09/25/2026
A little history about the Towne Lake area of Woodstock
BEFORE TOWNE LAKE, THERE WAS THE THOUSAND ACRE WOODS
Woodstock, GA:
A forgotten Cherokee County landscape where memories, mischief and local legends were made
Today, Towne Lake is one of Cherokee County’s most recognizable communities, filled with neighborhoods, businesses, roads, restaurants and thousands of people.
But long before the traffic, shopping centers and subdivisions, much of this area was remembered by a very different name:
The Thousand Acre Woods.
And this wasn’t just a name invented in recent years.
Historical newspaper records show the name was being used in Cherokee County as far back as 1965. That year, the North Georgia Tribune advertised a Cherokee Saddle Club wagon train traveling from Holly Springs to the Thousand Acre Woods, located west of Woodstock.
Some say this areas nickname went back to the 1800’s
Back then, this was a vastly different Cherokee County.
There were miles of trees, dirt roads and secluded places where young people could disappear for an afternoon or evening.
According to local recollections, high school kids used the woods as a hangout, sneaking away to drink b**rs, smoke ma*****na and spend time with friends away from the watchful eyes of parents and teachers.
And with a place that big, secluded and mysterious, stories were bound to grow.
Local legends were born in those woods.
Some stories were probably true.
Some were probably exaggerated.
And some may have changed a little every time they were retold.
That was part of the magic of the Thousand Acre Woods.
For generations of Cherokee County kids, it wasn’t simply a patch of forest. It was an adventure.
Local recollections place the old woods around portions of what would eventually become the Towne Lake area, including areas around Eagle Drive, Bells Ferry Road, Noonday Creek and surrounding property.
The name appears to have been a local description for a huge expanse of wooded land, rather than the official name of a single 1000 acre tract.
Then Cherokee County began to change.
Beginning in the 1980s, new roads, homes and major developments started transforming the rural landscape around Woodstock.
Towne Lake eventually emerged from that transformation.
The Johnson Development Company identifies 1986 as the beginning of its Towne Lake Hills development, and the broader Towne Lake community eventually grew across thousands of acres.
The woods that once seemed endless slowly disappeared beneath streets, homes, golf courses and businesses.
Today, people drive through Towne Lake every day without realizing that generations before them knew this place by another name.
The Thousand Acre Woods.
A place where kids went looking for adventure.
A place where friends made memories.
A place where a few b**rs and a little teenage rebellion were part of growing up.
And a place where, according to longtime locals, some of Cherokee County’s best stories and strangest legends were born.
🌲 THE WOODS ARE GONE.
But the stories aren’t.
Did you grow up around the Thousand Acre Woods?
Did you and your friends hang out there?
Do you remember the old trails, secret spots or local legends?
Eye on Cherokee wants to hear your stories and see your old photographs of the 1000 acre woods.
Because sometimes the history of Cherokee County isn’t found in a museum.
Sometimes it’s hiding underneath the neighborhood where you live.
