Fort Mountain State Park

The park is named for a zigzagging dry-stone wall near the summit. Georgia State Parks says it is 855 feet long; a plaque on the mountain says 885, and its National Register file says 928. Either way it is a long, low line of piled rock running along the mountain, with pits built into it, and nobody has settled who built it or why.

The state's park history gives an archaeological estimate of 500 to 1500 CE, its trail map calls around 500 A.D. one of the more realistic ideas, and you'll also see the Middle Woodland period (roughly 100 BCE to 500 CE) and a ceremonial purpose suggested. State Parks notes it is thought to have been built by early Native Americans as a fortification or for ceremony. Other guesses, including a Spanish expedition under Hernando de Soto, are speculation.

Two stories gather around the wall, and both are legends, not documented history. In one, Cherokee tradition describes an earlier people called the "Moon-eyed people" who were driven out of the mountains. In the other, Welsh explorers, dated by the state's trail map to the 14th century and sometimes tied to a legendary Prince Madoc, are said to have built the walls. No archaeological evidence supports a Welsh presence in Georgia. We went through the old files and clippings for the longer story of the wall and the man who bought it sight unseen.

The park also has a stone fire tower built by the Civilian Conservation Corps near the summit. Check the Georgia State Parks page for trail conditions before you drive.

It's a long way: about 90 miles and a little over 2 hours by road from downtown Helen. Most people treat it as a day trip with an early start, or build a weekend around a cottage or campsite. If you want a shorter outing, Black Rock Mountain is about 70 minutes from Helen, and our Native American sites guide covers other history in the region.