Houston ["H-o-w-s-t-o-n"] County was named for John Houstoun, son of Sir Patrick Houston, one of the companions of Oglethorpe.
Before the Treaty of Indian Spring on 8 January 1821, Georgia's jurisdiction extended only to the Ocmulgee River. Beyond, to the west, was Indian country in possession of the Creeks. On that day, the Creek tribes ceded their lands lying between the Ocmulgee and Flint rivers to Georgia.
On 15 May 1821, an act of the General Assembly was approved and provided that the lands acquired be divided into 5 counties: Henry, Fayette,Monroe, Houston, and Dooly. Houston County's eastern boundary was the Ocmulgee; it's western, the Flint River. It extended to the north to a line commencing on the Ocmulgee river opposite Fort Hawkins (now the city of Macon), and to the south to another line commencing on the Ocmulgee opposite the town of Hartford.
On 21 December 1821, an act was approved and passed by the General Assembly of Georgia to organize the five counties. For Houston County, the following individuals were appointed commissioners for the superintending of an election of five Justices of the Inferior Court: Turner EVERETT, Daniel CORNWALL, Nathaniel MCCALL, John KEENER, Thomas HARVEY, Washington ROGERS, and Eli NUNN. The Inferior Court would organize the new county and set in motion its machinery. The five Justices of this Inferior Court were Kinchen CURL, John MATHIS, Davenport LAWSON, Newdaygate OUSLEY, and Daniel W. MANN.
Long before there were towns in Houston County, cultivated fields dotted the Ocmulgee's western banks. One and two room log cabins soon followed, and families from Twiggs and Pulaski counties began to cross the river.
Among the first settlers of Houston County were as follows: Abner WIMBERLY, James and David CLARK, Allen SUTTON, Allen WILLIAMS, Meredith JOINER, Thomas GILBERT, J. M. KELLEY, Col. Howell COBB, Lewis HUNT, Daniel DUPREE, Jacob LITTLE, James EVERETT, Rev. Daniel MCKENZIE, Thomas SCOTT, David W. MANN, Henry W. KALEY, Jesse POLLOCK, Amos WINGATE, James DUNCAN, Jacob PEARCE and E. PATILLO.
The name of the first child born in Houston county was Milton WRIGHT. He was born 19 December 1823.
The first marriage license issued, according to records, was on 25 August 1825 to John WILLIAMS and Susan YEARLY. The ceremony was performed by Robert GAWLEY, J.P.
The first deed was recorded 15 June 1822, Soloman BRASWELL to Shedrick DENNARD on 31 December 1821. It conveyed 202.5 acres of land for $100.
The first grist mill was built by Mr. William H. MOORE on Juniper Creek, now Mule Creek, near Powersville.
The population in 1829 was Whites - 1448, Blacks - 325, Total - 1773. At that time, Perry was the only post office in the county.
On 9 December 1822, the legislature laid out four new counties. Of these, Bibb and Crawford were given a large slice off the northern side of Houston's territory. Six years later, another section on the south and southeast was added to Pulaski County. In 1837, Macon County was created, taking a large part of Houston's western territory. From time to time, minor changes were made to the county lines, but from 1837 to 4 November 1927, when Peach County was created (by which Houston's territory was further reduced), Houston County remained one of the largest and one of the most populous counties in Georgia.
Awarded to Stephanie Lincecum for her AHGP Georgia Counties
August 17, 2002
This Award is given to a Georgia American History and Genealogy Project County and it's host for Excellence in Ongoing Research and for all the tireless hours of compiling and gathering information to be put on the internet to help other researchers. Thanks for a job well done. Award designed by Rhio Gillis. To see more of her work, go to Rhio's Sampler.
Hi! My name is Stephanie, and I have been researching my family history for several years. As time went by, I became increasingly interested in the total history surrounding my family, the places they lived, the things they experienced, and so on. This then spilled over into a general love of history, whether it involves my family or not! Therefore, by hosting Houston and several other counties in Georgia, I am fulfilling my passion. Hopefully, I am helping you fulfill yours, as well. However, we cannot do it alone. If you have information, transcriptions, photos, or just about anything you would like to submit to the Houston County, Georgia American History and Genealogy Project, please email me. I guarantee you will retain all rights to your submissions.
Addresses:
