Ellijay is a city in Gilmer County, Georgia, United States. The population was 1,619 at the 2010 census. The city is the county seat of Gilmer County.Gilmer County is known as the "Apple Capital of Georgia" and the city holds an annual Georgia Apple Festival in October.Former President Jimmy Carter has a log cabin second home in Ellijay.HistoryEllijay is the anglicized form of the Cherokee name Elatseyi, meaning "new ground". Other sources say it means "green place".Gilmer County was cut from Cherokee County in 1832, and Ellijay became the county seat in 1834. Ellijay existed as a remote mountain community until the Marietta and Northern Georgia Railroad (later the L & N) arrived in 1884. This prompted something of a boom in the timber industry, but the area remained relatively isolated until the Zell Miller Mountain Parkway (Georgia 515, named for Georgia governor and U.S. senator Zell Miller) was completed in 1991.GeographyEllijay is located at the center of Gilmer County, at 34°41'41" north, 84°29'1" west . According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 9.2sqkm, all land. It is situated at the confluence of the Ellijay and Cartecay rivers, forming the Coosawattee River, part of the Oostanaula/Coosa/Alabama River watershed. It is bordered to the east and south by the city of East Ellijay.
