This County created by Act of the Legislature Dec. 19, 1793, is named for Jonathan Bryan, Revolutionary patriot and member of the Executive Council in 1777. The ‘lost town´ of Hardwick on the Ogeechee River was the first temporary County Site. Laid out in 1755, it was named for Lord Hardwick, Lord Chancellor of England, a relative of the then Gov. Reynolds. Two Royal Governors recommended that it be the Capital of Georgia. An Act of 1797 designated a new County Site at Cross Roads, 2 miles from Ogeechee Bridge. The Site was later moved to Clyde and then Pembroke.
GHM 015-1 GEORGIA HISTORICAL COMMISSION 1954
Plaque courtesy Lat34North.com.
Original page, with additional info, here.
Photo credit: Byron Hooks of Lat34North.com.