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Georgia
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Georgia was long deemed to be a prize territory. The
French and the Spanish fought amongst themselves for more than a hundred and
sixty years for dominance in this area. The period in question was from
1540 to about the early 1700s. When South Carolina became a royal
province, the land between the Savannah and the St. Mary's rivers was set aside
for a new British colony.
England made it a practice to imprison those individuals
who could not pay their debts. A gentleman and parliamentarian named James
Oglethorpe disagreed with this practice and conceived the plan to rehabilitate
these poor people by taking them (deporting them) to the New World, giving them
a tract of land and assisting them in establishing new homes and a new life in
this new territory. King George II granted him and twenty other men the
English territory south of the Savannah. He brought with him thirty-five
families, upon his arrival in 1773 and they established a community at the mouth
of the Savannah, which he named after the river. They established a second
community, called Augusta in 1734. This community was placed about halfway
between the mouth of the Savannah River and the border of South Carolina.
during this period, a group of persecuted Protestants in Europe were invited to
join the colony. The Roman Catholics were at first refused admittance into
the territory.
In about 1738, the Swiss, German, Italian, Scottish
Highlander, Salzberger and Moravian settlers began arriving into Georgia.
In 1739, the community of Frederica was established on the south banks of the
Altamaha. Two years later, 1741, Georgia was divided into two
counties. The territory north of the Altamaha was called Savannah.
The territory south of that river was called Frederica. Many of the
Moravians had come from North Carolina to Spring Place and New Ochota. It
was their desire to convert the Indians to their faith. When this
experiment failed, they later moved from Georgia to Pennsylvania to the areas
now called Bethlehem and Nazareth.
Many of the Presbyterians who came to Georgia as Scottish
Highlanders, settled in Darien, which they renamed New Inverness. In 1752,
a 1752, a group of Massachusetts Puritans came to Midway.
Georgia became a royal province in 1752. The colony
claimed all of the land between North Carolina and Florida, and the Atlantic and
the Mississippi.
The first counties of Georgia were formed in 1777.
These counties covered only a small portion of the land claimed by the
province. These counties covered the section between the Savannah River
and the Oconee and the Altamaha Rivers and another strip about thirty five miles
wide, which extended from the Altamaha River to the Florida border. In
1798 the Territory of Mississippi was created from the western half of
Georgia. That territory later became the states of Alabama and
Mississippi. Georgia ratified the federal constitution on 2 January 1788
and became the fourth state in the union.
Georgia continued to attract settlers from Virginia and
the Carolinas by virtue of something called land lotteries. Families who
had lived in the territory for at least one year were permitted to draw for
acreages as large as 400 acres. These lotteries were held in 1803, 1806,
1819, 1827 and 1832. Georgia is one of the 19 largest states in the Union
and contains over 159 counties.
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COUNTY FORMATIONS
|
| Name |
Date Formed |
Parent County |
County Seat |
| Appling |
1818 |
Creek Indian Lands |
Baxley |
| Atkinson |
1917 |
Coffee, Clinch |
Pearson |
| Bacon |
1914 |
Appling, Pearce, Ware |
Alma |
| Baker |
1825 |
Early |
Newton |
| Baldwin |
1803 |
Creek Indian Lands |
Milledgeville |
| Banks |
1858 |
Franklin, Habershaw |
Homer |
| Barrow |
1861 |
Jackson, Walton, Guinett |
Winder |
| Bartow |
1861 |
Changed from Cass in 1861 |
Cartersville |
| Ben Hill |
1906 |
Irwin, Wilcox |
Fitzgerald |
| Berrien |
1856 |
Lowndes, Coffee, Irwin |
Nashville |
| Bibb |
1822 |
Jones, Monroe, Twiggs, Houston |
Macon |
| Bleckley |
1912 |
Pulaski |
Cochran |
| Brantley |
1920 |
Charlton, Pierce, Wayne |
Nahunta |
| Brooks |
1851 |
Effingham, Liberty |
Pembroke |
| Bulloch |
1796 |
Franklin |
Statesboro |
| Burke |
1777 |
St. George Parish |
Waynesboro |
| Butts |
1825 |
Henry, Monroe |
Jackson |
| Calhoun |
1854 |
Baker & Early |
Morgan |
| Camden |
1777 |
St. Mary, St. Thomas |
Woodbine |
| Campbell (see Fulton) |
1828 |
Carroll, Coweta (Merged with Fulton in 1932) |
|
| Candler |
1914 |
Bulloch, Emanuel, Tattnall |
Metter |
| Carroll |
1826 |
Indian Lands |
Carrollton |
| Cass (See Bartow) |
1832 |
Changed to Bartow in 1861 |
|
| Catoosa |
1853 |
Walker, Whitfield |
Ringgold |
| Charlton |
1777 |
St. Phillip, Christ Church Parish |
Savannah |
| Chattahoochee |
1854 |
Muscogee, Marion |
Cusseta |
| Chattooga |
1838 |
Floyd, Walker |
Summerville |
| Cherokee |
1832 |
Cherokee Lands, Habersham, Hall |
Canton |
| Clarke |
1801 |
Jackson, Green |
Athens |
| Clay |
1854 |
Early, Randolph |
Ft. Gaines |
| Clayton |
1858 |
Fayette, Henry |
Jonesboro |
| Clinch |
1850 |
Ware, Lowndes |
Homerville |
| Cobb |
1832 |
Cherokee |
Marietta |
| Coffee |
1854 |
Clinch, Irwin, Ware, Telfair |
Douglas |
| Colquitt |
1856 |
Lowndes, Thomas |
Moultrie |
| Columbia |
1790 |
Richmond |
Appling |
| Cook |
1918 |
Berrien |
Adel |
| Coweta |
1826 |
Indian Lands |
Newman |
| Crawford |
1822 |
Houston, Marion, Talbot, Macon |
Knoxville |
| Crisp |
1905 |
Dooly |
Cordele |
| Dade |
1837 |
Walker |
Trenton |
| Dawson |
1857 |
Lumpkin, Gilmer |
Dawsonville |
| Decatur |
1823 |
Early |
Bainbridge |
| DeKalb |
1822 |
Fayette, Gwinett, Newton, Henry |
Decatur |
| Dodge |
1870 |
Montgomery, Pulaski, Telfair |
Eastman |
| Dooly |
1821 |
Indian Lands |
Vienna |
| Dougherty |
1852 |
Baker |
Albany |
| Douglas |
1870 |
Carroll, Campbell |
Douglasville |
| Early |
1818 |
Creek Indian Lads |
Blakely |
| Echols |
1858 |
Clinch, Lowndes |
Statenville |
| Effingham |
1777 |
St. Mathews, St. Phillips |
Springfield |
| Elbert |
1790 |
Wilkes, Madison |
Elberton |
| Emmanuel |
1812 |
Montgomery, Bullock |
Swainsboro |
| Evans |
1914 |
Bulloch, Tattnall |
Claxton |
| Fannin |
1854 |
Gilmer, Union |
Blue Ridge |
| Fayette |
1821 |
Indian Lands, Henry |
Fayetteville |
| Floyd |
1832 |
Cherokee, Chattooga, Palding |
Rome |
| Forsyth |
1832 |
Cherokee, Lumpkin |
Cumming |
| Franklin |
1784 |
Cherokee Lands |
Carnesville |
| Fulton |
1853 |
DeKalb, Campbell |
Atlanta |
| Gilmer |
1832 |
Cherokee, Union |
Ellijay |
| Glascock |
1852 |
Warren, Jefferson |
Gibson |
| Glynn |
1777 |
St. David, St. Patrick |
Brunswick |
| Gordon |
1850 |
Cass, Floyd |
Calhoun |
| Grady |
1905 |
Decatur, Thomas |
Cairo |
| Greene |
1786 |
Washington, Oglethorpe, Wilkes |
Greensboro |
| Gwinnett |
1818 |
Cherokee Lands, Jackson |
Lawrenceville |
| Habersham |
1818 |
Cherokee Lands, Franklin |
Clarkesville |
| Hall |
1818 |
Cherokee Lands, Jackson, Franklin |
Gainesville |
| Hancock |
1793 |
Greene, Washington |
Sparta |
| Haralson |
1856 |
Carroll, Polk |
Buchanan |
| Harris |
1827 |
Muscogee, Troup |
Hamilton |
| Hart |
1853 |
Elbert, Franklin |
Hartwell |
| Heard |
1830 |
Carroll, Coweta, Troup |
Franklin |
| Henry |
1821 |
Indian Lands, Walton |
McDonough |
| Houston |
1821 |
Indian Lands |
Perry |
| Irwin |
1818 |
Indian Lands, Coffee, Telfair |
Ocilla |
| Jackson |
1796 |
Franklin |
Jefferson |
| Jasper (See note on 1st Randolph County) |
1812 |
Baldwin |
Monticello |
| Jeff Davis |
1905 |
Appling, Coffee |
Hazelhurst |
| Jefferson |
1796 |
Burke, Warren |
Louisville |
| Jenkins |
1905 |
Bullock, Burke, Emanuel, Screven |
Millen |
| Johnson |
1858 |
Emanuel, Laurens, Washington |
Wrightsville |
| Jones |
1807 |
Baldwin, Bibb, Putnam |
Gray |
| Kinchafoonee (see Webster) |
1853 |
Stewart, changed to Webster in 1856 |
|
| Lamar |
1920 |
Monroe, Pike |
Barnesville |
| Lanier |
1919 |
Berrien, Lowndes, Clinch |
Lakeland |
| Laurens |
1807 |
Montgomery, Washington, Wilkinson |
Dublin |
| Lee |
1824 |
Indian Lands |
Leesburg |
| Liberty |
1777 |
St. Andrew, St. James, St. Johns |
Hinesville |
| Lincoln |
1796 |
Wilkes |
Lincolnton |
| Long |
1920 |
Liberty |
Ludowici |
| Lowndes |
1825 |
Irwin |
Valdosta |
| Lumpkin |
1832 |
Cherokee, Habersham, Hall |
Dahlonega |
| McDuffie |
1870 |
Columbia, Warren |
Thomson |
| McIntosh |
1793 |
Liberty |
Darien |
| Macon |
1837 |
Houston, Marion |
Oglethorpe |
| Madison |
1811 |
Clarke, Elbert, Franklin, Jackson, Oglethorpe |
Danielsville |
| Marion |
1827 |
Lee, Muscogee, Stewart |
Buena Vista |
| Meriwether |
1827 |
Troup |
Greenville |
| Miller |
1856 |
Baker, Early |
Colquitt |
| Milton (see Fulton) |
1857 |
Cobb, Cherokee, Forsythe (Merged with Fulton in 1911) |
was Alpharetta |
| Mitchell |
1857 |
Baker |
Camilla |
| Monroe |
1821 |
Indian Lands |
Forsythe |
| Montgomery |
1793 |
Washington, Laurens, Tattnall, Telfair |
Mt. Vernon |
| Morgan |
1807 |
Baldwin, Jasper |
Madison |
| Murray |
1832 |
Cherokee |
Chatsworth |
| Muscogee |
1826 |
Creek Lands, Harris, Lee, Marion |
Columbus |
| Newton |
1821 |
Henry, Jasper, Morgan, Walton |
Covington |
| Oconee |
1875 |
Clarke |
Watkinsville |
| Oglethorpe |
1793 |
Clarke, Green, Wilkes |
Lexington |
| Paulding |
1832 |
Cherokee Lands, Carroll, Cobb |
Dallas |
| Peach |
1924 |
Houston, Macon |
Fort Valley |
| Pickens |
1853 |
Cherokee, Gilmer |
Jasper |
| Pierce |
1857 |
Appling, Ware |
Blackshear |
| Pike |
1822 |
Monroe, Upson |
Zebulon |
| Polk |
1851 |
Paulding |
Cedartown |
| Pulaski |
1808 |
Laurens, Dodge, Dooly, Houston |
Hawkinsville |
| Putnam |
1807 |
Baldwin |
Eatonton |
| Quitman |
1858 |
Randolph, Stewart |
Georgetown |
| Rabun |
1819 |
Cherokee Lands, Habersham |
Clayton |
| Randolph (See also Jasper) |
1828 |
Baker, Lee (There was an earlier Randolph created in 1897
or 1808. The name was changed in 1812 to Jasper. This is the
second county by the same name.) |
Cuthbert |
| Richmond |
1777 |
St. Paul Parish |
Augusta |
| Rockdale |
1870 |
Henry, Newton |
Conyers |
| Schley |
1857 |
Marion, Sumter |
Ellaville |
| Screven |
1793 |
Burke, Effingham |
Sylvania |
| Seminole |
1920 |
Decatur, Early |
Donalsonville |
| Spalding |
1851 |
Fayette, Henry, Pike |
Griffin |
| Stewart |
1830 |
Randolph |
Lumkin |
| Sumter |
1831 |
Lee |
Americus |
| Talbot |
1827 |
Crawford, Harris, Marion, Macon, Muscogee |
Talbotton |
| Taliaferro |
1825 |
Green, Hancock, Oglethorpe, Warren, Wilkes |
Crawfordville |
| Taftnall |
1801 |
Montgomery, Liberty |
Reidsville |
| Taylor |
1853 |
Crawford |
Butler |
| Telfair |
1807 |
Wilkinson, Appling |
McRae |
| Terrell |
1856 |
Lee, Randolph |
Dawson |
| Thomas |
1825 |
Baker, Decatur, Irwin, Lowndes |
Thomasville |
| Tift |
1905 |
Berrien, Irwin, Worth |
Tifton |
| Toomba |
1905 |
Emanuel, Tattnall, Montgomery |
Lyons |
| Towns |
1856 |
Rabun, Union |
Hiawassee |
| Treutlen |
1917 |
Emanuel, Montgomery |
Soperton |
| Troup |
1826 |
Indian Lands |
LaGrange |
| Turner |
1905 |
Dooly, Irwin, Wilcox, Worth |
Ashburn |
| Twiggs |
1809 |
Wilkinson |
Jeffersonville |
| Union |
1832 |
Cherokee Lands, Lumpkin |
Blairsville |
| Upson |
1824 |
Crawford, Pike |
Thomaston |
| Walker |
1833 |
Murray |
LaFayette |
| Walton |
1803 |
Cherokee Lads |
Monroe |
| Ware |
1824 |
Appling |
Waycross |
| Warren |
1793 |
Columbia, Richmond, Wilkes |
Warrenton |
| Washington |
1784 |
Indian Lands |
Sandersville |
| Wayne |
1803 |
Indian Lands, Appling, Glynn, Camden |
Jesup |
| Webster |
1856 |
Changed from Kinchafoonee 1856 |
Preston |
| Wheeler |
1912 |
Montgomery |
Alamo |
| White |
1857 |
Habersham |
Cleveland |
| Whitfield |
1851 |
Murray, Walker |
Dalton |
| Wilcox |
1857 |
Dooly, Irwin, Pulaski |
Abbeville |
| Wilkes |
1777 |
Washington |
Washington |
| Wilkinson |
1803 |
Creek Cession |
Irwinton |
| Worth |
1852 |
Dooly, Irwin |
Sylvester |
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GEORGIA HISTORY WEBLINKS
|
| Georgia Genweb Project |
Georgia Department of Archives and History |
| Georgia
Humanities Council |
Georgia
Historical Society |
| Colonial
Delaware |
Georgia
Trust for Historic Preservation |
| Hargrett
Library (University of Georgia) |
Historic
Preservation Division (Georgia Department of Natural Resources) |
| Historical
Society of the Georgia National Guard |
Richard
B. Russell Library (University of Georgia) |
| Georgia's
Prehistoric Indians |
European
Exploration of the "New World" |
| Map
of Spanish Missions in Georgia: 1526-1686 |
Map
of Spanish Missions in Georgia: 1526-1686 |
| Native
American Conquest |
Military
Artifacts of Spanish Florida: 1650-1821: An Internet Museum |
| Age
of Spanish Exploration, Conquest, and Early Colonization |
Spanish
History and Heritage Links |
| Charlesfort |
Fort
Caroline National Memorial |
| Fort
Caroline National Memorial (GORP) |
Bourbon
France: Spain's Colonial Allies and Antagonists, 1699-1781 |
| Monarchs
of Britain |
Fort
King George |
| James
Edward Oglethorpe |
When
is Georgia's Birthday? |
| Moravians
in Georgia, 1735-40 |
History
of Frederica |
| Frederica
town plan, 1742 |
Battle
of Bloody Marsh |
| Ruins
of William Horton house on Jekyll Island |
Georgia
Salzburgers |
| Treaty
of Paris (1763) |
Georgia's
Signers of the Declaration of Independence |
| Georgia
and the American Revolution |
Georgia
$4 Currency, 1776 |
| Georgia's
Black Revolutionary Patriots |
Founding
of the University of Georgia |
| Travels
of William Bartram |
Yazoo
Land Fraud |
| Dahlonega
Gold Rush and U.S. Mint |
Gold
Rush Gallery |
| Roster
of the Georgia Guard (1831) |
Gold
coins minted in Georgia (description and images) |
| Georgia
and the Texas Revolution |
Augusta
Canal National Heritage Area |
| Cotton
Culture |
Civil
War in Georgia |
| Reconstruction
Georgia |
Reconstruction
in North Georgia |
| Freedman's
Bureau Records for Georgia (selected records, 1865-1868) |
Origin
of Grady Hospital |
| Tunis
Campbell: Marching to a Different Drummer |
1881
International Cotton Exposition in Atlanta |
| Carl Vinson Institute of Government, University of Georgia |
Society
of Georgia Archivists |