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Other Information:
Muscogee County's first courthouse was a simple wooden structure
built around 1829 or 1830 in the 1500 block of First Avenue.
This building was replaced by a three-story brick structure in
1838 (see photo).
A larger, domed courthouse was built on the same site in 1896
(see photo
1, photo
2, and photo
3) at a cost of $63,500. In 1971, Columbus and Muscogee County
merged, and construction of a new government complex for the
consolidated government began in 1972.The new courthouse was
built behind the old courthouse, and for a brief period, both
courthouses stood (see photo).
With completion of thenew courthouse in 1973, the old courthouse
was torn down.
County Courthouse Historical
Marker: None for courthouse or county
County History:
On Feb. 12, 1825, a group of Creek Indians led by William McIntosh
signed the Treaty
of Indian Springs, in which they ceded all of their remaining
lands in present-day Georgia. Subsequently, in an act of June
9, 1825 (see
text), the General Assembly provided that the land ceded
by the treaty be divided into five sections, surveyed into districts
and land lots, and distributed by land lottery (Ga. Laws 1825
Extra. Session., p. 3). [See
map of sections] On Dec. 14, 1826, the legislature redesignated
the five land sections as the counties of Lee, Muscogee, Troup,
Coweta, and Carroll and provided for their organization (Ga.
Laws 1826, p. 57). [See
map of five counties] [Click here
to see legal description of Muscogee County's original boundaries.]
Despite the fact that the five counties were not named until
Dec. 14, 1826, the date their respective boundaries were established
-- June 9, 1825 -- is generally accepted as the date of their
creation. Because the five counties were provided for in the
same act, their order of creation is based on the order they
were mentioned in the act -- Lee, Muscogee, Troup, Coweta, and
Carroll. Thus, Lee was Georgia's 61st county, while Muscogee
was 62nd.
Muscogee County was named for the Muscogee Indians, otherwise
known as the Creek Indians.
In 1827, a portion of Muscogee County was used to create Harris
County.
In 1969, the General Assembly created a special commission
to draft a charter to consolidate the city of Columbus and Muscogee
County into a single countywide government. [At the time, there
was one other incorporated municipality in Muscogee County--the
town of Bibb City. Its residents and officials decided not to
be part of the consolidation, so it was exempted from the new
charter.] In May 1970, voters of Columbus and Muscogee County
approved the merger in separate referendums. Election of officials
took place in Nov. 1970, and the new consolidated government
went into effect on Jan. 1, 1971. Subsequently, in an act of
Oct. 5, 1971, the General Assembly enacted the charter into law,
although confirming the previous Jan. 1 as the effective date
of the new consolidated government (Ga. Laws 1971 Extra. Session,
p. 2007).
Bibb City, incorporated by superior court in August 1909,
continued to function as an independent municipality through
2000. However, when the Bibb Mill closed in 1998, the town lost
its principal source of tax revenue. In December 2000, the town
council voted to give up its charter and become part of the Columbus-Muscogee
consolidated government (see
story). Consequently, the General Assembly in 2001 repealed
Bibb City's charter.
County Seat:
The Dec. 24, 1827 act organizing Muscogee County provided that
initial county elections be held in the town of Columbus. The
law also provided that the justices of the county's inferior
court select the site for the county seat and provide for erection
of public buildings.They selected Columbus, which was laid out
July 10, 1828. Subsequently, the legislature incorporated it
on Dec. 24, 1828 (Ga. Laws 1828, p. 153).
Maps
Size of County (Total
Area): 221.0 square miles
County Rank in Total
Area: 132nd out of 159
Population:
Columbus-Muscogee County
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