This Georgia historical marker is located on the grounds of the Early County Courthouse and points…read moreout the history of the county.
It reads, "Early County, an original county, was created by Act of December 15, 1818, from Creek Cession of August 9, 1814. At first, it contained Decatur, Seminole, Baker, Mitchell, Calhoun, Miller, Dougherty and parts of Clay, Grady, and Thomas Counties. It was named for Peter Early (1773-1817), judge, state senator, Governor, Congressman. First County Officers, commissioned May 18, 1820, were: Thomas Taylor, Clerk Superior Court; Otheniel Weaver, Clerk Inferior Court; Charles Thigpen, Sur.; Mark Cole, Cor.; John Dill, Tax Rec.; Jefferson Nichols, Tax Collector. John Brockman became Sheriff in July 1820."
Peter Early was the 28th Governor of Georgia. The county is bordered on the west by the Chattahoochee River, which forms the border with Alabama. The area was developed by European-American settlers and their African-American enslaved workers for cotton plantations. Agriculture was critical to the economy into the 20th century. The Cohelee Creek Bridge in the county is the southernmost covered bridge still standing. One of the last wooden flagpoles from the American Civil War era is located at the historic courthouse in downtown Blakely.
[Review 14767 overall, 268 of 2021, number 402 in Georgia.]