Historic Sites in Turner County

The history of Turner County

Turner County was created in 1905 from portions of Dooly, Irwin, Wilcox and Worth counties, making it one of the later additions to Georgia's county map. It honors Henry Gray Turner, a Confederate veteran who went on to serve in the U.S. Congress and as a justice of the Georgia Supreme Court. The land was once home to Muscogee (Creek) and Seminole people, who lost it during the era of the Seminole Wars, and many of the first white settlers were of Irish or German descent. The county seat, Ashburn, grew from a crossroads known first as Troupville Crossroads and then Marion. When the Georgia Southern and Florida Railroad surveyed its route through the area in 1889, the town took the name of W. W. Ashburn, a landowner and bank president who helped arrange land sales, and it was incorporated in 1890 while still part of Worth County. The rail line linking Macon and Florida fueled that growth. The Turner County Courthouse, completed in 1907, remains the only courthouse the county has recorded. Farming has always anchored the economy, with cotton, peanuts and pecans as leading crops. Turner County was also the birthplace of Henry T. Elrod, the Marine aviator awarded the Medal of Honor for his defense of Wake Island in December 1941.

Sources: georgiaencyclopedia.orgen.wikipedia.orgen.wikipedia.org