The land that would form Burke County was ceded to the English by the Creeks in the Treaty of Savannah on May 21, 1733, confirmed and expanded by agreements of 1735 and 1736. By an act of March 15, 1758, the colonial legislature created seven parishes. With the outbreak of the American Revolution, Whig forces took control of government in Georgia. On Feb. 5, 1777, they adopted the state's first constitution -- the Constitution of 1777. Art. IV of that document transformed the existing colonial parishes into seven counties, with Indian ceded lands forming an eighth county. Burke County, which was third on the list and thus is considered Georgia's third county, consisted of Saint George parish (see map). The county was named for Edmund Burke, a member of the British Parliament who championed the rights of the American colonies.

Between 1793 and 1905, the legislature took land from Burke County to help form the new counties of Warren and Screven (1793), Jefferson (1796), and Jenkins (1905), and to add area to Richmond County (1841).

Historical Maps

 

1777

 

1796

 

1822

 

1823

 

1830

 

1834

 

1839

 

1846

 

1855

 

1863

 

1864

 

1865a

 

1865b

 

1874

 

1883

 

1885a

 

1885b

 

1895

 

1899

 

1904

 

1910

 

1915

 

1952

 

1955

 

1970a

 

1970b

 

1999

 

2001a

 

2001b

© Carl Vinson Institute of Government, University of Georgia

Go to Historical Atlas of Georgia Counties

Go to Burke County Courthouse page