Nelson, GA

Nelson is a city on the line between Pickens and Cherokee Counties, with its original center in Pickens and newer southern limits reaching into Cherokee. The name honors John Nelson, an early landowner, farmer, and gunsmith, but the town's real turning point was the railroad: the Marietta and North Georgia line reached the site in 1883, opening the way for large-scale marble work. Georgia Marble Company followed in 1884, and the stone from this area went into monuments and buildings far beyond north Georgia. Georgia Northeastern Railroad still passes through downtown, with Canton Road serving as the main street. City Hall houses a marble museum, and nearby Jasper, Tate, Ball Ground, and Canton fill in the local reference points. Nelson is an Atlanta-area city with a small-town center and a marble-and-railroad history still visible in its streets.