People of the South Appalachian Mississippian culture developed a village and a platform mound on Tugaloo Island about 800 CE.

Allied with them in historic times were the Yuchi, who occupied the village known as Tugaloo, where they were replaced by the Cherokee.

While Cherokee began to move into this area from Tennessee under pressure by European Americans during and after the Revolutionary War, the Muscogee Creek continued to dominate the southern part of the county until they ceded their land to the United States in a treaty of 1794.

J&P Coats Company purchased the Capps Cotton Mill in 1937 and operated it for nearly 70 years, before textile manufacturing jobs moved offshore to cheaper labor markets.

During World War II, the LeTourneau plant produced equipment for use by the military, employing 2000 people in this effort.

[4] Beginning in 1950, planning began for what was called the Hartwell Project, which envisioned dams on the Savanna and tributary rivers for flood control and hydropower generation.

The mound is still visible above the water, and a historic marker on Highway 123 at the Georgia-South Carolina border helps mark this spot.

[4] On November 6, 1977, the earthen Kelly Barnes Dam collapsed after a period of heavy rainfall.

The resulting flood swept through the campus of Toccoa Falls College, killing 39 people and causing $2.8 million in damage.

[8] As of the 2020 United States Census, there were 26,784 people, 9,543 households, and 6,783 families residing in the county.

As of the 2010 United States census, there were 26,175 people, 10,289 households, and 7,236 families residing in the county.

[23] The Amtrak Crescent connects Toccoa to New York, Philadelphia, Baltimore, Washington, Charlotte, Atlanta, Birmingham, and New Orleans.