Wednesday, August 21, 2013

Dawsonville, Georgia

undefined
Dawson County Courthouse in Dawsonville

Dawsonville is a city in Dawson County, Georgia, United States. The population was 619 at the 2000 census. The city is the county seat of Dawson County. It is named for William Crosby Dawson, political and military leader.

History

The city was incorporated in 1859.

This town was featured in Only in America with Larry the Cable Guy discussing its history of moonshine and how bootlegging eventually turned into NASCAR.

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 1.9 square miles (4.9 km2), all of it land.

The community is at the junction of State Routes 9, 53, and 136.

Amicalola Falls, located in Dawsonville, is on the List of the seven natural wonders of Georgia (U.S. state).

Auto racing

The city's community is known in auto racing circles for its long tradition of involvement in the sport (many racing skills originally developed as a consequence of moonshine activity in the area) and celebrates its involvement every October with the yearly festival aptly named by locals as the "Mountain Moonshine Festival." Dawsonville is the home of semi-retired NASCAR driver Bill Elliott. His nickname, in homage to his hometown, is "Awesome Bill from Dawsonville". The city hall also has an extravagant racing theme as well.

Education

Dawson County School District

The Dawson County School District holds grades pre-school to grade twelve, that consists of three elementary schools, two middle schools, and a high school. The district has 219 full-time teachers and 3,036 students.
  • Black's Mill Elementary School
  • Kilough Elementary School
  • Robinson Elementary School
  • Riverview Elementary School
  • Riverview Middle School
  • Dawson County Middle School
  • Dawson County High School
As far as education goes in Dawsonville, the small town is fairly advanced with technology and has a small student to teacher ratio. The Dawson County School system is a charter system. The one and only high school in Dawsonville, Dawson County High School, won the honor of being a part of the Blue Ribbon Schools Program. Also, Riverview Middle School won the governor's Gold Award on student achievement in the 2008-2009 school year.

Notable residents

  • Bill Elliott "Awesome Bill From Dawsonville", stock car driver
  • Bill Goldberg, professional wrestler and actor (once resided in Dawsonville)
  • Lloyd Seay and Roy Hall, moonshine runners and early stock car racing drivers, cousins
  • Raymond Parks, moonshine runner and NASCAR pioneer regarded as the first "team" owner in stock car racing, a relative of Seay and Hall
  • Gober Sosebee, race car driver from Dawsonville
  • Jerry Glanville, professional NFL Coach Atlanta Falcons,Ford Race Team Owner/Driver
  • Corey Johnson, professional male runway model, actor, producer (residence)
External Links

 


No comments:

Post a Comment