34°52'30.498" N 83°57'17.106" W | 1878.3 ft

The area now called Blairsville, along the Nottely River (dammed in 1942 as part of the Tennessee Valley Authority project, forming Lake Nottely), was originally part of the indigenous Cherokee territory. In 1835 the Georgia General Assembly designated Blairsville as the Union County seat and named the town after American Revolutionary War veteran James Blair who was known as The Paul Revere Of The South.

Before that, the area was known as "Goingsnake's Town." This is because Goingsnake was the then Cherokee leader having been born there in 1758.

In 1808 Goingsnake became the Cherokee representative in the National Council for the Amohee District (now Polk County, Tennessee), eventually becoming Speaker in 1827. On September 28, 1838, Goingsnake, then 81, accompanied his people on the Trail of Tears, relocating to The Indian Territory, where he died shortly after that.