Religion & Churches
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (the Mormon Church) was active in recruiting members in Chattooga County in the 1870's. In fact, a number of Chattooga County families left their homes in Georgia to join Mormon communities in the West. The story of this episode in Chattooga County History is told here:
John Morgan's Chattooga County Mission
More information can be found here (scroll to the bottom of the page):
Following is a link to the journal of John Edward Metcalf, Mormon missionary in north Georgia from 1881 to 1883. You will see from the narrative that he criss-crossed the region on foot, stopping only long enough to get his shoes half-soled. He spent a fair amount of his time in Haywood Valley, which seems to have been the fulcrum point of the Mormon mission in Georgia.
The Mormon message was not always well-received, to put it mildly. At the
border of Habersham County, the young missionary encountered this sign:
To the Mormons of the County of White, & everywhere else, You are hereby notified not to make anymore Tracks on this side of the River, for you are not fit to pollute the air with your false Doctrine we just give you this note of warning to keep from hurting you, but if you, or any body else comes over into Habersham telling your big Mormon lies any more you will be dealt with almost unmercifully That is you will not get back with all the skin on your backs you had better rake up your subjects & leave the State of Georgia, A word to the wise is enough, Signed,Part of the hostility resulted from the fact that Metcalf (and presumably other Mormon missionaries as well) were recruiting from among members of established congregations. You will find in his journal a reference to his visit to a Methodist congregation, and to two visits to "Campellite" meetings. ("Campbellite" was a mildly derogatory shorthand used to describe members of the church of Christ. More on "Campbellites" here. )
Many Citizens of Habasham County Dec 4th 1881.
The
Missionary Journal of John Edward Metcalf