In 1958, as a result of over-development around Mount Oglethorpe, the southern terminus of the Appalachian Trail was moved about 13 miles (21 km) to the northeast to Springer Mountain.

[10] Early thru-hikers of the Appalachian Trail such as Grandma Gatewood, Gene Espy and Earl Shaffer began their journeys at Mount Oglethorpe.

[16][17][18] In 1949, James E. Boyd conducted long-range line-of-sight experiments between the mountain and Georgia Tech to study the effects of weather on microwave propagation.

[19] Because Mount Oglethorpe was located outside of United States National Forest lands, the mountain was not protected and was opened to development.

With the increased development on Mount Oglethorpe, the Georgia Appalachian Trail Club decided to move the trailhead.

[14] Amicalola Lake and Frosty Mountain were considered for the new southern terminus, but trail leaders deemed those locations as being too accessible.

[20] In 1958, trail leaders decided to move the southern terminus to Springer Mountain, about a 20 miles (32 km) hike north from Mount Oglethorpe.

[24] Vandalism, harsh weather and lightning strikes caused heavy damage to the Oglethorpe Monument, leading to its relocation to downtown Jasper in 1999.

[23][12] Portions of the Appalachian Trail that used to run between Mount Oglethorpe and Springer Mountain were made inaccessible to the public.

[26] In 1995, Billie Ann Rice purchased at auction about 107 acres (43 ha) of land around Mount Oglethorpe's summit.