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Other Information:
An act of Dec. 24, 1821 organizing Houston (pronounced "HOUSE
- ton") County authorized the five justices of the county's
inferior court to select a county seat and provide for erection
of a courthouse and jail (Ga. Laws 1821, p. 44). Until a courthouse
could be build, court sessions were to be held at such places
as designated by the inferior court. It is not clear what served
as Houston County courthouse for the next three decades. In Mar.
1856, the legislature authorized Houston County to levy a special
tax in 1856 and 1857 to finance construction of a new courthouse
and jail (Ga. Laws 1855-56, p. 547). This new courthouse may
be the one seen in a photograph taken at some time prior to 1907
(see
photo). This structure was replaced by a new courthouse in
1948 (see
photo). Because of the need for a larger and more modern
facility, Houston County voters approved a special-purpose local
option sales tax to fund construction of a new courthouse in
Perry. Construction of the new courthouse began in 2000, with
the new courthouse dedicated in November 2002.
County Courthouse Historical
Marker: Click
here
County History:
Houston County was created on May 15, 1821 by an act of the General
Assembly (Ga. Laws 1821 Extra. Session, p. 3). [Click here
to read the legal description of Houston County's original boundaries.]
Dooly, Houston, Monroe, Fayette, and Henry County were created
in that order by the Georgia Land Lottery Act of 1821 (see
text), which was enacted at a special session of the General
Assembly four months after the Creek Indians ceded lands between
the Ocmulgee and Flint rivers (see
map) on Jan. 8, 1821 in the first Treaty
of Indian Springs. Houston County was organized by an act
of the legislature approved Dec. 24, 1821 (Ga. Laws 1821, p.
44). Later, portions of Houston County were used to create the
following counties: DeKalb, Bibb, Pike, and Crawford (1822);
Macon (1837); and Peach (1924).
Georgia's 49th county was named for Gov. John
Houstoun (1744-1796).
Click here
for more information on the history of Houston County.
County Seat:
The Dec. 24, 1821 act organizing Houston County authorized the
justices of the inferior court to select the location of the
county seat. In 1823, Houston County's inferior court designated
land lot 49 in the tenth district as the site of the county seat.
On Dec. 21, 1823, the legislature designated this site as permanent
county seat and named it Perry (Ga. Laws 1823, p. 172). The name
honored U.S. Navy Capt. Oliver H. Perry,
who defeated the British in the Battle of Lake Erie. On Dec. 9,
1824, the legislature incorporated Perry as a town (Ga. Laws 1824,
p. 148).
Maps
Size of County (Total
Area): 379.9 square miles
County Rank in Total
Area: 65tth out of 159
Population:
Houston County
City of Perry
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