Carrie Williams Jones County Historian

Jones County has been immortalized by the musical pen of Sidney Lanier in his poem, “Thar’s More in the Man Than Thar is in the Land” written in 1869.
According to Merton’s “History of Georgia” “a million years ago only the northern part of Georgia was above the ocean. Then through natural forces, as the land rose the water receded.” Where the ocean waves once beat across Jones County, there are marks which geologists readily recognize. On the banks of the streams in southern Jones County are lime and shell formations. This is most readily seen on the fall line where the Piedmont Highlands waters take their last swift descent to join other streams and go on to the ocean.

In the year 1807, Jared Irwin was the governor of Georgia in the new capitol at Milledgeville, Baldwin County. The records of the State and the Treasury had just been transferred from the old Capitol at Louisville in a caravan of wagons escorted by a troop of Calvary from Washington, D. C. and one from Milledgeville to the new building in Milledgeville. The Capital was named for that famous Revolutionary soldier, John Milledge, and it remained the Capital of Georgia until 1868. The President of the United States was Thomas Jefferson and the Vice-President was George Clinton. The Louisiana Purchase has just been consummated and Lewis and Clark had been sent by the President to explore the territory west of the Rockies or the Oregon Country. Robert E. Lee was born January 19th of that memorable year. Grier’s Almanac was first published then. Into this state and national setting the county of Jones was established by act of legislature of December 10, 1807.

Jones County was named for Hon. James Jones, who was born in 1769 in Maryland, but came to Georgia as a boy in care of his uncle, Col. Marbury. He was educated at an academy in Augusta and at the age of 18 he studied law in Savannah and legislature in Augusta, the capital; and was later elected to Congress.
Jones was formed from Baldwin County, which had been formed on May 11, 1803. In a decade Jones had outgrown Baldwin and Clinton had outgrown Milledgeville. A few houses at the crossroads of the place called Albany was named the first county site of Jones County. In 1809 the named was changed to Clinton. A new plan was made to distribute these new lands by the “Land Lottery System.” Before this, the head-right system had been used.
Jones County is situated at about the geographical center of the state. On the north side this county is bounded by Jasper and Putnam counties, on the east by Baldwin county, on the south by Wilkinson and Twiggs and on the west by Bibb and the Ocmulgee river which separates Jones from Monroe County. Jones County was laid out in 1807; part added from Putnam in 1810: a five mile slice given to Bibb County in 1822, and since then her boundaries have remained stationary.

From north to south the county is about twenty-one miles. From east to west it is about eighteen miles and the area is 378 square miles. The topography varies from smooth and level to where the streams divide the hilly areas. The Oconee and Ocmulgee rivers and their tributaries drain Jones County. The Athens branch of the Central of Georgia railroad follows the line of division between the two drainage systems. The north-western part of Jones County has Caney Creek, Falling and Rock creeks. The southern part has Walnut, Sand and Bonner creeks, and the waters of the northeastern section are carried to the Oconee by Big Cedar and Little Cedar creeks and their tributaries. The southeastern part has Commissioner, Slash and Sandy creeks.