Your Guide to Buying a Home in Athens, GA

Buying a Home in Athens, Georgia

(The University of Georgia campus is a place of much beauty and opportunity)

Athens is located in Clarke County

Just below the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains, near the confluence of the north and Middle Oconee Rivers, lies the city of Athens. Among the rolling red clay hills of North Georgia, a city and a university grew into a center of culture and wealth, nurturing individuals and ideas that have commanded national attention.

The city of Athens began as a tiny settlement that emerged at Cedar Shoals, where an ancient Cherokee trail crossed the Oconee River. Clarke County was enacted on December 5, 1801, and originally contained present-day Oconee County, as well as parts of Madison and Greene Counties. Clarke County was named for Elijah Clarke, who came to Georgia from North Carolina in 1774 to fight in Georgia’s battles with the Cherokee and Creek tribes. Clarke was instrumental in securing treaties with the Creeks in 1782 and the Cherokees in 1792, which temporarily halted hostilities between settlers of European descent and the indigenous Native American populations.

The City of Athens was incorporated on December 8, 1806. The University of Georgia had opened for classes in 1801, and the city was named in honor of the center of higher learning that had flourished in classical Greece. As fine federal homes began to appear around the new campus, the role of Athens as the intellectual center of Georgia became increasingly evident: the cultured social life surrounding the college attracted prominent families of wealth and national stature. Industry developed rapidly; Athens’ economy during the first half of the nineteenth century was based primarily upon cotton, brick works, textile mills, and railroad transportation. (Courtesy of the Athens Convention and Visitors Bureau)

Today, Athens thrives around the University of Georgia and its naturally scenic setting. The city has the unofficial distinction of being "America's Best College Town", owing to its eclectic blend of the arts and culture, and various popular entertainment spots. Athens is located "just close enough" to Atlanta, which is about one hour to the west. While residents have relatively quick access to this city's resources, they are far from the hustle and bustle of one of America's largest metropolitan areas.