Our rustic log cabin, the namesake for Yahoola Lodge, has quite a captivating history. It was originally built in the early 1800's by settlers of North Georgia and later relocated to its current site by the grandson of one of the "Forty-Niners". After living and working in Atlanta for many years, Will Reese longed to be back in the mountains of Dahlonega. He and his business partner, R. E. Benson, decided to find and restore an original pioneer log cabin as a surprise retreat for their families overlooking Yahoola Creek.

In their search for the perfect cabin, they actually found four cabins that were used to create the Yahoola Lodge. The McDougal cabin became the left half of the lodge, known as the guest or "preacher's room". The Collins cabin became the living room on the right side of the lodge. A wide hallway called a "dogtrot" became the center of the two structures. The Gaddis cabin became the kitchen and dining room for Yahoola Lodge and was separated from the main house, as was common during pioneer days to keep from losing everything in case of a fire. The fourth structure, the Lingerfelt cabin, was used for spare parts for joining the hand-hewn logs together to create the charming log cabin known at Yahoola Lodge.

Reese enjoyed rockwork and built a 12 x 50 foot rock terrace across the front of the main cabin, which contains a large flagstone shaped like the state of Georgia. The massive stone chimney outside of the living room contains a rock resembling a huge arrowhead. A log barn was also built to house the horse and ox, which was used for driving Reese's ox cart into town. He also drove the ox cart in Dahlonega%u2019s first annual Gold Rush parade and was part of the wagon train that carried Dahlonega gold to the Georgia state Capitol to be used in gilding the dome.

The Reese and Benson families spent many wonderful days at Yahoola Lodge during weekend getaways and vacations through the years. After Will Reese's death in 1961, the lodge was closed up for many years. The lodge was eventually sold in the late 60's and rented to several different families throughout the years who enjoyed its many wonderful qualities. The couple who owned the property retired and moved back to Dahlonega in the mid 80's, at which time they enlarged and modernized Yahoola Lodge without detracting from the original rustic decor. They created a kitchen in the main house, added a bathroom downstairs, added closets and built a deck.

The Lodge has played host to many families throughout the years, some renting and some owning. When we purchased the property in 2001, it was used for weekend and summer visits. We recently built the creek-side cabin for rental purposes, and decided to rent the lodge as well...at least until we are able to move back to our beautiful Dahlonega property!