Cherokee County

Canton, the county seat, was named after the city in China. Canton's founders attempted to establish silk production; the name, however, is the only thing that survived the venture.

Lake Allatoona, a 12,010-acre lake, is the center of recreational activities in Cherokee County. The lake was built in 1950 and today provides power for more than 2,000 homes in the area. It is best known for the many recreational opportunities it provides its visitors. With more than 12,000 acres of water surface available, Allatoona is large enough to accommodate a variety of activities.

Some of the notable people who have called Cherokee County home include two state governors, Joseph E. Brown and Joseph M. Brown, and two Rhodes Scholars, Dean Rusk and Eugene Booth. Rusk was the Secretary of State under Presidents Kennedy and Johnson, and held that office for longer than any other person except Cordell Hull. The world famous golfer Bobby Jones, and singer, writer and pianist, Lee Roy Abernathy, also hail from the county.

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