1957 Map of Tugaloo Lake

About this map

The Tugaloo settlement sits along the boundary of the Chattahoochee National Forest and Sumter National Forest, a landscape defined by the deep carving of the Tugaloo River and its hydroelectric impoundments. The map reveals the early footprint of Yonah Lake and Tugaloo Lake, where the Tallulah River and Chattooga River converge at the Georgia-South Carolina state line. This mid-century survey documents the transition of the river valley from a free-flowing water system into a series of managed basins, while maintaining the steep, forested character of the surrounding Blue Ridge foothills. Settlement is sparse, limited primarily to small clusters like Tugaloo and scattered homesteads, highlighting the area's preservation as national forest land. Genealogists and local historians can trace the traditional pathways and family-named ridges that remained even as the valley floor was reshaped by the developing power network of the era.