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Other Information:
Lanier County's first courthouse was built in 1921 -- the year
after the county's creation. It was replaced by the present courthouse
in 1973.
County Courthouse Historical
Marker: Click
here
County History:
In an act of Aug. 11, 1919, the General Assembly proposed a constitutional
amendment to create Lanier County from Berrien, Clinch, and Lowndes
counties (Ga. Laws 1919, p. 68). An act of Aug. 7, 1920 amended
the constitutional amendment to redefine the boundaries of the
new county (Ga. Laws 1920, p. 45). Georgia voters approved the
constitutional amendment on Nov. 2, 1920, which marks the official
date of Lanier County's creation (although a state historical
marker on the courthouse grounds incorrectly lists Aug. 11, 1919
[the day the legislative act proposing the constitutional amendment
was approved] and Aug. 7, 1920 [the day that act was amended]
as the dates Lanier County was created).
According to the constitutional amendment as amended, Lanier
County's legal boundaries were defined as:
Beginning at the northwest corner of land Lot 312, in the
10th land district of Berrien County, thence running south along
the west line of Lots 312, 333, 358, 379, 404, 425 and 450 to
the southwest corner of said Lot 450, thence westward along the
north lines of Lots 470 and 469 to the northwest corner of Lot
469, thence south along the west lines of Lots 469, 498 and 515
to the southwest corner of Lot 515, thence east along the south
lines of Lots 515 and 516 to the northwest corner of Lot 231,
all of said lots being in the 10th District of Berrien County;
thence south along the west lines of Lots 231, 232, 233, 234,
235 and 236 to the southwest corner of said Lot 236, all of said
lots being in the 11th District of Lowndes County; thence east
along the south lines of Lots 236, 271, 282, 317, 328, 363, 374,
409, 420 to the run of Alapaha River in Lowndes County, all of
said lots in the 11th District of Lowndes County, and thence
down the run of said Alapaha River in a southerly and southeasterly
direction to where said run of said river crosses the present
line between the Counties of Clinch and Echols, said line being
the run of Cow Creek at said point, thence easterly and northeasterly
along the run of said Cow Creek to a point where said creek leaves
the present line between Clinch and Echols Counties, thence easterly
and southeasterly along the present line between the Counties
of Clinch and Echols to the southeast portion of lot of land
519 that lies in the present County of Clinch, and in the 11th
District of said county; thence north along the east lines of
lots of land 519, 518, 517, 516, 515, 514, 513, 512, 511, 510,
509, 508, 507 in the 11th District, and 529, 484, 483, 438, 437,
392, 391, 346, 345, 300, 299, 254, 253 to the northeast corner
of said Lot 253, in the 10th District, all in the County of Clinch;
thence westward along the north lines of Lots 253, 252, 251,
250 and 249 to the run of Alapaha River in a southerly direction
to where the run of said river crosses the north line of Lot
304 in the 10th District of Berrien County; thence westward along
the north lines of Lots 304, 305, 306, 307, 308, 309, 310, 311
and 312, in the 10th District of Berrien County, to the northwest
corner of said Lot 312, the starting point.
Why was Lanier County created by constitutional amendment
instead of an act of the General Assembly? In 1904, Georgia voters
had approved a constitutional amendment limiting the number of
counties in the state to 145. The next year, the General Assembly
created eight new counties, bringing the total number to 145
-- the constitutional limit. Nevertheless, there was continuing
pressure to create more counties. Beginning in 1906, lawmakers got
around the 145-county limitation by creating new counties through
constitutional amendments that were not subject to the limitation.
Lanier County was created from portions of Berrien, Clinch,
and Lowndes counties (see
legal description of boundaries). Georgia's 157th county
was named for Georgia poet Sidney
Lanier.
County Seat:
The legislation proposing a constitutional amendment to create
Lanier County designated Milltown, then located in Berrien County,
as county seat (Ga. Laws 1919, p. 68).The date of Milltown's
initial settlement is not clear, but on Dec. 17, 1901, the legislature
incorporated the community as a town (Ga. Laws 1901, p. 535).
On Aug. 11, 1925, the legislature changed the name of Milltown
to Lakeland (Ga. Laws 1925, p. 1217).
Maps
Size of County (Total
Area): 199.8 square miles
County Rank in Total
Area: 140th out of 159
Population:
Lanier County
City of Lakeland
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