Historical Society

The Stephens County Historical Society Office, Currahee Military Museum and Stephens County History Museum are all located in the newly-renovated Train Depot in historic downtown Toccoa, where paratroopers first arrived in town by train before walking to the camp to begin their training.

The Stephens County Historical Society is a nonprofit organization committed to the preservation and presentation of the history and culture of Stephens County. SCHS promotes public awareness of county history, sponsors activities and manages the the County History Museum.

The museum contains artifacts, photographs, maps, paintings, documents and exhibits of daily life in northeast Georgia that reflect the community’s history since its inception in 1905.

Currahee Military Museum is home to the World War II history of the soldiers who trained at Camp Toccoa to become paratroopers.

The history of 501st, 506th, 511th and 517th Paratrooper Infantry Regiments are on display for visitors to view seven days a week. This museum houses military history for the area’s local veterans, Civil War, WWI and WWII. A featured exhibit is a horse stable, built in Aldbourne, England in 1922 that served as housing for Able and Easy Companies.

The focus is on the Paratrooper Infantry Regiment that trained at Camp Toccoa in the early 1940s. More than 17,000 men trained at the camp, which included the 506th, 501st, 511th, 511th, 517th and 295th Ordinance Heavy Maintenance Company.