At the close of the Civil War in 1865, the area where Cornelia is located was a typical mountain forest. The spot was so well secluded that a moonshine still was operated without interference at the site of what is now the center of downtown. Cornelia was first a settlement around 1860.  It was situated near the old boundary line between the Cherokee and Creek Indian tribes. In 1872, workers of the Charlotte-Airline Railroad (later Southern Railway) invaded the virgin forest.