Photograph of Walasi-Yi Interpretive Center — Photograph by Thomsonmg2000, CC0 1.0. Via Wikimedia Commons.

Walasi-Yi Inn

Listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1979.

From the record

“The Walasi-Yi Interpretive Center is a small stone building located along US 19/129 at Neels Gap, Georgia, United States, on the eastern side of Blood Mountain. It is notable as the only place where the 2,175-mile-long Appalachian Trail passes through a man-made structure.”
Wikipedia article Walasi-Yi Interpretive Center, CC BY-SA 4.0.

One of 5 National Register listings published here for Union County · listed in 1979 · category: Building.

Sources: the Wikipedia article · the case file at the National Archives · the National Register database, National Park Service

The listing

What is counted as historic. The nomination lists 2 buildingss, 2 structuress as contributing to the listing.
Address. S of Blairsville on U.S. 129, Blairsville, 30512
When was it listed? January 1979
Category. building
Census division. Blairsville
National Register reference number. 79000749 - the number the National Park Service assigned this property when it was listed, and the key its nomination file is catalogued under at the National Archives.

Fires near this property

103 since 1992

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 103 fires within 5 miles of Walasi-Yi Inn between 1992 and 2020, burning about 6,173 acres in total. 2 started naturally. 11 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	60
Missing data/not specified/undetermined	17
Arson/incendiarism	11
Equipment and vehicle use	9
Recreation and ceremony	3
Natural	2
Other causes	1

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
2 September 1999	Missing data/not specified/undetermined	1.0 acres	Georgia Forestry Commission	not named
2 September 1999	Debris and open burning	under an acre	Georgia Forestry Commission	not named
16 September 1999	Missing data/not specified/undetermined	under an acre	Georgia Forestry Commission	not named
12 September 1999	Debris and open burning	under an acre	Georgia Forestry Commission	not named
31 August 1999	Debris and open burning	under an acre	Georgia Forestry Commission	not named
2 August 1993	Natural	2.5 acres	Chattahoochee-Oconee National Forest	not named
1 August 1996	Debris and open burning	under an acre	Georgia Forestry Commission	not named
29 July 1997	Missing data/not specified/undetermined	under an acre	Chattahoochee-Oconee National Forest	WATERFALL

Every fire recorded in Union County

Storms near this property

40 since 1994

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Blairsville, the town this property stands in, in 40 storm reports between 1994 and 2024: 16 hail, 13 thunderstorm wind, 4 flash flood, 4 lightning. 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
June 1994	Tornado (F1)	Blairsville	$500,000	A weak tornado briefly touched down 10 miles west of Blairsville along U.S Highway 76 and skipped east then lifted about six miles west of Blairsville. Three to four homes were severely damaged and several large trees were either uprooted or snapped midway.
May 2011	Hail	Blairsville	$385,000	The Union County 911 Center reported that tennis ball-sized hail fell across the northwest part of the county between Jones Creek and Ivy Log.
April 2011	Thunderstorm Wind	Blairsville	$300,000	The Union County Emergency Management Director reported that hundreds of trees and dozens of power lines were down throughout the county. Four homes sustained minor to moderate damage from downed trees. Fifty-four roads were closed, at least temporarily, from downed trees. Much of the county was left without power for many hours. The public reported that at least nine trees were down in the far western part of the county near the Fannin county line at a private residence. Two of the trees fell on the home resulting in major damage to the structure.
April 2013	Flash Flood	Blairsville	$100,000	County officials reported that Anderson and Coosa Creeks flooded the Mountain Oak Cabins and Campground area around 3.5 miles southwest of Blairsville. The RV park was flooded in low lying areas with a few vacation homes inundated with water. A few culverts were washed out. The Youngcane and Jones Creeks flooded portions of Byers Road around 7 miles west of Blairsville. The flood waters topped the bridge and caused erosion damage to it.
March 1997	Thunderstorm Wind	Blairsville	$60,000	no account filed
June 1994	Tornado (F1)	Blairsville	$50,000	A weak tornado briefly touched down six miles south of Blairsville on Georgia Highway 129. Two to three homes received roof and window damage while several large trees were uprooted.
October 2020	Flash Flood	Blairsville	$25,000	Pappy's Trading Post published photos to their social media site of their property and nearby areas inundated by the Nottely River. The USGS river gage downstream reported the Nottely River rose to Minor Flood Stage, cresting at 14.68 feet. Radar estimates indicate that 4 to 6 inches of rain occurred in the area, resulting in the flash flooding.
July 2018	Thunderstorm Wind	Blairsville	$25,000	The Union County Emergency Manager reported more than two dozen trees blown down across the county, mainly south and east of Blairsville to the Union/White county line.
May 2011	Lightning	Blairsville	$25,000	The Union County reported that lightning struck a structure on Everett Box Drive in Blairsville causing damage to the structure. Specific damages were not provided.
May 2011	Thunderstorm Wind	Blairsville	$25,000	The Union County 911 Center reported that a tree was down on a home on Jones Creek Road in the west part of the county near Jones Creek.
April 2011	Lightning	Blairsville	$25,000	The Union County Emergency Management Director reported that there were two lightning-related structural fires in the county. No specific details regarding damages were provided.
March 2017	Thunderstorm Wind	Blairsville	$9,000	The Union County Emergency Manager reported trees and power lines blown down across the eastern portion of the county from around Town Mountain Road, Trackrock Gap Road, and Town Creek School Road to around the intersection of Wolf Creek Road and Earney Road.
June 2007	Lightning	Blairsville	$5,000	The Union County Emergency Management Director reported that lightning struck three structures in the city, including the 911 center. Damage there was confined mainly to electronic equipment. Minor damage occurred to the other structures. In addition to the lightning, pea-sized hail fell for up to five minutes in the city.
May 2003	Flash Flood	Blairsville	$5,000	The Union county 911 center reported that a road had become impassable because of rushing water across the road, while another road was closed because a bridge had become impassable with water flowing over the bridge.
July 2002	Lightning	Blairsville	$5,000	The public reported that lightning set a house on fire. No injuries were reported and damage estimates were not provided.
July 2011	Thunderstorm Wind	Blairsville	$3,000	The Union County 911 Center reported that several trees were down along U.S. Highway 76 west of Blairsville.
May 2002	Thunderstorm Wind	Blairsville	$2,000	The Union county 911 center reported that several trees were down.
July 1997	Thunderstorm Wind	Blairsville	$2,000	Several trees and power lines were knocked down by thunderstorm winds.
July 2024	Thunderstorm Wind	Blairsville	$1,000	A tree was downed on Rich Gap Rd between Owl Creek Rd and Lower Owltown Rd.
July 2004	Thunderstorm Wind	Blairsville	$1,000	The Union County 911 center reported that a few trees were blown down near the Tennessee border.
August 2004	Thunderstorm Wind	Blairsville	$1,000	The Union County 911 Center reported that several trees had been blown down.
July 2002	Thunderstorm Wind	Blairsville	$1,000	The Union county 911 center and the public reported that at least four trees were blown down by thunderstorm winds.
June 1998	Thunderstorm Wind	Blairsville	$500	The Union county 911 office reported 2 trees were blown down.
June 2011	Hail	Blairsville	-	The Union County Emergency Management Director reported nickel-sized hail northeast of Blairsville. WSR-88D radar data suggests that similar-sized hail likely continued as the storm moved southwest toward Gaddistown and the Fannin county border.
June 2009	Hail	Blairsville	-	The public observed nickel-sized hail near Blairsville.
August 2007	Hail	Blairsville	-	The public observed penny-sized hail in the northwestern part of the county. Some three inch diameter limbs were also down in the area.
April 2006	Hail	Blairsville	-	The public reported nickel-sized hail near U.S. Highway 76 and the Fannin county line.
May 2006	Hail	Blairsville	-	The public reported golf ball-sized hail three miles north of Jones Creek at a public store along U.S. Highway 76 west of Blairsville. The hail storm, albeit to a lesser degree, continued to move southward across the west central part of the county.
February 2005	Hail	Blairsville	-	The public reported penny-sized hail.
May 2004	Hail	Blairsville	-	The Union County 911 center reported that dime to nickel-sized hail covered the ground.
May 2004	Hail	Blairsville	-	The public reported that penny-sized hail fell for 5 minutes.
May 2004	Hail	Blairsville	-	The public reported that hail, ranging in size from dimes to quarters, fell off and on for a period of nearly 30 minutes, covering the ground. The penny to quarter-sized hail was confined to about a five minute period at the beginning of the event.
April 2003	Hail	Blairsville	-	The public reported quarter-sized hail.
July 2002	Hail	Blairsville	-	The Union county 911 center reported golf ball size hail and the public reported nickel size hail.
July 2002	Flood	Blairsville	-	The Union county 911 center reported that Ivy Log Creek had risen out of its banks.
May 1999	Hail	Blairsville	-	Union county 911 reported quarter size hail just west of Blairsville.
May 1999	Hail	Blairsville	-	Reports from a spotter and the public indicated quarter size hail.
January 1996	Flash Flood	Blairsville	-	no account filed
June 1995	Hail	Blairsville	-	no account filed
June 1995	Hail	Blairsville	-	no account filed

Every storm recorded in Union County

Map coverage status

No historic map-sheet match is published for this property yet. That does not mean no map exists. This record needs a coordinate-quality review before it can be joined to a sheet boundary. Browse the county's mapped places while that work is pending.

Sources for this property

National Archives record	The nomination case file for reference 79000749 in Record Group 79.
Wikipedia article	Community-written account of this property, licensed CC BY-SA.
Union County	All 5 listed properties in this county.

Provenance

Listing record. National Park Service National Register of Historic Places, listed-properties dataset, current to 2026-05-22.
Map join. Address geocoded through the United States Census geocoder, then tested against the published boundary of every sheet in the USGS Historical Topographic Map Collection.
How this page is made. Listing fields come from federal records; map-sheet coverage is a labelled coordinate-to-boundary calculation, not a source-field claim.
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.
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.