Hiawassee was established along the route of the Unicoi Turnpike, a 1,000-year-old Native American trail.

[7] In the early 18th century, deerskins and furs were transported along the route from Tennessee to Savannah and Charleston for shipping to Europe.

[8] A United States fur trade factory was built in present-day Hiawassee between 1807 and 1811.

[9] Settled by whites circa 1820, Hiawassee was designated seat of the newly formed Towns County in 1856.

It was incorporated as a town in 1870 and as a city in 1916,[10] after settlers violently removed the Cherokee communities living there prior in a night of massacre in 1776.

The name of Hiawassee was originally derived from the Native American word ayuhwasi, meaning river and or valley.

The two-story rock building is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

President Jimmy Carter visited Hiawassee in July 1980, landing by helicopter to go trout fishing with friends.

[18] The Towns County Herald newspaper has been published weekly in Hiawassee since 1928.