Demorest, Georgia is a small southern town located in North, GA, home of Peidmant College. Located along the historic rout of US 441.
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The land where Demorest is now located was given by the State of Georgia to W. Stripling in 1829. Stripling did little with the land aside from maintaining a family farm. In 1840, the land was transferred to Dr. Paul Rossignol who built a summer home on the west side of Lake Demorest. That house became significant to the history of Demorest. Among other things, it was one of the first buildings used by Piedmont College, which was established in 1897.
In the late 1880s, the because of the expansion of local railroads in Cornelia and Rabun Gap the lands within and around Lake Demorest were easily accessible.
In 1889 the present site of Demorest was known only as a sawmill camp. A sawmill operated by Henry Rossignol was located near the present dam site below the lake. The mill was run by water power from a low wooden dam. Besides the saw mill there was a small water-driven flour mill owned by Mr. Ripley near the present site of the saddle-tree factory.
In this same year a small band of people from Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Ohio and Indiana came to the present site of Demorest to establish a prohibition town, beauty spot, health resort, industrial and educational center.
In 1887, these men and others founded the company Demorest Home, Mining and Improvement Company which was also known as The Company. Among The Company founders were:
* William Jennings Demorest (1822-1895) — from New York City
* B. M. Davenport
* Frank J. Sibley (1847- ) — Secretary of The Company
* F. H. Briggs
* Stephen Addison Trowbridge (1853- ) — from Ohio
* E. L. Champer
* E. D. Hendrickson
* George D. Stone — Superintendent of The Company and Demorest's first Mayor
The Company bought the Rossingnol home to use for its offices and also bought 3,500 acres (14 km2) of land, more than double the present size the Demorest. They employed J. A. Reynolds, a competent surveyor, who laid out a beautiful plat for the town. Demorest, incorporated November 13, 1889, was named after William Jennings Demorest.
These men organized the town with a distinct moral purpose in view. The city ordinances were very strict in regard to whiskey, gambling and prostitution. In all land deeds made by the company the clause was included that forfeiture of the land was to be the penalty for practice of any of these evils on the property. Demorest was organized strictly for the white race.
Because of the moral views of the company, the city was named Demorest after the famous prohibition leader William Jennings Demorest of New York City.
From there, the city grew with industry and acquired its own train depot to service the mills and other industries along the lake. At one point, power for most of the mills was generated by a water turbine installed at the dam. The turbine was later removed and as of 2008, the dam is slowly being deconstructed and the lake drained. The city expanded with the growth of Piedmont College and now maintains itself as a small city on Historic U.S. 441.