Elbert County
Created from Wilkes County by Act of Dec. 10, 1790, Elbert County was settled in 1784 by Gen. George Mathews and a group from Virginia and Carolina. The site of Petersburg, the original settlement and third largest town in Georgia in its day, is covered by the Clark Hill Reservoir. Nancy Hart, celebrated Revolutionary patriot, lived in this county. Elbert County was named for Gen. Samuel Elbert, Revolutionary soldier and Governor of Georgia (1785-1786). A native of South Carolina and resident of Savannah (1778) and Brier Creek (1779).
On Jan. 20, 1791, the first session of Elbert County Superior Court was held at the home of Thos. A. Carter on Beaverdam Creek, some 5 miles NW of here. George Walton, Georgia signer of the Declaration of Independence, was presiding judge. The Carter plantation house stands today. Nearby is the family cemetery. First officers of Elbert County were: Matthew Talbot, Clerk; Robert Middleton, Sheriff; Robert Cosby, Collector of Taxes; W. Higginbottom, Register of Probate; Thos. Burton, Receiver of Tax Returns; Richardson Hunt, Surveyor; James Tate, Coroner.
052-13 GEORGIA HISTORICAL COMMISSION 1959
Plaque courtesy Lat34North.com.
Original page, with additional info, here.
Photo credit: Byron Hooks of Lat34North.com.