Fayette 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 Fayette County's original boundaries.] Dooly, Houston, Monroe, Fayette, and Henry County were created in that order by the Georgia Land Lottery Act of 1821, 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.

Fayette County was organized by an act of the legislature approved Dec. 24, 1821 (Ga. Laws 1821, p. 44). That same act added the 4th, 5th, 13th, 14th, and 17th districts of Henry County to Fayette County. Later, portions of Fayette County were used to create the following counties: DeKalb (1822), Campbell (1828), Spalding (1851), and Clayton (1858).

Georgia's 51st county was named the Marquis de Lafayette (1757-1834), a French adventurer who at age 20 accepted a commission as major general in the Continental Army during the American Revolution. Lafayette became a trusted field officer and friend of Gen. George Washington, and was widely considered a hero in America.

Historical Maps

 

1821

 

1822

 

1823

 

1830

 

1834

 

1839

 

1846

 

1855

 

1863

 

1864

 

1865

 

1874

 

1883

 

1885a

 

1885b

 

1895

 

1899

 

1904

 

1910

 

1915

 

1952

 

1955

 

1970a

 

1970b

 

1999

 

2001a

 

2001b

© Carl Vinson Institute of Government, University of Georgia

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Go to Fayette County Courthouse page