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Testimonies of Faith from Years Gone By

It is difficult to write about all the eternal dividends of Toccoa Falls because there are so many. . . . Scores of letters thrilled the hearts of Dr. and Mrs. Forrest. As they read the mail, phrases like â€œHow sweet!â€ â€œIsnâ€™t this lovely?â€ and â€œPraise the Lord!â€ were often repeated. Hundreds of testimonies praised the work of Toccoa Falls. Homecoming days were a paean of praise as hearts rejoiced for what the Lord had accomplished through His servants. Only a few are presented here. Practically every person who came as a student claimed to be a Christian, but in

January 13, 2010 No Comments

William Jennings Bryan in a Toccoa Pulpit

(The following is an article from The Toccoa Record, April 12, 1917 (Used by Permission) taken from the book A Tree God Planted by Troy Damron) America’s Greatest Lay Preacher Fills and Thrill the First Baptist Church. Sunday, April 8, 1917, was a blustering and cloudy day in Toccoa. In fact it was the kind of day on which a Frenchman commits suicide. But in the afternoon when train No. 38 arrived from Atlanta, a passenger said to the cab driver, “To the Falls.” William Jennings Bryan, “The Great Commoner,” had come unannounced to Toccoa to pay a promised visit

January 13, 2010 No Comments

Troy Damron

Troy Damron first saw beautiful Toccoa Falls and the campus of the college when he enrolled as a student in 1939. Throughout his life he lived continuously the Toccoa Falls Story as a student, faculty member, and administrator. He is the author of A Tree God Planted, the Story of Toccoa Falls College. Troy Damron graduated magna cum laude from both Toccoa Falls Institute with a B.A. degree, and from Piedmont College, Demorest, Georgia, with a B.S. degree. He enjoyed a lifelong identification with the Christian and Missionary Alliance and was an ordained minister in that organization. The following are

January 13, 2010 No Comments

Susie (Ralls) Mathes

“The Forrest were not privileged to have children of their own. Perhaps, the Lord felt theirs was to be a larger ministry that would have been possible with a family to rear. Their home, however, has always been open to young folks. Five of these were given special places and became “their” children. “Sue Ralls (Mathes) was from Tiptop, Tennessee. Rev. Forrest met her when he was conducting meetings in that city. In fact, he stayed at the Ralls home. He also saw Susie and recognized her potential. “Three years later she came to the Falls. . . . Later,

January 13, 2010 No Comments

Sarah Staley

Gaining the Eternal Victory For years, Sarah Staley’s unmarked grave rested on a windy hillside in Westview Cemetery overlooking the very place where the Battle of Atlanta was fought. In October 2001, on what would have been her 157th birthday, college alumni and officials placed a marker on her grave. Sarah A. Staley was one of the founding members of the Toccoa Falls Institute faculty. In 1911 she moved to Georgia at the request of Dr. and Mrs. Forrest. While attending Nyack Institute, Dr. Forrest worked as a houseboy for Miss Staley, who was an elementary school principal in Brooklyn.

January 13, 2010 No Comments

Remembering the Graham Family

We want to take time to pray for the family of Dr. Billy Graham in the loss of his wife Ruth Bell Graham, who also was a beloved mother, grandmother, Sunday School teacher, and author. Many of you may not realize it, but throughout the years this family has been a support and encouragement to Toccoa Falls College. Dr. Billy Graham was on our campus for our 50th year celebration and on several occasions, his son, Franklin Graham recommended Toccoa Falls College to students coming to the United States from overseas. This year, Billy Grahamâ€™s grandson, the Rev. William (Will)

January 13, 2010 No Comments

Paul Rader

The Story Behind “Only Believe” The General Council of the C&MA convened at Toccoa Falls in May 1919. The delegates were housed in army tents supplied by Fort McPherson in Atlanta, and the guests considered this â€œcamping outâ€ experience to be most meaningful. Rev. Paul Rader, elected president of the C&MA at that Council, was greatly moved by stories of the hardships and difficulties that the Toccoa Falls family had faced since 1913, and others, that the school was still facing. In his room in Staley Cottage, Rader wrote a song that has been widely used in evangelical Christian circles

January 13, 2010 No Comments

Paul and Mary Williams

Their Final Sacrifice (The following was taken from the book A Tree God Planted by Troy Damron) The barren, windswept plains of the Texas panhandle do not readily attract the casual visitor. In fact, those accustomed to the solitude of the mountains or to the bustle of the fertile, well-watered valleys of our country might see in the plains only foreboding and endless desolation. The natives of the area will tell you that there are places in the panhandle where one can look east for two whole days. There is something awesome and majestic about the Texas plains that leaves

January 13, 2010 No Comments

Memories of Haddock Inn and Toccoa Falls

Mrs. Bernice Haddock Thomason is a descendent of Mr. William Haddock, first owner of Haddock Inn. In this photo, she is holding treasured family heirlooms. She said a four-room house first stood on the Inn site. Later the great summer hotel was built. The Haddocks raised cattle. Since in those days there were no stock laws, their cattle covered the hills. —————————————————————————————– Mr. and Mrs. L. O. Lipscomb From the time I was a child, I loved Toccoa Falls and believed it was one of Godâ€™s most beauty spots. My mother, Mrs. George W. Edwards, was a sister of Mrs.

January 13, 2010 No Comments

Life Outside the Classroom

“School life at Toccoa Falls furnished many opportunities for practical or vocational training. Along with their usual classes, students were taught farming, caring for livestock, cutting and sawing timber, carpentry, making cement blocks, gardening, laundering, cooking, baking, canning fruits and vegetables, sewing, office work, and much more. . . . (copy from Achieving the Impossible with God by Lorene Moothart) Photo below: Alice Barnes and Mrs. Forrest working Photo below: Garden Photo below: Making applebutter Photo below: Making sorghum Photo below: Making bread Photo below: Picking beans Photo below: Picking cotton Photo below: Cleaning Photo below: Wash crew

January 13, 2010 No Comments

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Testimonies of Faith from Years Gone By

William Jennings Bryan in a Toccoa Pulpit

Troy Damron

Susie (Ralls) Mathes

Sarah Staley

Remembering the Graham Family

Paul Rader

Paul and Mary Williams

Memories of Haddock Inn and Toccoa Falls

Life Outside the Classroom

Middle East Then And Now

May 15, 16, 17 & 18, 1930

May 11, 12, 13 & 14, 1930

May 10, 1930

May 9, 1930

May 8, 1930