Fayette County, Georgia History
copyright, Carolyn Cary, Official County Historian
used with permission
Fayette County was enacted as a result of the Land Lottery Draw of 1821. The land was ceded from the Creek Indian Nation and five new counties were created: Fayette, Henry, Houston, Dooly and Monroe.
Fayette is therefore an original county (not created from other counties) and the 49th county in Georgia.
At this time, the county went up to present-day Atlanta and over to the other side of Jonesboro. Four counties have been carved in part from us, Campbell (now in Fulton), DeKalb, Clayton and Spalding.
Because some of the new settlers were Revolutionary War veterans, it is surmised that they were the ones instrumental in naming the county for Marquis de LaFayette, who fought alongside General George Washington in that war.
Fayetteville was named as the county seat in 1823 and the present-day courthouse in the town square was built in 1825. It remains the oldest courthouse building in Georgia.
Fayetteville remained the only city until the 1900’s, although there were a number of small communities that had names.
Incorporated cities at the present time are: Fayetteville, Peachtree City, Tyrone, Woolsey and Brooks.
During The War Between The States cavalry activity took place in the middle of the county. A several-hundred Confederate wagon supply train was burned just two miles west of Fayetteville and one of the last cavalry skirmishes in the area took place the next day near what is now Peachtree City. This activity was an indirect part of The Battle of Atlanta.
In the 1930’s, Margaret Mitchell spent time in Fayette County researching facts for her “Gone With The Wind”. Her great grandfather, Phillip Fitzgerald, came to Fayette County in the 1830’s and the Fitzgerald's were the prototypes for the O’Hara’s in the book. They are buried in the Fayetteville City Cemetery.
The Holliday family also were from Fayette County and one of them married a Fitzgerald, making the famed Old West character, “Doc” Holliday a “kissin’ cousin” of Margaret Mitchell. “Doc’s” parents took their marriage license out in the county in 1849.
Peachtree City was enacted in 1959 and was the first successful pre-planned city in the southeast. Be sure to note the water fountain in its City Plaza, a donation of all the Japanese companies who have plants located there.
The Fayette County Historical Society was chartered in 1972 and meets each third Sunday, September thru May. Its research/genealogical center is open Tuesdays, 6 p.m.-9 p.m.; Thursdays 10 a.m.-1 p.m. and Saturdays 9 a.m.-1 p.m.
