Flowery Branch history: from Anaguluskee to the lake

This history draws on the City of Flowery Branch, the New Georgia Encyclopedia, the National Park Service, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the 2010 plaque on the depot. Where those sources disagree, on the railroad’s name or the depot’s age, we say who says what instead of picking one.

Timeline

• Before the railroad: the area is known as Anaguluskee, which the City translates as “flowers on the branch.”
• 1858: the railway is conceived by the Georgia Airline Railroad, according to the City’s depot history.
• 1873: the line is built from Atlanta to Charlotte.
• 1874: the City says Flowery Branch is established. The New Georgia Encyclopedia says it is officially founded that year as a railroad stop.
• 1890: the depot is built, by the City’s timeline. Bills of lading dated 1890 and 1891 later turn up in its freight room wall.
• 1903: the town is incorporated, according to the New Georgia Encyclopedia.
• 1920s: the cotton market declines, according to the New Georgia Encyclopedia.
• 1946: Congress authorizes Buford Dam on the Chattahoochee River.
• 1951 to 1956: the Corps of Engineers builds Buford Dam, forming Lake Sidney Lanier. The power plant comes online in 1958.
• 1957: scheduled train stops at Flowery Branch end. The depot stays a flag stop until the late 1960s.
• 1970s: Wrigley, the chewing-gum maker, opens a plant in Flowery Branch.
• 1972: the depot is sold to the City for $1.00, according to its plaque.
• 1985: the Flowery Branch Commercial Historic District enters the National Register of Historic Places. The National Park Service record is dated Aug. 30, 1985.
• April 2000: the depot is moved across the street to the corner of Railroad Avenue and Main Street.
• 2001: the depot restoration is completed, and it is dedicated as a museum and community center.
• 2004 and 2005: the Atlanta Falcons announce they will move training to Flowery Branch, and a $20 million campus is finished for the 2005 training season.
• 2022: the Market Alley, Market Pavilion, Pine Street pocket park and amphitheater are completed, according to the design firm CPL.

Anaguluskee: where the name comes from

Before the railroad came through, the area was known as Anaguluskee. The City translates the name as “flowers on the branch.” The New Georgia Encyclopedia calls it a Cherokee word meaning “flowers on the branch,” with branch meaning a stream. The English name of the town carries the same meaning.

• Before the railroad, the area was known as Anaguluskee, which the City translates as "flowers on the branch." The New Georgia Encyclopedia calls it a Cherokee word meaning "flowers on the branch [stream]." City of Flowery Branch: History

The railroad and the 1874 town

The City’s depot history says the railway was conceived in 1858 by the Georgia Airline Railroad and built in 1873 from Atlanta to Charlotte. The City says Flowery Branch was established in 1874, one year after the line came through.

Sources name the line differently. The City’s history page calls it the Richmond and Danville Air-Line Railroad. The New Georgia Encyclopedia calls it the Atlanta and Richmond Air Line, later Norfolk Southern. The 2010 depot plaque names the building the Richmond & Danville Railroad and Southern Railway System Depot. We have not found one source that reconciles these, so we report each one as written.

• The City's depot history says the railway was first conceived in 1858 by the Georgia Airline Railroad and was built in 1873 from Atlanta to Charlotte. City of Flowery Branch: Historic Train Depot
• The City's history page names the line the Richmond and Danville Air-Line Railroad. The New Georgia Encyclopedia calls it the Atlanta and Richmond Air Line, later Norfolk Southern. New Georgia Encyclopedia: Flowery Branch (last edited June 30, 2022)
• The City says Flowery Branch was established in 1874, one year after a rail line was built through the area connecting Charlotte to Atlanta. City of Flowery Branch: History

Established in 1874, incorporated in 1903

The two years describe different things. The City says the town was established in 1874. The New Georgia Encyclopedia agrees that it was founded in 1874 as a railroad stop, and it gives 1903 as the year the town was incorporated.

• The New Georgia Encyclopedia says the town was officially founded in 1874 as a railroad stop and was incorporated in 1903. New Georgia Encyclopedia: Flowery Branch (last edited June 30, 2022)

When cotton was king

The City says Flowery Branch was known as the town where “Cotton was King.” Northeast Georgia farmers brought their crops here to be ginned, sold and shipped by rail. Later, businesses that depended on the railroad made furniture, leather goods and buggies. The New Georgia Encyclopedia says the cotton market declined in the 1920s.

• Flowery Branch was known as the town where "Cotton was King," where Northeast Georgia farmers brought crops to be ginned, sold and shipped by rail. Later railroad businesses made furniture, leather goods and buggies. City of Flowery Branch: Historic Train Depot

The depot

For years the depot was thought to date from 1901. Workers restoring it found bills of lading dated 1890 and 1891 in the freight room wall, and the City’s depot timeline now lists 1890 as the year it was built. The City’s facility rental page still refers to the original 1901 building, so you will see both dates.

Scheduled train stops ended in 1957, and the depot was a flag stop until the late 1960s. The plaque says the building was sold to the City for $1.00 in 1972. In April 2000 it was moved from beside the tracks across the street to its present corner at Railroad Avenue and Main Street. The plaque says it was rehabilitated with federal Transportation Enhancement funds through the Georgia Department of Transportation and dedicated in 2001 as a museum and community center at 5302 Railroad Ave.

Railroad Marker #594 stands just north of the depot beside the track. The City says it marks the spot as 594 miles from Union Station in Washington, D.C. Trains still run through town, but the City says they no longer stop here.

• The depot was long thought to date from 1901, but workers restoring it found bills of lading dated 1890 and 1891 in the freight room wall. The City's timeline lists 1890 as the year the depot was built. City of Flowery Branch: Historic Train Depot
• Scheduled train stops at Flowery Branch ended in 1957, and the depot was a flag stop until the late 1960s. The City says the train no longer stops in Flowery Branch. City of Flowery Branch: Historic Train Depot
• The depot plaque says the building was sold to the City for $1.00 in 1972, rehabilitated with federal Transportation Enhancement funds through the Georgia Department of Transportation, and dedicated in 2001 as a museum and community center at 5302 Railroad Ave. Read The Plaque: transcription of the 2010 Flowery Branch Depot plaque
• The depot was moved in April 2000 from beside the tracks across the street to its present spot at the corner of Railroad Avenue and Main Street. The restoration was completed in 2001. City of Flowery Branch: Historic Train Depot
• Railroad Marker #594, just north of the depot beside the track, marks the spot as 594 miles from Union Station in Washington, D.C. City of Flowery Branch: Historic Train Depot

Lake Lanier and Buford Dam

The Corps of Engineers says Congress authorized Buford Dam in 1946. The dam was built from 1951 to 1956 on the Chattahoochee River, about 25 miles northeast of downtown Atlanta, and formed Lake Sidney Lanier. Its power plant came online in 1958. Today the City describes Flowery Branch as one of the only, if not the only, historic Georgia downtowns on a lake.

• The Corps says Buford Dam was authorized by Congress in 1946, built from 1951 to 1956 on the Chattahoochee River about 25 miles northeast of downtown Atlanta, and formed Lake Sidney Lanier. Its power plant came online in 1958. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Mobile District: Hydropower (Internet Archive capture of April 22, 2021; live site returns 403)
• The City says Flowery Branch is one of the only, if not the only, historic Georgia downtowns on a lake. City of Flowery Branch: History

The lake’s size, its parks and how to get on the water from town are on our Lake Lanier page.

The National Register, 1985

The Flowery Branch Commercial Historic District, at Main Street and Railroad Avenue, is in the National Register of Historic Places. The National Park Service record is dated Aug. 30, 1985. The New Georgia Encyclopedia says Main Street was listed on the national and state registers that year for its 19th and early 20th century buildings, including the depot.

• The Flowery Branch Commercial Historic District, at Main Street and Railroad Avenue in Hall County, is in the National Register of Historic Places (NRIS 85001932). The National Park Service record is dated Aug. 30, 1985. National Park Service NPGallery: Flowery Branch Commercial Historic District
• The New Georgia Encyclopedia says Main Street was listed on the national and state historic registers in 1985 for its 19th and early 20th century buildings, including the depot. New Georgia Encyclopedia: Flowery Branch (last edited June 30, 2022)

Wrigley and the Falcons

The New Georgia Encyclopedia says Wrigley opened a plant in Flowery Branch in the 1970s and remains a major employer, as of its last edit in 2022. It also says the Atlanta Falcons announced in 2004 that they would move training to Flowery Branch, and a $20 million campus was finished for the 2005 training season. The team’s headquarters and training facility is at 4400 Falcon Parkway.

• The New Georgia Encyclopedia says Wrigley, the chewing-gum maker, opened a plant in Flowery Branch in the 1970s and is still a major employer. New Georgia Encyclopedia: Flowery Branch (last edited June 30, 2022)
• The New Georgia Encyclopedia says the Falcons announced in 2004 that they would move training to Flowery Branch, and a $20 million campus was finished for the 2005 training season. New Georgia Encyclopedia: Flowery Branch (last edited June 30, 2022)

Old Town today

The town has grown since 2010. The 2010 Census counted 5,679 people in the city, and the 2020 Census counted 9,391. Downtown is now protected twice over, by the National Register listing and by a local historic district reviewed by the City’s Historic Preservation Commission. The streets, buildings and businesses as they stand today are on our Main Street page.

• The 2010 Census counted 5,679 people in the city of Flowery Branch. U.S. Census Bureau, 2010 Census Summary File 1, Table P1, Flowery Branch city
• The 2020 Census counted 9,391 people in the city of Flowery Branch, Georgia. U.S. Census Bureau, 2020 Census Redistricting Data (P.L. 94-171), Table P1, Flowery Branch city

Questions

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