The Sentinel of the Valley: The Nacoochee Indian Mound

Drive south from Helen on GA-75 and you'll see it: a grassy hill in a wide valley, a white gazebo on top and Mount Yonah rising behind. It looks like a garden feature. It's actually one of the older human-made structures in the region, and the New Georgia Encyclopedia says researchers believe it served as an administrative center during the Middle Lamar period, in the late 1400s and early 1500s.

It's a platform mound: a flat-topped earthwork that held a building for a chief or for community gatherings. It's often credited to the Cherokee, but Cherokee towns in the valley came later, and Cherokee people reused the mound afterward. The gazebo is a later addition and has nothing to do with the original builders. Our Nacoochee Mound visitor guide covers photography and nearby stops.

The address is 143 Highway 17, Sautee Nacoochee, and the phone is (706) 878-1077. Annual passes are available. The mound is easy to see from the road without paying; your admission gets you onto the grounds. Read more in our Hardman Farm guide.

Sources: Wikipedia and the New Georgia Encyclopedia article above. The site is on the National Register as part of the Sautee Valley Historic District.

The expedition, sponsored by the Museum of the American Indian, found 75 burials and evidence of at least two construction stages. About a third of the people were buried with items that signal status: hammered copper, conch shell beads and cups, and elaborate pottery. Some later burials held European glass beads and brass ornaments from the 1600s. The mound visitors see today is a reconstruction on private property, according to the New Georgia Encyclopedia.

Locals tell the story of Nacoochee, a Cherokee maiden, and Sautee, a Chickasaw warrior who fell in love across a feud. In the story the lovers die and are buried at the mound. It's a good tale, but the burial evidence points to a much older community. The visitors bureau says the burial ground predates Cherokee occupation of the region, and a village of about 300 houses once sat on the nearby flats. Read the full story in our post Gazebo on the Grave.