A “Mecca” for stock cars, the Dawsonville Pool Room is considered by many as the ‘ground zero’ for racing. Back in the days of old, a siren would sound from this Pool Room every time their local boy Bill Elliott took the checkered flag. It continues to do so now, every time Bill’s son, Chase Elliott, triumphs on the track.
Within the NASCAR community, Dawsonville is synonymous with the Elliott duo. Bill Elliot’s awards and accolades have brought the world to the gates of the small Georgian town. And it happens once again, though it is not racing or the race track that has turned the switch on. With the senior’s generous act of benevolence to the town’s natural landscape, the siren would ring for him once again after all these years.
Awesome Bill from Dawsonville turns up to help save the planet
The Dawson Forest Wildlife Management Area is a 25,500-acre property of ecology. Used by hunters, rafters, and hikers, the mature hardwood forest hosts a wide variety of flora and fauna. In the latest developments from the protected region’s officials, it has been announced that Bill Elliott and his brother Ernie will be selling 330 acres of their land to this area.
Deciding to complete the deal for less than the appraisal value, the brothers noted their desire for the tracts to be conserved because of the beauty of it. Sports Business Journal reporter Adam Stern shared the news on his X handle, which has since gathered a lot of attention.
As reported by The Telegraph, Don McGowan, operations manager for the Department of Natural Resources (DNR), mentioned that the sale by Elliott Sr would help preserve protected species of fish, and said, “By getting that property and preserving the upper reaches of that watershed we’re helping to prevent the siltation and erosion that sometimes can come when land is cleared for development. That’s of huge ecological importance.”
A 62-acre property solely owned by Bill Elliott constitutes one of the land parcels that has front access to the road. The second, 275-acre tract, is co-owned by Bill and Ernie Elliott. The proposed prices of the two land parcels that are construed to be less than the market value amount to $301,279 and $1,324,312, respectively.
Bill Elliott is selling hundreds of acres of his land in Dawsonville, Georgia to the local township to help preserve it and a nearby watershed with endangered fish from commercial development. – @TelegraphGA https://t.co/Q2OfR7cdQu
— Adam Stern (@A_S12) September 6, 2023
After the board of Georgia’s DNR approved the purchase from the Elliotts last month, the sale currently awaits the green signal from the State Properties Commission. He believed the purchase “fills a gap in the WMA, which will improve the public’s ability to recreate and our ability to manage.”
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“It isn’t about me”: Bill Elliott, the local hero, who put his town’s name on the map
American race tracks have had a lot of drivers speed through them. But those very courses would tell you that none of the drivers ever came close to the pace of the legendary Bill Elliott. In a career that spanned 36 years from 1976 to 2012, the 1988 series championship also holds the record for the fastest qualifying lap, firing through the Talladega Superspeedway at a speed of 212.809 mph. Despite becoming prominent in the field of car racing, it was a country boy, Bill Elliott, who won 44 Cup Series races, placed the town’s name on America’s map.
Dawsonville, a small town in Georgia, is located at the southern end of the Appalachian Mountains. Thriving during the Gold Rush in the 1830s, the town came to be known for motorsports as the century turned. Decades of continuous glory and fame later, the local hero is back at it again to give back to his home. Bill’s love for the town and the people who lifted him up can be seen from the words that came at the wake of his Hall of Fame induction.
“It isn’t about me,” Elliott had said. “It’s about all the people from that area that grew with us, that watched us, that helped us, that supported us, all of the above.”
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