Historic Sites in Toombs County

The history of Toombs County

Toombs County was created in 1905 from parts of Emanuel, Montgomery and Tattnall counties and named for Robert Toombs, who represented Georgia in the U.S. House and Senate before serving the Confederacy as secretary of state and as a brigadier general. The Muscogee (Creek) were the area's original inhabitants, and Scots Highlanders made up a large share of the earliest white settlers. Railroads arrived in the 1890s, and settlers followed them into the pine forests to cut timber and produce naval stores such as turpentine. The county seat, Lyons, was incorporated in 1897 and named for a railroad promoter. Beginning in the 1930s, the sweet onion grown around the city of Vidalia became the county's signature crop, and Vidalia came to call itself the "Sweet Onion Capital of the World." During World War II, from 1941 to 1945, an Army Air Forces field at Vidalia stimulated local business and drew military recruits. Historic places open to visitors include the 1930 Seaboard Air Line Railway depot and the Altama Museum of Art and History, while the present Toombs County Courthouse was built in 1964. Natives of the county include Pittsburgh Steelers defensive back Mel Blount and James T. McIntyre, who directed the federal Office of Management and Budget under President Jimmy Carter.

Sources: georgiaencyclopedia.org