Hightower Trail Elementary

History of the Hightower Trail

Hightower (Etowah) Trail, one of the best marked Native American Trails in Georgia, was a much-used crossover between two of the noted Trading Paths radiating from Augusta. From 1817-21, it marked the Georgia frontier, and was used by pioneer families settling this section. Recognized as a former boundary between Cherokee and Creek lands, a part of it became, by Act of General Assembly 1822, the boundary line between Gwinnett and DeKalb Counties. After northwest Georgia was opened to settlement in 1832, numerous pioneers migrated over this old trace and many built their homes along it. The trail remained a main road until the 1840s. The name of the trail is believed to come from the Cherokee, Ita-Wa, but the first English to visit this section pronounced and recorded the name “Hightower.” Today, most visible remains of the trail have been erased by urban settlement, but segments of it remain in use as part of present day roads.