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Other Information: Baldwin County's first courthouse was a
log cabin owned by George Hill in the settlement of Hillsborough.
Here, the first court session was held on June 26, 1806. In Dec.
1807, the legislature created four new counties from Baldwin,
with Hillsborough transferred to newly created Randolph (later
renamed Jasper) County. At the same session, the legislature
designated Milledgeville as the new county seat of Baldwin County
and authorized county court sessions to be held in the state
capitol. On Dec. 22, 1808, the General Assembly authorized Baldwin
County to levy a tax to build a courthouse on the southeast corner
of Penetentiary Square. Until the courthouse could be erected,
county court sessions were to be held in a rented house. Baldwin
County's first real courthouse was completed in 1814 at a cost
of $3,975. This building was used until replaced by a larger
courthouse built on the same site in 1847. This courthouse burned
in 1861, after which court sessions were held in the Georgia
Capitol, the Milledgeville Opera House, and the local Masonic
Hall. In 1883, the legislature authorized Baldwin County to borrow
up to $25,000 to build four fireproof county offices, as well
as a courthouse, on the site of the former courthouse. In 1885,
work began on the new courthouse, which was completed in 1887
(see
photo). This courthouse was remodeled in 1937 and 1965. In
1990, planning began on a new courthouse. After local option
sales tax referendums were approved in 1990 and 1992, construction
of a new courthouse began in 1995 and was completed in 1997.
County Courthouse Historical
Marker: None
County History:
In 1802, the Creek Indians and U.S. commissioners signed the
Treaty
of Fort Wilkinson, which ceded Creek lands in two different
areas to Georgia. The northern cession involved land west of
the Oconee River, which the legislature divided into two new
counties -- Baldwin and Wilkinson -- on May 11, 1803. Georgia's
29th county (see
map) was named for Abraham
Baldwin, one of Georgia's two signers of the U.S. Constitution
and founder of the University of Georgia. In 1805, the Creeks
signed the Treaty
of Washington, which extended Georgia westward to the Ocmulgee
River. An act of June 26, 1806 added lands ceded by the Creeks
to Baldwin and Wilkinson counties (see
map). On Dec. 10, 1807, the legislature divided Baldwin County
into four new counties -- Morgan, Jones, Putnam, and Randolph
(which was renamed Jasper). In the same act, Baldwin County was
given land east of the Oconee River from Hancock and Washington
counties (see
map).
County Seat:
In June 1806, the Baldwin County's first court session was
held in a log cabin in Hillsborough (a small settlement today
located in Jasper County about 25 miles northwest of Milledgeville).
In Dec. 1807, the legislature formed four new counties from portions
of Baldwin County. The same month, the legislature designated
Milledgeville county seat, since Hillsborough was now part of
newly created Randolph County (later renamed Jasper County).
Milledgeville was laid out to be Georgia's new state capital
and first settled in 1803. [Click here
for more information on Milledgeville as state capital.] Incorporated
as a town on Dec. 8, 1806, Milledgeville as named for former
governor John
Milledge (1757-1818).
Maps
Size of County (Total
Area): 267.5 square miles
County Rank in Total
Area: 115th out of 159
Population:
Baldwin County
City of Milledgeville
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