Chatham County, Georgia

Chatham County History, Geography, Demographics, Cities and Towns, and Education

County Seat: Savannah
Year Organized: 1777
Square Miles: 440

Court House:

P.O. Box 8161
County Courthouse
Savannah, GA 31412-8161

Etymology - Origin of County Name

The county was named for one of England's most celebrated prime ministers, William Pitt, the Earl of Chatham.

Demographics:

County QuickFacts: Census Bureau Quick Facts

History

Chatham County, the 3rd county formed in Georgia, was created from what had been Christ Church Parish and part of St. Phillip's Parish, dating from 1758. The county was named for one of England's most celebrated prime ministers, William Pitt, the Earl of Chatham.

Comprising the state's northern most coastal area, at the mouth of the Savannah River, Chatham County includes the site on which General James Oglethorpe landed in 1733 to establish the Georgia Colony.

Points of Interest

Savannah is home to a National Historic Landmark District of 2.5 square miles, and more than 1,100 architecturally significant buildings. The Victorian District is one of the nation's largest collections of that period's architecture.

Notable Citizens

Chatham County claims many notable people. James Habersham was the Secretary and Acting Governor of the Colony, and Joseph Habersham was the first Postmaster of the United States. Joseph also was the leader of a group known as the Liberty Boys who stole British ammunition and sent it to Boston at the outbreak of the Revolutionary War. Juliette Gordon Lowe, the founder of the Girl Scouts, was from Savannah. Also, famous songwriter and musician Johnny Mercer hails from the county.

Higher Education

Armstrong Atlantic State University, South College, Savannah College of Art and Design, and Savannah State University.

Neighboring Counties:

North: Jasper County, S.C.
Southeast: North Atlantic Ocean
Southwest: Bryan County
Northwest: Effingham County

Cities and Towns:

- Bloomingdale	city	Incorporated Area
- Garden City	city	Incorporated Area
- Pooler	city	Incorporated Area
- Port Wentworth	city	Incorporated Area
- Savannah (County Seat)	city	Incorporated Area
- Thunderbolt	town	Incorporated Area
- Tybee Island	city	Incorporated Area
- Vernonburg	town	Incorporated Area

County Resources:

County http://www.chathamcounty.org/

Chamber of Commerce http://www.savannahchamber.com/

Additional County Info http://www.georgiaplanning.com/CountyPortal/countyportal.asp?FIPS=13051

County Resource Guide

Counties: US Map

The history of our nation can be seen as a prolonged struggle to define the relative roles and powers of our governments: federal, state, and local. And the names we've given our counties, our most locally based jurisdictions, reflects the "characteristic features of our country!"

But age, size and colorful names of our counties isn't the only reason to explore counties' role in American history, or the history of county government itself. In fact, the story of county government reflects the larger meanings of American history.

Today's counties are the most flexible, locally responsive and creative governments in the US. They are the most diverse, varying in size, population, geography, and governmental structure. In their politics and policies, they express a 1990's political slogan "Think globally, act locally."

Penn Foster High School

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