Lyerly is a small incorporated town in Chattooga County, in the northwest corner of Georgia near the Alabama state line. The Chattooga River, a tributary of the Coosa, flows along the town's southeastern edge, and Georgia State Route 114 runs through the community, linking it to Summerville, the county seat, about six miles to the northeast, and to the Alabama line near Gaylesville about six miles to the southwest. As of the 2020 census, Lyerly had a population of 454, spread across a compact area of less than one square mile. The land around Lyerly has a long history. The area was originally inhabited by the Creek and later the Cherokee peoples, followed by fur traders, missionaries, and Revolutionary War veterans who settled among the early population. Lyerly itself has railroad-era roots, succeeding the earlier communities of Melville and Glenwood. The town was laid out after Angus McLeod donated land for a depot on the Chattanooga, Rome and Columbus Railroad in 1888, and it was incorporated in 1891, growing as a small agricultural and trading settlement serving the surrounding Chattooga County countryside. Today Lyerly is a quiet residential town where most residents own their homes and the pace of life follows the rural rhythms of northwest Georgia. Its small footprint, position along the Chattooga River, and proximity to Summerville give it a close-knit character, while its location between Rome, Georgia, and Chattanooga, Tennessee, keeps larger employment centers within a practical drive. The town's single local elementary school anchors community life, and churches and civic institutions carry on the traditions of a community that has remained small and stable for more than a century. For those considering a move to the area, Lyerly offers a genuinely small-town setting at the edge of the Appalachian foothills, with access to the Chattahoochee National Forest, state parks, and the recreation and open space of the surrounding region rather than the density of a suburban community. It is a place defined by its river, its railroad heritage, and the unhurried character of rural northwest Georgia.