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Tallulah Falls is blessed with a rich history. Two hundred years before the first settlers, the area was home to the Cherokee Indians. By the year 1818, the land was occupied by courageous pioneers.
It was in 1870 that the Shirley Hotel was built and the legendary resort era of Tallulah was born. Following the Shirley Hotel came the Young Hotel and the Chasm Brink Hotel. During the 1880s, elegant hotels such as The Cliff House, The Tallulah Lodge, The Robinson House and the Grandview were constructed. People were so enchanted with the beauty of Tallulah. Tourists from many states flocked to Tallulah Falls for vacations.
The community of Tallulah Falls, incorporated in 1855, became one of the most popular resort towns in the southern mountains of Georgia. During its prosperity, the Tallulah Falls Railroad extended its line of distinction to North Carolina, farther into the Blue Ridge foothills.
The Victorian home of Pine Terrace, which is now Isabelle’s Restaurant, was built in 1880. It was at one time occupied by the president of the Tallulah Falls Railroad. The Moss family also lived in the wide porch, picket-fenced, Queen-Anne design and they raised their children there.
The resort town continued to boom until 1913, when the falls were dammed by the Georgia Power Company. This plus the extention of the railroad and the great fire of 1921, which burned River Street, brought about the end of the Tallulah grandeur.
Isabelle’s Restaurant, named after five generations of Isabelles, was opened in the summer of 1996 by Nancybelle and Paul Almoyan, its proprietors. It is their vision to help make Tallulah Falls, once again, a historical experience with the delicious food and special times for a new era.
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