Varnell, Georgia
24 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1886 and the latest in 1982. It stands in the North Whitfield census division. It lies in ZIP code area 30756. It lies near Gobblers Knob. The Survey maps it on the Cohutta quadrangle. 2,179 people lived here at the 2020 count. It stands 807 feet above sea level.
Population over time
2 figuresVarnell grew from 1,744 to 2,179 between 2010 and 2020. These are the recorded population figures Wikidata holds for this place, reached through the Geographic Names Information System number this page is keyed on rather than by name, so they belong to this place and not to another of the same name. Most are census counts, but not all are: an early figure may be a founding or settlement estimate, and an estimate published within five years of a census is left out. The change column is computed, and is left blank where more than 20 years separate a figure from the one before it, because a gap that long is not a change between two counts.
| Year | People | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2010 | 1,744 | |
| 2020 | 2,179 | +435 (+25%) |
Topographic sheets covering this place
14 surveys from 24 printed sheetsMatched by testing this settlement's coordinate against the published boundary of every sheet in the United States Geological Survey's historical collection. Each opens the scanned sheet at the Survey.
- 1886 USGS Dalton quadrangle1:125000
- 1892 USGS Dalton quadrangle1:125000
- 1897 USGS Dalton quadrangle1:125000, 4 printings
- 1935 USGS Tiger Creek quadrangle1:24000
- 1938 USGS Chatsworth quadrangle1:48000
- 1938 USGS Dalton quadrangle1:62500, 2 printings
- 1943 USGS Dalton quadrangle1:62500, 2 printings
- 1955 USGS Rome quadrangle1:250000
- 1958 USGS Rome quadrangle1:250000, 3 printings
- 1960 USGS Cohutta quadrangle1:24000, 3 printings
- 1961 USGS Rome quadrangle1:250000
- 1963 USGS Rome quadrangle1:250000
- 1981 USGS Dalton quadrangle1:100000
- 1982 USGS Cohutta quadrangle1:24000, 2 printings
Fires near this place
376 since 1992Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 376 fires within 5 miles of Varnell between 1992 and 2020, burning about 1,369 acres in total. 4 started naturally. 42 were recorded as arson. Distance is straight-line from the map coordinates, so a fire counted here may appear on a neighbouring settlement's page as well.
| Reported cause | Fires |
|---|---|
| Debris and open burning | 251 |
| Arson/incendiarism | 42 |
| Misuse of fire by a minor | 21 |
| Equipment and vehicle use | 20 |
| Recreation and ceremony | 17 |
| Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 11 |
| Smoking | 7 |
| Natural | 4 |
| Railroad operations and maintenance | 3 |
The most recent of them, most recent first, with the day each was reported and the service that recorded it.
| Date | Cause | Size | Reported by | Name on the report |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 9 September 2006 | Recreation and ceremony | under an acre | Georgia Forestry Commission | not named |
| 9 September 2002 | Debris and open burning | 5.4 acres | Georgia Forestry Commission | FY2003-WALKER-018 |
| 9 September 1998 | Misuse of fire by a minor | under an acre | Georgia Forestry Commission | not named |
| 8 September 1999 | Misuse of fire by a minor | under an acre | Georgia Forestry Commission | not named |
| 8 September 1999 | Arson/incendiarism | under an acre | Georgia Forestry Commission | not named |
| 7 September 1998 | Debris and open burning | under an acre | Georgia Forestry Commission | not named |
| 5 September 1999 | Debris and open burning | under an acre | Georgia Forestry Commission | not named |
| 27 September 1999 | Natural | under an acre | Georgia Forestry Commission | not named |
Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:
Mines and quarries near this place
8 within 5 milesRegional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 8 workings within 5 miles of Varnell: 3 past producers, 3 occurrences, 1 producer, 1 prospect. 1 still produces. What was taken out: Iron, Manganese, Iron, Stone, Crushed/Broken, Manganese. Distance is straight-line from the map coordinates, so a quarry counted here may appear on a neighbouring settlement's page as well.
| Where | Site | Commodity | Status | Recorded |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hammontree Prospect | Iron | Occurrence | ||
| Lanski Property--Talc Indus Inc | Stone, Crushed/Broken, Manganese | Producer | 1918 | |
| Sam & Jw Cline Property | Barium-Barite | Prospect | ||
| Bare Property | Iron, Manganese | Occurrence | 1919 | |
| Eslinger Property | Iron, Manganese | Occurrence | 1919 | |
| Fox and Dowler Property | Iron, Manganese | Past Producer | 1889 | |
| Lanski Property-Varnell-Cohutta District | Iron, Manganese | Past Producer | Residual | |
| Tunnel Hill Distr. | Past Producer | Residual |
Storms near this place
18 since 1997Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Varnell in 18 storm reports between 1997 and 2025: 13 thunderstorm wind, 4 hail, 1 flood. No death or injury is recorded in these reports. Each account below is quoted exactly as the forecast office filed it, from the NOAA Storm Events Database, and each date opens the federal record of that event.
| When | Event | Place named | Harm | What the report says |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| September 2009 | Flood | Varnell | $200,000 | The Whitfield County Emergency Management Director reported that considerable flooding continued in portions of the county, especially the northern areas. Several roads remained under water as earlier flash flooding subsided, but aerial flooding continued for several hours. Some homes and businesses continued to experience flooding during this time period. Monetary damage during this time frame was estimated at $200,000. |
| September 2011 | Thunderstorm Wind | Varnell | $25,000 | The Whitfield County Emergency Management Director reported that a tree was blown over onto a home during a thunderstorm associated with Tropical Storm Lee. The home sustained moderate structural damage as a result. |
| June 2017 | Thunderstorm Wind | Varnell | $15,000 | The Whitfield County 911 center reported numerous trees and power lines blown down in and around Dalton. Locations include near Reed Road and Reed Pond Road, Highway 71 and Maple Grove Road, Reed Road and Highway 41, Wiggins Road and Mitchell Bridge Road, and North Selvidge Street and Chattanooga Avenue. |
| July 2024 | Thunderstorm Wind | Varnell | $5,000 | Multiple trees and powerlines down in Varnell. |
| March 2021 | Thunderstorm Wind | Varnell | $3,000 | The Whitfield County Emergency Manager reported trees blown down near the intersection of Lake Kathy Road and Standing Road. |
| June 2023 | Thunderstorm Wind | Varnell | $2,000 | Trees down at Cedar Street and Spring Street. |
| August 2023 | Thunderstorm Wind | Varnell | $2,000 | Emergency manager reported two trees down on the road on Waring Rd to the south of Rauschenberg Rd. |
| May 2025 | Thunderstorm Wind | Varnell | $1,000 | One large tree down near the intersection of sonya drive and rauschenberg road nw. |
| June 2025 | Thunderstorm Wind | Varnell | $1,000 | A tree was downed on Golf View Drive at Drivers Lane. |
| August 2024 | Thunderstorm Wind | Varnell | $1,000 | Power line and transformer downed along princess drive. |
| August 2024 | Thunderstorm Wind | Varnell | $1,000 | Tree down across the roadway near the intersection of meers rd and durham st. |
| August 2023 | Thunderstorm Wind | Varnell | $1,000 | Emergency manager reports a tree down at the intersection of Cleveland Hwy and Barnard Rd. |
| August 2023 | Thunderstorm Wind | Varnell | - | Emergency manager reports damage to a carport, with parts of the carport being blown into the roadway, on Cleveland Hwy near the intersection with Maple Grove Rd NW. |
| March 2023 | Thunderstorm Wind | Varnell | - | A tree was downed on Cleveland Hwy at Nob North Dr. |
| April 2008 | Hail | Varnell | - | The public observed nickel-sized hail in the Cohutta area. Radar supported that hail of similar size continued to the extreme northeast corner of the county. The public also estimated that winds in the area were near 60 mph, but no wind damage was reported. |
| April 2006 | Hail | Varnell | - | The public reported nickel-sized hail. |
| May 2005 | Hail | Varnell | - | The public reported penny-sized hail two miles west of Varnell, in Rocky Face, and Dalton. In addition, wind gusts were estimated at 40 mph in the Varnell area. |
| June 1997 | Hail | Varnell | - | no account filed |
Nearest settlements
The eight closest, with where each one stands in the county. Distances are straight-line, computed from the Geographic Names Information System coordinates.
| Map | Place | Distance | Sheets |
|---|---|---|---|
| Plainview | 2.2 miles | 24 | |
| Prater Mill | 2.9 miles | 24 | |
| Cohutta | 4.2 miles | 24 | |
| Waring | 4.6 miles | 21 | |
| Cedar Valley | 4.6 miles | 21 | |
| Toonnerville | 5.1 miles | 21 | |
| Edgar (historical) | 5.1 miles | 24 | |
| Parrett Crossing | 5.2 miles | 24 |
Elsewhere
Matched on this settlement's Geographic Names Information System number rather than its name, so it cannot be a different place of the same name in another state.
| Wikipedia article on Varnell | An encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied. |
| Wikidata item Q2590667 | The structured record the population and elevation above come from. Public domain (CC0). |
Provenance
This settlement is recorded in the Geographic Names Information System as feature 356614. The sheet list is computed by point-in-boundary test against the United States Geological Survey's historical topographic inventory. Both are works of the United States government and carry no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105.
Wildfire. Short, Karen C. 2022. Spatial wildfire occurrence data for the United States, 1992-2020 [FPA_FOD_20221014]. 6th Edition. Fort Collins, CO: Forest Service Research Data Archive. https://doi.org/10.2737/RDS-2013-0009.6 Collected with United States Government funding and usable without additional permissions or fees.
Mines and quarries. USGS Mineral Resources Data System (MRDS) https://mrdata.usgs.gov/mrds/ A work of the United States government, no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105.
Storms. NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Storm Events Database https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/stormevents/ A work of the United States government, no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105. Narratives are quoted verbatim from the National Weather Service report and are not edited or summarised.













