One of the most popular tourist destinations in the southeast was Tallulah Gorge. Native Americans referred to it as Tallulah, while some promoters began using Niagara of the South. Thousands of visitors a year, soon turned into thousands a week, with the arrival of the Tallulah Falls Railroad in 1882. The town of Tallulah Falls grew quickly, adding hotels and bars to both sides of the gorge.
The raging river dried to a trickle in 1912, when Georgia Power completed a hydro-electric dam upstream of the falls. The project had its vocal opponents, but the political powers were unmoved. The deal was already cut. Tourism dwindled, along with the vanishing water.
Georgia governor, Zell Miller, pushed to create a new state park around the gorge in 1993. Working with Georgia Power, various water releases are scheduled throughout the year, partially restoring the falls to their former grandeur.