Moonshining in Rabun County

Museum Exhibit

Moonshining: Rabun County’s Oldest (and Once Largest) Industry

Rabun County held the distinction of being the moonshine capital of Georgia. Distilling whiskey out of corn or apples was an economic necessity for poor subsistence farmers. Moonshining was concentrated in the remote Persimmon area of western Rabun County and near the Chattooga River to the east. However, it has been said that stills were brewing white lightening in nearly every hollow of the county at one time or another. Many stills utilized car radiators. In addition to the problem of lead poisoning due to soldered parts in stills, the greatest danger is what went into the liquor. Embalming fluid, rubbing alcohol, wood alcohol, paint thinner, formaldehyde and bleach are a few of the extra ingredients that have been detected in Rabun County moonshine.

Visit our Moonshining Exhibit

Want to learn more about moonshining in Rabun County? Visit our Museum to view this exhibit and many others that tell the stories that shaped Rabun’s history.