In the 1930s electricity was only available to city residents. President Franklin D. Roosevelt, frustrated by the high cost of electricity to his home in Warm Springs, created the Rural Electric Administration (REA). The purpose of the REA was to loan money to cooperatives and other groups to build rural power lines. In 1936, Congress passed the Rural Electrification Act to establish the REA as a full-scale agency of the government.

A group of citizens met on July 25, 1938 to form Habersham Electric Membership Cooperative, a non-profit member-owned cooperative, in order to bring electricity to the rural areas of Habersham, Hall, White, Stephens, Rabun and Lumpkin counties. Forming a cooperative was necessary as the investor-owned power suppliers didn’t believe it was profitable to build power lines to the farm families spread out in the rural areas.

The first meeting of HEMC was held in August 1938 and seven directors were elected. The newly formed co-op didn’t waste time in setting up their business. The first headquarters was located in Clarkesville on North Washington Street with three employees. An engineering firm, J.B. McCrary, was also hired to build power lines. The first 70 miles of line were energized in Habersham, Rabun and White counties on May 15, 1939.