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A Crawford County Timeline
Crawford County was created from Houston County in 1822. It was named for United States Secretary of War and Treasury William Harris Crawford. Before 1822, the area was inhabited by the Muskogee people, called Creeks by the Europeans.
 
In 1775 naturalist William Bartram, traveling across Georgia, found a previously unknown plant in Crawford County. He named the plant Hydrangea Quercifolia — now commonly called Oakleaf Hydrangia. Bartram described the area near Sweetwater Creek as a "delightful diversified rural scene," noting that it "promises a happy, fruitful and salubrious region."
See The Botanical Explorations of William Bartram in the Southeast by David H. Rembert Jr., Department of Biology, University of South Carolina -- article and picture courtesy of Bartram Trail Conference
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Benjamin Hawkins was appointed in 1796 as U. S. Indian Agent South of the Ohio River. He developed the Creek Agency on the eastern banks of the Flint River at the Lower CreekTtrail, which would later become the Federal Road. Hawkins moved into his house at the agency in 1801 and died there in 1816.
Diagram of the agency headquarters
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The oldest church in the county, Society Hill, was organized in 1815. The first church organized after the formation of the county was Mt. Paron (Paran). The Echoconnee Association was started at Mt. Carmel Church.
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Knoxville was designated the county seat in 1823. It was named for Col. Henry Knox, Revolutionary War hero, and Secretary of War from 1785 to 1794.
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Joanna Troutman lived in Knoxville when she made a flag for Georgia troops leaving to join in the fight for Texas independence. That flag was first flown at Velasco Jan. 8, 1836, was hoisted along with the Bloody Arm flag at Goliad on news of the declaration of independence March 8, 1836, and was one of the inspirations for the Texas Lone Star Flag.
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This pot was made by Benjamin Becham.

Pottery was a thriving business in Crawford County during the 1800s and early 1900s . Names like Long, Becham, Merritt, and Dickson were known throughout the area for their utilitarian jugs and crocks. Clay from Crawford County and the Rich Hill alkoline glaze usedby the early "jug makers" is still prized today.  
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Travelers through present day Roberta might never guess that at one time it was a thriving tourist town with several motels, restaurants and gas stations. US Hwy 341 was the main north-south thoroughfare through the state, and US 80 took travelers to Texas and beyond.

Grandview Motel

Bankston Cottages

       
                                                                                

City Motor Court
City Motor Court
Click on thumbnail to view larger image
 
Image courtesy of Owens Library,
G14 Caldwell Hall, College of Environment & Design,
The University of Georgia, Athens, Ga. 30602

Courthouse 1900
Click here or on Picture for a larger image

More Postcards can be found here  This Link will open a
new window at Crawford Co. GAGenWeb site.
 

Crawford County Militia District Maps for the years 1930 - 1960

  
     
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