Ten Amazing Facts About McCaysville & Copperhill
Ten pretty amazing things you might not know about McCaysville & Copperhill
1. The City of McCaysville, Georgia is located on the Georgia-Tennessee state line next to Copperhill, Tennessee and the two towns are called The Twin Cities. McCaysville has a population of 996 and Copperhill has a population of 511.
2. Copperhill was originally called McCays and McCaysville was Hawkinsville! McCaysville was chartered in 1904, but the area was settled much earlier in Copperhill and Ducktown, where copper was discovered in 1843.
![](https://blueridge.imgix.net/images/archive/website-resized-heros-and-pix/McCaysvilleLine.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=max&position=50%2050&q=80&w=320&s=45a0e78abe42c1dd4f49faa330684a1b 320w, https://blueridge.imgix.net/images/archive/website-resized-heros-and-pix/McCaysvilleLine.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=max&position=50%2050&q=80&w=540&s=53f1188f977b474c636d321935d3dce1 407w)
3. You can stand in Georgia and Tennessee at the same time at The Blue Line that crosses the main street. (The state line has been in dispute for years and even the Blue Line isn’t definite; but it’s a great place for a selfie!)
4. In Georgia, Main Street is called Toccoa Street and in Tennessee, it becomes Ocoee Street. The river name does the same. As it flows beneath the old Steel Bridge, the Toccoa River becomes the Ocoee River.
![](https://blueridge.imgix.net/images/archive/McCaysville-VC2.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=max&position=50%2050&q=80&w=320&s=a25b8f17d3e37286a8764b879153ca99 320w, https://blueridge.imgix.net/images/archive/McCaysville-VC2.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=max&position=50%2050&q=80&w=540&s=10865ea53c4a84a5ba2e2bf211a6fc04 400w)
5. McCaysville, Copperhill and Ducktown are all part of the Copper Basin. Copper was discovered in 1843 and mined in the basin until the late 1980's. Smelting took place at the company in Copperhill. Open smelting and close cutting of timber for fueling, together with harmful gases released, denuded the hills around Copperhill, making the area resemble a moonscape. In 1939, TVA and the Tennessee Copper Company began a long term reforesting project which helped restore the area.
To see mining pictures and artifacts, visit the Chamber Welcome Center, 53 East Market Street, in McCaysville. For an even better experience, visit a real copper mine at the Burra Burra Mine and Ducktown Basin Museum on Highway 68 in Ducktown.
![](https://blueridge.imgix.net/images/archive/Bridge-Jacob-Long_180807_164912.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=max&position=50%2050&q=80&w=320&s=b7d84047f82882cdbb1e240c67a0ce2e 320w, https://blueridge.imgix.net/images/archive/Bridge-Jacob-Long_180807_164912.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=max&position=50%2050&q=80&w=540&s=3319bfe2a7cd2a801234d5d7616f13f9 500w)
6. You can cross the old Steel Bridge (built in 1911) over the river to see where the two states meet; that’s where the Toccoa River (Georgia) becomes the Ocoee River (Tennessee)!
7. The Toccoa River actually flows North from Blue Ridge to McCaysville!
8. The Ocoee River is one of the most popular whitewater rivers in the country. Dropping over 260 feet in five miles, there is little flat water on the whole river meaning nonstop action.
![](https://blueridge.imgix.net/images/archive/WaterOcoeeRaftingMain.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=max&position=50%2050&q=80&w=320&s=422d58111bcbbda864ff545d20b45791 320w, https://blueridge.imgix.net/images/archive/WaterOcoeeRaftingMain.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=max&position=50%2050&q=80&w=540&s=e6e1c446b682e2263dcf12fcb3e1ecd3 506w)
9. The Ocoee Whitewater Center (Hwy 64 west of Ducktown), built for the 1996 Olympic Canoe and Kayak Slalom competition, is visited by more than 200,000 people every year. With a 30-mile hiking/biking trail system the OWC is one of the premier mountain biking trail systems in the southeastern USA.
10. The winding Ocoee Scenic Byway (Hwy 64) follows the Ocoee River past historic flume lines and powerhouses to Cleveland, Tennessee.
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