A brief history of Georgia counties

Georgia became a state on January 2, 1788.

The state is divided into 159 counties. Burke, Camden, Chatham, Effingham, Glynn, Liberty, Richmond, and Wilkes counties were the first counties created on February 5, 1777, and the last county to be formed was Peach County on July 18, 1924.

Today’s Georgia counties did not always exist in the present form. They went through many different changes in the space of a few short years. Georgia Counties were first formed while part of the British Province of Georgia, and after that the newly independent State of Georgia.

On March 15, 1758 all of royal Georgia became part of the colonial parish system; the parishes were organized for administrative, judicial, and religious purposes.

The state government was organized on February 5, 1777 from the portion of the former colonial parishes. The original state boundaries included all of present Georgia and part of present Alabama and Mississippi.

There were originally 8 Georgia counties when it was first organized under the 1777 Constitution, they were Burke, Camden, Chatham, Effingham, Glynn, Liberty, Richmond and Wilkes Counties.

The State of Georgia entered the union as the 4th state on January 2, 1788.

Former counties and history

  • Bourbon County Created on February 7, 1785, by the Georgia legislature from disputed Yazoo lands along the Mississippi River near Natchez. It was named for the ruling French royal House of Bourbon to honor France’s assistance during the American Revolutionary War. The county was dissolved on February 1, 1788, when Georgia civil authorities withdrew and the region was formally ceded to Spanish control.
  • Campbell County Created on December 20, 1828, from Carroll, Coweta, DeKalb, and Fayette counties. It was named for Duncan G. Campbell, a Georgia commissioner who negotiated the Treaty of Indian Springs. Severely bankrupted by the financial pressures of the Great Depression, the citizens voted to dissolve the county and it was officially merged into Fulton County on January 1, 1932.
  • Cass County Created on December 3, 1832, out of the massive Cherokee territory lottery lands. It was named in honor of Lewis Cass, the U.S. Secretary of War under Andrew Jackson who assisted in Indian removal policies. Due to Cass’s stance as a Northern Unionist leading up to the Civil War, the Georgia legislature officially changed the name to Bartow County on December 6, 1861, to honor Confederate Colonel Francis S. Bartow.
  • Kinchafoonee County Created on December 11, 1853, from the northern portion of Lee County. It was named after Kinchafoonee Creek, a prominent local waterway. Local residents found the indigenous name difficult to pronounce and spell, prompting the state legislature to rename it Webster County on February 21, 1856, to honor the prominent American statesman Daniel Webster.
  • Milton County Created on December 18, 1857, from parts of Cherokee, Cobb, and Forsyth counties. It was named for John Milton, the first Secretary of State of Georgia who famously saved the state’s official records from British capture during the Revolutionary War. Unable to maintain public infrastructure or remain solvent during the Great Depression, the county was dissolved and absorbed into Fulton County on January 1, 1932.
  • Randolph County (Old) Created on December 10, 1807, from the western section of Baldwin County. It was named for John Randolph of Roanoke, a Virginia congressman whose early politics were highly popular in Georgia. After Randolph later opposed the War of 1812, outraged Georgia lawmakers stripped his name from the area on December 10, 1812, and renamed it Jasper County to honor the Revolutionary War hero Sergeant William Jasper. A completely separate Randolph County was established in southwest Georgia in 1828.
  • Walton County (Old) Created on December 10, 1803, out of newly acquired frontier lands to secure a territorial foothold near the Blue Ridge Mountains. It was named for George Walton, a signer of the United States Declaration of Independence. The creation triggered the violent “Walton War” border dispute between Georgia and North Carolina militias; it was officially abolished in 1811 after a joint astronomical boundary survey proved the entire region sat within North Carolina territory.

Head of Household Index, 1790-1860

Reconstructed 1790 Georgia

Part, Jno. 113

Partain, Jno. 168

Partain, Robt. 156

Partain, Wm. 168

Partin, Josiah 101

Partin, Norris 118

1800 Georgia

No 1800 GA Index List Book in FHL in February 2000

1810 Georgia

No 1810 GA Index List Book in FHL in February 2000

1820 Georgia

PartinCharles(Tattnall)
PartonBritton(Jones)
PartonEzekiel(Jones)

1830 Georgia

PARTIN/PARTEN/PARTAIN

PartinBennetGWN317
PartinCharlesTAT374
PartinHezekiahCRF407
PartinRobertBRY88
PartenHenryNEW34
PartenSimeonTLB340
PartainKindredLAU16
PartainWilliamWAL131

1840 Georgia

PartinBrittonCRAW375No Twp L
PartinHughTATT27440th Dis
PartinJohnTALB220No Twp L
PartinJohnTALB230No Twp L
PartinKindredLAUR153Capt Spi
PartinM.C.CRAW388No Twp L
PartinM.G.CRAW370No Twp L
PartonCharlesCHER175899th Di
PartonHubardMERI119No Twp L

1850 Georgia

PartainBenjaminMURR27363rd Sub
PartainEnochTHOM02881st Dis
Enoch30MFarmer3,500
Mary33F
PartanJ. S.UNIO21285 Distr
PartenJamesWALK383Chickama
PartenJamesWALT00188 Divis
PartenLeoanrdWALK438Chattano
PartenMarthaJACK07445th Sub
PartenRobertWARE09789 Subdi
PartenWilliam A.TROU088701 Dist
PartinBenjaminWALK411Taylor R
PartinBerry W.PAUL054950th Di
PartinG. L.FLOY30th Div
PartinG. W.CRAW38720th Div
PartinHiramEARL33725th Dis

1850, GA, Early Division: 25th, Reel No:M432-68, Page No: 337B

634Hiram30MFarmerGA
“Elizabeth24F“
“Elizabeth6F“
“Jane4F“
PartinHughTATN36679th Sub
PartinJamesWALK413Taylor R
PartinJohnTATN35179th Sub
PartinJohnHALL37638th Dis
PartinKendredLAUR25449th Div
PartinM. E.CRAW40220th Div
PartinPeterMC I21424th Dist
PartinPleasantLAUR26449th Div
PartinRichmondWALK466Mack Con
PartinRobertTATN36979th Sub
PartinWilliamWALK453W Chicka
PartinWilsonWALK403Peavine
PartonHezekiahRICH30315th Dis
PartonJamesNEWT46286th Dis
PartonMaryRICH52465th Sub
PartonSarah E. *MUSC41973rd Div
PartonWilliam J.HARR125Osborn M

1860 Georgia

PartainJr. JohnUNIO444 or 445Blairsville PO
PartainSr. JohnUNIO444 or 445Blairsville PO
PartainBenjamin E.ELBE831Elbert District
PartainHughCHAR435
PartainJamesWALK679
697193182James43MWFarmer1100SC
Judah40FWGA
James H19MWGA
Hubbard17MWGA
Lydia16FWGA
David F12MWGA
Elizabeth M8FWGA
PartainJaneDADE990
PartainLinderWALK713Cane Creek District

24 Partin’s listed

11 Parton’s listed

1860 Georgia Slave Schedule

PartainE.THOM151

1870 Georgia

PartainCatherine70FWSCJasper P OPickensM59316912
PartainDavid16MWGACenterville DistElbertM593148200
PartainHiram48MWSCJasper P OPickensM59316916
PartainJesse32MWGAJasper P OPickensM59316913
PartainJohn L.10MWGAJasper P OPickensM59316928
PartainJuda48FWGATrion Factory PCahattoogaM59314284
PartainLindsey36MWGACenterville DistElbertM593148200
PartainCynthia60FWGACenterville DistElbertM593148199
PartainThomas70MWSCJasper P OPickensM59316912
PartianRobt P41MWGAWashington P OWilkesM593184339

29 Partin’s listed

10 Parton’s listed