Young Harris, Georgia

Young Harris is a city in Towns County, Georgia, United States. The population was 1,098 at the 2020 census. Young Harris is home to Young Harris College, after which it was named.

History

Young Harris was originally named "McTyeire", after Bishop Holland McTyeire. It was later renamed to honor Judge Young Harris, the benefactor of McTyeire Institute (which was also renamed Young Harris College).

thumb|Historic aerial of Young Harris

The college was founded in 1886. Sharp Memorial United Methodist Church on Main Street at the entrance to the college was built on January 9, 1949, as a new home for the congregation that had occupied Susan B. Harris Chapel, built in 1892.

Main Street through Young Harris to Hiawassee and Blairsville was paved in 1927.

Blue Ridge Mountain EMC, located in Young Harris, was founded in 1937 to provide electric service to Fannin, Towns, and Union counties in Georgia and Cherokee and Clay counties in North Carolina. Its headquarters west of downtown was constructed in 1955. BRMEMC began offering internet service in 2002 and moved into a newly built $33 million headquarters on a 49-acre campus east of downtown in 2012. As of 2024, the EMC has more than 200 employees and 50,000 customers.

The $27 million Brasstown Valley Resort was constructed on 503 acres north of Young Harris in 1995. In 2012, the Clint Eastwood film Trouble with the Curve was partially filmed in Young Harris. A moon tree was planted in Young Harris in 2024.

Geography

Young Harris is located at (34.934233, -83.847681).thumb|Georgia State Route 2 in Young HarrisThe city is located at the junction of U.S. Route 76/Georgia State Route 515 (Zell Miller Mountain Parkway) and Georgia State Route 66. U.S. 76/GA-515 run through the center of town from west to east, with GA-515 splitting off to the north in the eastern part of the city from U.S. 76. U.S. 76 leads east to Hiawassee, the Towns County seat, and southwest (with GA-515) to Blairsville. GA-66 leads northwest from Young Harris to its end at the Georgia-North Carolina state line.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 1.0 square mile (2.6 km), all land.

Young Harris is the closest city to Brasstown Bald, the highest mountain in Georgia. A seven-mile wagon train trail extends from the college campus to the mountain's peak. Now open only to hikers and horses, the trail was built in the 1950s by convict labor as part of Georgia Route 66. It was, at the time, reportedly one of the most expensive trails built in the US. Brasstown Creek, which originates on Brasstown Bald, flows through the city.

Adjacent cities

These are cities within an approximate 15 mile radius of Young Harris.

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Demographics

2020 census

As of the 2020 census, Young Harris had a population of 1,098. The median age was 21.2 years. 7.7% of residents were under the age of 18 and 9.4% of residents were 65 years of age or older. For every 100 females there were 82.4 males, and for every 100 females age 18 and over there were 81.1 males age 18 and over.

0.0% of residents lived in urban areas, while 100.0% lived in rural areas.

There were 204 households in Young Harris, of which 20.6% had children under the age of 18 living in them. Of all households, 26.0% were married-couple households, 16.7% were households with a male householder and no spouse or partner present, and 53.4% were households with a female householder and no spouse or partner present. About 46.1% of all households were made up of individuals and 28.4% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older.

Former Member of the United States House of Representatives from Georgia's 9th District Ed Jenkins (1933–2012) was born in Young Harris.

References

External links

http://www.youngharrisga.net/