Calhoun, the county seat of Gordon County, was incorporated in January 1852. The city was named for Senator John Calhoun, famous statesman and prominent figure in the states’ rights movement.

Calhoun was previously known as Dawsonville for the owner of a general store in the area. The Native Americans called their village (in the same location) Oothcaloga, Ustanali and New Echota. The village of New Echota, which once served as the capital of the Cherokee Nation, was the birthplace of the written Cherokee language and the newspaper, The Cherokee Phoenix.