Historic Sites in Crisp County

The history of Crisp County

Crisp County was created in 1905 from Dooly County, and it is named for Charles F. Crisp, who served as Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives in the early 1890s. The region, known to early Spanish chroniclers as Ichisi, lay within the territory of the Lower Muscogee (Creek) people, and Hernando de Soto's expedition passed through in 1540. Cordele, the county seat, was founded in 1888 by J. E. D. Shipp, and nearby Arabi was founded the same year. Railroads arriving in the 1880s made Cordele a junction of several lines, earning it the nickname Hub City. On the Flint River, after a 1925 amendment to the state constitution authorized it, the Crisp County Power Commission built a hydroelectric dam that began generating power in August 1930, creating Lake Blackshear and bringing electricity to rural areas that had never had it. The plant is recognized as the first hydroelectric facility owned, built, and operated by a county. Georgia Veterans State Park now lines the lake's shore. Farms around Cordele have long produced melons, peaches, peanuts, and pecans, and the city celebrates its watermelon heritage with an annual festival. Crisp County natives include novelist Mac Hyman, author of No Time for Sergeants, and jazz singer Joe Williams of Count Basie's band.

Sources: georgiaencyclopedia.orgcrispcountypower.com