Toccoa Georgia GA Warrant Search

Toccoa, Georgia Toccoa is a city in Stephens County, Georgia, United States located approximately 50 miles (80 km) from Athens and approximately 90 miles (140 km) northeast of Atlanta. The population was 9,323 at the 2000 census. The city is the county seat of Stephens County. History In the area that is now Toccoa and the surrounding area, Mississippian Indians (Mound Builders) and then Cherokee Indians were the original inhabitants. The first residents of European descent were American Revolutionary War veterans who settled the area when the war ended. The Georgia General Assembly created Stephens County in 1905, and Toccoa was established as the county seat.The name 'Toccoa' is derived from the Cherokee word for 'beautiful' or 'where the Catawbas lived.' The city was established in 1873 around an area formerly called Dry Pond, for a pond that was waterless most of the time.Camp Toccoa, a World War II paratrooper training base, was located nearby. It was the first training base for the 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment of the Army's 101st Airborne Division, whose Easy Company was subject of the non-fiction book and subsequent HBO miniseries Band of Brothers.Toccoa is also home to the Travelers Rest Inn, known locally as Jarrett Manor.Toccoa Falls College is located here. On November 6, 1977 the Kelly Barnes Dam, located above the college, failed. The resulting flood killed 39. Toccoa Falls is located on the campus of Toccoa Falls College.On May 7, 2000, Mary Ann Stephens of Toccoa was shot to death outside a Ramada Inn in Jacksonville, Florida while on vacation with her husband. The incident received national attention and resulted in an Academy Award–winning French documentary, Murder on a Sunday Morning, on the arrest and acquittal of the original suspect. Toccoa is the birthplace of singer Ida Cox, philanthropist Paul Edward Anderson, former 100 Black Men of America President Thomas W.Dortch Jr., former Clemson and NBA basketball player Dale Davis, former Georgia Tech and NFL football player Pat Swilling, and All-American (Georgia Tech) football player Ken Swilling. James Brown, the king of soul, lived in Toccoa a short time before his big break as a singer, and worked as a janitor at Toccoa High School. Bobby Byrd was an gospel musician and songwriter, and a sideman to James Brown. Paul Anderson, Olympic gold medalist in weightlifting known as 'the world's strongest man,' was born in Toccoa. His world record for the heaviest weight ever lifted by a human (6,270 in the back lift) still stands. A 16-ton granite marker is located at his birthplace. Ramblin' 'Doc' Tommy Scott was born and lives here, composer of 'Rolling in My Sweet Baby's Arms'. The documentary Southern Comfort was filmed in Toccoa about resident transman Robert Eads.The novel 'Fireworks Over Toccoa' by author Jeffrey Stepakoff, was published by St. Martin's Press and released nation-wide on March 30, 2010. A day-long celebration was held in Toccoa culminating in a fireworks display at Boyd Field in the evening. Kelly Barnes Dam Failure On November 6, 1977, the Kelly Barnes Dam failed and released over 170 million gallons of water above the Toccoa Falls College campus. The failure killed 20 children and 19 adults. Geography Toccoa is located at 34°34′29″N 83°19′12″W / 34.57472°N 83.32°W / 34.57472; -83.32 (34.574725, -83.319865).According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 8.4 square miles (21.7 km²), of which, 8.3 square miles (21.5 km²) of it is land and 0.1 square miles (0.1 km²) of it (0.60%) is water. Demographics As of the census of 2000, there were 9,323 people, 3,879 households, and 2,443 families residing in the city. The population density was 433.2/km² (1,121.3/mi²). There were 4,378 housing units at an average density of 203.4/km² (526.6/mi²). The racial makeup of the city was 75.47% White, 21.46% African American, 0.29% Native American, 0.68% Asian, 0.17% Pacific Islander, 0.53% from other races, and 1.41% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.41% of the population.There were 3,879 households out of which 26.3% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 45.0% were married couples living together, 15.0% had a female householder with no husband present, and 37.0% were non-families. 33.4% of all households were made up of individuals and 16.4% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.29 and the average family size was 2.91.In the city the population was spread out with 22.4% under the age of 18, 10.8% from 18 to 24, 24.0% from 25 to 44, 22.1% from 45 to 64, and 20.7% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 39 years. For every 100 females there were 81.9 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were only 75.9 males.The median income for a household in the city was $25,345, and the median income for a family was $31,912. Males had a median income of $28,004 versus $20,807 for females. The per capita income for the city was $14,942. About 15.8% of families and 21.7% of the population were below the poverty line, including 31.0% of those under age 18 and 16.9% of those age 65 or over.There is a higher percentage of disabled people in wheelchairs, which lead officials to think there is a link between that and something happening in Toccoa. Further investigation is pending. Economy Stephens County Development Authority (SCDA) was established in 1965 to continue and sustain the growth of Northeast Georgia. SCDA is responsible for the recruitment of new businesses such as industrial, manufacturing, distribution, corporate and regional headquarters and customer service centers. SCDA serves the following cities:Toccoa, Georgia Eastanollee, Georgia Martin, Georgia Avalon, GeorgiaMajor industrial parks in the area are: Toccoa Industrial Park, Meadowbrook Industrial Park, and Hayestone Brady Business Park.Top employers in descending order: Patterson Pump, ITR (GEM Industries), Standard Register, Sage Automotive Interiors, Habersham Plantation, Toccoa Falls College, Coats & Clark, Eaton Corporation. Annual cultural events Currahee Military Weekend, Taste of Toccoa, Cinema on Sage, Costume Parade, Harvest Festival, ChristmasFest, Christmas Parade and many others. Museums and other points of interest Toccoa has a museum dedicated to the paratroopers of WWII at the Currahee Military Museum. Stephens County School District The Stephens County School District holds grades pre-school to grade twelve, that consists of four elementary schools, a middle school, and a high school. The district has 304 full-time teachers and over 4,405 students. The town features one high school, one middle school, and four elementary schools. Schools Stephens County High School (SCHS) (Grades 9-12), Stephens County Middle School (SCMS) (Grades 6-8), Liberty Elementary (Grades Pre-K-5th), Toccoa Elementary (Grades K-5), Eastonallee Elementary (Grades K-5), Big A Elementary (Grades K-5). Stephens County High School is currently having a new facility built. Higher education Toccoa Falls College Transportation Amtrak's Crescent connects Toccoa with the cities of New York, Philadelphia, Baltimore, Washington, Charlotte, Atlanta, Birmingham, and New Orleans. The Amtrak station is situated at 47 North Alexander St. Toccoa is also home to the Toccoa Airport. The nearest interstate highway is Interstate 85. Historic Town Mall Located near the train depot (connecting to Atlanta, etc.), is where the downtown area of Toccoa is located. Also located nearby is the Toccoa courthouse. Around the 50's leading up towards the 80's, business was bustling in this 'mall' as they called it. Each day people would flood to downtown Toccoa and shop. Back then there were several national retail outlets located in downtown Toccoa, one of those being the Belk Gallant department store.In the early 1960s around the country large shopping malls began to compete with local downtown businesses and many began to fail. As an answer to the depressed conditions in downtowns, not only in Toccoa but in other towns as well, concrete canopies were erected and streets were closed to create a pedestrian mall. In less than ten years it was evident that instead of enhancing businesses and creating a positive downtown image, these canopies actually accelerated the downtown’s decline.When the Belk Gallant department store announced it was going to move along a four lane road called Big A, community leaders organized Toccoa Main Street in 1990. In 1991, the Georgia Department of Community Affairs (DCA) Resource Team recommended that the canopies be removed and that the street be opened once again to vehicular traffic. However, for many years the project was not supported.During that time, Toccoa Main Street implemented many changes and improvements to the downtown mall area. Brick pavers were installed and trees were planted. However, the canpies themselves began to deteriorate, and no support was found to repair them. During this time, businesses continued to flounder and many of the buildings were empty and in disrepair.Over time, however, with growing support, approval was given to start the canopy removal project. Efforts that helped contribute community support for the project include: county-wide public surveys, University of Georgia (UGA) Market Study, a UGA design charrette, and renderings of individual buildings without the canopies provided by the GA Trust for Historic Preservation and UGA Community Design Planning and Preservation. To gather the necessary funds for the project, Toccoa partnered with six state agencies (Appalachian Regional Commission, Georgia Department of Community Affairs (DCA), One Georgia Authority, United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), and Georgia Department of Transportation (GDOT) that provided $1.3 million, with additional local funding of $552,000.During the canopy removal and street re-opening project, private interest in downtown increased. In 2008, downtown saw 33 storefronts renovated (under the guidance of the Georgia Mountains Regional Development Center (RDC) Historic Preservation Planner), 11 new business, 17 new jobs, 28 part-time jobs and 68 full-time equivalent jobs retained, and private investment of $3.5 million. Toccoa’s Main Street was re-opened to vehicular traffic. “The change in downtown is stunning,” said (then) Mayor Ron Seib. “Tourists and locals alike are visiting downtown, and parking is now at a premium, especially at lunch.”The Currahee Military Museum, featured recently in the PBS Series, GA Traveler, and named as one of the best museums along the East Coast by Blue Ridge Mountain Magazine, is another attraction that continues downtown’s resurgence. Located in the restored historic train depot, the museum features a massive exhibit of 506’s Easy Company memorabilia. This World War II paratrooper company was popularized by the HBO Miniseries “Band of Brothers.” The depot housing this museum was recently restored to its pre-1940’s appearance. The depot building had previously been used as a maintenance and storage area for Norfolk Southern. Now it has been transformed to a publicly owned building that is home to the Chamber, Welcome Center, Stephens County Historical Society Museum, the Currahee Military Museum, and Amtrak. Funding for the million dollar project was received through Transportation Enhancement Activity (TEA) and GDOT funds of $400,000; local funding of $100,000 and private investment funds of over $500,000 were contributed. The museum just completed its second addition, funded by SPLOST.Enhancing Toccoa “as a Northeast Georgia destination” is the newly restored Courthouse which anchors the downtown district. The renovation project was overseen by a governmental appointed citizen authority. Funded entirely by SPLOST dollars, the $2 million dollar renovation project not only brought an historic 1907 building back to life, it also added green space to the historic district and retained government offices and downtown customers in the city’s square. Notable natives and residents Paul Edward Anderson, (1932–1994) -- gold medal winner inOlympic weightlifting. Dan Biggers, (unknown) --actor. James Brown, (1933–2006) --singer,songwriter,dancerandbandleader. Bobby Byrd, (1934–2007) --musician,songwriterandrecord producer. Ida Cox, (1896–1967) --bluessingerandvaudevilleperformer. Dale Davis, (1969-) -- professionalbasketballplayer. Dee Clark(1938–1990) --singer. DeForest Kelley(1920–1999) --actor. Evan Oglesby, (1981-) -- professionalfootballplayer. Oral Roberts, (1918–2009) --pastorandtelevangelist. Pat Swilling, (1964-) -- professionalfootballplayer andpolitician. Ken Swilling --footballa Safety on the Georgia Tech 1990 National Championship Team. Public health controversy As of the 2000 US census, there is a larger percentage of both physically and mentally disabled individuals in Toccoa than previously believed. Some townspeople, and a handful of city officials, have speculated that it has something to do with the nearby site of a previous World War II camp. In addition, a recent Georgia law allows the state to relocate anyone they deem disabled or mentally retarded. Prominent city officials have kept quiet about the situation, suggesting a possible cover up, but many skeptics have spoken out against the governor of Georgia as well as to the nearby CDC offices.