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Other Information: The
1858 act creating Echols County provided for election of county
officials on the first Monday of April 1859. At that time, the
newly elected justices of the inferior court were empowered to
provide for erection of a courthouse and other public buildings.
In 1859, Echols County's first courthouse -- a frame building
-- was constructed in Statenville. Sometime in the 1870s, a two-story
wooden courthouse was completed, though it burned in 1897. The
county courts used the Masonic Hall or rented meeting rooms until
a new two-story structure was completed in 1899 [see
photo]. The current courthouse was completed and occupied
in 1956.
County Courthouse Historical
Marker: Click
here
County History: Echols County was created from Clinch and
Lowndes counties on Dec. 13, 1858 by an act of the General Assembly
(Ga. Laws 1858, p. 37). Georgia's 132nd county was named for
Brig. Gen. Robert Echols (1798-1847), a Georgian who died during
the Mexican War. Prior to the war, Echols had represented Walton
County in the Georgia House of Representatives (1824-1829) and
in the Georgia Senate (1830-1844), including six years as president
of that body (1835-37, 1839, and 1841-42). [Click here for more
information on Robert Echols]
County Seat: The 1858 act creating Echols County named
Harris Tomlinson, Guilford Register, and William B. Cruise as
commissioners with authority to select the site and purchase
land for location of the county seat. The legislation further
provided that voters of the county assemble at the town of Troublesome
on the first Monday in April 1859 and elect county officials.
If, by the time of the election, the commissioners had not selected
a county seat, the newly elected justices of the inferior court
would be empowered to select the county seat. In 1859, either
the commissioners or the inferior court designated Statenville
as county seat. The settlement had been named for the community's
first store owner, Capt. James Staten. [Click here for more
information on James Staten] The General Assembly incorporated
Statenville by an act of Dec. 13, 1859 (Ga. Laws 1859, p. 200).
(Unfortunately, the act incorrectly identified the new town as
"Statesville" rather than "Statenville" -- a mistake that
has never been corrected. Nevertheless, highway maps and local
residents identify the town as "Statenville.")
In 1958, the General Assembly approved a local act redrawing
the boundaries of Statenville. According to the legislation,
the town's new boundaries consisted of the Echols County courthouse
square -- meaning that the city had no official population. In
1965, the legislature approved a local act giving Statenville
a new city charter (and one that spelled its name correctly).
The legislation required approval in a referendum, but Statenville
voters turned down the new charter.
By the early 1990s, Statenville was one of over 100 official
towns that provided few if any services to their citizens. Some
of these towns had long been inactive-- but legally they retained
the status of an incorporated municipality. In an effort to deal
with this problem, the General Assembly enacted legislation mandating
that any incorporated city in Georgia must provide its citizens
with at least three municipal services or lose its charter (O.C.G.A.
sec. 36-30-7.1).
Though given a grace period to comply, over 100 small or inactive
towns -- including Statenville -- lost their municipal charters
on July 1, 1995. At that point, they became unincorporated communities
under the jurisdiction of their county governments. Today, Echols,
Columbia, and Crawford are the only Georgia counties with an
unincorporated community serving as county seat.
Maps
Size of County (Total
Area): 420.8 square miles
County Rank in Total
Area: 55th out of 159
Population:
Echols County
Community of Statenville
- The U.S. Census Bureau does not maintain official population
figures for unincorporated communities
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