Gainesville

Gainesville, Georgia, often referred to as the Poultry Capital of the World, is a city of 33,804 located halfway between downtown Atlanta and the Appalachian Mountains. Gainesville is the county seat for Hall County and was founded in 1818 as Mule Camp Springs.

Quick History

Gainesville, Georgia got its first big boom in the 1830s due to a gold rush in Lumpkin County. However, in 1851, a majority of the city was destroyed by a fire. During World War II, Gainesville leased their airport to the U.S. Government for $1 and it was used as a Naval Air Station for training. Shortly after the war, Jesse Jewell started Georgia’s poultry industry in Gainesville and due to his efforts, chickens are now the state’s largest agricultural crop. Gainesville also hosted the rowing and kayaking competitions of the 1996 Atlanta Olympics.