History of Wayne County as told in:
"Miscellany of Wayne County" by
Margaret C. Jordan
Georgia History as written by George White in Historical Collections of Georgia - http://www.usgennet.org/us/ga/state1
Seventy years after General
James Oglethorpe settled the colony of Georgia and 27 years after that colony
became one of the original states of the new United States, Wayne County came
into being.
Wayne County was created by a Legislative Act of 1803 after the Wilkinson Treaty
was signed with the Creek Indians on January 16, 1802, which ceded part of the
Tallassee Country and part of the lands within the forks of the Oconee and
Oakmulgee Rivers to the U.S. Commissioners.
Wayne was situated between
the following bounds:
"Beginning at the lower back of Goose Creek at the Altamaha River low water
mark; direct line to mounts on the margin of Okeefenokee Swamp, raided and
established by the Commissioners of the U.S. and Spain at the head of St. Mary's
River; thence down the middle of said river to the point where the old line of
demarcation strikes the same; thence with the old line to the Altamaha River and
up the same to Goose Creek," according to Oliver H Prince Digest of the Laws of
the State of Georgia.
As originally laid out, the new county, 28th to be formed, was a long narrow
strip of land approximately 100 miles in length. It was six miles wide as it
stood just south of the Altamaha, eight miles wide near the Sattilla River and
five miles wide at a location about 27 miles south of the Altamaha.
All counties organized prior to 1802 were what are known in land history of
Georgia as head right counties, that is to say, no surveys were ever made of
those counties, according to the "History of Public Domain" by S. G. McLendon.
It was found that under this method more land had been distributed than actually
existed. In 1765 the Province of Georgia had passed an Act creating four
parishes. In the same Act they recognized the legality of grants made by the
Governor of South Carolina, constituting many thousands of acres south of the
Altamaha River. Governor James Oglethorpe and later governors of Georgia had
likewise granted large tracts of land without surveys. This created many land
title problems that still exist today.
A better method of land distribution was sought, which resulted in the Land
Lottery Act of 1805. The 1805 Act divided the half million acres of Wayne
County, formed of the Tallassee Strip, into three land districts. Those taking
part in the lottery had to be citizens of the U.S. and residents of Georgia for
12 months or more. Every single, free, white male 21 years or older, should have
one draw, married men two draws, widows with children two draws and widows and
orphans one draw each.
Approximately half of all eligible adults registered for the lottery. The poor
had been discriminated against, as they could not afford the 12 1/2 cent fee, so
the price was dropped to four cents.
In excess of 23,500 persons registered for the lottery, more than half seeking
land in Baldwin or Wilkinson Counties, where the best land was to found. Land in
Wayne was poor and isolated. No logic was shown in selection of lots, which were
bid for with little regard to physical characteristics.
It is interesting to note that Georgia grew from river to river, as did Wayne
County from the Altamaha River to the St. Mary's River. In 1763 King George III,
by Royal Proclamation, defined Georgia's western limits as the Mississippi River
and extended her southern boundary from the Altamaha River to the St. Mary's
River, territory acquired that year from Spain. In the area between the two
rivers, additional parishes were created, including St. David's of which Wayne
was a part.
District No. 3, lying in the northerly part, is the only original land district
now still in Wayne County. The district contained 272 lots of 123,663 acres
total, as surveyed by Abner Dawes, District Surveyor, in 1805, whole John
Milledge was governor. At this time Wayne lay south of the Altamaha, southern
end 32 miles northwest of present-day Jacksonville.
Thirty-seven percent of the lots offered were not purchased, and most sold were
bought by those too far away to know the inferior quality of the land. More lots
were sold in the interior than n the coast and distance from other counties was
also a factor. Offered for four cents an acre, Wayne County lots contained 490
acres as compared with 202 1/2 acres in Baldwin County.
Wayne was a frontier area. When formed, it extended to the remote extremity of
the U.S., bordering the political territory of Spanish Florida and the peaceful
Creek Indian Nation, as well as the physically undesirable Okeefenokee Swamp. It
was made up of poor pine land with cypress ponds, palmetto and wiregrass.
Boundaries of Wayne changed many times after the original survey. The western
part of Glynn County was added in 1805, after a portion of Wayne had been given
to Camden the same year, "that part lying south of the south branch of the Great
St. Tilla". There were further acquisitions from Glynn in 1819 and 1820, and
from Camden in 1808 and 1812 or 1820. A certain portion of Wayne was given to
Glynn in 1822 and in 1850 five homesteads were acquired from Glynn.
No other boundary changes occurred until 1855 when Charlton County was formed
from the southern portion of Wayne. (Note: this loss of land to Charlton left
Waynesville in the extreme lower part of the county. Ref. Knight's Georgia
Landmarks).
The Gazetteer of 1837 described Wayne as being of oblong shape, 33 miles long
and 17 miles wide at the broadest point. At this time the county contained 594
square miles.
Prior to formation of the county, there were settlers in present-day Wayne as
early as 1765. The first available census, that of 1820, listed 844 whites and
815 blacks. The Gazetteer of 1837 stated, "the census shows population of 1659,
10 houses and two stores, and no school for the poor. The 1845 census showed 935
whites and 355 blacks, Wayne then having the smallest population in the state,
made up mostly of "poor but honest farmers". A total of $320.92 was paid in
taxes that year. The county when formed was allotted one senator and one
representative, to receive the sum of $3.00 per day.
In 1849 Wayne was described as being bordered on the northeast by McIntosh
County, East by Glynn, South by Camden and West and Northwest by Ware and
Appling. The Great St. tilla ran through the southern part and the Altamaha
River was on the north.
Wayne County was named for Major General Anthony Wayne of Pennsylvania
(1745-1796), an officer in the Revolutionary War, who conducted the war in
Georgia, with "...limited means... successfully prosecuted it against British
soldiers, savages and tories." The state felt it owned him a debt of gratitude
and named the new county for him. "Mad Anthony," so nicknamed because of his
impetuous temper, has been described as "bold and often foolhardy or rash."
From the founding of the county in 1803, every male, except for physicians and
doctors, was required to do roadwork, "...not to exceed six days at one time or
12 days in any one year...", by legislative act passed in Louisville, state
capital. Persons who hindered or obstructed roadwork were to be fined $30. The
overseer was to be paid $2.00 per day and was liable for $20. fine if he did not
perform his duties.
Among the earliest road commissioners were William O'Neal, Stephen Pitcher and
William Clements, who were named for " for that part of the Brunswick to Fort
Barrington Road to intersect the one bordering on Wayne, with the Fort
Barrington to St. Mary's Road.." In 1808 Matthew Jones, Charles Smith and
Richard Leveritt were appointed commissioners for the road "...commencing on
post road at or near William O'Neal's thence to Phinn Holloway Creek, cross same
at site convenient for erection of a bridge, running thence to south of Goose
Creek or near it"
Water transportation was not ignored, and in 1829, a Mr. Strickland requested
the legislature to "...examine and make report to next legislature on the
expediency and practicality of opening and keeping open Philholoway Creek.." and
make it navigable for rafts and boats from "where river road crosses same to
confluence of same with Altamaha..."