In the early to mid-19th century, the present town of Chickamauga was a large plantation in the rolling hills of northern Georgia.

[4] During the War of 1812, 500 Cherokee warriors from the area fought alongside General Andrew Jackson at the Battle of Horseshoe Bend, against the Creek Indians, who were aligned with the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland.

In 1836 Gwinnett County native James Gordon established a plantation at Crawfish Springs and built a grist mill two miles east of town, on Chickamauga Creek.

Lee and Gordon's Mill, which contained the area's first general store, was situated near a blacksmith shop and stagecoach stop.

From 1840 to 1847, Gordon built his Doric-columned brick house (known today as the Gordon-Lee Mansion), which overlooks Crawfish Springs.

[6] The area was settled by many other farm families and life was busy and fruitful in the fertile valleys, until even this remote part of the South was visited by the sounds of cannon and guns during the American Civil War.

Before the battle, Union Gen. William Rosecrans put his headquarters at the Gordon Lee Mansion.

[7] Crawfish Springs was the site of an 1889 reunion of veteran soldiers, Northern and Southern, who had fought in the Battle of Chickamauga.

Called the "Blue and Gray Barbecue", hundreds of soldiers and their families visited the sites of the bloody battle over 25 years before, smoking the pipe of peace, healing the wounds, and helping start the Chickamauga National Park.

A syndicate bought the land and used some of it to develop a summer resort, complete with the Park Hotel, which opened in 1891.

After passenger service ceased in the 1950s, the city schools, library system, and recreation department used the depot.

New England native Daniel Ashley Jewell, who had moved to middle Georgia prior to the Civil War, built a cotton mill.

Jewell and business partner Colonel Bowen bought land in Chickamauga in 1907 from US Senator Gordon Lee.

When a price had been quoted, they told Lee to have his attorney draw up the papers and they would return to work out the terms of purchase.

[10] The Crystal Springs Bleachery Company was a major local employer and a significant player in the development of the town.

The city is surrounded by the north Georgia mountains and valleys, and the history of the area has been rediscovered and restored wherever possible.

Today Chickamauga is host to a wide variety of antique, boutique and specialty shops, cafes and restaurants.

From April to September the Tennessee Valley Railroad Museum offers weekend train excursions from Chattanooga to Chickamauga.

Today avenues named for Longstreet, Hood, Crittenden, Stewart, and more are clearly marked by large, wood framed signs displaying a description of the General's accomplishments, his picture, and flags of the day.

Several major Civil War battle sites and museums are near the city: Chickamauga & Chattanooga National Military Park, Lookout Mountain, Lee & Gordon's Mill, McLemore's Cove, and the Martin-Davis House, on the site of the Battle of Davis's Cross Roads.

[15] Students who live outside the city may also attend, but must pay tuition since they do not contribute tax dollars to the school.

[19] The Alternative Education Center in Walker County is located in the former Osburn Elementary School.

The museum exhibits Civil War collectibles, Indian artifacts and Cherokee arrowheads, World War I artifacts, antique guns and furniture and a complete working display of Lionel Old Gauge model trains that date back to 1947.

The spring is no longer used as a water supply and has been converted into a park setting with picnic tables, a swing, and a gazebo.

A Huey helicopter is mounted on a pedestal in the center of the walking track as a symbol of the war and those who fought and died for their country.