In the Treaty of Coweta in 1739, the Creek Indians formally ceded to Britain all coastal lands and islands as far south as the St. Johns River. Thus, on this date, the Creek Indians officially gave up any claims to the land that would become Glynn County.

After the Trustees surrendered their charter in 1752, Georgia became a royal colony. By an act of March 15, 1758, the colonial legislature created seven parishes. Because South Carolina still claimed the land south of the Altamaha River, none of Georgia's new parishes involved the mainland south of the river. However, the legislature did assert a claim to St. Simons Island, which became St. James Parish.

On March 25, 1765, Georgia's colonial assembly divided the territory south of the Altamaha River into four new parishes. Two of these parishes -- St. David and St. Patrick -- would later be combined to form the mainland portion of Glynn County. Additionally, the 1765 act assigned Jekyll Island to St. James Parish, meaning that this parish consisted entirely of St. Simons and Jekyll islands.

With the outbreak of the American Revolution, Whig forces took control of government in Georgia. On Feb. 5, 1777, they adopted the state's first constitution -- the Constitution of 1777. Art. IV of that document transformed the existing colonial parishes into seven counties, with Indian ceded lands to the north forming an eighth county. Glynn County, which was seventh on the list and thus is considered Georgia's seventh county, consisted of all of St. David and St. Patrick parishes (see map).

In 1789, the legislature added St. Simons and Jekyll islands to Glynn County. In 1805, the legislature formed Wayne County entirely from western areas of Glynn County.

Census

Pop. 

2000

 67,568

1990

62,496

1980

 54,981

1970

50,528

1960

41,954

1950

29,046

1940

 21,920

1930

 19,400

1920

19,370

1910

15,720

1900

14,317

1890

13,420

1880

6,497

1870

5,376

1860

3,889

1850

4,933

1840

5,302

1830

4,567

1820

3,418

1810

 3,417

1800

  1,874

1790

 413