How Apples Saved Ellijay — and Gave Georgia Its Biggest Fall Festival

Every October, a town of fewer than 2,000 people swells with tens of thousands of visitors chasing fritters, cider, and crisp mountain apples. The Georgia Apple Festival is North Georgia’s great fall tradition — and it exists because, a century ago, a beetle nearly ruined Gilmer County.

From cotton to apples

In the early 20th century, Gilmer County farmers grew cotton like much of Georgia — until the boll weevil swept through in the 1920s and gutted the state’s cotton crop. Growers in the mountain valleys turned to apples, and the fruit took hold so completely that it reshaped the county’s economy and identity. By the time the first Georgia Apple Festival was held in 1971, apples were what Gilmer County had to celebrate.

How big the apple business really is

Gilmer County produces more than 600,000 bushels of apples a year — more than any other county in Georgia — and roughly 60 percent of the state’s apple trees grow here. (Together with neighboring Fannin County, the two mountain counties account for the lion’s share of Georgia’s commercial apple production.) That is why Ellijay is known as the “Apple Capital of Georgia.”

A tradition that keeps growing

What began as a small arts-and-crafts show has grown into a four-day event that anchors the region’s fall tourism season. It is a joint effort of the Ellijay Lions Club, the Gilmer County Chamber of Commerce, and the cities of Ellijay and East Ellijay, with proceeds supporting local causes. The festival paused in 2020 during the pandemic, then returned in 2021 bigger than ever.

Plan your visit

Cover photo: apple orchard, by Shameela Yoosuf Ali via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0). Sources include the New Georgia Encyclopedia, the Georgia Apple Festival, the Gilmer County Chamber of Commerce, the University of Georgia, and the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.