The first permanent settlement at Braselton was made in 1884. 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. The Georgia General Assembly incorporated Braselton as a town in 1916.
In 1989 actress and Georgia native Kim Basinger and other investors bought 1,751 acres (709 ha) of the town’s 2,000 privately owned acres for $20 million from Braselton Brothers Inc, intending to turn it into a tourist destination. In 1995, facing personal bankruptcy, she and her partners sold the land for $4.3 million.
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