cleveland Highway), from the Tennessee state line to Bank of Dalton Drive in their jurisdiction, per Georgia state databases.
Demographics
As of the census