Braselton, Georgia
Braselton is a town in Barrow, Gwinnett, Hall, and Jackson counties in the U.S. state of Georgia, about 53 miles (85 km) northeast of Atlanta. As of the 2010 census, the town had a population of 7,511, with an estimated population in 2012 of 7,875.
The Gwinnett and Barrow County portions of Braselton are part of the Atlanta–Sandy Springs–Marietta, GA, Metropolitan Statistical Area, and the Hall County portion is part of both the Atlanta and Gainesville, GA Metropolitan Statistical Areas. The remaining Jackson County portion of Braselton is not part of any core based statistical area.
History
The town is named after Harrison Braselton, a poor dirt farmer who married Susan Hosch, the daughter of a rich plantation owner. Braselton built a home on 786 acres (318 ha) of land he purchased north of the Hosch Plantation. The land he purchased was later called Braselton.
In 1989 actress and Georgia native Kim Basinger and other investors bought 1,751 acres of the town's 2,000 privately owned acres for $20 million from Braselton Brothers Inc, intending to turn it into a tourist destination. Five years later, on the eve of personal bankruptcy, she and her partners sold the town at a large loss.
