This week in Georgia History: New counties were born and Atlanta made a bid to become state capitol

February 24, 2019
1 min read
The last week of February has a history of county creation and notable births and deaths. Here's a rundown of this week's notable moments in Georgia history.

The last week of February has a history of county creation and notable births and deaths. Here’s a rundown of this week’s notable moments in Georgia history.

February 24

1777: Archibald Bulloch, a revolutionary war soldier and great-great grandfather of Theodore Roosevelt died.
1875: Liquor sales to minors outlawed
1877: The lottery became illegal. Obviously, that didn’t stick.
1883: One half of what we now know as the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, The Atlanta Journal, began publication. The Constitution, which the journal would one day merge with was already around.
1932: Former Georgia Governor and Senator Zell Miller was born.

February 25

1784: Washington and Franklin Counties were created.
1856: Berrien and Colquitt Counties were created.
1875: Oconee County was created. February 25, is apparently a wonderful day for creating new counties.
1948: Martin Luther King Jr. was ordained.

February 26

1856: Miller County was created.
1868: After a line from Atlanta to Savannah was burned during the Civil War, the new South was putting itself back together. On this day, the city of Atlanta voted to lobby Georgia’s Constitutional Convention to become the new state capitol.
1996: The Atlanta Braves visited White House after becoming world champions.

February 27

1942: Martha Berry a big name in education and the namesake of Berry College died.

February 28

1766: Former Georgia governor John Clark(e) was born.
1977: Country singer Jason Aldean was born.