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Other Information:
Mitchell County's first courthouse -- a two-story wood building
-- was built in 1858. This structure burned in 1869 and was replaced
the next year by a similar courthouse. The county's third courthouse
was built in 1890 (see
photo) and served until 1936, when the present courthouse
was completed as a WPA project.
County Courthouse Historical
Marker: Click
here
County History:
Mitchell County was created from Baker County on Dec. 21, 1857
by an act of the General Assembly (Ga. Laws 1857, p. 38). The
county was formed from all portions of Baker County east of the
Flint River. Georgia's 123rd county was named for Gen. Henry Mitchell
(1760-1839), a hero of the American Revolution, state militia officer,
and former president of the Georgia Senate (1808-09). [Some sources
have suggested that the county may have been named for David Mitchell
(1766-1837), who served as Georgia governor 1809-1813 and 1815-1817.However,
the act creating Mitchell County specifically states that it was
named in honor of Gen. Henry Mitchell.]
County Seat:
The Dec. 21, 1857 legislation creating Mitchell County provided
for election of county officials in March 1858. After that election,
the new justices of the inferior court were empowered to select
a "central and convenient place" to serve as county seat,
to lay off the site into lots and streets, to provide for erection
of a courthouse and other public buildings, and to make temporary
arrangements for a site to conduct county business until a courthouse
could be built. At some point in 1858, the inferior court designated
Camilla as county seat and had a courthouse built. On Dec. 14, 1858,
the legislature incorporated Camilla to consist of all territory
within one mile of the courthouse (Ga. Laws 1858, p. 135). Reportedly,
the town was named for Camilla Mitchell, granddaughter of Gen. Henry
Mitchell.
Maps
Size of County (Total
Area): 513.8 square miles
County Rank in Total
Area: 25th out of 159
Population:
Mitchell County
City of Camilla
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