Lake Harding (Alabama Side)
5,850 acres on the Chattahoochee River. Georgia Power has owned the shoreline on both sides since 1930 -- including the Alabama side. Your property taxes go to Lee County, Alabama. Your dock permit goes to Georgia Power in Fortson, Georgia. Most listing agents gloss over this. We don't.
What Makes Lake Harding Different
Lake Harding was impounded by Columbus Power Company in 1926 and acquired by Georgia Power in 1930. Georgia Power's FERC License No. 2630 governs the entire reservoir -- both the Alabama and Georgia shores. The state line runs roughly down the middle of the lake: Lee County, Alabama to the west; Harris County, Georgia to the east. Georgia Power owns the land at the water's edge on both sides.
Alabama-side buyers pay their property taxes to Lee County and file their income taxes with Alabama -- benefiting from one of the most favorable retirement tax environments in the Southeast, including no state tax on Social Security, federal pension, or military retirement. But they sign their dock permit applications with a Georgia utility and, on leased lots, pay an annual ground lease fee to Georgia Power for the land their house sits on.
The community is called The Backwaters -- and it spans both state lines without observing the boundary as a social division. Columbus, Georgia (20 miles SE) is the practical service hub. Auburn, Alabama (30 miles NW) is the cultural anchor. The National Infantry Museum at Fort Moore is 20 minutes from most Alabama-side dock locations. This is a more interesting address than the listing price alone suggests.