Historic Sites in Meriwether County

The history of Meriwether County

Meriwether County was created in 1827 as Georgia's seventy-first county, formed from 503 square miles taken from Troup County on land formerly held by the Muscogee (Creek) Nation. It honors David Meriwether, a Revolutionary War general whose later career included work as an interpreter with the Muscogee (Creek), service in the state legislature, and a seat in the U.S. Congress. The county seat, Greenville, was established in 1828 and named for Revolutionary general Nathanael Greene; its name was originally spelled Greeneville. Cotton processing helped drive the early economy, and beginning in 1832 resorts with inns and cabins grew up around the county's mineral springs, where water at about 88 degrees flows year-round. Those springs drew national attention after Franklin D. Roosevelt, seeking relief from the effects of polio, first came to Warm Springs in 1924. He championed a rehabilitation center for polio patients, completed a house known as the Little White House in 1932, and died there on April 12, 1945, during his fourth term as president. The Little White House has been open to the public as a memorial since 1948 and, together with the surrounding historic district, was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1980. Meriwether County also produced Governor John M. Slaton and food scientist Jasper Guy Woodroof.

Sources: georgiaencyclopedia.orggeorgiaencyclopedia.org