Franklin and Washington counties were created on Feb. 25, 1784 by an act of the General Assembly (Mar. & Cr., p. 330). They were the first new counties established in Georgia after the Revolutionary War and were fashioned from lands ceded by the Cherokees and Creeks in the Treaties of Augusta in 1783.

Named for Benjamin Franklin, Georgia's 9th county consisted of all ceded lands north of Cherokee Corner on the eastern tip of today's Clarke County -- an area that includes all of today's Banks, Barrow, Clarke, Jackson, Oconee, and Stephens counties, plus portions of Habersham, Hart, Hall, Gwinnett, and Madison counties. Though the Georgia Land Office began granting headright and bounty land grants in the new county, it was several years before the county had enough inhabitants to organize a county government.

Created entirely from Franklin County were Jackson County (1796) and Habersham County (1818). Additionally, portions of Franklin County were used to help create the following counties: Madison (1811), Hart (1853), Banks (1858), and Stephens (1905).

Historical Maps

 

1796

 

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

Go to Historical Atlas of Georgia Counties

Go to Franklin County Courthouse page