Historic Sites in Burke County

The history of Burke County

Burke County is one of Georgia's eight original counties, created by the state constitution of February 5, 1777, from the colonial Parish of St. George, which had been organized in 1758 on land ceded by the Creeks in 1733. It was named for Edmund Burke, the British writer and member of Parliament who spoke in defense of the American colonies. Waynesboro, laid out in 1783 and named for General Anthony Wayne, is the county seat. Portions of the original county later went to Screven, Jefferson, Richmond and Jenkins counties. During the Revolutionary War, loyalties in Burke County were sharply divided, and fighting and raids brought heavy property damage. Fertile land between the Savannah and Ogeechee rivers drew early farmers, and by the late 1700s a plantation system worked by enslaved people had emerged, making the county a leading cotton producer. After the Civil War, tenant farming and sharecropping replaced the plantation system. Figures associated with the county include Lyman Hall, a signer of the Declaration of Independence, Governor Edward Telfair, naturalist and illustrator John Abbot, politician Herschel V. Johnson and historian Charles C. Jones Jr. Landmarks include the courthouse, built in 1857 and expanded in 1899, and Bark Camp Church, organized in 1788. Since 1987 the county has also been home to Plant Vogtle, a nuclear power plant.

Sources: georgiaencyclopedia.orggeorgiahistory.com