Douglas County, Georgia: History and Information

Douglas County, Georgia

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

County Seat: Douglasville
Year Organized: 1870
Square Miles: 199

Court House:

8700 Hospital Drive
County Courthouse
Douglasville, GA 30134-2264

Etymology - Origin of County Name

named after Stephen A. Douglas, a US Congressman and rival of Abraham Lincoln for the presidency.

History

Douglas County was formed in from parts of Carroll and old Campbell counties plus a small section of the original Cherokee County.

The county was named after Stephen A. Douglas, a US Congressman and rival of Abraham Lincoln for the presidency. Douglasville, the county seat, was named after the county in 1875.

The area around Douglas County was settled in 1848 by Abe, Reuben and Young Vansant, three brothers from South Carolina.

Around the turn of the century, Lithia Springs was the site of a prestigious resort hotel for the nation's rich and famous. Visitors were attracted to the therapeutic mineral waters of Lithia Springs until fire destroyed the hotel in 1911.

Ceremonial mounds of the Mississippian Indians are located in the county. Other Indian artifacts and remains, such as pottery, tools, and weapons, can be found within Douglas County.

Points of Interest

Within the boundaries of Douglas County lies Sweetwater Creek State Conservation Park. Offering fishing, boating, and hiking, the park is the third most visited facility in the state park system.

Douglas County is home to several Civil War battle sites. The ruins of the New Manchester Manufacturing Company's cotton factory lie on the banks of Sweetwater Creek. The factory was destroyed by Union troops during Sherman's March to the Sea.

Neighboring Counties:

Northeast: Cobb County; Fulton County

Southwest: Carroll County

Northwest: Paulding County

Cities and Towns:

- Douglasville (County Seat)

city

Incorporated Area

County Resources:

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."

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